St. Paul and on to the Northwoods of Wisconsin

The rain has continued, so we took our large umbrella in hand and set out to explore.

This rv was parked in the same rv park as we were.  It's an ice house.  The building sets down on the frozen lake.  There are holes in the floor for ice fishing.  We've been told that these rv's can be quite cozy.  We had never seen one, but the Minnesoto folks are very well familiar with them.  Where there's a need....

Set opposite the capitol is the Cathedral of St. Paul .  It's a massive structure.  It was completed in 1915 though it looks more like a building one would see in Europe from centuries past.

It was Sunday and services were going on so we could not take photos inside the sanctuary.  I got this with no flash through the door.











The Minnesota State Capitol building is a very traditional structure.  Closed on Sundays, we could not tour the interior.

This is a shot of the detail at the base of the dome.

There were bicycle races taking place the entire day with all levels including professional racers taking part.  No one seemed to mind the rain.

We parked the car outside the Minnesota Historical Museum and met up with a group renting Segways.  Ed got a short lesson.  He was having waaaaay to much fun riding it up and down in front of the museum.  He spoke at length with the man in the photo who wants to bring his company to Albuquerque.  Ed's work with the train restoration has introduced him to all sorts of people.  The museum was interesting, but we think the

 New Mexico History Museum has it beat.

We departed the next morning to meet up with Sandy and Bob Ohm in Sugar Camp, Wisconsin in the Northwoods.  We checked into Lynn Ann's Campground in St. Germaine.  Very nice, clean, beautiful lake, lousey wi-fi.

The Northwoods of Wisconsin.  Forests, small towns with resort town prices, great resaurants, a feel of 1950 - 1970, lakes, lakes, lakes, biking/hiking trails, nice people, and best of all, Sandy and Bob.   I won't mention the abundance of mosquitoes that drove us batty.

So much driving in so few days.  Now we're settled and can slow down the pace for the rest of the trip.  We celebrated with Green Chile Turkey Cheeseburgers.  We are New Mexicans after all....

                                     

Bob and Sandy spend summers at their condo in Sugar Camp and winters in Surprise, Arizona.

 This is the view from their livingroom window.   There are so many lakes here that lakefront is not uncommon.  But, not a bad view before morning coffee.

 Rhinelander was a major player in logging and paper making.  Bob worked at the paper mill when he got out of high school, and he hated it!  The mill is no longer in operation.  Other companies have moved into the area.  Drs. Foster and Smith, the pet supply company, is located in Rhinelander.

We spent the afternnon at the Pioneer Park Historical Complex in Rhinelander.   We toured a one room schoolhouse, a building dedicated to the Civilian Conservation Corp., learned the history of the Northwoods, saw a collection of outboard motors, trains and model trains all connected to the logging industry.

The guys with a steam tractor equipped with skis for winter logging. 

This cute little locomotive was built by Baldwin in 1925 and purchased by the Thunder Lake Lumber Company.

And then we met the Hodag.  ("a" as in bag)
Legend has it that this creature was seen hiding in the forest.  There is no proof it was ever seen by human eyes, but the legend has stuck.  The Hodag is everywhere, and he is spoken of with respect.  We only met this one and one tattooed on a dear friend.

We had a lovely dinner at Sandy and Bob's with their good friends Ginger and Jim Dolberg.  Sandy said it best: Dallas meets Albuquerque via the Northwoods.  They taught us to always say, "Clink.  Love you," before drinking.

I think they are our good friends now...

Bike riding in the Northwoods at Three Lakes with Bob and Sandy:

And, now I'm going to tell about the bike ride and the aftermath of the bike ride.
The trail at Three Lakes is 8.5 miles long to the end which is absolutely nowhere except in the middle of the woods.  No sign that says "Stop."  No kudos.  No nothin'.  Then you turn around and ride 8.5 miles back to where you started.  In the meantime, you have been attacked by mosquitoes, ridden over bridges, through water (ok.  A puddle.),  through beautiful forests and past and over lakes.  You might even have taken a harmless spill.  That adds up to 17 miles.  Not a bad ride unless you haven't ridden for 2 years.  Thank heaven it ends at a winery!!!  Ed complained that his tush was sore and that it was caused by the seat of his bike.  This can all be remedied by a new seat!  I suffered from shaky legs, and a very sore tush.  Oh, my poor va-jj.  I could barely crawl into bed not to mention the struggle getting up the next morning.  It was all worth it.
But 10 miles would have been better...

Ed and Bob decided to take a road trip to Duluth, MN for the day to see the railroad museum, the lifting bridge, and the sights of Duluth.  I'll turn this over to Ed to post about their day.  Sandy and I had a "girls day" (lunch and shopping). 

The guys returned in time for us to meet up with Ginger and Jim and have a real Wisconsin Friday fish fry dinner.  It was even more delicious than I remember it.  
The Walleye was 4 star.   We all hugged our goodbyes.  It was great!!

I woke up this morning with seven (count 'em 7) bites on my lower left cheek. 
Wisconsin loves me...
Clink.  Love you!