This morning we were again up early to drive back over to Bayfield to catch an early ferry to Madeline Island. We did not take Fred or the truck to the island although we could – for enough money. We took the bikes. $47.00 for a round trip for the two of us and two bikes. Madeline Island is one of the 22 Apostle Islands but is not part of the National Lakeshore and the only inhabited island. You can take a boat to some of the other islands for camping or light house viewing (during non-Covid times). Madeline is the largest of the Apostle Islands at about fourteen miles long and three miles wide. There is a town park and state park on the island and a few restaurants, shops etc. and some beautiful homes. Vehicles are allowed on the island but didn’t seem necessary for us today. We rode about fourteen miles exploring. We explored the state park, and La Pointe, the little town where the ferry docks and had lunch at one of the restaurants – really good whitefish from Lake Superior. After returning to the Bayfield ferry dock and loading the bikes back in the truck, the first stop was, of course, for ice cream. Very good pecan praline ice cream. We then did some more exploring of the area and hiked one of the trails here at the campground that goes to the Washburn marina. The nice trail right along the lake shore was a good way to end another great day of seeing more of this beautiful country.
Leaving Bayfield …
…with our bikes.
Almost to the island
Arriving on the island
Biking to the State Park
Lakeshore at the park
More pretty shoreline
The state park has a selfie stand set up for your phone
We did not expect to see any wildlife so we didn’t take a good camera today. So, of course, we had to see a bald eagle. This is the best the phone would do.
Sunday morning we were back on the road continuing our trek north. We noticed a little cooler temperatures when we stopped at a rest area to stretch our legs and eat some breakfast. We extended our stop long enough to watch the live stream of our church service. It was a good service, as usual, so if you want to check it out, click here. As we headed on north we exited Kentucky and began our travels across Illinois, the state of corn and soy bean fields. Prior to retiring when we thought of Illinois it was thoughts of Chicago, and great lakes. Now, after working several projects in Illinois, it’s thoughts of miles and miles of beautiful, huge, farms. We stopped mid-afternoon at a Harvest Host site in Atlanta, IL, a large family farm that also makes candy, teas, and grows spices and other small batch items. We really liked the sea salt caramel candy. After another restful night, we drove on to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, to another Harvest Host farm. This time it was an orchard. It’s a fifth generation family business. They have about 3,000 apple trees along with other fruits such as blue berries and raspberries, and honeybees. We of course left with more delicious treats. Love visiting Harvest Hosts, making new friends and enjoying new foods.
She really likes driving through construction zones, especially the ones with narrow lanes between concrete cattle chutes.
Church in a rest area somewhere
Where we stayed Sunday night in Illinois
Among all the other things they grew were some beautiful sunflowers
Home in the orchard for Monday night in Wisconsin
This morning we got an early start to our destination near the Apostle Islands. We are at a first come first serve campground on the shore of Lake Superior and were told we should arrive early if we hoped to get a site. We have a beautiful site and were so blessed to get this spot. We were told that the premium site we got was vacated about ten minutes before we arrived, and was one of the two sites that were available today. We will enjoy this beautiful setting the next 3 days as we explore the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and surrounding area. We feel so blessed to be here. The temperatures are cooler, (we needed a jacket this morning), the scenery incredible, with some great hiking this afternoon. Looking forward to the rest of our time here.
The sunrise this morning was very orange due to the smoke in the air. This picture does not show the orange very well.
Our campsite beside Lake Superior in Washburn, WI
The campground does not have water hookups at the sites, but has two artesian wells that are very pure. Of course we had to try it.
The first part of the trail is this boardwalk …
… but the rest of the trail was sand, rocks and roots – but they at least put these wonderful steps in the steep places to make it easier, especially for people with shorter legs.
The Crevasse is one of the kayaking destinations
There were several points along the trail where we could see the sea caves
There were several kayakers out today
This part of the shore is known as The Bowl
Smoke from fires in Canada almost obscured our view of this Apostle Island.
We are on the road again. Since our last post on July 14, we made a leisurely 2 day drive back to Alabama. We have spent the two weeks in Alabama catching up on things for both aunts and working at Helen’s house. The landscaping looks better but we still have work to do. We also had a couple of doctor and dentist appointments (including a 2 hour root canal re-treat). For the family, please remember to pray for the aunts because as of yesterday the nursing home is closed to visits again. A staff member tested positive for COVID and with the numbers so bad in Alabama, I don’t expect them to allow visits again anytime soon. Glad we saw them Wednesday when we were in town.
On the way to Alabama from Ohio we spent the night at a Harvest Hosts location in Portland, TN.
We also took a spur-of-the-moment car trip to check out a free campground in northwest Alabama…
… and we were lucky enough to be there at the peak of mayfly season.
In between yard and house work at Aunt Helen’s we washed Fred …
… and cleaned and treated his roof with UV protectant.
On one of our trips to Cullman for doctor appointments we of course had to go by Duchess Bakery.
This little fellow came by and visited one day in between rains
We always enjoy Alabama watermelons when we are there while they are in season.
As is the case for a large part of the country currently, it is very hot in Alabama. Temperatures are in the 90s with heat index above 100. We decided it was time to head north looking for some lower temperatures. Today around lunch time we buttoned up the house and drove as far as Paducah, KY this afternoon. Traffic was bad especially around Nashville. Headed into Nashville, we had a 30 minute traffic jam. We never saw the reason but traffic inched along for what seemed live forever and then suddenly cleared. We are overnighting in a church parking lot in West Paducah. You may remember we have stopped here previously when heading back to Alabama last year. The pastor is very familiar with the NOMADS and welcomes us whenever we pass through. We appreciate his hospitality. It’s a little cooler here than Alabama but not enough. We will continue north tomorrow.
Mysterious traffic delay going into Nashville
Hard working navigator (We were stopped in traffic when this picture was taken.)
We came to Ohio for what happened today. We visited The Wilds conservation center, not to be confused with the TV show. The Wilds is a private, non-profit safari park and conservation center located in Muskingum County, Ohio. It is about 35 minutes from Wolfie’s Campground. It is the largest wildlife conservation in North America encompassing 9,154 acres of reclaimed coal mine land. Currently they are only using between 3-4,000 acres for the park and the remainder will be used as they grow. They are doing a lot of work to preserve a number of endangered species. We aren’t sure exactly how they got their wildlife but know that some of them came from other zoos. We began our day with a not-so-safari like experience of ziplining through the park and canopy, over some lakes and in view but never over wildlife. Since this was our first time to have the opportunity to zipline we took advantage of the opportunity and really enjoyed the experience. We would definitely do it again.
The guides check the course every day before the first tour. Tough job.
Before we got on the towers we had to do a low level training zip.
There were no steps down from the last tower so we all rappelled to the ground.
The afternoon was spent in a safari type vehicle driving around the park. We saw most of the species in the park (too many to include) but not all and got what we think are some pretty good pictures too. It was a different and very fun day. We have enjoyed our short visit in Ohio. Tomorrow we start a trek back toward Alabama.
Anne getting closeups of the onagers
Our guide said onagers can be pretty ornery
Unconcerned camels
Greater One-horned Asian Rhinos have thick inflexible armor plates much like a knight’s armor.
The Red Crowned Crane reminds us of the Sandhill Crane.
The African Painted Dogs all decided at the same time to go for a swim.
Our guide told us a cheetah can run 70 mph, but only for about 1/4 mile. And then is has to sleep for a couple of hours to recover.
The stripes on these Grevy’s Zebras make it hard for prey to know how many there are in the group.
Giraffe checking its height
Adult and Young Southern White Rhino
Adult Bactrian Dear
Young Bactrian Deer
The three ostriches we saw had followed a bus into the wrong pasture and wouldn’t go back.
Ostrich eyes are so large they leave very little room for a brain.
So this one spent several minutes pecking at a spot on the bus thinking it was food.
RVing With a Purpose 