Great Lakes

Hello again.  Bet you all thought they left me at Bear Country or something.  Phil and Chris make a lot of threats, but I think they kind of like me.

We travelled through the remainder of South Dakota and then cut diagonally north through Minnesota to Duluth, with a brief photo stop in Paynesville.

The farmers were all out working the fields and getting crops in.  We spent a few days outside of Duluth, before heading over the bridge to Wisconsin.  Check out the ships in Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes.

Once in Wisconsin, we camped on the shores of Lake Superior in the small town of Washburn.  The town is so small, that when Chris and Phil went to the local pub for Friday night fish fry they met a local who knows someone that went to UW-Madison with Chris.

The lake is ridiculously cold, my paw went numb when I stuck it in for a moment.  However, cold water was not enough to deter five intrepid sailors!!  Yes, sailing at long last.  We charted a sailboat with a couple of our friends and spent three fantastic days on the lake in the Apostle Islands National Park.  We had the usual interesting variety of weather typical of May here, but enjoyed the sailing and some short hikes on the islands, as well as catching up with friends and great food.

After our nautical adventure we went south to visit friends and relatives in Wisconsin.  In November we were here, and it was so cold that we cut our visiting short and headed south.  The weather is much better at this time of year...Wisconsin is a most beautiful and enjoyable place for about 4 or 5 months. 

We were invited salmon fishing!  On this day the weather did not cooperate, and it was pretty cold and rainy out on Lake Michigan.  The fellows we went with were going to take part in a tournament the next day, so they know where the fish are.  Here is Phil bringing one in.

 Bonus...this will be dinner for a few nights, I hope they remember to share with their favorite bear!

Another point of interest we visited in Wisconsin is the John Deer museum.  This place has over 500 John Deer tractors and various equipment, all stored in nice new sheds.  They try to collect the first of every model produced, and they are all restored with fresh paint and new tires.

How could we spend time in Wisconsin without mentioning cheese?  Here we are at the Mars cheese castle just before we left the state.  They had a terrific selection of cheeses, as well as other yummy Wisconsin specialties.

Thank you to the family and friends in Wisconsin (and Illinois) that made our visit terrific.