Eagle River, Wisconsin

This week’s adventure brought us to Eagle River.  This is what is generally understood to be northern Wisconsin. When I drive, I try to avoid the interstate system as much as possible and take the state highways and US routes  it makes for a more enjoyable drive albeit a bit slower. Since time is not an issue, I prefer the slower pace and as a side benefit it helps my gas mileage  

On the way to Eagle River we stopped at a very special place. Wittenberg, Wisconsin is home to Nueske’s Smoked Meats. We have been enjoying their products for years and have shipped them as gifts but we have not been to their company store. Let’s just say that it’s a good thing I have a micro freezer as I was in heaven. Further proof of their excellence is that they had a really nice dog run for the dogs to stretch their legs. We searched for Big Foot high and low but all I could find was smoked pork products. This could have been a trick to distract me and it worked. All good things come to an end just like our visit to Nueskes. 

Paradise in Wittenberg. Plenty of vegan options. Vegans eat pork, right?

Based upon a tip from a former co-worker, K, who frequents the area, I checked out Tribute Brewing in Eagle River. This was sage advice as the beer was excellent. They were no longer filling growlers, so I was unable to test my new equipment, but I am ready for the right opportunity. I didn’t see Big Foot, but I did run into two friends from my time at The Runaway in Burlington. I was searching for the Beast of Bray Road at the time and went to best local microbrewery in case that was where the beast was hiding. Nevertheless, I spent a few hours at the bar of Runaway gathering intelligence on the cryptozoological creature network. While there I met D and R who are very knowledgeable about the types of Big Foot hangouts that I am searching. Imagine my surprise at seeing the same D and R in Tribute in Eagle River. Once again, they were a fountain of knowledge and provided me with some hot tips on potential Big Foot hideouts.

Outside Tribute. Forgot to take an inside picture. What do you expect for a free blog?

One suggestion that D and R made was to check out Woodruff and Rocky Reef Brewing. This was an excellent suggestion, so on a rainy day I made my way over there. I sampled several beverages while waiting for Big Foot to show up. It was quite crowded, but I was able to take a picture during a lull as I like to avoid taking pictures in public. I don’t want my mission compromised by someone recognizing me and alert the Illuminati who may be part of the global cabal protecting Big Foot’s location. After several of their delicious barley pops, I decided to check out the nearby Mexican restaurant, Mavericks. It was a pleasant surprise as they used fresh, local ingredients. This resulted in a bit of fusion with the barbacoa enchiladas spicy and yet delicious with the right amount of heat. I sampled their version of the old fashioned which was made with Tequila and not whisky or brandy. It was a refreshing treat and well done. I failed to find Big Foot in either location, but I was pleased with the food and beverages in Woodruff.

At one point there was only one available seat. Oddly it was next to me. I did bathe that day.

Before I share this next item, I want to tell you about how I go about finding places to stay. I am a member of some groups and I have a series of apps. I use Escapees, Harvest Host, Dyrt, Campendium, Road Trippers, Boondocking, Togo RV, and All Trails. I also subscribe to several blogs and camping e-magazines. These often cater to the full time crowd, but not always. Campers are friendly and pretty welcoming to all people. For example, Escapees was created decades ago for full time RV people and has a number of affinity groups. Anyhow, I found the campground in Eagle River through one of the apps. It’s more expensive than I liked but it seemed family friendly and clean. I just don’t like people staying up until midnight getting drunk loudly which is why I picked it. I don’t mind people getting drunk, but do it quietly please. As I was walking through the campground I saw someone had put up a flag by their site. This is not unusual to decorate one’s site (I don’t since I am a curmudgeon) but this flag had an upside down pineapple on it. Coincidentally enough, I had gotten an email from one of the sites that mentioned pineapples along with other articles such as “Can You Use Drano in an RV?”, and “8 Best Campers to Tow with a Toyota 4Runner”. I hadn’t read the article on the pineapple yet and I wasn’t going to read the others (no Drano and who cares) so I decided to read it after seeing the flag. Here it is if you are interested as I was surprised by the meaning  : “What Do Flamingos and Upside Down Pineapples Mean?”. Amy always said I lived a sheltered life which I though was poppycock.  Apparently she was right.  Needless to say, campers are friendly, and some are more friendly than others.

“Plays well with others” - indeed

It's not all fun and adventuring, on occasion I have things that need handling besides laundry. The truck had some work done on it this week. The wiring to the trailer was not quite right. For those that are not familiar with trailer wiring, the wire that indicates that one is turning left is also the wire that illuminates the left brake light on the trailer. The signal from that wire was not working. That means that someone behind me would have only the right light to indicate I was braking and no indication that I was turning left. If I was turning right, there would then be no indication of me braking. This did have the potential of ending badly and I was unable to fix it myself, so I took it to a mechanic in Beaver Dam. He looked and indicated it would take longer to deal with than he had time. After calling around to six different mechanics in Eagle River, I was able to get in at Schoonover Auto Repair. He diagnosed the problem (besides Ford deciding to forgo fuses) and replaced the appropriate part. The lack of fuses caused a much more expensive item to fail but I feel comfortable knowing Ford saved $0.45 by eliminating them. Bless their hearts.

I decided to have a treat and made a fire. I have avoided this so far on my journeys as I am not camping; I am living and exploring. Nevertheless, there was a chill in the air and the smell of a wood fire was enticing. I paid the exorbitant cost that the campground charged and had several campfires. Unfortunately, it started raining early one night so we were unable to enjoy the fire fully. To make up for the disappointment that Ozzy and Lucy were clearly experiencing, I made some popcorn on the stove. Since there was no internet, we shared the popcorn as I finished reading a book. I have added a secondary SIM card in my phone, so I now have access on both the Verizon and AT&T networks.  That does no good when there is no service, but I have prepared as best as I can. Between the tree coverage and lack of service options, the places I like visit often have spotty coverage. That makes it harder to track me which should aid in my search. Yes, there are still places in this country that do not have cell coverage.

Ok, it's a fire. Only $7/bundle!

To take a break from the stresses of relentless adventuring, we took a lovely hike in the nearby national forest. I have been trying to find the right balance of hike distances for the dogs and myself. We went on one in Horicon Marsh that ended early for Lucy. I bought a small dog sling to carry her when she tires out. That happened quite quickly on that hike, so she enjoyed a nice carry. Ozzy did better but at the two mile point he threw himself on the ground and refused to move. Naturally this was in one of the few shady spots, so the mosquitos and flies were in full force. Thankfully I only had to carry him for a little bit before he agreed to walk again. This time we went in the morning when it was cooler and the trail was shaded so it wasn’t hot. Lucy kept looking for right opportunity to be carried, but they were both able to finish the hike on their own. Of course I had to keep it to only 1.5 miles but at least they walked it all without anyone being carried. 

I am still charting out my next adventures and I am covered with reservations until mid-September. I am hopeful that I will be able to go back to more boondocking then as the heat should have subsided in the north and I won’t need power to run the AC. My next stop is in Minnesota.

Thor

Braxwood.com

If you are interested in getting email notifications of these postings but have not figured out how to do that yet, you can email me at thor.braxwood@gmail.com and I can manually add you.