Northwest Wisconsin

By Jen.

Dates: 2021/07/27 to 2021/07/30

Upon returning to Wisconsin, we decided to hit up the area that we skipped earlier when searching for water. So first up was Blackjack Springs. The path was rather overgrown, and had a lot of deadfall. And by the time it reached the lake near the spring, we couldn’t even find the path anymore. Not interested in bushwhacking, we turned back.

 

The spring is somewhere in that direction.

 

 

From there, we went hunting for albino deer at Trout Lake, but couldn’t find any. Fortunately, just a short drive away was Powell Marsh.

 

 

 

 Monarchs on milkweed. Makes you want to grow some, doesn't it?

 

We’ve been seeing these spotted green frogs all over the north.

 

A funnel web.

 

 

 

 

Two sand cranes! We could hear these guys talking to each from quite a distance.

 

American goldfinch, I think.

 

I think these are red-breasted mergansers.

 

The next day, since we camped nearby, we made a stop at Thunder Mountain County Park. It’s a cute little local park, good for a diversion or two if in the area.

 

 

 

 

Blends in well, doesn’t it?

 

 

Quick Wisconsin Pass

By Jen.

Dates: 07/15/2021 to 07/18/2021

Driving out Duluth, MN, puts you directly in Superior, WI. I mean, really? I feel like they should have just kept it as Duluth, WI, but they had to go and do the pun on the lake’s name for a town’s name…

Anyways, Wisconsin has Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, 1 of only 3 such designated sites in the US (2 are on Lake Superior, 1 on Lake Michigan). It is really poorly advertised, in my opinion. But, after some research and driving around, we ended up launching our kayak from Meyers Beach to see the “sea” caves. This was an awesome trip! I loved it! The water gave a Caribbean vibe, and some of the sea caves were able to be kayaked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day, we checked out around Bayfield. They have a ravine there with a couple of hiking trails, which were recommended to us. 

The old iron bridge.

The old jailhouse.

 

Then we checked out Houghton Falls Nature Preserve. The falls were pitiful (non-existent), but it did have a lovely sandstone gorge, called Echo Dells, but also known as Lover’s Glen. 

Too many mosquitos to work as a lover’s glen for me, but it was charming.

The trail ends at the lake, where many northerners were trying to sunbathe and swim, despite the high of only 76F.

 

That night, Jonathan tried walking the cat. She promptly ran to this rock where a fat chipmunk sat eating raspberries. It didn’t even flinch when Sasha came into view. Jonathan had a firm hold on her, though, so no fresh meat for dinner.

 

The next day, we scoped out Morgan Falls. It was a visually interesting waterfall, but there were too many mosquitos to enjoy it. 

 

 

From there, we tried to visit more Wisconsin sites, but we were in need of water. They had potable water available for a fee, but most were listed as $15 or $20, which seems pretty excessive for 40 gallons of fresh water, even when combined with dumping our ~4-gallon toilet. And, since I have a principle against not paying excessive fees for such things, the only place we could find it was in Michigan. Rather than backtrack to get back to those sites, we decided to move on.