Bo's Journal 37 A wisp of Wisconsin

We turned our wheels eastward through Duluth and Superior into Wisconsin for the scenic drive up the southern coast of Lake Superior along Highway 13. This country is a mixture of hardwood forest, small farms and a few glimpses of the southern shore of Lake Superior. Rural farm areas always have their own flavors so to speak what with the hay fields and dairies. There are colorful, small towns like Cornicopia and Herbster and Brule, touristy places like Bayfield and Washburn. Unfortunately for fixed income folks we found the Wisconsin city, county and state parks to be a bit pricey so we headed out into the National Forest, still one of the best camping deals around!








We stayed 14 days in the pleasantness of the Chequamogen/Nicholet National Forest enjoying a place called Twin Lakes. For my money this is canine heaven with beautiful trees, good shade, interesting trails and two lakes to cool my bones. Cokie was in photographer’s paradise because these hardwood forests have such interesting light and beginning fall color. She had so much fun following a week in the life of a gigantic Rosy Larch Bolete mushroom. Kae was able to find some very interesting pieces of wood for her art pieces and I even found a choice deer leg bone to gnaw on. So as you can see we were way happy.


















One of our trips “oot and aboot,” as they say up here, was to the Northern Lakes Visitors Center near Ashland. This is a site of a 5,000 year old continuously viable swamp cedar forest. The Gals said the exhibits and views from the tower were pretty good too.



We left to head back to the Duluth area for more mail, traveling down Highway 2. We kept doing these quick stops and u-turns for old barn and building pictures to the point where I wanted a seat belt too! Cokie and Kae said they had a lot of fun though.


We stopped at this beautiful old yeller barn and met Nancy Kane who really knows how to make an old dog feel good with lots of kisses and treats. Nancy and her husband, Gary, have this nice nursery called Wentworth Gardens in a little wide spot in the road, South Range, WI. I wanted to stay longer but my girls just have to keep truckin'.













Soon we were back in the Superior/Duluth metropolitan area, site of the busiest inland port in the world and on our way south toward Minneapolis/St. Paul. There is a very cool bridge in the Duluth Harbor known as a vertical lift bridge in which the whole middle section rises straight up. Way different! This is an interesting area but just a little too much city for us gypsies.