Up Nort

We have often thought it would be fun to take a tour of the north part of Wisconsin and see some of the waterfalls that are up there, there actually are quite a few.  So when Heidlebeere said she was thinking of coming out for a visit we decided to use the state's waterfalls to lure her here.  And guess what? It worked!  She used some of the birthday money she got recently and came for a visit! So we did it!

Our first stop was in Thorpe.  We pass there every time we got to the temple and sometimes stop there for a rest stop.  There is a purple cow there that we see each time so this time we stopped to get a picture.  A quick, fun stop to start off with.  Then we made the long drive up the west side of the state toward the top to begin our tour.

The next stop, the first stop actually, was in Pattison State Park.  The biggest water fall in the state is located within the park, Big Manitou Falls.  Being in a state park, it's easily accessible, with nice trails and all. 

So we hiked the short distance through the woods to the falls and got to see it.

This was a good time to go looking at waterfalls, it had been raining for a couple of days so they had plenty of water.  The falls is on the Black River and the view area for this waterfall is back a ways, so you can take in the whole falls, top to bottom.  It makes for an impressive view, the falls is 165 foot drop and is was quite the sight.  

Within the same state park, a little farther along the Black River, is another waterfall we wanted to see, the Little Manitou Falls. This one is a bit smaller, it drops only 30 feet. Maybe it was because the river's level was down a little, but it looked like a bigger drop than 30 feet. 

There was a trail open so you could hike around to the top of the falls, which, of course, Heidlebeere and Brombeere decided to try.  The above photo gives some perspective, with Heidlebeere and Brombeere sitting at the top of the falls.

Within the park there was yet another, smaller waterfall.  I don't know if it had an "official" name, there was no sign.  But it was still a pretty little falls.  Pattison State Park is a popular state park, obviously well visited, but it was still impressive to see all these water works.

It isn't a waterfall, but Heidlebeere was saying on our way to Pattison State Park, that she'd never been to Lake Superior.  Neither had Brombeere nor I.  So we decided to go slightly out of our way and make a stop there.  

Lake Superior is the second largest of the Great Lakes and, like all the great lakes, tends to be a little colder than smaller, more inland lakes.  It is certainly big enough that you can't see the other side.

The place we decided to go to is called Wisconsin Point, just north of the City of Superior.  Wisconsin Point is a large sandbar at the far west end of Lake Superior, about 3.5 miles long.  As we drove west, out the length of Wisconsin Point, there are several viewpoints where you could stop.

We went clear to the end.  Lots of beach, lots of sand, lots of water.

We went clear to the end because there is a cool lighthouse out there.  We spent a while there, playing in the surf and enjoying the water, long enough for a certain someone to slip on a wet rock and fall in the water.  Fortunately, no damage was done.  We took a few minutes so clothes could be discreetly changed and then we were off again.

The next stop we had planned was at Amnicon State Park.  There was one waterfall in particular that drew us to Amnicon State Park, but there are actually several falls within the park.  When we looked on the map of the park, there are four waterfalls shown.  But there are actually more than that within the park.

Along the trails to the different falls there are also a couple of foot bridges

and a covered bridge.  Like the other falls we'd seen, these also involved some hiking through the woods along some trails.

Some pretty nice looking falls.

The one we wanted to see was called Snake Pit Falls, the river fell down into a little hole before going on its way down the Amnicon River.  

These were bigger falls, as well as some smaller falls, but they all were beautiful

All surrounded by lots of green, pretty forest.

And then there was the tromping around at each waterfall we did.  Some let you walk right up to the falls, others did not.  Either way, though, they were fascinating.  

The last waterfall for the first day was Potato River Falls, outside the little village of Gurney, WI.  It was in a county park.  The information I had found in advance of our visit said that the staircase down to the viewing platform had 284 steps.  That's a lot.  Easy enough going down, a little more work getting back up.  

But we all made it.  By this time, it was getting a little late into the day, into the "golden hour," when the light gets real nice, coming in more from the side than from straight down from up in the sky.

It made the lights and shadows look real beautiful, a nice view of the falls.

We took in the falls from the viewing platform.  It was nice, we were the only ones there.

Then it was time to make the long hike back up the stairs.

After we saw the falls we went on into Iron River, WI to have dinner.  We hadn't planned out anywhere, we just took our chance on a little place we found in town.  

It actually turned out real nice; good food, good service, a good time. A good choice.

Then we went on to Ironwood, MI, just over the state line into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where we had reservations and spent the night.

The next stop was not a waterfall, it was the headwaters of the Wisconsin River. The river flows out of a lake called Lac Vieux Desert near Phelps, WI

There was a parking area and sign, with  little foot bridge over the river.

Then there's a trail through the woods back to the lake.

It's actually a very pretty lake.  There were several little boats with people out fishing on the lake.

At the end of the trail is a little park and a historical marker just a few yards from where the river flows out of the lake.

At the mouth of the river is a little dam structure.  Made me wonder if it's possible to stop the mighty Wisconsin River by closing the spillway right there at the beginning.  Not likely, though.  I suppose there are enough other little streams and rivers that join in that closing the spillway would just move the beginning down river a ways.

At any rate, the Wisconsin River starts out pretty small as it begins its 430 mile journey towards where it joins the Mississippi River near Prairie du Chien, WI.

We'd had to drive some 72 miles to get to the Lac Vieux Desert and once we were done there we had to drive another 87 miles to the next waterfall so, along the way, we stopped in Iron Mountain, MI for lunch.

We had lunch at a nice little restaurant. 

And then went to a little ice cream place down the street for dessert.  Of Course.  Ice Cream.  Of Course.

The next stop was Long Slide Falls, outside of Niagra, WI.  This was in a county park, with much less developed facilities.  Like the trail.  

The trail was steep and very rugged.  It looked like it had not had the benefit of any improvement at all, just the wear of all the feet hiking to the falls.

But the falls were really nice.  The trail actually went to the bottom of the falls, and the Pemebonwon River running away from the falls.  

Near by is Smalley Falls, also on the Pemebonwon River.  This river, a tributary of the Menominee River, is only  six miles long, but the two falls on it are impressive.

Another "photo op" at the bottom of the falls.

Smalley Falls is less steep and doesn't drop as much as Long Slide Falls, but it's still a nice view.

The last water fall we visited was the Pemene Falls, which is right on the Menominee River, which, in this stretch, runs right along the state line between Michigan and Wisconsin.  Or maybe its the state line that runs along the river.

We approached the falls from the Michigan side of the river, which was a little easier.  There were some improved trails on this side.

Some steps had been added.  The steps were nice, where they had been added, and there were fewer than we had done the night before at the Potato River Falls.  That was good because my legs remembered right away all those steps from the evening before.  Unfortunately, the steps were the only improvement that had been done to the trail so there were still some steep stuff to navigate to get clear down to the falls.

We knew this waterfall was a little less spectacular than any of the other we had seen.  At one place I had checked, they had been described more as rapids than a waterfall.  Still it was a fun visit.

As we were hiking down the trail we saw a guy right down by the water so, of course, Heidlebeere had to figure out how to get down to where he was.  And she did, so she climbed onto the rocks clear out in the middle of the falls.

The Menominee River, flowing on from the falls, actually turns into a very picturesque river, almost pastoral.

It was pretty wide but very calm.  It was a very pretty scene.

And that was the trip, once we were done at Pemene Falls there was nothing left but the long trip back home.  Only it was down the east side of the state this time.  This was a very fun trip.  I can really see now why everyone is so fascinated with the "Northland", with going "up north."  It was mile after mile of forest land.  It was easy to imagine this is what the whole state must have looked like back before it was settled.  We made stops at five waterfalls and saw more than that because some of the locations had more than one.  Even at that, though, there are still many other waterfalls around the state, we just scratched the surface.  We just might have to pick some more and go again.  It was a good time.

Dem Pigs

 We have several games at our house that we've collected over the years.  When the kids come by sometimes we'll get one or two out and play them for a while, it's fun.  We have one that we've had for quite some time that is an old favorite.  The game has been around for a while and there are several versions out there.  Ours is called Pig Mania.

Out of curiosity, the other day we looked to see what the game sells for.  Himbeere's friend had never played it before and liked it enough that she thought about them getting the game.  We were surprised to learn that the original game, introduced in 1977, can sell for over $175 if it's in good shape and all the pieces are there.  Alas, ours is not in that good a shape.  We were never in it as collectors, we were just looking for a fun game.

Way back then, when we bought a new game we would often write the date, name, and score of the winner of the first game in the lid to the box.  Then we'd sometimes write each time someone got a new high score.  The first game in our box lid was played December 31, 1984.  I won with a high score of 135, the first one to 100 wins.  

Instead of dice, there are two little pigs that are "rolled".  The different ways the pigs land are worth different points.  There are several versions of the game and several versions to the rules.  It's a fun game, surprisingly suspenseful as you can keep rolling to build up your score as long as you want, or until you roll a "pig out" and lose all the points you may have accumulated in that turn.

We've played this with Himbeere and his friend the last several times they've come over, we all like it.

"Snouters" are less common and worth more.

"Razor backs" are pretty common and worth less.

Yeah, razor backs are pretty common.

"Double razor back" are fun.

"Leaning jowlers" are pretty rare and worth the most, until you start getting into the "mixed combos" that are worth the combined score of whatever the combination might be.  When we play with Himbeere whoever gets to 100 first wins but we usually have everyone else keep going to 100 and see who gets the highest score as well.  That's fun.

Everyone's courage usually begins to wane once you've scored 20 or more points, that begins to feel like a lot of points to lose if you roll a pig out, which happens more than you'd think.  It's a fun game, a good time.