Castle in the Northwoods

 

This morning we had cereal at our resort, then we went to a coffee shop in downtown Tomahawk with a lovely outdoor garden.

We went to Sara Park to wade in the Wisconsin River, and we thought about swimming, but the river was very cold and the sun was very bright, so we decided to hike on the shady Bearskin Trail. We walked south of Harshaw for an hour and forty-six minutes and crossed a number of trestles.

Then we went to the Minocqua Brewing Company, which is a very political brewery. See if you can spot what their politics are.

They say they are "the most unpopular place in town," but they were packed. Then we had a late lunch at a smokehouse that just opened last month. It was very good. We discussed going antiquing but were worn out, so we headed back to our resort, and Travalon looked at sites around the area. We were so disappointed to find out the Welcome to Oneida County sign was temporarily closed - what does this even mean? It's not a business, it's a sign. Travalon discovered there is a castle here in Tomahawk - what?!?!? As if we hadn't found enough castles on our Memorial Day jaunt, now there was one right here?? Kelley's Castle is only open one weekend a year, in September, for some sort of Renaissance Festival, but we decided to drive there and were happy to find the gate was open and there was no "No Trespassing" sign. We drove along a very long dirt road until coming to a sign that said: "If you can read this, you're in range." We weren't sure if they meant for a gun or a crossbow, but I thought maybe we should get out of there. We saw a white pickup parked beyond the sign, and those are nothing but trouble. Travalon parked in the grassy area marked "car parking," and he managed to get this photo through the trees.

I forgot to mention that, as we drove back from our long hike, I was so addled by the heat that I saw a sign that said "Fir St" and thought it said "Fir Sir," and then I saw a business called "Adult Boutique" but I thought it said "Adult Solutions." But then we got some Green Apple Gatorade, and I recovered. 

We came back to our resort and swam in Lake Nokomis for about an hour, then we showered and dozed for a bit before trying to find some dinner. All the restaurants around our resort were full of tourists, so we went to a family restaurant in town, then on the way back we could see the western sky was ablaze.

We hurried back to the resort, knowing the deck out back faced west and we should have a glorious view of the sunset. And we did! Here is one from my phone.

Here is one from Travalon's phone.

And here are some from his good camera.

I really like this next one, despite the artifact in the upper left.

It was raining a bit, so I went inside to do Night Prayer, and from our window I could still watch the sunset. It was stunning for almost an hour, and then the fireworks started. During Night Prayer, Travalon went fishing off the dock at our resort, and after I got done, he and I went out to watch the fireworks. Someone on either side of us was setting them off, and someone just to the left of the point you can see in the photo above. 

Here is a photo of our view at dinner last night.

And this is facing toward the supper club.

Today was such a Northwoods day. Swimming in a lake! Hiking in the woods! Fishing (for Travalon)! And... a castle? The one thing we didn't do is rent kayaks - apparently they rent them at our resort, but not by the hour, only by the day, and we had so many other things to do today. An hour of kayaking would have been great, but a whole day? No thanks!

Famous Hat