Saturday: While the Brew Hut mattress will need
an upgrade before camping season next year, I slept well on Friday night
and until after 7 a.m on Saturday. I previously hiked all of the
trails available at the Castle Mound campground, so I jumped into the
Frontier and drove south on I-94 for about 11 miles, exiting at Millston
and ending up at the Pigeon Creek Campground.
Pigeon Creek had no electric hookups or showers, but it did have less
road noise. I would consider staying there in the future. The sites
were a bit smaller, but well-spaced. There were vault toilets and water
pumps. The sites were $18, compared to $28 with electric at Castle
Mound.
The Nature Trail at Pigeon Creek was only 1.5 miles on flat terrain, mostly along the Pigeon Creek Flowage.
When
I started the hike, I planned to combine the hike with a longer
mountain biking/hiking trail. The weather was warm, and the sun was
shining. I talked briefly to the lone fisherman on the flowage. We
agreed it was a perfect morning for late October.
On my way to the intersection of the longer mountain bike trail, the
rain started to fall. I decided to turn back. As I passed the
fisherman, we agreed that it had been a perfect morning for October. He
caught 3 nice bluegills, so he was still feeling pretty good about the
day, despite the rain.
I’ve hiked in the rain many times, and I will hike in the rain
again. But I decided that a local microbrewery would be a better
option.
Sand Creek Brewery, Black River Falls:
The taproom was busy when I arrived mid-afternoon. I asked about a
tour, and was told that one would be given in 30 minutes or so. My
favorite Sand Creek beer, Fatty Boomblatty, brewed under the Furthermore
label, wasn’t available on tap, so I went with the Turtle Stack SMaSH
Golden Ale. SMaSH beers are bewed with single malt, single hops. It
was a worthy choice–heavier than my Octoberfest lager at the campsite
but lighter and less hoppy than the IPA’s that I tend to favor.
Shortly before finishing my beer, a man in casual attire announced
that the tour would be starting in a few minutes outside the doors of
the tap room. I downed my last couple of swallows and waited outside.
To my surprise, no one else was going on the tour, and I was getting a
personalized solo tour from the general manager at Sand Creek Brewery.
I told him that I was a homebrewer, and he immediately put me at ease
by stating that everyone in the microbrewery business starts off as a
homebrewer. He gave a a great tour and answered all of my questions,
including some good gossip about the industry. I bought a t-shirt to
remember the visit.
That
Saturday evening, back at the Brew Hut, a violent storm storm came
through with rain, wind, thunder and lightning. I didn’t sleep
particularly well as I wondered if one of the large trees or branches
above the Brew Hut might fall on top of me. It was cold and wet on
Sunday morning. I watched part of the Packers game against the Saints and left the campground at halftime.
On Monday, I winterized the Brew Hut, emptying the tanks and filling
the lines and traps with RV antifreeze. Unless I can work in another
weekend of dry camping during the late fall, the Brew Hut will awake in
the spring.
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