Scott: We’ve been riding in Wisconsin for three days. For us, the ride in this state has had two faces. On one hand, we’ve been traveling on wonderful, bucolic, low traffic roads accented by farms, dairies, fields of corn, soybeans & hay, solitary country homes, lakes and thick forests. A real sense of calm and peacefulness has followed us on these roads. On the other hand, the terrain of continuous 4-7% climbs and descents have been challenging us. The constant up and down of those little bastard sharp, short hills is putting the hurt on our legs. Today we got a bit of relief when the last 15 miles of our 65 mile ride turned out to be relatively flat yet we still climbed over 2,000 ft. We’re spending this night at the LCO Casino because for some mysterious reason we could find no campgrounds in this area. Ah well, an inexpensive motel, depressed people gambling and crappy food. It just doesn’t get any better than that. In three days we’ll ride into the U.P. (the Upper Peninsula of Michigan) where we expect much more of the up and down.
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| Met Jeremy in a coffee shop in Rapid City, MN. He was on day 9 of a tour around MN. He was riding a fixie and was traveling very, very light. It appears that his only clothes were those that he was wearing. He was a college student, was quite eccentric but really nice. We enjoyed talking with him. We rode with him for about 2 hours before he rode away and disappeared. |
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| A cool barn that we passed in MN. |
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| An abandoned railroad trestle over the Mississippi. Local folks were driving their cars over this bridge. We camped in this spot at a county campground outside of Pallisade, MN and got eaten alive by mosquitoes. |
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| We bought these wild blueberries at a convenience store in Pallisade. They were the most flavorful, delicious blueberries I have ever eaten. |
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| The locals in the cafe at Pallisade. These dudes were colorful and vociferous. |
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| The style of barns we saw in this part of MN. Stormy weather, eh? |
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| Karla agrees. The bestest blueberries ever. |
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| Morning coffee on the fishing dock on Mille Lacs Lake at Father Hennepin State Park, MN. This is the 2nd largest lake in MN and was created by the Wisconsin Glacier way back when during the last glaciation epoch. |
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| We met Beth and Joe at Father Hennepin State Park. They won this airstream in a sweepstakes contest. They claim to submit up to 400 entries to sweepstakes a day. I can’t even fathom how that’s possible. Anyway, they were really nice and friendly. We shared their campfire and conversation the evening we stayed in this park. |
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| We met Bill on the road at a convenience store in MN. He was riding to New Hampshire where he lives. He started the ride last year but stopped in Missoula, MT where he left his bike. He then restarted in Missoula this year. We rode into WI with him but separated when we went to Interstate State Park and he rode on. Great guy with whom we shared political views. |
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| Beautiful scenery at the Dalles of the St Croix river at Interstate State Park in WI. |
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| Interstate State Park has some of the best examples in the world of potholes that are created by the action of flowing water |
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| Elementary my dear Watson. It was racoons who managed to open the trailer at night while you slept and eat half of your stored food. Damn little rascals. And they had the nerve to growl at me when I chased them away. |
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| Yummy 2nd breakfast at this cafe in Amery, WI. Ida Mae is the owner’s goat. |
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| Owner Barb and waitress Pam at Ida Mae’s. Very friendly, nice folks. |
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| Beautiful farm along the road in WI. |
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| Another cool WI barn and silo. |
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| Yup. |
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| Speakers that were mounted at every corner of main street in Cumberland, WI were blaring music. Very, very strange. |
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| Our waitress, Sandy, at the Tower House restaurant in Cumberland where we had fantastic raisin and cheese ravioli and great home baked dinner rolls. The apple butter cake was pretty dang good too. |
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| Nice sunset over Beaver Dam Lake in Cumberland where we camped. |
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| Jim is the owner of a convenience store we stopped at for snacks. He was soft spoken, genuinely friendly and helpful. He had a deep knowledge of the roads in the area and gave us some great short cut tips that saved us at least 6 miles of riding. He’s operated this store for 35 years. His business was reduced by 70% by the arrival of Walmart in 1985. |
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| Little bastard hills as far as we can see. |
Steve, Dave, and I grew up just down the road from Cumberland in a town called Barron. Your description of the hills is spot on.
MIck
Wonderful photos! Thanks for sharing your adventure — Shyla
karla which email are you using
love deb
I read your entries with a smile on my face . . . sheer pleasure. Thank you for sharing in word and pictures.
So, are you collecting receipes of all the yummy food you are eating along the way? I can't believe two breakfasts, ice cream and you both look sooo fit!!!
Hey, you two!!! You are making me homesick…all these little communities that make the upper midwest. You get a feel for all these immigrant enclaves that have come on the scene with rich stories and histories. Do you get a sense of Prairie Home Companion? I greatly miss you. Fran Fitz had an art showing tonight at the Clubhouse
Ouse where she lives . She did a great job presenting the history of her work. She had some terrific pieces that she completed at Menuccha this year. She also talked
And showed some of her earlier work. It was well done. Your blog. Is a blast. Thanks for keeping it up. Love you both, the Jackster
Karla and Scott! Wow… what an adventure you are having. I finally got caught up on your blog and loved every minute! Great pics! You always seem to be smiling, so I assume all is well! Keep up the fun.
Penny