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.