Back to Wisconsin
After our trip to Montana, we settled back in to our daily lives in
Wisconsin. Julia was back at work. I had firewood to get ready for the
coming winter. The Brew Hut needed repairs. Specifically, I replaced
my power distribution center and converter.
The old system allowed me to have AC power when plugged in and DC
power off the battery. A working converter, when connected to shore
power, operates the DC system and charges the battery. I’m not sure if
the converter worked when I bought the Scamp because I knew so little
about RV electrical systems.
However, I eventually figured out that the
converter was completely dead.
I contacted Progressive Dynamics awhile back to ask what would be an
appropriate replacement for my trailer. They recommended the PD4135,
which includes a smart charger for the battery. After watching several
youtube videos, I pronounced myself as ready as I ever was going to be.
I won’t say the installation process was easy (for me), but everything
is where it’s supposed to be, and works the way it’s supposed to work.
Point Beach State Forest
On Thursday night, we took the Brew Hut to Point Beach State Forest,
which is just north of Two Rivers, Wisconsin on Lake Michigan. I’m not a
fan of towing in the dark, but we made it without incident. On Friday
morning, we woke up to a deserted beach. Julia and I hiked along the
beach and along the inland Ice Age Trail.
What the photos do not show are the biting flies and clouds of
mosquitoes. I’m one of those people who swell up for each mosquito
bite. Then the bite itches for several days. The flies were much more
immediately painful, taking small chunks of flesh from my bare legs. I
thought I was going to go insane until I switched out my shorts to long
pants. We hiked about seven miles on the first day. That was it for the
rest of the weekend as far as hiking the interior trails of the state
forest. The insects won this round!
Poor Callie received the most attention with flies covering the back
of her head and ears. When we got back to the Scamp, she begged to go
inside, which is very unlike Callie.
That
night, we decided to treat ourselves by going into Two Rivers, where
the Rogers Street Festival and Smelt Fry was going on. I’ve lived in
Wisconsin almost all of my life and have never had smelt. In my world
travels, I’ve eaten eel, assorted raw fish and meat, along with organs
and tendons of questionable origin. Smelt look a lot like minnows or
fish bait. The guts appear to have been removed, but the head and tail
are intact.
Being
Wisconsin, we ate the smelt with deep fried cheese curds and hard
lemonade. I declined the beer choice: Miller Light. My first first
few bites were okay. “A little bit fishy, but not too greasy and not
too crunchy.” After eating about half of my smelt, I wasn’t hungry
anymore. It just felt too much like eating bait.
On Saturday morning, Julia went kayaking, while I finished a book in
the “Last Kingdom” series by Bernard Cornwell. Julia reported that
there were no biting flies off-shore. In the afternoon, we drove up the
coast to Algoma, which had a brewery I was interested in visiting:
Ahnapee Brewing. As we drove into town, we saw that another summer festival was going on: Shanty Days. The streets were packed with people.
Ahnapee Brewing is located in a two car garage on the Von Steihl
Winery property. A classic rock band was playing in the back public
space along the water. We purchased two IPA’s and headed for the lawn.
Faced with this experience or the experience of being eaten by flies in
the state forest, this was an easy choice.
After finishing our beers, we took a walk on Algoma’s boardwalk.
That evening, I made steaks, yellow squash from the home garden, and sauteed mushrooms.
By this time, I forgot all about the biting flies and eating fish bait.
