More Wisconsin Wanderings

<p>We're officially halfway done! (For those of you wondering how we can be halfway done but still in Wisconsin: Don't worry, it will make sense soon.) We clocked 1,500 miles today and I have a picture as proof!</p>
<p>But it wasn't an uneventful journey to 1,500, worry not. Somewhere back in Michigan, we ran into a fellow tourer headed in the opposite direction who gave us some invauable tips about the road ahead. One thing he mentioned was a Wisconsin town called Boulder Junction. Unfortunaely, neither David nor I could remember what exactly he had said about it, but we made plans to spend some time there nevertheless. We passed through Eagle River (the hockey capitol of Wisconsin as well as the snowmobiling capitol of the world) on our way into Boulder Junction and arrived around 2pm. The town was small but cute, and seemed to be set up for outdoors enthusaists.

We had a late lunch and drink at the Boulder Beer Bar and then checked out the sporting goods store. I got bored fast and stepped outside only to be distracted by a buillding with a sign that read "bakery." I have barely missed a chance to buy a brownie, cookie, or cinnamon roll since we began this trip, so I walked on over to the Dancing Bear Coffee Shop and Bakery. David and and I split a nutty mocha, 2 donut holes, and 2 pie crust twists. We found a deer-shaped cribbage board and played a full game (I outpegged David in the final hand).

While sipping, munching, and cribagging, Carolyn from the Dancing Bear introduced herself and had a seat right next to us. She had a few questions about our trip, and she repaid our answers handsomely with 2 fantastic oatmeal and M&M cookies - on the house! She also gave us the info of two of her friends who live in Los Alamos, of all places, so we're looking forward to tracking them down.

That evening, we enjoyed a hotel, more cheese, a real bed, a shower WITHOUT a toad in it, and tv reruns. This is much less exciting to read about than it was for us to experience, because it was all probably one of the greatest things we've ever done.

Oh, and yes, there was a toad in the shower at our last campground. And I still took my shower, thank you very much.

So Boulder Junction was yesterday, and now we're all set up in a campground in Chequamegon National Forest. As I'm writing this David is sitting next to me on our private dock on Day Lake, near the town of Clam Lake, WI. He is udating our written journal, which we'll let people read when we get back. It has all of David's perspectives, plus a few more technical details like miles completed, average speed, and weather. Anyway, he's writing about today as the sun sets on the empty lake and he just said to me, "nothing interesting happened today, did it?" And when I think about it, I realize he's right. So here's my update for today:

We pedaled. A lot. And ate. A lot. And now we're camping.

Our plans for the next few nights include Birchwood, Amery, St. Croix Falls, and then into Dalbo, Minnesota! The fall colors are already starting to make their way out and we're looking forward to enjoying those along the way.

Our special thanks to the sponsors who got us here today! My Aunt Karen and Uncle Tom who literally went the extra mile by biking alongside us in New York, our high school friends Gavin, Ryann, and their baby girl Rylee Shnieder, and Adam Neill from Merrick (and his dogs!).