Wildcat Mountain State Park

We spent three nights recently at Wildcat Mountain State Park in the driftless region of southwestern Wisconsin near the small town of Ontario.  While the glaciers barreled through much of Wisconsin leaving many rounded land forms and lakes, the driftless region features deeply carved river valleys. The Kickapoo River meanders back and forth for 126 miles, nearly meeting itself at times, before entering the Wisconsin River.

We live fairly close to Devil’s Lake State Park, which has more visitors than many national parks.  In the summer, that park is filled with crowds of tourists.  Campgrounds book up quickly, beginning 11 months in advance.  We were looking for a different experience without having to drive more than two hours, and we found that at Wildcat Mountain State Park.  The campground had about half a dozen sites with electric hookups, a bunch more rustic sites without hookups, and more walk-in tent sites.  For all campers, there were flush toilets, hot showers, picnic tables, campfire rings, and a dump station.  We had no trouble getting reservations a few weeks ahead of time, and some non-electric sites were still vacant for those showing up on Saturday night.  We rarely encountered hikers on the trails and never felt crowded.

The longest trail in the park is Old Settler’s Trail (2.5 miles).  It rises up and down steep valleys and crosses several streams.  Hemlock Trail is shorter but climbs to the top of Mount Pisgah ( a big hill).  Most of the Hemlock Trail is in a state-protected natural area and doesn’t allow dogs, although we didn’t see the small sign until after we completed the hike.  Callie said that it didn’t matter because she is part dingo and not really a dog.  The last trail that we hiked in the park was the Ice Cave Trail.  In June, it features a small waterfall.  While I kicked back with a book/nap, Julia went on to kayak for two hours down the Kickapoo.

We then drove through the back-roads of Amish farms and stores, which featured freshly- picked morel mushrooms (only in season this time of year), maple syrup, baked goods, honey, and many other items.  One farm advertised fresh trout, and it turned out that the fish were so fresh, they hadn’t been caught yet.  If you could catch one, the Amish would clean the fish for you as part of the price.

We passed on the trout, but we did scoop up morel mushrooms, maple syrup, and home-made chocolate toffee.

That night we prepared our mushrooms (sauteed with a whole stick of butter), steak, and a spinach salad, washed down with Snappy IPA brewed by the Hillsborough Brewing Company.  Then we enjoyed a campfire and daylight that continued past 9:30 p.m.

On Saturday, it rained off and on, but we found time to drive to the Kickapoo Valley Reserve, which is a beautiful 8,600 acre tract of land between LaFarge and Ontario.  Because the trails were very muddy, we stayed on the paved and gravel portions of the multi-use bike, horse, and hiking trails.  We only saw two people on our hour hike.  One young man was Amish and brave enough to make a friend of Callie.

Saturday afternoon, we drove to the Hillsboro Brewing Company for nachos and tap beer.  Julia had “Treat Yo Self” (unfiltered northeastern IPA, and I had a Contented Cow (milk stout).  I loved the space, but they are moving to a bigger space with more parking.

By Saturday night, the skies had cleared, and we had another long campfire. Even at 10 p.m. the skies were not completely dark. Temp dropped into the 40’s, which made for great sleeping.  We got up early Sunday morning for breakfast and one last hike.

This is not the first time we’ve been to Wildcat Mountain, but it has been many years and far too long since the last time.  Julia liked the area and the Amish vibe so much that we had to check out the real estate listings in LaFarge.  But the good thing about the Brew Hut is that we don’t have to buy real estate or a cabin to enjoy an area.  There are many undiscovered and re-discovered gems, such as Wildcat Mountain.  Having said that, we will be back and hopefully soon.

Where the North Begins

I think Portage, Wisconsin could have done better in choosing a slogan.  As a place, it has quite a history.  Back in the 1670’s, Father Marquette and Joliet were on a search for the Mississippi River by canoe.  They followed Lake Michigan into Green Bay and the Fox River.  At the headwaters of the Fox, they were advised to “portage” a two-mile marshy section to the Wisconsin River.

This is where the City of Portage was eventually established–between the Fox and the Wisconsin Rivers.

I drove up to Portage this morning because I decided to buy a small, quiet inverter generator.  I know, I know.  Generator are evil, noisy things, but there are times during periods of cloudy skies (where solar energy isn’t available) and one is without an electrical hookup…anyway, my plan was to get one at Tractor Supply in Portage.  I had read that Tractor Supply has an old geezer discount on the last Tuesday of every month.  With a 20% discount, I could get a 2000 watt Champion inverter generator that had a rating of less than 60 decibels at 20 feet for less than $400.

Anyone who knows me is aware that I research the heck out of everything and then try to find the very best possible deal possible.  I’m not cheap (I tell myself), just frugal.  Rather than drive straight up to the store and buy the thing, I decided to go on a hike and think it over one last time.  I knew that the Ice Age Trail went along the canal between the Wisconsin and Fox, but didn’t really look at the map to see where it was.  How hard could it be to find it?

Well, Callie and I walked awhile in downtown Portage near the canal and then we walked out Highway 33 and then we walked along the railroad tracks where Hwy 33 left town.  Finally, after walking several miles, we found the trailhead.

The trail looked wet, due to rain and minor flooding.

Now that I knew where it was, I decided to head back to the truck and save the actual hike of the canal segment for another day.  I was ready to buy the generator.  We were off to Tractor Supply Company.

I loaded the generator into my shopping cart, along with some required oil.  As I walked up to the cashier, I casually asked if many people were using the 20% senior discount today. “What senior discount?” the cashier asked.  Uh oh.  She got on the phone and talked to a manager.  It turns out that there is a Tractor Supply Company in Canada that uses the exact same logo.  The Canadian Tractor Supply has a 20% discount but not the American one.

I took the generator back to the shelf and took it as a sign that generators are
evil, noisy things.

Gotcha Day

Today, we are celebrating “Gotcha Day”,  the date we met our daughter Allie in China–twenty-one years ago. As best we can recall, these photos were taken in the Lake Tahoe area when she was still young enough to be carried in the backpack. 

We also celebrated Justin’s 19th birthday on Friday.  Allie was in town.  She will graduate from college in December and has a paid internship with a Fortune 500 company this summer. Justin’s plan for the summer is to continue his education at UW-Whitewater.  Julia’s dad and step-mom have moved into a nice accessible apartment near Madison.  We are starting the process to get their house ready for sale.  Allie received some nice camping equipment in the emptying out process.

Second Annual Art on the Trail

I first wrote about Art on the Trail here

This year, I was out of town when the publicity about the event started.  Someone called Julia with the news that her art was in the Wisconsin State Journal.

I think Julia would readily admit that her art wasn’t the star of last year’s show.  She was one of the artists who installed pop-up art without being asked. 

Because Julia’s piece was made of natural materials and biodegradable, she was allowed to keep it up all year.  Amazingly, it was still recognizable after a hard winter, so the newspaper used Julia’s piece for this year’s pre-event publicity.
When I returned from my trip south, I hiked each of the local Ice Age segments and took some photos.  There is a lot more art this year.  Here are some examples:

Here is Julia’s piece for this year. She didn’t have much time to put it together, but I still enjoy it.

I’m not a purist like the commentator in the “trash” piece in one of the photos above, but I think that there is a lot of art to be found in nature “as is.”

 

 

Pikes Peak State Park

No, not that Pike’s Peak.  This state park is in Iowa across the Mississippi River from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.  It is located on a high point in Iowa, but not exactly a 14,0000 foot mountain.

What drew me here was the cheap price of camping, compared to a similar high spot on the same river in Wisconsin. There is no admission fee to Pikes Peak, and the camping was only $16/night with electric hookups.  But the amazing thing about my visit to Pikes Peak State Park is that it coincided with a fiberglass camper rally, which I had no idea was happening before I arrived at the campground.

That’s me on the left side, still hooked-up to the truck for a quick getaway to home after a social evening.   Everyone was very nice, especially since I dropped in on their activities without registering beforehand.  Even though the official tours didn’t happen until later, several people showed me their “eggs.”
The biggest egg was this 1988 Bigfoot Silver Cloud, affectionately nicknamed the “egg carton.”

You know it’s still an egg because of the belly band dividing the fiberglass top mold from the fiberglass bottom mold.  “It’s got rooms,” exclaimed the owner.
At the other end of the spectrum were the 13′ footers. The one below is unusual in that  it doesn’t have a belly band.  Made by U-haul (not for many years) the molds run from top to bottom.

Escape Trailers were well-represented, considering they are made and sold in the Vancouver, Canada area.  This was the original trailer that I wanted to buy.  I still like them a lot, but you learn to love (and hate) the trailer you’re with. There were also a bunch of Scamps and a couple of Casitas.

The weather was cold.  I ended up wearing two fleece pullovers and my jacket.  Temps fell into the 30’s, and I let my electric heater run overnight to take the chill off.

Callie and I still had time to check out the trails and views.  We did get a little lost following a ridgeline trail that turned into a steep descent and eventually a game trail.  I think we were supposed to stop at the bluff before heading down. It was slick and steep enough that I had trouble on the way down.  Going back up, I took Callie’s lead and used all four paws (hands and feet).

We were up early the next morning, dumped tanks, and headed home.  I had a great trip, but it will be good to be home for awhile. There’s a bunch of family stuff going on.  Julia’s dad and stepmom are moving into a new, more accessible apartment.  Julia  got a new Subaru and sold her old Subaru to my daughter Allie.  And spring has finally come to Wisconsin.

Amana, Iowa

I stayed at the Amana RV Park and Event Center for two nights for two reasons.  First, it was a convenient base from which to visit my parents in Cedar Rapids.  Second, It was cheap ($18/night) with my Passport America discount card.  However, I probably wouldn’t stay there again.

The campground is a huge, flat Iowa field with many campsites laid out on a grid of gravel roads.  There were some amenities.  I did laundry.  I took advantage of the flush toilets. I took a couple of showers.  There were three showers in the men’s bathroom:  one was out of order, and another only had cold water.  I gave up being politically correct and took a quick, hot shower in the accessible stall on my last day.

I had a nice visit with my parents  We visited the newish Cedar Rapids City Market and also the Czech Museum.  I didn’t know it before, but I’m apparently part Czech on my Dad’s side.

One night, I dined on sauerbrauten at one of Amana’s German restaurants.  It was very flavorful, although it seemed a little mushy to me–just on the wrong side of tender.  Maybe that’s just because of the lengthy marination time.  I had a dunkel beer, which is a dark lager.  It confirmed for me that I like hoppy ales better than mild lagers.

After about a six-week trip, I’m almost home and will camp at Pike’s Peak State Park on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River for my last stop.  Callie and I are both ready to do some hiking, and the state park should have some good trails.