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This Week on the Road - August 19th-26th

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This Week on the Road - August 19th-26th

Hello Everyone,

Greetings from the Windy City! I pulled into Chicago yesterday and had such a fabulous day that I decided I’d stick around one more day. It’s been a really great week out here on the road. I spent the first part of the week hanging out with my family in West Bend, catching up on a lot of years’ worth of stories. Leaving there, I hit up the Lake Michigan shoreline for a night and then headed back to Milwaukee before starting south towards Chicago. The cooler weather continues to be a joyful presence in my daily life and I have been very appreciative that my fridge can keep up better now, allowing me to stock up on fresh fruit and veggies. It hasn’t been too busy a week, but let me catch you up on where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to.

After I finished up this post last week, I headed back to my cousin’s house and we all piled into one car and headed down to Milwaukee for the Brewers’ baseball game. I remember a lot of Brewers games from my childhood, some at the old County Stadium there in Milwaukee, but many of which we listened to on the radio with Bob Ueker doing the play-by-play. I’ve been to their new stadium, American Family Field, a couple of times before and it’s a really nice baseball stadium. We had nice seats along the right field line and even though the Brewers lost, I really enjoyed being there.

I spent most of Thursday just hanging around in West Bend. I wanted to go to the history museum there, but it didn’t look like it had been open in a while. I ended up just wandering around downtown and enjoying the nice weather, reading my book and relaxing. In the afternoon, I met up with my uncle at the Saloon Royale on Main Street.

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This Week on the Road - August 12th-19th

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This Week on the Road - August 12th-19th

Hello Everyone!

It’s been a wonderful week here in southern Wisconsin and I’ve spent most of it among family and friends. The weather is so much cooler here with the high today supposed to be 76°, and life for me is always better in cooler temperatures. It still feels like summer, but not summer on the surface of the sun. This may have been the week that really saved my summer from slipping away as it’s been full of boat trips, barbecues and even a wonderful day at the Wisconsin State Fair. I haven’t traveled too far or done too much in the way of sightseeing or exploring, but I’ve laughed a lot and sometimes that’s the best thing you can do with your time.

After leaving you last week, I headed out into Madison and made a stop at Forest Hill Cemetery to visit the grave of Eston Hemings Jefferson. Eston was the youngest son of Sally Hemings who was an enslaved woman of mixed race who spent much of her life at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Virginia. DNA evidence from 1998 shows that Eston’s father was a Jefferson and while any number of people have tried to argue that it wasn’t our third president himself, there can be no definitive proof one way or the other. Thomas Jefferson’s documents show that he was present at Monticello when Eston was conceived, and Eston’s brother Madison stated during his lifetime that his mother had told them that Jefferson was their father. Of the more than 600 people enslaved at Monticello during his lifetime, Jefferson only freed a handful in his will. Eston and Madison were among them and all of those he freed were related to Sally Hemings. Eston lived with his mother in Virginia until her death and then moved to Ohio and on to Madison, where he lived the rest of his life. He and his wife both passed as White and their two sons served on the Union side during the Civil War. It was interesting to visit the grave of a man who was likely the youngest son of Thomas Jefferson and to think about his life. Forest Hill is also the site of the northernmost Confederate cemetery in the country, as nearby Camp Randall (now the site of the University of Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium) served as a POW camp during the Civil War.

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This Week on the Road - August 6th-12th

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This Week on the Road - August 6th-12th

Hello Everyone,

Greetings from America’s Dairyland. When I left you last week, I had no plan to be in Wisconsin quite this quickly, but once I got rolling, I just kept rolling. I took advantage of the cool of the early mornings to drive and then tried to make the most of my afternoons wherever I landed. Even though the name of the game this week was to drive towards home, it’s actually been a pretty great week on the road. I was sad to pass through South Dakota so quickly, but I will definitely be back when it’s cooler and I’m ready to really dive into it. Temperature-wise, it’s significantly cooler out here, but once I crossed the Missouri River the humidity started to increase with each passing mile. But it’s still cooler at the end of the day and that is making a huge difference after too many hot weeks out west. Now that I’m back on the eastern side of the Mississippi River and now that my brain isn’t frying every time I step outside, I feel like I’m in a better place mentally. My van did exceptionally well this week and it seemed much happier to be moving in the cool of the morning as well. All told, it was smooth sailing. While I didn’t get to see as much of Montana, Wyoming or South Dakota as I had hoped and planned for this summer, I was grateful for what I did see and will return another time for the rest. Now that I’m somewhere cooler, I will be able to slow down for a bit and see some friends and family before I make that last run for home. It may be cooler here, but it’s still blazing hot in D.C. so while I’m headed that way I’m not in a huge rush to get there at the moment. So let’s get into what I did see and do this last week as I made my way east.

When I left you last week, I was in the old coal mining town of Gillette, Wyoming. Gillette is not Wyoming’s biggest town and certainly not its prettiest, but it was nice enough for the night and the people were friendly. I had booked a Harvest Hosts stay at the Big Lost Meadery right in the heart of downtown Gillette and it was an excellent place to stay. Wednesday was bingo night, so I settled in to enjoy a couple of glasses of mead and try my luck. There weren’t too many people there, but there were obviously some regulars who come to play every week. One group had a very long basset hound which was absolutely adorable. I didn’t win a single game, but I enjoyed being there. After they wound up for the night, I wandered around downtown for a bit, but there wasn’t much happening so I called it a night and got a good night’s sleep.

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This Week on the Road - November 17th-24th

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This Week on the Road - November 17th-24th

Hello everyone and a very Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American friends out there. I have made it to my dad’s place in Charleston, West Virginia for Turkey Day and will be here through the weekend. It’s nice to be in out of the cold and with my family and I’m looking forward to a few weeks off the road before setting off again early next year. This week has been about making my way east, catching up with friends, warming up at some of the Midwest’s finest tiki bars and catching some great (and not so great) live music along the way. I’ve slept a lot this week as the long nights and cold weather have inspired early bedtimes and late mornings, but I’m also coming down from a busy 6 months on the road and need a little extra sleep. When I pulled out of Minnesota, I considered my 3 state mission complete and shifted my focus to some down time. I still have plenty of photos to get to and a podcast that’s been gathering dust, but it was time to enjoy myself and the long ride home. It hasn’t been the busiest of weeks, but I’d love to share with you what I’ve been up to.

When I left off last week I was in Milwaukee and headed out with my cousins for the evening. Sadly, one of the two of them had just gotten her booster shot and was not feeling up to it, so it turned out to be just myself and Emmalyn and we joined her husband, Brian, a little later in the evening. It was great to see them and hear what they’ve been up to these last few months. I’m very grateful for the time they’ve shared with me this summer. While we’ve been Facebook friends for years and kept in touch that way, it’s nice to connect with them and know more about that side of my family.

Thursday I woke up to snow swirling around my van. I hit the gym and then headed to the grocery store in the morning to pick up some things for my dad. He grew up in Milwaukee, so I wanted to get him some brats, sausage, cheese, a Racine kringle and a few other things from his home state since I was on my way to see him. I also picked up some New Glarus beer (which you can’t buy outside the state) to share with my friends back at home. Then I headed south to Illinois and stopped at the library to get some work done and let the traffic in Chicago die down. I knew I would be up late in the Windy City, so I also took a nice long afternoon nap. When I got up, I ordered a deep-dish, Chicago style pizza from Pequod’s on the recommendation of one of my Chicago friends. Chicago pizza takes about 45 minutes to cook, so I ordered it before I left and then headed on down to the city. It wasn’t quite ready when I got there, so I got it right out of the oven which was the plan. I really love Chicago style pizza, and while I don’t think this was the best one I’ve ever gotten, it was still really good. With a couple of slices of pizza in me, I headed on to Kingston Mines, Chicago’s oldest and largest blues club. They have live blues on two alternating stages 365 days out of the year and are always a great bet for good music in Chicago. I was happy to find the club alive and well after having not been there for many years and I was happy to see many young people in the audience as Blues usually attracts an older crowd. Some young theatre kids were even showing off their dance moves which was fun, although one couple looked more like they were having synchronized seizures than dancing. The music was great on both stages and I would have loved to stay until their 3am closing time, but I knew that wasn’t going to be a good idea under the circumstances. The best time to get through the city of Chicago is between midnight and 5am, so I only had two beers while I was at the club and headed south just after twelve. From Lincoln Park, which is on the north side of Chicago, all the way to the Indiana border only took me 35 minutes which is a near miracle. The road along the Lake Michigan shoreline was clear and quick and I enjoyed nighttime views of downtown and the Navy Pier. While I got to bed pretty late, I knew it had saved some serious time for the next day so I wasn’t too worried about it.

Friday morning I headed out to Indiana Dunes National Park on the south shore of Lake Michigan. It was great to see the lake again and I enjoyed a visit to the Century of Progress Homes in the park. These model homes were on display at the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago and then were moved via barge across Lake Michigan and set up on the shoreline there.

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This Week on the Road - September 29th-October 6th

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This Week on the Road - September 29th-October 6th

Hello Everyone and greetings from Minnesota. I crossed over at Duluth on the first of October which seemed like and appropriate day for a new beginning. It’s always a bit strange crossing into a new state because over the last however many weeks I’ve become accustomed to wherever I was. Within a state there are certainly regional differences, but crossing the state line isn’t a gradual change from north to south or east to west. Grocery stores are one way in Superior, Wisconsin and are something completely different 10 minutes away in Duluth (no booze in MN stores). And while people obviously move freely between the two, you can see differences in the culture immediately too. Packers green and gold gives way to Vikings purple and white and the maps on peoples’ t-shirts change as well. Spend enough time in one state and you’ll forever after recognize that state’s shape because you’ll see it everywhere if you’re really paying attention. It’s fun. Also apparently they call port-a-johns “biffies” in Minnesota. Oh, and the Twin Cities become just “The Cities” when you cross the state line. I have definitely been a little bit surprised by how many clothes people are wearing up here. Temperatures have been in the fifties and sixties and I’m still in shorts and a t-shirt but the locals are wearing jeans and coats and hats. Mark Twain has often been quoted (erroneously, apparently) as saying “the coldest winter I ever spent was summer in Duluth” and I know winter temperatures around here can get down to 50 below, and I just can’t imagine how cold these people must feel in the middle of winter if they’re so wrapped up in the beginning of October. I also got a kick out of a local radio ad which was telling employers to book a fun day out for their employees with a no bag-limit pheasant hunt “reserve your birds today”. Of course if it weren’t for these differences, traveling around the country the way that I am wouldn’t be nearly as fun.

So I have a fly which has been in my van for a few days now. I envision him thinking he is my dog because he seems to want to play all the time. He’s also very Midwestern in his mannerisms. He doesn’t bother me, but he wants me to know I’m not alone either. He keeps me company and comes and lands on me when I hop into bed. He doesn’t bite and he leaves me alone if I swish him away enough, but every time I get him out the door, he flies right back in again. He doesn’t move very fast and I could whack him with a flyswatter pretty easily, but he’s not really causing me any problems so for now, he can stay.

After I finished up this post last week, I headed out to Amicon Falls State Park which is about 15 minutes east of Superior. It’s a beautiful state park with quite a few waterfalls around to see, all within an easy walk of the parking lot. Like so many of the rivers in Wisconsin, there are a lot of tannins in the water from the trees which line their banks, leaving the water a brown, cola-like color. I don’t know where the Amicon River flows from, but it was raging when I was there. There was so much water going over the falls, and there hasn’t been much rain here recently and obviously no snow-melt in quite a while. It was pretty cool to see that much power in the water. That evening I went to celebrate my time in Wisconsin coming to a close with a beautiful cut of prime rib at Hammond’s Bar and Steakhouse which of course had to be accompanied by a brandy old-fashioned. I only made it to a few of Wisconsin’s storied supper clubs, but they made a big impression and were a wonderful part of my experience.

Thursday morning dawned foggy and grey, but I had one last place I wanted to see before I could leave Wisconsin: the state’s highest waterfall: Manitou Falls, at Pattison State Park. It was also only about 15 minutes out of Superior, and definitely worth the drive. I was actually really surprised by how high it was as most of the waterfalls I have seen around the state have been pretty small (it’s a flat state). Manitou Falls was impressive by any standard and I enjoyed eating my breakfast and watching the cascades. After breakfast I went on a little 3 mile round-trip hike to Little Manitou Falls which was also a pretty good sized waterfall. The sun came out and the fog burned off and by the time I returned to my van it had turned into a beautiful day. I decided to hang out there for a while, work on my podcast and enjoy the weather. I ended up staying at the park far into the middle of the afternoon and then headed to the library for a while to try and catch up on some of my photos from last week. By the time I was ready to go, it was late so I decided to hang on in Superior for one more night instead of crossing over late and when I was tired. I went for a burger and the Anchor Bar in Superior which came recommended by a friend. It was a decent burger at a very good price, but the people working there looked and acted the way most servers and bartenders feel but don’t show. I ended the night back at the Thirsty Pagan in the old railroad station with a nice beer and some good live music. That’s definitely a place I will return someday.

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Snapshots: Red Cliff Cultural Days

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Snapshots: Red Cliff Cultural Days

I felt truly privileged to experience Cultural Days with the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa on their Reservation on the shores of Lake Superior. It was a beautiful day to celebrate their culture. In addition to all of the dancing, chanting and beautiful regalia pictured here, there were also stations set up to learn more about the culture of the Anishinaabe people. I helped render down bear fat and learned about its healing qualities, drank cedar and wintergreen tea and ate smoked fish, fried walleye and bear cracklins. I also learned about birch-bark basket making, heard some wonderful flute and drum music and watched some traditional gambling games. My favorite experience of the day was throwing a spear using an atlatl which is something I had only ever seen in museums before. I have been very fortunate in my life to have experienced Native American culture in several different parts of the country, and to be able to attend a festival like this one is truly special. The people of the Red Cliff Band were particularly welcoming and really helped me understand their culture better for which I am forever grateful. They even got me to join in on several of their spot dances which was just wonderful. It’s a different experience to be inside the circle looking out than outside the circle looking in. I hope you enjoy these photos which will give you a glimpse into the magic of the day.

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Snapshots: Bayfield - Gateway to the Apostles

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Snapshots: Bayfield - Gateway to the Apostles

According to their Chamber of Commerce, Bayfield is one of USA Today's Best Coastal Small Towns, Wisconsin's Smallest City, the Berry Capital of the State, and the Gateway to the Apostle Islands. That’s a lot for a place with a population of only around 500. the town was named in 1856 for Henry Bayfield, a British admiral and topographic engineer who explored the region in the 1820s.Lumber and fishing were the big industries in the early days and Bayfield also served as a port city. You can tell from some of the beautiful Victorian homes in town that at least a few people made their fortunes here. I found Bayfield to be a charming place with beautiful architecture and wonderful views out over the lake. It was my jumping-off point to both Madeline Island and Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. If you visit, be sure you try the local delicacy of whitefish livers which was one of the tastiest dishes I’ve had in a long time. I hope you enjoy these photos from this wonderful lakefront city.

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Snapshots: Madeline Island - Beauty in the Apostles

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Snapshots: Madeline Island - Beauty in the Apostles

Madeline Island is the largest of the Apostle Islands which sit just off the coast of Wisconsin’s Lake Superior shoreline. It is the only one of the Apostles which isn’t a part of Apostle Island National Lakeshore and the only one open to development. The permanent population of the island hovers around 300 but grows considerably during the summer months. The island is named after Madeline Cadotte, an Ojibwe woman and the daughter of Chief White Crane who married a white fur trader and lived on the island in the 19th century.

The island is important to the Ojibwe as a spiritual center and was also the home of Chief Buffalo, the man responsible for negotiating the Treaty of 1854 which helped create a permanent Reservation on the Lake Superior coast.

Madeline Island was a major fur trading post for many years and later industries included commercial fishing, logging and tourism. Both Father Marquette and Bishop Baraga (the “Snowshoe Priest”) visited the island and helped establish missions there.

I had a great visit to Madeline Island. The ferry only took about 20 minutes to make the crossing and I brought my van with me and stayed at wonderful Big Bay State Park on the far side of the island. The ferry docks at La Pointe, the island’s only town which has several restaurants, bars and shops. It’s also where I found Tom’s Burned Down Cafe, one of the coolest bars I went to in the state. I enjoyed hiking in the state park and a long drive around the island on a very well maintained dirt road. I was sorry that the museum was closed when I was there, but I’m sure it had some interesting artifacts in it. Sunset over Lake Superior looking back at the mainland was magical. I hope you enjoy these photos from my time on beautiful Madeline Island.

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In Focus: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

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In Focus: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is a beautiful park which stretches along Wisconsin’s Lake Superior coastline. The park extends over 21 of the 22 islands in the area with only Madeline Island being outside its boundary. In addition to the islands themselves, the park extends to the historic fishing area at Little Sand Bay and the beautiful coastline and sea caves at Myers Beach. Nobody is quite sure who gave the islands their names, but French maps referred to them as the Apostle Islands as early as the 1700s. The National Lakeshore was established in 1970, having been proposed by Wisconsin’s Senator Gaylord Nelson who is also considered the founder of Earth Day.

During my time in the park, I enjoyed a scenic cruise around the islands with Apostle Island Cruises. Our 2.5 hour journey took us around most of the islands with special attention paid to the beautiful, outer Devil’s Island and the historic lighthouse at Raspberry Island. Unfortunately, the islands were closed to camping during my stay so I wasn’t able to spend the night out there which I really would have enjoyed. Beyond the cruise, I spent some time learning about the history of the area at the outdoor museum at Little Sand Bay (which was also a wonderful place to watch the sunset). There were also recorded stories from rangers, historians and Native Americans in this section to listen to. On my last morning in the park I visited the Myers Beach section to hike the Lakeshore Trail to The Bowl to view the amazing sea caves and beautiful coastline. I was also pleasantly surprised by the number and variety of mushrooms I experienced along this trail. I had a wonderful visit to the Apostle Islands and hope you enjoy these photos from my stay.

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This Week on the Road - September 22nd-29th

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This Week on the Road - September 22nd-29th

Hello Everyone! It’s hard to believe that September has come and gone so quickly. We’re still a solid week or two from peak fall foliage here thanks to the lakes, but the weather has cooled and it definitely feels like fall. I’ve had a wonderful week on the road as I wound up my time here in Wisconsin with a visit to the Apostle Islands, spent a day with the Red Cliff Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa and a quiet night on Madeline Island before following Lake Superior to the Minnesota border. It’s been great to be back on the banks of this greatest of the Great Lakes. As much as I’ve loved my time in Wisconsin, I missed sitting on the shores of one or another Great Lake as I went. I did get two sad messages this week that I wanted to share with you. Way back when I had just begun this blog, I visited McDowell County in southern West Virginia and met a wonderful lady named Orbie Campbell who ran a tiny coffee shop in the town of War. Ms. Orbie passed away this week at the age of 76. She will be greatly missed in War for her kind spirit and welcoming demeanor. I also got word this week that Nancy, who ran the bar and kitchen at Teddy’s Juke Joint in Zachary, Louisiana (and was married to Teddy for over 40 years) passed away this month as well. Nancy was a kind soul who always had a cold beer and a good story waiting for me when I walked in the door. She will also be truly missed. May Ms. Orbie and Ms. Nancy both rest in peace.

After I finished this post last Wednesday, my new friend Russ and I did indeed do some kayaking. We loaded up his kayaks and headed out to Black River Lake and had the whole place to ourselves. It was a great time and a beautiful day to be there. We had one bald eagle and two swans for company and spent a couple of hours paddling around the lake under sunny skies with a pleasant breeze. Afterwards we went and shot some pool at the American Legion before calling it a night.

Thursday I took off from Bessemer and headed deeper into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to spend the day in the Porcupine Mountains. I decided to skip this far corner of the U.P. when I was up there last month, knowing I would be much closer when I came north through Wisconsin and imagining it would be more beautiful in the fall. It really was a beautiful day and the park didn’t disappoint. I spent the morning in the Presque Island side of the park, wandering the coast and then up the Presque River to a couple of waterfalls. Then I headed around the park to the other side to visit the stunning Lake of the Clouds. Lake of the Clouds is one of Michigan’s most well-known natural features, and its reputation is well deserved. The lake is nestled in a hilly basin just up from the shores of Lake Superior, but it feels much more isolated when you are there. The best views were from the overlook, but I enjoyed a hike down to lake level as well. Fall colors aren’t quite at their peak, but I definitely think what color was there added to the scenery. It was a beautiful stop. From there I headed back to Wakefield where I stopped at the Randall Bakery for a delicious pasty (when in Rome, right?) before boogying back to Wisconsin. I pretty much made a beeline for Ashland as the day was wearing on and I wanted to get there before dark. Russ had gone kayaking in the Apostle Island sea caves that day, so he met me for a beer at the brewery before he headed back to Bessemer. I really enjoyed hanging out with him for a few days – we had a really good time.

Friday morning I headed to the Ashland Historical Museum. It was a typical small town collection of bric-a-brac, but I enjoyed poking around and the people there were nice. I took a stroll around downtown to check out Ashland’s beautiful murals and then ducked into the library right as it started to rain. I wanted to start to wind up my time in Wisconsin and look ahead towards Minnesota. When the rain started to let up, I made my way out to the beach for a while. It was a little chilly for a swim, but I enjoyed my dinner with a view out over Lake Superior. That night I enjoyed listening to the local high school team, the Ashland Oredockers, play Friday night football on the radio. I had a couple of beers in a few different places, but they were all pretty quiet so I called it a night.

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Snapshots: Mercer - Northwoods Small Town Charm

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Snapshots: Mercer - Northwoods Small Town Charm

Mercer is a small community of under 2,000 people situated along Highway 51 in Iron County, Wisconsin. The area has one of the highest concentrations of loons in the country and Mercer has designated itself The Loon Capital of the World. The town placed a massive 16 foot loon at its Chamber of Commerce named Clair d’ Loon. Every year in August, Mercer celebrates Loon Day which includes a loon calling contest. I thought it was a great little town with some fun shops and a cute Northwoods-style downtown area. It seemed like a lot of the businesses in town were for sale, so maybe this would be a great opportunity for someone looking to move to the area. I wasn’t in Mercer long, but it definitely charmed me and I wanted to share these pictures with you from The Loon Capital of the World.

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Snapshots: Rhinelander - Sunsets and Hodags in Wisconsin's Northwoods

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Snapshots: Rhinelander - Sunsets and Hodags in Wisconsin's Northwoods

Rhinelander is a charming little town in Oneida County in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Located near the convergence of the Wisconsin and Pelican Rivers, Rhinelander got its start as a lumbering town and was first called Pelican Rapids. They changed their name to Rhinelander after Frederic Rhinelander, who was president of the Milwaukee, Lake Shore and Western Railroad at the time, in an effort to bring the railroad to their town.

In 1893 a local man named Eugene Shepard came to town with stories of a savage beast he caught which he called a “hodag”. A couple of years later, he told people he had caught another hodag, but this time it was alive. He brought his catch to the county fair where he charged people for a peak at the beast. When news of the hodag reached the Smithsonian Institution, they were determined to send a team to document the find. It was then that Shepard admitted it was all a hoax. Despite this admission, Rhinelander took the hodag and ran with it. Today you can find hodag statues at the Chamber of Commerce, the courthouse, the library and many other locations. You can drink Hodag Blood Ale at the brewery and cheer on the Rhinelander Hodags at their high school sporting events. It is definitely the town’s mascot.

I had a wonderful visit to Rhinelander. I loved the beautiful downtown area, the county courthouse and especially the photogenic feed store in town which was especially magical the evening I took these photos. I hope you enjoy these photos from my visit to Rhinelander, Home of the Hodags.

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