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Starkweather Beer Company

 When I moved back to Madison to attend law school in 1987, we moved to a crappy little apartment near the banks of Starkweather Creek on the unfashionable east side.  Today, the east side is booming, and one of the newer brewpubs is called Starkweather Beer Company. It was Saint Pat's Day.  While Guinness is a decent light-bodied stout, I opted for Starkweather's dry Irish Stout, named "Jamestown Jackdaw." Coming in at 5.9 ABV, it had a malty chewable backbone.  It's a new favorite stout for me.  Julia had Late Winter Haze, a New England IPA that didn't have as much fruitiness as she likes in a hazy.  It was still well-executed. We walked down the street to the Harmony Bar, where Julia enjoyed a complete corn beef and cabbage dinner.  I opted for the Reuben sandwich.  Mine was washed down with an Edmund Fitzgerald porter from Great Lakes Brewing.  Julia enjoyed her Chaos Pattern IPA from 3 Sheeps Brewing.  Both are great beers. Justin update:   After a long h

Chippewa Recreation Area

Last week, I ran away from home to the forest--specifically, the Chippewa Recreation Area located within the Nicolet-Chequamegon National Forest.

Close to Perfect

My first night was not perfect.  Allie was having a slumber party on our property with two of her closest friends, so I got the heck out of town on a Saturday night without any reservations.  I called the Walmart in Medford, Wisconsin and was told that I could overnight park.

However, once I arrived, I was told that I couldn't park in the customers' lot.  Instead, I should park in the back where the trucks unload.  There was a sign with good news and bad news.  It said that trucks were not permitted to unload from 10 pm to 7 am.    It also said there was no overnight parking by order of the Medford Police Department.  I went to the front desk again and was told that no one pays any attention to that sign.  

That advice was on the money.  I slept undisturbed until 4 a.m. when the first truck blasted through right next to my window while making a 180 turn before backing loudly into the loading dock.  After the first truck, more trucks rapidly arrived and carried out the same tight turn.  

I was out of there at first light and on my way further north. About 30 minutes before I arrived at my destination, deer started crossing the road just in front of me.  After that happened, I was on high-alert for what took place next.  A large black bear crossed the road just ahead of me.  There was no danger of a collision, but I got a very close look at the bear and a chance to observe how fast a bear's burst is.  No one is going to outrun a black bear with that kind of burst.  Fortunately, they are almost always running away from humans, not towards them. 

On my way into the campground, I passed a large pop-up camper, and I wondered if they had vacated a good campsite.  No worries.  Even early on Sunday morning, there were ample campsites, and I chose the best, least expensive one.  Premium sites on the lake are $18; standards sites are $15.  Visually, my site was also on the lake, but there was a small common day use area directly behind my site, so it was classified at the lower rate (site S18).  

No electricity or sun for solar, but they do have hot showers for a buck, flush toilets,  water, garbage and a dump station.

Site S18



 

Day Use Area behind my campsite

At sunset, the loons and sandhill cranes bragged in song about how wonderful it is to be in nature.


I spent 6 nights here.  I'll break down the trip into another post or two to include a couple of the side trips that I made using this campsite as a base. The only thing I didn't have was decent internet service. 


Comments

Bill said…
Looks like Callie is never wanting for a comfortable spot.
John said…
She is a spoiled heeler.
MFH said…
Nice post. ALMOST, except for all those TREES, makes me envious!
greg said…
Looks like it was a great break from everything.

This morning the weatherman here hinted that today may be our last 100+ degree day of the year. Time for me to start booking campsites!
John said…
I miss the wide skies of the west. I was thinking about the South Dakota Badlands all summer. Northern Wisconsin is beautiful but in a very different way.
John said…
48 degrees here for this morning's walk. Fall is definitely coming.
Croft said…
I love these heavily treed campsites for the early sounds of nature they produce but the lack of sunlight does limit our stay.
John said…
Winter can be very silent in these woods, but there sure is a lot going on this time of year.

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