River Falls, WI to Baraboo, WI.

As I write this, we're in Utica, IL at a Passport America park. Because of no Internet signal when we were at the CG near Baraboo, WI. these next 3 post will be catch-up post that were written on a word processor and then copied here to the blog. There may be more than 1 post a day until I can get caught up.

Baraboo, WI.  Tuesday, August 6, 2013

65 Deg. overcast, no wind.
Forecast = High temp. 83 deg. becoming sunny this afternoon.


We left River Falls about 9:50 Monday morning. It rained overnight, but by the time we were leaving, it had stopped. Jim was going to dump Bobbie T’s tanks, but when we were ready to leave there was a MH at the dump station and there was a travel trailer waiting, so we just drove on by and pulled out onto the road.

We weren’t really in a big hurry because Jim had called the CG that he wanted to stay at and made a reservation a little before we left, but he hates sitting in line at a dump station while some people just take their time. (That MH had already been at the dump station for at least 20 minutes and it didn’t look like he was anywhere near ready to leave.) 

The reason that he called the CG was that he knew that at this time of the year, many of the parks fill up in the Wisconsin Dells area, and he wanted to be sure to have a site. Come to find out, the lady at the CG told him that she only had 2 sites left, so it was good that he called.

Anyway, once back on Rt. 65 we headed SE on it until we came to Ellsworth, WI. There we pulled into a gas station and bought Bobbie T a drink of 87 octane before turning East on US 10.  10 started out OK but soon became quite rough and stayed that way about ½ the way to Osseo, WI., where we turned SE on I-94. 94 then brought us down to the South side of the “Dells” area and to US 12, where we turned South. Just a few miles south of the Interstate, we turned East on N. Reedsburg Rd. which brought us to the Fox Hill RV Park and CG.

Even with stopping for Bobbie T’s drink and a pit stop along the way, it was just 1:45 when we pulled up in front of the office, so we had traveled 192 miles in 3 hours and 55 minutes.

The Fox Hill CG seems like a pretty nice park. It’s not the type of park we’d normally stay at, but when you’re in a tourist area, you take what you can get. It is a Passport America Park though, so at least we’re staying here at a fairly reasonable rate of $26.11 per night.

The enterance.

The office with all the pedal go cart rentals sitting out front.

My site #G-6, Not too level but had some shade

The park seems well maintained and the sites are fairly large. As you've probably surmised by now though, we don’t have an AT&T data signal, and the free wi-fi here in the park is horrible!!!

So, until we get someplace where there’s a signal, I’ll continue to write these posts on the word processor and then post them when I can.

For dinner last night, neither Jim or Linda felt like cooking, so they took CLT and headed into town and to a Culver’s Restaurant.

Today the plan is to head to some of the places I talked about in my last post. One place that they’ll surely go, (that I forgot to mention), is the Baraboo Candy Company, where Linda can purchase some sugar free  candy.  Then, I think they’re planning on going to the produce stand and the Grocery store.

We’ll be staying here for 2 more nights before continuing South to Illinois, so they have a couple of days to do the things they want to do.

Did you know that August 6th is "National Root Beer Float Day"?

Woof!!!

No Internet Signal

Baraboo, WI.

66 deg. overcast, no wind.

We made it up here to the Wisconsin Dells area without any problems. Have a very poor Internet signal and almost as poor phone signal. I'm keeping track of everything that's happening and will catch up the blog after we leave here on Thursday.

By Friday, we should be back in Rantoul, so I know I'll have a good connection then.

Woof!!!

A Good Stay In River Falls and Why "The Dells"?

River Falls, WI.

59 deg. overcast, light rain.
Forecast = Overcast with thunderstorms, High of 84F. Winds from the SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.

We've had a good stay here in River Falls. Being that it was the weekend, there was very little construction going on next door to Hoffman Park, so it was fairly quiet. Jim and Linda have been able to spend some time with Glenn, Jeanette and their family, and yesterday evening, Glenn and Jeanette bought dinner for Jim and Linda at the local Perkins Restaurant.

Thanks guys!!!! :-)

They were gone quite awhile, so I think they probably spent more time talking than they did eating. ;-)

As they were leaving the restaurant, Jim snapped this photo of them.

Today, we'll be heading for the Wisconsin Dells area. I've been watching the radar and it looks like there may be a break in the weather later on, so that Jim can get Bobbie T pulled out of this site and get CLT hooked up to the back of her without getting soaked.

So, why are we going to "The Dells", you ask?  Well Jim and Linda won't be going on any of the rides or going into any of those souvenir shops, but there's a great cheese shop that Jim and Linda have been going to every time we get up to this area, and they'll want to go there. In the past, there's always been  a farm stand down near Baraboo, where this farmer and his wife sell great produce. There's a grocery store in Baraboo that sells a kind of coffee that Jim really likes, and there's a great flag and banner store out in Reedsburg that Jim wouldn't mind going to if they have time.

Besides that, if you know the area, there's some very scenic drives along the Wisconsin River in the Dells / Portage area, and, it always fun to drive through the Dells downtown tourist area and see all the people swarming through the shops, buying fudge and trinkets to take back home with them. ;-)

And, on top of that, if you've been coming here for as long as Jim and Linda have, (Jim's been coming up to the Dells since way back in the early 60's), you get to know where the good restaurants in the area are, where you're not surrounded by a bunch of screaming kids or unruly adults.

What Jim and Linda actually do while we're in the area will depend a lot on the weather. The forecast is for t-storms and rain both today and tomorrow, so we'll have to see what happens.  

Did you know that Wisconsin produces more milk than any other state?

Woof!!!

Hoffman Park Photos

River Falls, WI.

50 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. High of 82F. Winds less than 5 mph.

Jim took a few photos of the CG here in River Falls so I thought I'd post them today.

This is the sign as you come into the park.

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View of the road leading through the park. As you can see, it's paved and the park is very well maintained.

There are a few tenters here this time, but most of the sites are filled with RVs.

This is our site this time. It's site #14 and is on the East side of the road.

As I mentioned yesterday, this is normally a nice quiet park, but this time there is construction right behind us and across the road. Jim found out that the city is building a new baseball park over there that will have permanent seating and will be used by a semi-professional team at times.

If there are a lot of games there, it could definitely change the whole characteristic of this campground with lights, cars, people and noise.

I hope it won't because we've really enjoyed staying here in the past.  

Not a whole lot to report. Jim and Linda have been visiting with Glenn and he came out for that cookout yesterday. (Jim didn't take any photos though). Today, Glenn and Jeanette are busy until this evening, so the plan is to go out to dinner with them around 5:00 or 6:00.

Tomorrow the plan is to leave here and head down to the Wisconsin Dells area. They're calling for rain though, so it could be interesting getting hooked up to get out of here.

Did you know that August is "National Catfish Month"?

Woof!!!

Bumps And Construction But We Made It To River Falls

River Falls, WI.

50 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. High of 81F. Winds from the NNW at 5 to 10 mph.

Being that we only had around 55 miles to go we didn't leave Turtle Lake until 10:50, expecting a nice easy drive down US 63 to I-95.

Well, that was the plan, but no one knew about the construction on almost the whole 40 mile length of it!!! :-(   This was a major resurfacing project, with what looked like passing lanes being added in places. There were lots of signs that said "Bump" that you had better slow way down for, if you didn't want everything in the cabinets airborne,  and there were quite a few places where the road was down to 1 lane, so you had to wait for traffic from the opposite direction.

Some of the road was very rough, some of it had been ground off so that there were serious groves, and some of it had already been repaved with new blacktop.

We finally made it down to I-95 where we turned West and took it for about 10 miles to Rt. 65. There, we turned South and followed 65 here to River Falls and Hoffman Park. It was 12:10 when we pulled into the park so it took us an hour and 20 minutes to travel 58 miles.

Hoffman Park is a nice little City Park with only 15 sites. Three of the sites have 50 amp electric and the others have 30 amp. There is no water or sewer at the sites, but there's a nice dump station and water is available at the corner of one of the buildings. All the sites are back-in and paved, with some medium sized trees giving a little shade a times.

Jim didn't get any photos yet, but I'll post them here as soon as he does.

We've been here quite a few times before to visit Linda's brother and his family. It's usually nice an quiet, but this time is different. I'll tell you more about that in tomorrow's post.

For dinner, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to Glenn and Jeanette's. Their daughter, Mary and her family were also there, so Jim and Linda got to see everyone the first night.

Today, Jeanette is going to be busy, watching Mary's 3 children so Glenn is planning on coming out here to the park for a cookout and to meet Bobbie T.

Did you know that the Hamburger hall of fame is located in Seymour, WI?

Woof!!!

Crandon To Turtle Lake, WI and A Not So Great RV Park

Turtle Lake, WI.

54 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Clear in the morning, then partly cloudy. High of 73F. Winds from the NW at 5 to 10 mph.

We left the County Park near Crandon right at 9:30 yesterday morning and once back to US 8, continued our journey West. About an hour into our trip, we pulled into a gas station and got Bobbie T a nice big drink of 87 octane, before continuing on to the Turtle Lake RV Park.

It was 1:05 by the time we pulled into the park, so we traveled 173 miles stopped for fuel and a quick pit stop in 3 hours and 35 minutes.

We didn't see a sign for this park on US 8, but both Jim and Linda saw the park off to the left just before we came to the US 8 / Rt 63 interchange. It was about a block off of the road and when we came to the entrance, this is the sign we saw.

So, where was the "Blue Building"? About a block away back the way we came, off of US 8!!!!

Jim said that the lady in the Liquor Store was pleasant, but the only information she gave was to "Just go and find a site" and "Make sure that you put the garbage in the barrels provided".

There are no large trees in the RV Park so there's no shade. The sites are actually back-in but you can pull through from the site behind the one you chose. All the sites are full hook-up, with 30 amp electric but the boxes are not placed well, and you have to be careful not to pull too far forward or your cord won't reach.

The above photo is the site Jim finally picked. Actually one is as good as the other.

This is the view from the front of Bobbie T. Not very scenic.

Oh well, it's OK for just a 1 night stay. I really don't think that it's worth $27.47 though. :-(

Oh, one other thing. US 8 became rougher the farther West we came. It never did get too bad, but it sure wasn't nice and smooth like it was yesterday.

Today, we'll head to River Falls, WI. That's where Linda's brother lives. We only have about 55 miles to travel, so it should be a real easy travel day. ;-)

Did you know that Wisconsin has 7,446 streams and rivers? End-to-end they'd stretch 26,767 miles. That is more than enough to circle the globe at the equator.

Woof!!!

Heading West From Michigan Into Wisconsin

Crandon, WI.

53 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast =  High of 73F. Winds from the WNW at 5 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.

After getting Bobbie T ready to travel, Jim pulled her over to the Dump station and dumped the tanks. Then after hooking CLT up to the back of her, we pulled out of the Driftwood Shores Resort at 9:45.

Once back on US 2, we continued West on 2 until we entered Wisconsin where we turned off on US 8. 8 then brought us to Crandon, where we turned South on Lake Ave, and then East on East Lakeview Rd, which brought us to the Forest County Veteran's Memorial Park .

It was 1:05 when we pulled up to the park office, so it took us 3 hours and 20 minutes to travel 162 miles and that included a quick pit stop at a rest area in Michigan.

As the name implies,  this is a county park. It's about 4 miles off of the beaten path, but in my opinion, worth the effort.

Now, before I tell you about the park, I want to caution those of you that have very tall RVs. Lake Ave. as well as East Lakeview Rd. are narrow roads and there are trees on both sides of the roads. Some of the branches could cause a problem for very tall RVs if you are near the edge of the roads. However, the traffic is very light so you probably won't be meeting many other vehicles, so you can stay to the center to avoid them.

Once you get to the park even the largest RVs should have no trouble, and they have quite a few sites that will accommodate them. Another thing of importance, is the fact that there is no water or sewer at any of the sites, but, even though the parks web site says that they only have 20 amp service, I believe that they have recently upgraded all of the electric to 50 amp. as all of the boxes look new, and you can see where they dug trenches to lay the new lines.

The sites are back-in and many of them are in the open. Most of the sites near the lake were taken, but we were able to find one that wasn't. ;-)

The sites to the right of the road are near the lake.

The view looking back through the trees. You can see a path and the lake beyond the trees if you click on the photo to enlarge it.

The view of the lake after walking on the path shown in the previous photo.

This is a pretty nice park. There are a lot of families here so there's kids running around in the park. The park is about 1/2 full today, but I would imagine that by the weekend, it'll be packed. They don't take reservations, so if you're planning on being here over a weekend, you may want to get here at least by Wednesday or Thursday.

Today, we'll be leaving here and heading farther West on US 8. Jim has one more stop planned before we get to Linda's Brother's house on Friday.

Oh, by the way, the TV is still working well. We're getting quite a few channels out of Rhinelander. ;-)

Did you know that Green Bay is Wisconsin's oldest city?

Woof!!!