Saturday, July 6, 2024, MN, WI, MI

 I helped to set up for the food truck on Wednesday morning but couldn’t spend a lot of time as I was traveling to Mass City, MI to visit Carol and Richard for a couple of days.  Richard worked, so they weren’t arriving at their place until 8:30ish, so I stopped to visit with Jim and Sue in St Germain for a couple of hours first.  I picked up some BBQ from Smokestack to share with them before taking off.  I chose to avoid the interstate highway, so the route took me northeast through lots of small towns and there wasn’t a lot of traffic.  On a couple of 20-mile stretches I never saw another vehicle and it was a beautiful day for a road trip through the north woods of Wisconsin.

It was nice to see Jim and Sue again - we took a much needed walk after being in the car for 5 hours and then sat on the porch talking until it was time for dinner. The BBQ was delicious and Sue made a yummy salad to go with it.  

I then headed out for Mass City, another scenic hour and half drive through the towns of Eagle River, WI, then Watersmeet, and Bruce Crossing, MI and crossing into the Eastern time zone. Again, another beautiful drive and it was nice to see Carol and Richard again and to see the changes he has made to the house (new windows, added electric and a door to the upstairs, and some new furniture. He bought this house as a vacation getaway, as he likes to snowmobile in the winter. He told me that during a 3-day period two years ago that 46” of snow dropped and it was waist high on him as he stood at the patio door. We talked until 11, Joey entertained us and we finally went to bed. 

We spent the 4th just hanging out, going for walks, sitting on the deck and talking endlessly. Their friends Jean and Tom joined us for dinner and Carol made yummy beef tips that she served with mashed potatoes, salad, veggies and crescent rolls and topped that off with a cheese cake dessert.  We retired to the living and room and talked until 10:30 when Jean couldn’t keep her eyes open any more. It wasn’t long and the neighborhood fireworks began, so none of us got to sleep for quite a while.  Joey was very unsettled and I ended up putting his leash on him so I could keep him on the bed and he eventually settled in and fell asleep.  These are some of the wildflowers I found on my stroll around the yard and woods.

Richard was working on a project to replace the drafty old window in the dining room and Tom (a carpenter) was helping him out. Us women sat and watched while they worked and it wasn’t long before they had the new one in and the insulation all around it. I was impressed with their efficiency and quality of the job.

Joey was fascinated with the whole thing too, he sat there watching Richard for a long time.

We drove to Houghton to The Mineshaft restaurant for dinner and were quite disappointed in the service. It was a 40-minute wait for a table that usually isn’t an issue with a group of folks who want to sit and enjoy a cocktail while waiting but, unlike me, these folks don’t drink and wanted to be seated to eat right away.  Baked Whitefish (the catch of the day) was one of their specialties and it was barely warm when it arrived but we all ate it anyway since it took so long to get it - it was very tasty in spite of being lukewarm.  

This morning after a leisurely wake up and breakfast, I got my stuff together and headed back home. This time, I went west through Ironwood, MI, Hayward and Spooner, WI I-35 south back home.  Again, traffic wasn’t bad except through towns and I sure did see a lot of folks hauling RVs, ATVs, and boats - lots of lake life in the north woods. It always feels good to get back home.