Don't need to see another corn field for a loooong time!
In late September, we headed east for a two week trip through the midwest. Left late Saturday afternoon and ended up staying in Sterling, CO—where you really don't want to drink the water! Sheesh, tap water is safer in Costa Rica. The hotel provided complementary bottled water due to nitrates in the water. In fact, if you give the water to infants under 6 months of age they likely would die from blue baby syndrome thus the letter warning us of the problem and the bottled water. Welcome to the Colorado flatlands of stock feed lots!
Decided to drive scenic byways through northern Nebraska (Gold Rush to Bridges and Buttes to the Outlaw Trail). Much more interesting than taking the I-way. Stopped in a tiny NE ranching town west of Valentine for breakfast; asked for hot sauce for our eggs and were told that they only had REALLY hot stuff. Too funny to get a bottle of TABASCO!!! Hiked a little along the Niobara River for a bit; looks like a great place for tubing in the summer.
Pushed on to Iowa where we passed corn field after corn field. Beautiful to see wind turbines against a dusky pink sky— gigantic pinwheels sprouting from corn fields. Thought we'd stay in Waterloo but the hotel just wasn't dog friendly; accepted dogs but it was a high-rise in a downtown area. No grass available! Long day of driving to Independence, Iowa.
Woke to gray skies and fog so kept on trekkin' toward Effigy Mounds National Monument. Spent an hour or so hiking around the trails. Everything is so lush and green even in September. Funny to see warning signs about having enough water and getting lost..!
Next stop, Prairie du Chien, WI, which was a popular stop over when Julie's family used to boat on the Mississippi. Decided to try Taco John's which was an old college fav in Whitewater...just not the same when you're 40!
Made a brief stop to see Julie's parents, drove by Jim's old haunts in Brookfield (including the house where he spent 23 years growing up--left, behind the huge trees--when he lived there you could see the house!), and met up with friends we haven't seen in several years.
Then it was up to Door County where Jim spent time as a kid. Got the dogs out to swim in Green Bay (below).
Stayed at a dog friendly motel in Sister Bay (definitely stop by Piggly Wiggly for sandwiches...best hoagies we've had in years!) and then headed south to Wausau (mmm...WI Friday night fish fry!) before the drive north to Land O' Lakes. Steve, Pat, the kids, and their four dogs have been living up there for over a decade.. Great fun to see them after many years; the kids are almost ready to start driving. Stayed at a great cabin near Watersmeet: Pineaire Motel. The owner is super friendly, the cabins super clean and well cared for, and there's a nice walk on the property down to Moon Lake.
Stopped by Sylvania, where Jim's family spent vacations canoeing/camping and we spent a few days each summer while in college with friends doing the same (probably portaging a bit more liquid refreshment). Jim braved the 60 degree weather and took a dip in Clark Lake with Star. We really miss swimming in fresh water lakes; the ones nearby Leadville are never warm enough!
Next we headed west through upper WI along the shore of Lake Superior and then down to St. Paul, MN. Cold, grey, rainy, and windy the whole way. Glad to be in a warm hotel that night! Next day, we spent time hanging out with Julie's grandparents in their new St. Paul home and then were back on the road southwest to the border of Minnesota and South Dakota. Found a place to camp amid all of the corn fields. There's a nice little State Park, Split Rock SP, tucked away southwest of the highway. But don't drink the water...another encounter with H20 high in nitrates (surrounded by agriculture, of course).
Next stop: the Black Hills. Wasn't what we'd remembered; subdivisions and lots of private land in the National Forest. Not sure if the Black Hills have changed or we've gotten spoiled living five minutes from forest and solitude. Found a nice campsite next to Sheridan Lake and enjoyed an evening of warm weather. Checked in with Julie's folks that night who let us know a storm was on the way. Really nice sleeping weather; we are used to temps below freezing at night in Colorado!
Next day, did the tourist thing: Stopped by Mt. Rushmore and headed north through Deadwood and Lead (to see how tourism in mining towns actually works—unlike Leadville, where tourism doesn't sit well with most locals—Leadville's an old mining town and will always be an old mining town dammit!). Then we were off to Rapid City and to a hotel for the night. Good thing too; it snowed that night where we'd camped Lake Sheridan.The weather forecast in SD and Wyoming was bleak so we pushed for home a day early.
Got back to Leadville and snow in the mountains. October 1 on Fremont Pass below.
