Up Nort

We have a friend who is also a casual biking enthusiast who has been telling me for a number of years about how good the biking is in Vilas County, Wisconsin. He even went so far as to pick up a brochure, when he was in the area recently for business, and brought it to us. So, since we were looking for a short, relaxing trip, that also included a fun bike ride, we decided to go check it out.  I did a little research, we picked a date, and we made a reservation.  

Then, on the appointed day, we loaded the bikes and everything else into the car and took off!

This was only going to be an overnight trip but even at that, a bike ride was not going to fill all the time. So our research included things to see in the area.  The first stop we made was in Woodruff, to see what was billed as the "World's Largest Penny".  It has an interesting story behind it. Back in 1952 a local doctor had a dream of having a hospital so a teacher at the local school organized a fund raiser, collecting pennies, to help build the hospital. In just 107 days. over 1,700,000  pennies were collected from all over the world. The hospital was built, and because the pennies continued to flow in for a while, a scholarship fund was also established.  To commemorate the accomplishment, a concrete penny was put up as a monument to the event.  Since it was there, we had to stop and see it.

And since it was about lunch time, we also stopped at a local restaurant and had lunch.  It was yummy.

Then it was on to where we were staying for the trip.  Despite the fact that the main industry in northern Wisconsin is tourism, our favorite motel chain didn't have a motel in the city we decided to stay in so we rented an Airbnb in St Germain to stay at.  You're always taking a bit of a chance to do that, but this place turned out to be very nice.  We would stay there again if we were visiting the area again.

After checking in, we went right away to the point on the trail we had decided to do our ride.  The trail's name is The Heart of Vilas County Trail.  It is a 50 mile trail that runs from Mercer, through Manitowish Waters, Boulder Junction, St Germain (where we were staying), and on to Sayner.  It runs along one road or another for that whole distance, sometimes right next to the road, sometimes off through the trees a little ways away from the road. And it's paved the whole way. Sweet!

Along that way there are way stations, parking lots with restrooms, benches, picnic tables, maps, and what they called "fixation stations", where adjustments and minor repairs could be done, and air pumps were available if needed.  This trail caters to bike riders.  Pretty nice. Our ride was planned to be from one way station to the next, about six miles, at which point we would turn around and come back, a total of about 12 miles. The spot we were beginning at was called the North Creek Loop trail.

So we got to the way station, unloaded the bikes, and took off!

During our ride we crossed a number of bridges.  There are a lot of lakes and rivers in this county. It was a very nice ride.

An added bonus was the fall colors were a little more advanced in this area than they were at home.  Not yet as far along as peak, but still very nice.  

The one thing I have always found difficult is telling what the terrain is along any given trail before actually going there. And so it was with this trail also.  We started a little west of Boulder Junction and planned to go west toward Manitowish Waters. The best description I had been able to find was that it was "mostly flat". But in actually getting there and riding on it, we found that the further west we went, the more significant the hills got.  It finally reached the  point where the hills were too much, they were wearing us out.  So we turned around a couple of miles earlier than originally planned, at about four miles.  As we were on the way back we found that once again, even though it had looked like it was level or even downhill one the way out, it had actually been a little uphill the first part of the ride.  That made the return trip easier than we had been expecting.  That was nice. All in all, it was a very nice ride.  A little shorter than planned but still very nice, a very nice ride.  I'd be willing to go back another time and try a different stretch.

The way back to St Germain included going by "Marty the Musky", a giant fish located by the Boulder Junction Chamber of Commerce.  Of course we had to stop for a picture.  Then it was back to St Germain, where we got some supper and took it back to the Airbnb to enjoy a quiet evening, resting up from the ride (read: hills) we had just finished.  We had the TV on to an old movie, Heaven Can Wait, released in 1943.  It was entertaining, although not quite what we were expecting when we chose to turn it on.  We had thought it would be an earlier version of the 1978 movie staring Warren Beatty.  But it was still good. And an interesting way to end a very nice day.

Check out time was 10:00am so the next morning we were up, breakfasted, and out in time to make the deadline.  The plan today was to find Rustic Road 60 and drive from one end to the other.  

To be designated as a rustic road in Wisconsin, a road needs to be lightly traveled, have outstanding natural features, and be available to the public for travel by auto, bike, or walking, for recreational enjoyment.  We have found them to be quite enjoyable. There are currently 126 rustic roads scattered around the state but only one in Vilas County, Rustic Road number 60.

We found the beginning at the intersection of County Road K and County Road N, northeast of Sayner, WI.  We hadn't gone far when we came across an old mill site on Star Lake.

There's nothing was left of the mill except the sign at the turn-off. But was a small, nice little park, Centennial Park.  It was a very tranquil place to view the lake and enjoy the woods. 

We spent a while enjoying the lake and woods, a very clear lake.  We had the place pretty much to ourselves.

After leaving the park, we continued along the road, enjoying the forest and colors. The arrival of fall colors is a variable thing from year to year.  This year we were just seeing the beginnings of it this far north.  This would have been a glorious drive in a couple more weeks.  But even now, with the colors just off to a good start, it was beautiful.

All too soon, we came to the end of the road and it was time to be on our way.

On our way out we stopped at the Vilas County Historical Museum in Sayner to get a photo of Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe.  We had driven past it several times on this trip so we had to stop and get a picture.

Then it was back to St Germain to a little shop called Cathy's Ice Cream N Candy Shoppe.  They had some interesting rocks outside.

And, of course, we had to have some ice cream.  Some yummy flavors.  We also got some fudge and taffy.  Nice stuff.  

This was a short trip but it was very relaxing, which is what we were looking for.  Got in a bike ride on a trail that was every bit as good as we were told. Saw some sights, enjoyed each others company, and had a good time.  Nothing could be finer.

Another Annual Chore

Every fall, as sure as the seasons change, the trees drop their leaves. And every year we need to rake them up.  But it can be fun, with the right help. We were afraid we might miss the pick-up this year because we had been out of town.  And then, just before we got back, it rained.  Hard to rake wet leaves.  But it's also hard to pick up wet leaves so the city took a break mid-way through the pick-up.  That gave us enough time to get out there and get ready.

And this year we had some good helpers, willing helpers.

Especially when we let them use some of the "toys" we were using.

Then again, others were just having a good time playing in the leaves.

We had to get a new leaf blower this year because the old one, which was pretty old, refused to do anything when we got it all plugged in and turned it on.  So we quick ran to the store and got another one.  And the kids where more than happy to help test it.  You know, just to make sure it was working. Yeah.

With the lawn sweeper, the leaf blower, and some rakes, we had it well under control.

One of the things we grabbed while at the store was a pint sized rake.  That one was a hit.

Lots to check out while cleaning up the leaves.  We have an oak tree just to the side of where these boys were standing.  They were checking out acorns, the fun little nuts with the cute little caps.

Pretty soon we had all the leaves in front moved out to the street.

With all the help it didn't take very long to have all the leaves neatly raked into a nice, tidy row along the street.  All ready for the city to come scoop them up.

And none too soon.  The day after we got them all raked out to the street, the city came by and picked them all up.  It's a pretty cool operation they use, a truck with a big vacuum. They don't even have to get out of the truck to do it.  Pretty slick.  And, with that, the annual chore was once again done.

Autumn Leaves

We have several trees in our yard, as do a lot of people in the community in which we live.  Enough so that the city is nice enough to go around all the residential neighborhoods twice a year and collect the leaves and tree branches from pruning.  All the residents have to do is pile them all neatly out by the curb.  The city does this in two rounds, once for leaves, garden clippings, and grass clippings and again for the branches and such "brush".  It's a very nice and convenient service but it does create a bit of a contest every year; will the trees drop all their leaves in time for us to get them raked and piled at the curb in time for the pick up?  Some years we get help from various kids and grandkids, other years we end up doing it by ourselves. Because we have several trees in our yard, one of which holds a bazillion leaves, getting them all raked can be a bit of work. It's an annual ritual.  But the backyard is not as urgent because we just rake those leaves into the garden space.  We can do that at our convenience.  It's the front yard where we race to get what leaves fall done in time for the pick-up.

We have one tree that is the major contributor, it holds lots and lots of leaves.

It's also tall so its leaves fall all over the whole front yard.

But the nice thing about this year was that by the time the weather dried out enough that we could rake, that big tree had lost most of its leaves.  And the city still hadn't been by.  So we got out there and got busy.  Took us a couple of hours but we got all the front lawn done, all the leaves out to the curb.

This morning the city finally came by.  I had to wonder if they had moved the date back because of the wet weather we'd had.  The pick up date had been moved back twice, if they had stuck with the first date we'd have missed it.

As it was, we got it all done.  So now the leaves in front are gone and the front yard is ready for winter.  It's always nice to have it all done and the leaves gone.  I like that.

Fall Foliage

We usually try to get to somewhere around us, a day trip, each fall to take in the fall colors.  We're blessed to live in a place that has four distinct seasons, the prettiest of which is the fall with all the marvelous colors.  This year, however, we ended up going out of town just as the colors were starting to turn; we were unable to make a day trip to see colors.  But on our way back home through some mountains out west, we got to see some spectacular colors anyway.  

Our trips out west are usually to the Intermountain West.  Lots of mountain areas, covered with trees.

The trees are a different kind, since the elevation, up in the mountains, is 7,000 - 10,000 feet and higher. Quite a bit higher than the 1,000 feet above sea level of the Mid-West.

That means different kinds of trees, different colors.  But still very beautiful.

Throw in the vistas afforded by being up in thee mountains, and you get some very nice scenery.

The colors didn't seem to us to be quite as bright and vibrant as at home, but in their own way, still very beautiful.

The roads usually run near the rivers, which are winding their way down out of the mountains.

All in all, it was a very nice drive home while we were up in the mountains.

These photos were taken in northern Utah and western Wyoming.  We went, among other places, through Jackson, Wyoming and passed the Grand Teton Mountains.  Some very beautiful area.  We made it through some pretty high mountain passes and got to see some spectacular mountain views, made all the more pretty by the colorful fall leaves.  It was a very nice drive for the time we were up in the  mountains.  A nice day trip in any case.

A Nice Day Trip

Brombeere has been working on a quilt for one of her daughters for the last while.  They have been talking a lot about the material and pattern and so it came to the point where Brombeere needed some very specific fabric to move forward with the quilt. She had checked the local fabric shops she normally shops at but hadn't found what she was looking for. So she checked a couple of shops near by she doesn't normally shop at but still hadn't found what she wanted.  But, in talking about what she was looking for with one of the people at one of the shops, she learned of a little store quite a ways away that specialized in the kind of fabric she was looking for.  So she called them and described what she wanted and they said they had some that would probably work.  So off we went, across the state to see if it actually would work.

But I digress.  This isn't about quilting today.  It turned out that this little shop is near a state park we've been thinking about visiting.  So we decided that since we were going to be so close, we'd make the trip to the park while we were there.

I had looked at this park online previously and studied the maps enough to see that there were some nice looking trails through the park.  I had actually thought it might be fun to take our bikes to the park and ride around, which is the best way for me to explore places like this.  These were designated, maintained trails through the park but still, you can only tell so much from maps.  One of the things we learned from our visit is that some of the trails are paved and would be good to ride on, but most were not.  Some were pretty narrow and would be difficult to ride on a recumbent.  Good to know.

We also learned that there were a number of hills throughout the park.  Hills make pretty scenery but they can be difficult on a bike, for me, at least.

Not real bad hills, but enough to make it a challenging place to ride here and there.  Still, while we were there we saw an older lady riding a two-wheeled recumbent around the park. If she can do it so can we. 

Driving and walking through the park that day we found it a very restful, peaceful place. We were there on a weekday, and its getting late in the season so there weren't many people camping; there were two camping areas and one of them was completely empty.  We didn't see anyone picnicking.  

Lots of flowers, and the leaves were just beginning to turn.  Brombeere even found a wild berry plant with mature, albeit small fruit on it.  It was very tart, but good.  Yum, wild berries.

So we spent a little time driving, walking, and looking through the park, enjoying the quite scenery.  A very restful way to spend a couple of hours.  And the good news was that the fabric Brombeere was looking for, that we traveled so far to find? Yes, the little shop had some that she felt would work wonderfully.  In fact, Brombeere, said she definitely would be back next time she was working on a bigger quilt that called for a wide piece of fabric.  A good trip all around!

A Most Wonderful Time of the Year

This has been a good year for biking, we have gotten out a lot.  But the best time of the year is the fall.  Riding through the fall colors as the leaves turn is absolutely beautiful.

One thing I really like about the state we live in as that there are four distinct seasons.  A lot of places don't have that, and some kind of have that, but around here, fall is markedly set off from the summer and winter and the fall leaves can be stunning.

Something I particularly like about where we live is that it is a very bike friendly community.  There are bike lanes on a lot of the roads and there are trails through the forests that get you right out in the trees.  That makes biking, or walking if that's what you choose to do, real nice.

So I like to get out on my bike and especially so in the fall.

The trails are my favorite but even riding on the city streets is nice because wooded lots are real popular around here which means much of the streets are still through wooded areas and get lots of color when the leaves turn in the fall.

The trails are very well maintained and go through some very nice areas, even though sometimes the fallen leaves get so thick on the trails it gets hard to tell where the trail is.

There are also plenty of rivers and lakes to make the area real attractive.

It's not unusual at all to see deer while out riding.  Many of the deer are tame enough that they usually don't mind if you ride by.  It's sometimes easy to get photos if you don't make any sudden moves.

So we get out on the bikes, in the woods, as often as we're able.  

But especially this time of year.  The weather has begun to cool off and with the leaves turning, its my favorite time of year to get out.  Right now we're pretty much at peak color, the best time, the most wonderful time.