I was only home for a few days/—long enough to restock and hit the road again—sólo this time. My original plan was to head west to Wyoming and South Dakota, but the heat, crowds, and long days of driving gave me second thoughts.
Instead, I’m still planning a longer trip but closer to home and with longer stays. Tonight I’m camped about 30 minutes south of La Crosse, Wi, a stone’s throw away from the Mississippi River.
Some stormy weather is on its way, but it’s a great summer day for now.
Yesterday, we hiked with our friends, Dave and Ruth, to Hidden Creek Falls near Cornucopia, Wisconsin.
Dave and Ruth have obligations today getting ready for their son’s wedding on Saturday. Julia and I headed south to Copper Falls State Park.
This was a short “absolutely no dogs”trail. Callie was left behind in the pet picnic area. Temps were cool enough to leave her inside the truck, but she was mad. We made it up to her at “Dogs Allowed” Red Granite Falls.”
This was a delightful spot.
On the western edge of Ashland, there is a very small city-owned campground that is almost always full. My morning walks with Callie take me through this park’s lovely trails.
Just off the trail are ponds fed by artesian springs.
It is so quiet and peaceful. Living in the present can be a challenge—but not here.
I’ve been exercising Callie on the rails to trails system in the small city of Ashland. Downtown, there’s an original opera house, being renovated into $400k condos.
I’m not a real estate expert, but I wonder who can afford these. This is not particularly an affluent town. If it was, I suspect that the opera house would not have been allowed to fall into such disrepair.
Just outside of town is a cabin.
Interesting.
I’m camped along the shores of Lake Superior at Wisconsin’s northern edge. I have a reason to be here in another week: the wedding celebration of a friend’s son and his bride. The bride’s family lives on an area farm.
My reason for being here early, ostensibly, is to make sure we have a campsite with air conditioning when we have to leave Callie here all day on the celebration day. It’s been hot in Wisconsin, even here in the far north, although the high will not hit 70 today.
My first view of the campground entrance was forboding. I decided to take a spin around and found one empty site. I quickly backed in. Before I unhitched, the friendly host was in my driveway and confirmed that it was my lucky day. Someone had just left, and this was the only site available.
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| Feeling Claustrophobic? |
However, the host continued with even better news. Your luck will be even better tomorrow. Hang around in the morning, and there will be a better spot if you don’t mind moving quickly. All sites here are first come, first serve.
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| Much better |
I’m here for a couple of weeks, enjoying breezes and cooler temperatures from Lake Superior.
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| Geese in early morning mist |
The river is very low, compared to times we’ve camped here in the past.
Julia took advantage of winds blowing upstream and spent some time in her inflatable kayak. She had to get out (and get wet) to get past the sandbars.
Callie is a fan of the river. I keep her leashed to avoid “exploring the other side” issues.
We ended the day at the Mississippi Brewing Company. The server started off with, “Don’t ask me about the beer because I don’t know anything about beer.”
Not a problem, I thought, ordering a milk stout from a Davenport brewery. Mississippi Brewing does not brew beer—just selling beers made elsewhere. My milk stout turned out to be a coffee-infused beer that barely had enough body to taste like a porter—nothing like a milk stout. I was tempted to pour it down the drain of the very cool keg fountain above. Of course, being frugal, I choked it down. Blech!
Next up. Heading north!
This interesting rig was in our campground last night. The trailer appears to be a prototype from a California start-up company.
