On to Illinois

     To all our friends that said to do the Friday night fish fry, you were right of course! It is awesome and a local beer here in Wisconsin Dells made it better. We are unable to go up to the Sturgeon Bay area on this leg of the trip as it would be too expensive as there are no Thousand Trail campgrounds there so we will hit it later if possible. On our way through Wisconsin, Laura found a little site she wanted to stop at in the middle of no where that was pretty cool. A couple made wonderful things out of concrete and broken glass during their life and left it for the public to view.

The Ship the couple came to America on

How did they get to be so sweet

     During our stay in Wisconsin Dells WI, we went to the Witches Gulch to see the below canyon, pretty cool but not worth the twelve dollars for all of us to see it. This took 15 minutes to get through and back but the walls of the canyon and the lake at the end were amazing and Laura got to teach a geology lesson out of it.

Please don't make me drink it!!!!

This is the place where slime goes to die!!!

     So on Friday night Laura found a drive inn theater that was just outside the Dells and we thought it would be great for the kids to experience that since we don't have any left in Colorado that I know if. This first picture is the sun setting over our corn fields  as we were waiting to get into the Drive Inn.

8 bucks per person and cash only and no beer!

     On Saturday, we went down to Madison Wisconsin to check out the largest Farmers Market in several states which surrounded the entire capital building. Last thing for today, Laura had to go get Wisconsin cheese but she didn't get to see it made so I don't think she completed her quest here.

NOOOOO, they are turning into cheese heads

On to Wisconsin

     After leaving Leech lake on the 22nd we were able to meet up with another full-time family at Gull Lake Recreation Area near Brainerd MN. It just so happened that we were headed through that area at the same time they were arriving so we stopped and had a short break. Jema. John and their kids spent a day hanging out in the nice campground near their home town. The kids had a water gun fight instead of swimming in the lake due to swimmers itch. WHOA THERE!!!! Swimmers Itch!!! Not only do the insects and plants want to make you itch from bites and poison but the water now gives you an itch that rivals chicken pocks. We love Jema and John and the kids but this state is definitely off our list of favorite places! (According to ME anyway!)

     This is Jema and Grace giving Laura and Jacob loon calling lessons, yes, I said loon calling lessons!

      So per Jema and John we had to stop in Duluth and as luck would have it, one campground had a couple openings left. A miracle, due to the tall ship festival coming in on Friday. Below is the view from our site looking at lake Superior in Two Harbors MN.

      While driving into Duluth from Two Harbors we were able to see an oil tanker out on the lake that was headed for the draw bridge.

     While in Duluth we took a tour of the SS William A. Irvin which was a cargo ship on the great lakes that was decommissioned in the 70's. This was pretty cool if your into old ships.

      We stopped at one of Canal Parks three Grandma's restaurants and had a great Walleye dinner with a fabulous waitress Lori. I also had a great beer flight from the local brewery which was really nice after our long day on the road.

She wishes this was captain Jack Sparrow

     Today we left Duluth and stopped in Hayward Wisconsin at the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame where we saw pretty much every record fish and fishing lure and fly ever made. This was pretty cool for a fishing family.

NOOOOO, Don't eat my family!!!!!!

The boys with their new dad!!!! (Note Aiden's hesitancy!)

That is one big fish! 

We have it dad, take the picture before it falls!!!!!

      We have landed in Wisconsin Dells Wisconsin at a Thousand Trails that the verdict is still out on but we will let you know. I am taking a few days here to fix the TV mount and a couple other things before we head out to Madison on Saturday to hit the farmers market. I hope everyone is having fun watching this adventure and I will post again when we get to Sturgeon Bay WI.

No Fish for Me

     Well today was a leisure day with laundry, some fishing by the damn and continual drinking of my blood by the mosquito's and horse fly's. I was bitten by a horse fly so hard it drew blood and I'd swear that I heard it laughing at me as it flew off. I got the last laugh when I chased it with my hat and smacked it out of the sky and finishing it off with a size 11 1/2 shoe. Take that you little Son Of A!!!!!

     I took Jacob over to the bait shop here at the lake and we got some minnows so we could try our luck at catching some Walleye for dinner. Jacob learned how to hook a minnow and jig it off the bottom as we both lost a bunch of them in the rocks. I am a pretty damn good fly fisherman but this Walleye fishing as got me stumped, not one bit all day long except for the sadistic horse fly. Oh was Laura disappointed in my fishing prowess today, I felt like less of a man by not being able to bring home some food. I think I am going to find some Walleye fillets in the grocery store tomorrow and hide them in the freezer and take them out when I am done fishing.

     Jacob and I started reading the Lord of the Rings series and have started with The Hobbit and Laura and Aiden are working on the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. We are off to Brainerd Minnesota to meet another Full Time Family for a night before heading off to Wisconsin to see Wisconsin Dells, Madison and maybe a couple other areas and we will be trying our first Thousand Trails resort. I will have more pictures and hopefully I will have caught a dang Walleye before I leave Minnesota.

This is Aiden here and today I played with my friends. Todey I had icecream for dessert. And I watched  the movie ROBOTS. And I  rode my bike and went FISHiNG. I slept with my dog Brigeeta.     And I dont have moly and shadow. Love all the folowers good night.

West Nile Virus has to run Rampant!!!

     Yes, we woke to birds chirping and a nice sunrise but what she didn't tell you is that when I opened the door to take the dog out I was ambushed and dive bombed by 30 mosquito's that wanted one thing, SWEET, SWEET, Hamilton BLOOD!!! I have tried Deep Woods off with so much deet that I had a chemical rush for three hours. That kept them off for a whole 20 minutes and then they were back. If its not the mosquito's its the biting fly's.

I have tried large fires, multiple off products for campsites and nothing is keeping them away so we just live with all that blood drain. I am crossing Minnesota off my list even with all the lake side houses for sale at 200k.

     That said, we stopped at this place, I don't even know where, that was a Chucky Cheese disguised as a space dock like in Toy Story. TOURIST TRAP!!! And of course the food was horrible but the kids just had to go in for lunch!

     We drove past this place up the road from Leech Lake and I just had to take a picture for my dad and father in law. The sign says it all and they even have a giant pike you can take a picture in out front, this is a true fisherman's paradise during the summer.

     Laura mentioned the fishing tournament for the kids but I don't think she gave you all a good indication of just how much of a cluster (you know what) this was. Most the kids had fun but when they are all 4 feet apart and throwing treble hooks into the moving water all at different times, well lets just say it was sheer pandemonium and the event staff and parents should be rewarded for not killing other peoples kids for hooking their kid in the crotch. I still cant figure out how this kid hooked Aiden from 30 feet away, it was an amazing feat to say the least, but come on! Parents watch your kids, I was the only one telling my kids to not hook the parent next to them helping their kid untangle for the 35th time. toward the end I just sat back and watched to see if Aiden could get someone hooked. The kid that won it all had a 23 inch Walleye in the first five minutes, I think his parent caught that.

Alan

Mosquito is the state BIRD!

     I awoke to birds singing, a breeze blowing and a gorgeous sunrise, Minnesota and I are in love again! It turns out Minnesota is just a fickle thing, wanting me to show her that I can hang with it before revealing her glory! Temps are normal, sun is shining and the mosquitos are horrible, other than that, we love this place!

 Jacob and I walked Brigeeta down to the water’s edge, watched the geese with their babies swimming around and then made homemade banana muffins for the family IN AN RV OVEN! I don’t know how many of you have attempted to use an RV oven but they are tiny, wicked hard to light and crazy unpredictable. On top of that I HATE to bake so it’s a stinking miracle I am making anything from scratch! And yet, there it is, another thing I am learning to do on this magnificent journey. Adding it to the rapidly growing list… brown water showers, (every FOUR days!) making dinner in 16 square inches of counter space and scrubbing floors with wet wipes.

     First we went to Bemidgi, and saw Paul and Babe the Blue Ox, awesome! This is a picture of his wallet and toothbrush!

 We loved his giant gun and fishing pole too. Bemidgi has an awesome outdoor art community with art on every corner. It’s lovely! Alan offered to take a picture for an older couple, the old man wouldn’t let him touch his camera and the old lady wouldn’t smile. It was American Gothic all over again!

     Then we went to lake Itasca and the headwaters of the Mississippi. It was fantastic! The kids were swimming around and we got to show them how tiny it is here and then they’ll see where it empties out in the spring, very cool!

     We had to get groceries and yet another social/cultural rift appeared when I was literally stopped in my tracks by potato chips in a box. It was so strange to realize that almost all of what I normally buy to fall back on for family meals, is in a different form, different package or different name here. It takes me twice as long to shop for half as much as I used to! As an aside, found lots of pickled herring, but hardly any tortillas! I am not sure many people up here do taco night!Pickled herring night however seems to be a BIG draw! Not sure I can try that one...

     Today the boys participated in the greatest fishing derby EVER! They arrived to register and were given a free life vest, and a huge bag of fishing lures, bait and a nice bait box, headlamps and flashlights! 

It was fantastic! They didn’t get anything in the way of fish but free hot dogs and “pop” so life is good! As you can see from this shot, they tangled their lines within the first 2 minutes, it was a long afternoon.

Most of the people we talked to here were very guarded, but there are those that are not and we get great info from them. Like they don’t close the schools here unless it’s colder than 20 degrees below! Yep, makes Douglas County look downright generous with snow days! (And totally explains the numerous snowmobile crossing signs!)

     The boys have made a few friends and are catching bugs and fish and the occasional leech with them while riding bikes across the park like mad. They are having a fantastic time. Of course they are all “new best friends” and they can’t remember their names.

One more day then off to Wisconsin!

78 degrees

     At our house there is a magical number, a temperature in actuality. 78 degrees. It’s known far and wide that as the temperature creeps up, my tolerance for, well, anything any other human beings do, goes down.

     The kids call this “Mommy’s crazy temp” Alan calls it the “B**** Zone”. Either way, everyone knows the safety wall has been breached when we get to 80. Let me tell you, sirens were ringing and people were running for cover today in Minnesota! Let's back up....

     As we continued to drive deeper and deeper into the Minnesota Wilderness, Alan and I oohed, and ahhed about how absolutely idyllic this area is. Densley wooded, impossibly green and a lake on every stinking corner, there must be like, 10,000 of them! It’s got everything we could want and I was ready to call the whole thing off and buy the next sticks and bricks home we came across.

     And then….I stepped out of the air conditioned car. Just one tiny step and in that moment, as I turned, in slow motion, the family felt the humidity, saw my face and each in turn screamed, ducked and covered. Yet not in time to escape the torrential downpour of complaints that came raining from my upturned, scowling lips. Yep, 87 degrees and 68% humidity, and my dreams of life in Minnesota were crushed just like that. No worries however, the rig has air and we have power and yet another fifth wheeling lesson learned: When choosing between power or water hook ups, power wins every time. Granted we popped the breaker 4 times in the first hour but we got ‘er done! We also got to take long, luscious cold showers in the shower house. Which went a LOOOOONNNGGG way to me being able to tolerate my family in these conditions! I don’t know how you people who live with humidity all the time do it. There were actually people out WALKING, for FUN in this! OI! I am too delicate. Best news ever, the temp will drop by 10 degrees as will the humidity tomorrow!!! And I will give Minnesota a second chance.