2024 Fall Trip: Wisconsin

 Sunday, 9/29:  311 miles, Herbster Campground in Herbster, Wisconsin

US-2 to Ashland, County-C, to W-13

The blue dot is us.

Site 25, with water and electric

It was a long, but pleasant drive today along non-interstate roads.  And the weather Gods continue to be with us with warm and sunny days.  The leaves in Northern Michigan and Wisconsin are changing, which made for a beautiful drive also.

Herbster Campground, nestled on the shores of Lake Superior, is very small and town owned.  The beachfront is public and dogs are allowed.  There are about as many tent sites as there are RV spots, and most nights there were several tents setup along the beachfront.  And you never grow tired of the views of Lake Superior, be it morning or evening.

Herbster was not on our original itinerary when planning this trip.  However, our longtime Wisconsin friends were staying here this week with another Wisconsin couple, in a rented house only blocks from our campground.  So the change worked out well.  Besides, it was a new stop for us, and the scenery was amazing.  Plus we got to experience some of Lake Superior's infamous winds.  One morning the lake was particularly "angry" and it reminded me of "the gales of November" line from Gordon Lightfoot's The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.  Here's a LINK to one of many YouTube recordings of the song.

One morning Judy and I went to explore the tiny (population 98) nearby town of Cornucopia.  We shopped at Halvorson Fisheries where we bought whitefish and smoked salmon as well as Ehlers General Store and Cornucopia Coffee and Sweets Shop.  The town also has a small park along with a museum  and a display of retired commercial fishing boats from the 1920's.

On another morning we went with Dave and Ann to Bayfield about 20 miles away.  We drove the streets of the village ands shopped at a few stores.  We finished with a nice lunch at The Pier Plaza.

We ended up spending three evening dinners with Dave and Ann, and their friends Dennis and Gayle.  We had grand times roasting each other and swapping stories about our past exploits.  And Gayle went over the top preparing our dinners.  I tried for a group photo, but it was an epic fail.  My phone was running low on battery, and all the Wisconsin folks seemed to have was Androids.  We couldn't get any of the charging connectors to work.  Oh well, sometimes the memories are better than the actual event.  😀 

Thursday, 10/3:  340 miles, Madison Campground in DeForest, Wisconsin

Site B-2

At 340 miles and 6 hours today was the longest drive of the trip.  That is way beyond our comfort zone but the trip went smooth.  The purpose of this stop was to connect with my cousin Judy.  So Friday, we went to Judy and husband Walt's home in Madison for a simple lunch.  We went back again that evening for a fish fry dinner.  We always have such a good time with Walt and Judy.  On my mother's side of the family I have 40 cousins.  Judy is the eldest, beating me by one year.  She is also the unofficial family historian.  Next time we will have to make it a longer stop.  The conversations went by way too fast.

I can't end without a photo of Maggie and Parker, this time during one of their calmer moments.  😀

Thus ends our week in Wisconsin.  Now it is on to Illinois and the "Land of Lincoln".