Wonderful Wisconsin

We’ve spent the past two weeks in Wisconsin.  From dry, warm breezes through beautiful vistas of wind driven waves crashing on  limestone bluffs to more than nine inches of rain in two days… we’ve had a good taste of The Badger State.  We began in Chippewa Falls, only an hour from the Twin Cities.  It was a nice third visit and talk at the Public Library there.  A walk down to the river, seeing the high water surging through the dam was a nice way to relax after the drive.  The next morning we headed a bit south and east to Augusta, in the heart of Amish country.  We stayed at Coon Fork County Park, a beautiful campground on a lake.  No luck fishing, but a nice area to walk around (mind the mosquitoes).

A couple days and we were heading further east to a campground in Fremont… Jellystone Park, complete with Yogi and Ranger Smith.  Even Fred and Wilma Flintstone were there, though we missed seeing them.  Took a moment to check out their car, though.  I spoke four times in the three days we were in Fremont; first was New London, twice in Waupaca and finally in Appleton.  I’ve learned much more about the Home Front in Wisconsin during WW2 than I could possible share… people who remember picking milkweed pods, a lady whose father worked at the Four Wheel Drive company (they now make fire engines) spoke of hearing the trucks running on the test track all night right behind her house.  Another lady told of losing her underwear in a store because rationing had eliminated elastic waistbands… her tie came undone!

I’m glad we had the foresight to schedule a break to visit Door County with no talks.  We’ve heard so much about it and experiencing it was even better.  The magnificent views of Green Bay (not the Packers, mind you) coupled with quaint shops, wineries, produce stops, coffee shops, fish boil dinners, the awesome Harvest moon, sunrises and sunsets and a wonderful bike ride through Peninsula State Park were amazing.  The four days went by way too fast and the time came to head south again into the central part of the state.

Our current lodging is at the Sky High Campground outside Portage.  Glad to be on high ground with all the torrential rains the past few days.  We visited Baraboo and the Circus World Museum along with a sister and brother in law who met us, the day the rain began.  Now we hear the river there will crest nearly six feet above flood stage in a few days!  We’ll be heading further south, around the Windy City of Chicago and on to the eastern shore of Lake Michigan shortly.  One more talk this Saturday in Wyocena and then the drive to Stevensville, Michigan.  We’ll be staying in the sand dunes along the southeast corner of the lake before heading up near Grand Rapids for a few days…. but that will be in the next edition.

After nearly a year and a half… we’ve decided we like this “tiny home” living thing and hope you do, too (at least the part we share).  Until we see you “down the road”, keep in touch.  We’ll try to post a bit more often on Facebook and will write these longer notes when there’s time.

Muddy Waters

It’s time to dust off the “blog files” and begin a new series of them… particularly since Diane and I are, again, on the road (not to be confused with On the Road Again; sorry Willie).  Our definition of “on the road” does not include time spent within easy driving distance of our little imp… Phoebe.  Having spent a majority of time since returning to the Midwest from Florida in May near her, we’re now at Coon Lake County Park, outside the thriving megalopolis of Augusta, Wisconsin.  I’d tell you about the wonderful, large Veteran’s Park in Augusta (right next to, strangely enough, the local bakery)… but that would be getting ahead of the story.

First to relate is our leaving the Land of 10,001 Lakes.  It has rained so much this summer, I’m sure there is at least one more… so I’ll not try too hard to count, but just chalk up the one additional.  It was raining when we left (surprise) and the best description of our departure from good friends’ house (thanks Barb and Dave) is a piece of advice.  Never try to pull or push a camper when you can’t stand up in the mud.  Had it not been for Dave’s tractor (he’s really such a Deere), we’d still be at their place, downhill from the horse barn instead of comfortably up the hill, alongside the road.

We’re in Wisconsin because, unlike last year’s pleasure drive of 15 states in eight weeks (far too long and fast, but we certainly learned how to set up and take down the trailer), this year is a more measured five states in the same time period.  I’ll be speaking 20 times in Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio before heading back through Indiana and Illinois; enjoying some scenery, visiting Florida friends and seeing fun things (like the oldest concrete street in the US).  It is a grand experiment to see if I can actually travel, talk and sell books at the same time.  I know you know the talking is not the hard part… ‘nough said.  We‘ll be blogging from Door County, the Lake Michigan Sand Dunes, and Cuyahoga National Park (look that one up) along with many other interesting points.

Right now Diane is looking through countless information magazines we picked up at the Wisconsin rest area yesterday.  At this point I’m going to guess those slimmer jeans I bought are going to stay in the closet for a while.  What with cheese factories and Farmers Markets on almost every street corner here… oh well, when in Rome…