Wisconsin back track

A couple weeks ago, Todd and I were off, once again, to Wisconsin for a wedding in Green Bay.

But as soon as we got home I was out the door to Frontier Days and had no chance to post about our last Midwest excursion.

Here's a recap:

The first night we "camped" once again.  Not quite the camping experience we had the last time, but not too far off.  This time, we had a bit more room to spread out in the back of the Outback.  We pulled over in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  This is what it looked like the next morning...

Todd and Rigby...

Me...

There's a delicacy in Wisconsin I learned about for the first time.  We were at the butcher shop and Todd said, "Let's get some wildcat."  I thought, like what I believe most normal people would think, that it was going to be ground bobcat or something else feline.  Todd had fun helping my imagination run, well, wild, before explaining what it was, which is raw, ground, top of the line sirloin mixed with onions and a bunch of spices...

Now, I LOVE sushi.  I'll eat raw fish, no problem.  I want my steaks medium rare leaning a little more on the rare side.  But completely 100 percent raw burger on a cracker?  I had a bit of a mental block.  But I tried it...

And while I can't say I LOVED it, it wasn't bad.  I would try it again.  But it is weird to think about...

On a more yummy note, Todd's dad was a blueberry growing pro.  He was known for his ability to grow some good berries.  There are blueberry bushes all around the house, and we also filled up on those!

And don't forget the cheese.  I had yet to go to a cheese factory or dairy, so Todd and I stopped by Mullins Cheese on our way to the wedding...

Cheese there is so cheap!  For my old Dupont Dwellers let me equate: It is WAY better than the secret cheese bin!  Full chunks of cheese for a slice of what it normally goes for in other parts of the country!  I like the dairy cow scene above the cooler...

This is a bag of whey.  I wondered what in the world someone would need that much for - then saw a sign that said great for smoothies.  That made sense...if you were a smoothie shop.

And the cheese curds!  These were actually still warm!  So they were quite squeaky!

Just start calling me Miss Muffet...  though I don't yet own a tuffet.

Wisconsin (and Illinois) wrap-up

Here's a wrap of our trip to Wisconsin and Illinois.

I'll just dive in...

...much like Rigby:  Todd was selling his boat to my dad who was planning to come to Wisconsin to pick it up.  Before he arrived, Todd wanted to make triple sure it ran ok, so we took it out for a ride.  He put Rigby in the boat and as he pulled away we heard **SPLASH** and there was Rigby swimming to shore!

Let's check the logic: The river is less scary than the boat...??

Landlubber!  

So, we discovered Rigby can swim - and that the boat doesn't sink...

Todd came back for me and another try for Riggs.  We forced him into the boat again and took off.  He did much better but was still pretty tense... 

Two discoveries in Wisconsin for me, well, four, after Rigby's swim and the boat working well, were pickled brussel sprouts and cheese curds.  The first I had never heard of and the second I had heard tons about, but had never tried.  The brussel sprouts are delicious!  They're used as garnishes in drinks like Old Fashioneds and I couldn't get enough!  

I have wanted to try cheese curds every time we've been in Wisconsin, but we haven't gotten around to it.  Todd and I picked this package up at the grocery store and let me tell you they're also a very yummy treat.  These were still slightly warm and, as I found out, the fresher they are the more they squeak on your teeth when you chew!  Yes, squeak.  It's kind of like the sound of tennis shoes on a gym floor, only nowhere near as loud. 

In fact, the back of the package says: 

"You can be fully confident that when you select our cheese curds that they will be the freshest and the squeakiest available anywhere!"  

We took my dad to a good ol' Wisconsin fish fry at this place.  Yes, it was meet the parents weekend (sans my mom who was getting ready for the family reunion), so my dad and Todd's mom got to meet!

All week in Wisconsin we packed...

And packed some more!  My days of packing and unpacking are just...endless.  We were in Wisconsin to help his mom downsize and take some things back.  My dad helping load the U-Haul while Rigby oversees the job...

Then it was down to Illinois for my family reunion!  We always have it at New Salem State Park, one of those living history places where people are dying yarn and chopping logs for cabins...

Some of the fam walking the Village...(note the guy chopping a log)

Todd and I toasting with lemonade at the Temperance tent...

The spread at the reunion!

Some of the crew.  By the way, it was like a sauna that day.  Literally.  I can never, ever, EVER live with that kind of humidity again.  I know what the good life is like and there's no going back!

Saying the prayer before digging in...

Todd competing in the "washers" tournament...

On our way home, Todd and I stopped by Chimney Rock outside Scottsbluff, Neb.  The 300 foot formation served as a landmark on the Oregon, Mormon and California Trails.  I'd never been before and really wanted to see it...

You couldn't drive right up to the base, but there was a dirt road that took you part way.  Todd hesitated because we had the U-Haul hitched to the back.  I told him if Conestoga wagons could make it this far, so could we...

On the way up there's a little cemetery.  Todd said this is where other people who had tried pulling U-Hauls up there were buried...  

This was the oldest grave we found.  Pretty neat...

We finally made it home about 9 p.m. after 2,700 miles on the road.  

I am so happy to be here.  Mess and all.

Bonnie and Clyde

Todd and I are in Wisconsin!

And wow, does it take a long time to get here!

We left Casper at 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning thinking we would get to his mom's around around 2 a.m.  At about 12:30 a.m. we realized this was a pipe dream and at the rate we were going we wouldn't pull in until probably 4:30 a.m.!

We began weighing our options.  We came prepared with camping equipment for my family reunion at the end of the week, so we started looking up campsites and state parks.  After a wild goose chase or two for parks that ended up being a lot farther off the interstate than what we hoped, we finally found one.

We pulled in around 2 a.m. and stopped dutifully at the entrance station to check rules and campsite prices.  We discovered there were no prices and one of the rules was no setting up camp after 11 p.m.

Huh.  That's not gonna work.

We made an executive decision: We're going to pull in anyway.

We were tired.  We weren't going to be there more than 3-4 hours.  We weren't even going to bother with setting up the tent.  We just needed a slot for some zzz's!

So...we slept and skipped.  I admit it.  And...I stand by it!  I own our rule-breaking decision!

Todd waking up in the truck.  Worst.  Sleep.  Ever.

Foggin' up the windows!  Just kidding.  Too tired for parkin'!  See Rigby peeking up there...?

My side of the truck.  Todd was all cramped after sleeping with the steering wheel in his lap.  I asked him why he didn't just turn and put his feet up in the middle of the seat.  His reply?  He's not a 12-year-old girl who can bend like Gumby.  I laughed - a lot...

Pulling out of our hiding place...

The coffee cup I had grand plans of using as a rinse cup for brushing my teeth!  Two things I CAN'T STAND: not brushing my teeth or washing my face before bed.  Neither of these things happened that night.  I was broken hearted when I figured out our toothpaste was in the truck bed.  We each chewed a piece of Orbitz mint-flavored gum instead...  UGH.

Approaching the entrance to the park...  Uh-oh!

I'm not sure if Todd is leaning back for me to get a photo, or if he's trying to not be visible as we pass by.  The office doesn't open until 8 a.m. and it was 6:30 a.m.  We skipped early to avoid our captors!  To bad we didn't have Beyonce and Jay Z's Bonnie and Clyde song playing...

See ya' Willow River...!

Nice knowin' ya!