Only useful if you have a long drive, otherwise, watch out.
July 25, 2013
July 20, 2013
Brit's Pub, Minneapolis, MN
In case you didn't know, this is never a bad way to spend a gorgeous summer afternoon. Highly recommended.
July 19, 2013
Minocqua, WI
After a fun-filled weekend in Manitowish Waters, WI (say that ten times fast!), I stopped off in Minocqua to check out the main drag and have lunch. I'd heard about this city when I lived in Milwaukee, from native Wisconsinites, but never really understood its place in WI outdoor adventures.
My take - It seems as though people from IL go as far north as Lake Geneva or The Dells... but people in WI go much further north to Minocqua and beyond. They know why too... a lot less peolpe and a lot more wilderness and outdoor adventures.
I get the impression that Minocqua is the Jersey Shore of Wisconsin, and I mean that in the nicest way. They have their version of the Shore Store, where you can emblozon a t-shirt with any slogan you want, and many you don't and one of the largest sports stores I've ever been in, with tons of Packer and Bears stuff.
It's an "island city" and has a very relaxed, small town vibe. I had a great time walking that strip, popping into the shops, and having a relaxed brunch before getting back on the road.
Uber-custom cheesehead beer coozie anyone? 
A three foot, hand-made, $600 bobble-head of Clay Matthews anyone?
Nothing starts the day right like Packers labelled waffles...
...Except Packers labelled toast
The Mother Load
Who doesn't hate the Cleatues Robot on FOX?
July 18, 2013
Manitowish Waters & Surrounding Area, Northern WI
They know how to do northwoods weekends right in Wisonsin and Michigan, man oh man!
Please be sure to keep your eyes peeled for... wildlife, tons of natural beauty, donut stops, and wicked aggressive black flies.
Don't miss the fawn... 
Top 3 Donuts in my Life, hands down.
Yooper Melt... ham, turkey, bacon, American cheese, Texas toast - delicious. 
Big ass Wolf spider - like eight eyes... you can see one reflecting the flash...
God Bless America!!!
Pretty as a...
Black flies ate me alive for this picture
I'm thirsty now... July 17, 2013
A drive through the middle of Wisconsin.
Most people, when needing to drive from the Northwoods of WI to Minneapolis, MN would take a direct or fast route. Google says this proposed route is 288 miles and 4 hours and 37 minutes. But, everyone knows my middle name is "adventure", so I took the road less travelled. Google also lists an option of a small two-lane highway labeled as US-8. I've come to find out this highway is also known by Wisconsinites as their "8 Mile".
In any case, I did something of a mix of two options, going down on Hwy 51 to US-8, cutting through WI solely on US-8, and going all the way to Minnesota's I-35. This route is listed as 285 miles, but jumps to 5 hours and 33 mintues.
The decrease in mileage (3 big miles) and increase in time is due to the fact that US-8 is two-lanes all the way and enjoys a maximum speed of 55mph (which seemed as though everyone went about 60mph without issue). Every 10-20 miles, you get to slow down to 45mph, then 35mph, and then 25mph to pass through small towns all along the way, with populations to match:
Tripoli, ~110
Tony, 113
Bruce, 771
Ladysmith, 3383
Cameron, 1784
Barron, 3425
Tony, 113
Bruce, 771
Ladysmith, 3383
Cameron, 1784
Barron, 3425
But this doesn't take into account the real close up look that you get at small town America and the farmland that makes Wisconsin the dairyland powerhouse that it is. Though I will admit I may not choose this option everytime, it really pays to take it some of the time. There are just some things you can't see at 70mph.July 16, 2013
July 11, 2013
Fun Wolf Factoids*
I can't stop looking up info about wolves since my real-life run-in and wolf-kill-fawn experience in Tofte/Lutsen, MN.
> Wolves weighing over 54 kg (120 lbs) are uncommon, though exceptionally large individuals have been recorded in Alaska, Canada, and the former Soviet Union. The heaviest recorded gray wolf in North America was killed on 70 Mile River in east-central Alaska on July 12, 1939 and weighed 79.4 kilograms (175 lb), while the heaviest recorded wolf in Eurasia was killed after World War II in Kobeliaky, Poltavskij Region, Ukrainian SSR, and weighed 86 kilograms (190 lb)... must be all the vodka and borscht
> The majority of victims of predatory wolf attacks are children under the age of 18 and, in the rare cases where adults are killed, the victims are almost always women...[insert quote about bears from Anchorman here]
> [Wolves] auditory perception is sharper than that of the fox, being able to hear up to a frequency of 26 kHz, which is sufficient to register the fall of leaves in the autumn period... that's just nuts, I bet they hear those fall too
> At least two fatal attacks by wild, non-rabid wolves have occurred in 21st century North America: in 2005, a man was killed in Saskatchewan, Canada, while in 2010, a woman was killed whilst jogging near Chignik Lake in Alaska... at least one more compelling reason not to visit Canada
*all from Wikipedia
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