A Four-Day Weekend at "Mo and Kelly's Wildlife Refuge"

We leave Madison behind and head for a lake cabin twenty miles north of The Dells. It is the weekend retreat - the "Wildlife Refuge" - for our very good friends from Racine, Maureen and Kelly. They have been together for more than 15 years, and when the Wisconsin laws allow, will be a married couple. All four of us have really been looking forward to this visit. We set up camp in their front yard before they arrived. When their neighbors called to tell them of squatters on the property, we knew we were in for a great time.






That first night, we had a fire in the fire pit with a few of the weekenders ( we think one of them probably had reported us earlier,) and it continued with a "hair of the dog" at a nearby lakeside eatery the next morning. After a tour of the area and a relaxing day waiting out the rain we had brought, we attended a party at Perry and Kim's around the corner - these folks know how to fill the weekends with fun. It reminded us of our previous life with the boat-dock party crew every one of our weekends - had to return to work just to rest up for the next one.

The next day with clear skies, we hooked up their boat and headed to Castle Rock Lake (the launch ramp is only about a mile away.)
We hadn't spent a day on the water since a July 4th 2008 visit with Bob and Camille at Lake Texoma (in our pre-blogging days.) Maureen and Kelly have a beautiful 20-foot ski rig that will zip across the water at a cool 45 mph. But with the breezes up, we limited our cruise to around 30. Lots of pretty shoreline. Lots of relaxing in the warm sun. Finished off with Kelly's trying out her new gift - a very nice slalom ski.























Next day, after a gourmet breakfast - Kelly is a professional chef and caterer (one of many great meals she fixed up for us) - we headed south for a visit to the Wisconsin Dells, one of the state's biggest tourist attractions. More fun, more eating, more people-watching, and a little shopping.













Thanks, wonderful friends, for a fun and memorable time at Mo and Kelly's Wildlife Refuge!

Start of the Great Lakes Tour

For the next 6 weeks we are in the states of Wisconsin and Michigan to sample the shores of the western Great Lakes and the North Country. Our beautiful weather (finally) is continuing with lots of sunshine and cooler than normal temps - just like we ordered.

We are beginning with the city of Madison, and a visit with our Jojoba Hills buddies, Don and Sara Schultz. They spend Jojoba's hottest months here in the Wisconsin capital getting a grandkids fix, and also in the Minneapolis area to visit their older daughter. For now, we are joining them at a very nice county park within the city limits of Madison. After spending more than thirty years as teachers in this area, Don and Sara have a bunch to show us.



Although Madison is the state capital, in its heart it is really a college town. I was so busy listening to Don and Sara's narrative and gawking at the huge U of W campus that I didn't take a single picture until we took a breath for dinner at Paisan's, one of the city's favorite restaurants (and a Schultz must for visiting friends) overlooking one of the city lakes.


 







For the next few days we were taken on a grand tour of the Madison area - an artist colony (where the real pro photographer goes off on his own search,) the rolling hills of their old neighborhood (we saw the apple orchard,) and the amazing campus of an information technology company called Epic, which develops and markets, successfully, (it's in nearly every medical office in the country) patient tracking and billing software.














Then a tasty lunch at the Bavaria Sausage House. Don gave us lesson on the proper method for preparing real Wisconsin brats. Can't wait to try it when we get home.

 The next day we walked the downtown streets and the Capitol building. They were getting set up for an evening concert on the green there, but that didn't stop us from touring the grounds. Finished it off with some ice cream.









Thanks, you guys. Had a great time, and look forward to more when we get to Minneapolis.

Goodbye to Old Haunts - Hello to New

So far our 2014 trip has been like so many previous, seeing familiar ground (except for Big Bend NP) and familiar places. But now we head for uncharted territory - well, actually, it's pretty well charted - up the middle of the USA, ultimately to the Northwoods, to meet up with friends, old and new.

We did overnights in Guthrie, OK and Lyndon Station, KS (see the storm shelter we would have had to use here,) with heavy rains and severe weather ahead and behind, before spending a few days in the middle of it in the Kansas City, MO area, specifically in the city of Independence.


Many, many churches in Independence, the most spectacular of which is the temple of the Community of Christ, a movement originally part of the LDS church, which also has multiple temples in the city. There are also plenty of Catholic and Protestant denominations represented.

Independence was also one of the Truman's summer White Houses (the other being in Key West.) After leaving the Presidency, he and Bess spent the rest of their days here as well.

After one more stop in the middle of what was once a few hundred-acre corn field in Amana Colonies, Iowa (and another storm-filled night,) we arrived in Belvidere, IL for a week - our intention, to visit our daughter, Shannon's, future mother-in-law and sister-in-law in the suburb of Roselle and also to spend a couple of days in the city of Chicago (45 miles away.) But with no mass transit routes into the city from the Rockford/Belvidere area - shoulda checked that out beforehand - we postponed the Chicago touring for another trip to the area.

But we had a great visit with Jean (Mom) and Shere (Sis). We had met Shere a few Christmases ago at Shannon and Bill's in Oxnard/Channel Islands, but we were new to Jean. Both are super people, so easy to be with and relaxing to visit.


Went out to eat together and spent the whole afternoon, but wish it had been longer. We can't wait till the next time. Who knows...there might even be a wedding involved.

New Times with Old Friends

We're off to pay another visit to our good friends from our previous life (back in the rat-race of careers,) Rick and Vicky Bartosek in the Dallas suburb of Grand Prairie. When in this area, we like to stay at a Texas State Park on Joe Pool Lake in nearby Cedar Hill. Unlike Medina Lake that we just left, Joe Pool is within inches of its normal level. It's not only a difference in local rainfall, but also the fact that Joe Pool is way down the list of water sources for the Metroplex. So even with a population of 6.5 million, the dozen or more reservoirs in the area seem to provide ample water for metropolitan needs.

Rick and Vicky have been in their beautiful home so long that they have retired the mortgage. We have remained close and dear friends even though our lifestyles are polar opposites (perhaps as much by life's happenstance as by choice,) and they are making the most theirs by spending tons of time with three generations of family - four, including themselves - Vicky's mom, Millie, in her nineties, their daughter, Kelly, in her thirties, and their two-year old granddaughter, Riley - what a cutie!. Oh yeah, and their two shelties, Scout and LD.   

So great to spend time with them - so relaxing and comfortable, even after more than 23 years since our working-together days. And good cooking by both Rick and Dickie's BBQ.

Medina Lake with Alan and Lou

We aren't through with San Antonio yet. We are joined at a Thousand Trails preserve about thirty miles northwest of the city by our very good friends from Jojoba, Alan and Lou Flaum. They are on their way back home after two months of travel, while we're just getting started. The park is called Medina Lake, but "lake" seems a thing of the past. We were here six years ago and one third of the park was lakeside with a large boarding dock and launch facilities. Now with the lake at 3.7% of normal capacity (that is NOT a typo) the water's edge more than five miles away.




The lack of nearby water hasn't discouraged the local white-tail deer population, and a $10 investment in a 50# bag of deer corn guaranteed their attention.

The park is in the Texas hill country and close to Bandera, a small taste of the West in the "Cowboy Capital of the World." (Most everything in Texas is a bit of a stretch.) Some fun shopping along with a beer and barbeque.

That was followed by a trip to town to see the Alamo and stroll along the Riverwalk - some of the best that San Antonio has to offer. And it was all punctuated by the Spurs successful run for the NBA title.

While in town, we also took a trip down Jan's Memory Lane as we tracked down her high school alma mater - Alamo Heights - and two of her former homes.

One other side note. We knew our house batteries (2 of the six-volt deep-cycle variety) were on their last charges, so we took advantage of a Costco that was close, and exchanged them for fresh ones. Taking a lesson from Jojoba friends who recently posted similar repair challenges while on the road, I carefully photographed the situation before removing the old ones, and used the pic to assure the correct placement of the new ones. In went the first just according to the photo. Then the second. After hooking up the cables, my trusty repair assistant asked why there was so much sparking going on. I confidently told her it would quit when I tightened the wing-nuts. I quickly realized that I was the wing-nut when the batteries started heating up. A quick disconnect, end-for-end swap on the second battery, and reconnect (plus-to-minus-to-plus-to-minus!) corrected the problem. And I didn't even cook the converter. You know, ignorance has limits, but stupidity is a bottomless pit!