Since we are meeting my “donut” brother, 1st stop I had to get a maple glazed!
Meow Wolf
Before we got started, we had the unique opportunity to work for our son-in-law, Scotty, who was doing a production for Meow Wolf in downtown Denver. Ty worked as a “runner” for 8 days which was exhausting work for 10 hours a day for an “old” man and I was the Staff Check-In Manager for 4 days (not so exhausting, but it was HOT sitting in tent in 90plus degrees. But we LOVED every minute of it. Fun to see what Scotty does and manages – taking a real junkyard and cleaning it up, putting up stages, porta pots, water stations, food/beverage stations, vip tents. You name it, that is what Scotty is doing. It is one hell of a big job! And Amy does the decorating of the VIP tents (2) which is no easy task. Event lasted 4 days, sold out at 7000 tickets. Not our kind of venue, but hey, just fun to be there.
Mice – Yikes!
We still can’t hit the road yet as when we pulled Wanda out of storage and oh my , did we ever have the mice!!! I had gotten rid of all the pantry food, but the mice decided that toilet paper, napkins, anything in cellophane would make a great nest. They even brought in dirt pellets and made them a nest out of them. So we took everything out of Wanda, dishes, silverware, pillows, blankets, rugs, clothes and really just everything and washed it all. What a job, took us days plus laying of traps to get rid of the little buggers. When we finally began to travel, a couple of little guys came along and were probably wondering “where in the heck am I?”. We trapped them all and by the time we got to LaCrosse WI we only had 1 left and “it” was a goner by that evening; but not before his last meal was potatoes flakes.
First Stop – Lincoln NE State Capital
Lincoln was one of the Covid drive-by capitals, so we thought best to take advantage while we were in the neighborhood and get a tour. It is one of the rare capital buildings that does not have a dome, rather it is a very tall sphere. Inside was gorgeous with all the mosaic and ceramic tile, and granite. Nicely done.
Meet Up with Bro and Bride
Time to travel with brother Will and bride, Pam, and it was decided since time is short to do a little of Wisconsin, and bits of Minnesota. We met in LaCrosse
LaCrosse being first stop, we took in the sites of the river and toured a very well-done Owl Refuge. Great lecture – made us get rid of the mouse poison we had.
Red Wing was up next – nothing much to do there but enjoy the cute town and people.
Lake Elmo, right outside of St. Paul; another capital tour that turned out to be a repeat. Oh well, it was all new to us until we got to climb up 65 stairs to view those statues on the top that look really small from the ground but are really really big!
Duluth, although another repeat, caught our attention because we had missed the Lift Bridge, had to see that! Stayed in Amnicon at The Backyard Bar and RV Camp – a great overnight. This Lift Bridge is one of 2 (Chicago being the other) that have a Lift Bridge. This is a roadway that actually lifts 150 ft up as oppose to having a drawbridge that lets the boats continue in in the waterway. Amazing site!
Well then, we will be flexible
For the first time we ran into not being able to get into any campgrounds without having a reservation months in advance. We had planned to do the north shore of Lake Superior, but not to be. Instead, we headed for:
Ashland WI, which is a whole vacation spot in itself, could spend weeks here! Ashland is just a darling of a town, and they are proud of it. There are murals that covered the whole side of buildings depicting the townsfolk and life in town. Managed to grab a camp site in the Krehner County Park right on Lake Superior. This was home base to travel up to the Apostle Islands which are roughed and beautiful. Boat tour, hiking, waterfalls and lighthouses.
Mushrooms are abundant
Yooper Michigan Here We Come
Moving on we crossed over into the Upper Peninsula via Hwy 2. Ride was rough coming out of WI but once we hit the MI line it smoothed out. First stop was Marquette and Presque Isle. Great biking in this area, spent day on the beach and of course white fish sandwiches (I will probably come down with lead poisoning from all the white fish I am eating). Lots of iron ore still comes out of the UP and in Marquette we saw the Ore Loading Docks. The one in pic is no longer in operation, but there is a working one in Presque Isle. The docks were built so the lake freighters could pull right under them and the rail cars on top and the ore is dumped into chutes which then dumps into the ship.
What is the UP really known for?
We wouldn’t be true to the UP if we didn’t stop and buy some Yooper Pasties – meat and rutabaga kind.
Next month it all Pure Michigan!
Hi Kids, thanks for sharing your adventures….it was so good to have some one on one time with Jane….it is always like we just saw each other….you look fabulous – we age with beauty – inside and out….looking forward to see ing you on Oct 1….safe travels hugs and love dianne