Where's That Confounded Bridge?

 

(With apologies to Led Zeppelin for stealing that blog post title.)

Saturday Travalon and I set off on our trip Up North. We stopped in Stevens Point and explored Iverson Park, with all its fun bridges, some of which lead to an island. Photos soon - they are loading very slowly up here. In Stevens Point we met Travalon's old college buddy, the one who lives in Japan, for lunch. That was a lot of fun. We hiked on part of the Bear Skin Trail near the trailhead, but we didn't stop in Minocqua because there was Mass in Manitowish at 5:30. We made it in time, and I was so happy because the opening hymn was "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say," but we only sang one verse. Then we went to our cabin in Manitowish Waters and unpacked before going to Smokey's, a swanky joint where you need reservations unless you are willing to eat at the bar. We certainly were, and at the bar there was a duo singing and playing popular songs. We got to talking to the people next to us, who were from Janesville but spend a lot of time up here. The bartender was Polish and very friendly too. We got ice cream drinks, and Travalon's had Chambord, a raspberry liqueur. So good! It was called a North Woods Black Squirrel. Our ice cream drinks attracted a lot of attention, and I made him trade with me, because my Nutty Irish Monk made with Bailey's and Frangelico was too sweet for me - payback for all the times he ordered an IPA because it had the coolest name, but then he made me switch beers with him because he hated it... and I don't love IPAs myself.

Yesterday morning for some reason we woke up at 6:30 as if it were a work day, so we were able to get to Dixie's Coffee by 8 and beat the big rush that came in right after us. The place overlooks a lake, and we watched a kid catch a big northern on his first cast, text his dad, have his dad take a photo, and then release it. After that fortification with food and caffeine, we were ready for our first adventure. We had seen a bridge from the road and thought we knew what path we had to take to get to it.

We found a place to park and headed off on the "path," but it involved a lot of bushwhacking, and Travalon quoted Zeppelin: "Where is that confounded bridge??" Then he said that should be my blog post title. Suddenly we saw a sign:

Yay! It really was the way to the bridge! I will have to post photographic evidence of this later, but the view from the bridge was gorgeous. We continued on to the other side of the bridge, and from there we found a path to the road so we wouldn't have to bushwhack back. We were going to brave walking along the road, but we didn't have to - there was a bike path! Such good luck!

Our next hike was at Trout Lake State Nature Trail, a hike of about a mile recommended in the "info" book in our cabin. It really was a wonderful hike in the woods, which were full of colorful mushrooms this time of year, and at one point it went along the crest of a hill from which you could see Trout Lake below. It was so beautiful! Then we went to Boulder Junction and shopped a little. I couldn't decide between a ring with a triangle "stone" in pink or blue, but they were cheap so I got one of each in different sizes so I could wear them on different fingers. Travalon bought a little red panda with a really long tail that he is calling Talia. Photos soon!

We came back to Manitowish Waters and went to Dixie's once again for lunch, sitting outside this time because it had warmed up. Then we went back to our resort and sat down by Rest Lake for a while. After that we tried to find Papoose Creek Pines State Natural Area but were by Papoose Lake, so we went to the Discovery Center with a wonderful observation deck overlooking a small lake, and then we went to a park across the street that overlooked Rest Lake, and we watched a catamaran with a colorful sail. When it reached the shore, the people on it cheered, and then they pulled it right up onto the shore. We had been planning to listen to live music at another park in town, but it was packed. Instead, we went north on Highway W and discovered a very cute bridge in a park in Winchester. We stopped at a recreation area called WinMan (Winchester Manitowish) for some (nonalcoholic) drinks, and we sat outside and enjoyed the ambiance. It was as joyful as that night after the Mallards game when the kids were dancing around and running the bases down on the field. The sun made a rainbow sunburst on the screen of my phone, and I tried to take a photo of it with Travalon's phone and his good camera, but they didn't seem to see what I saw. It makes me think of how, when I look in the mirror, I know I'm not gorgeous but I look cute, but in photos I usually look horrid... but once in a while one catches the cuteness I see, so I'm not totally nuts.

We came back and pondered using one of the watercraft at our resort (there were peddle boats, canoes, kayaks, and rowboats), but it was way too windy, with wind gusts almost 20 MPH. Instead, we decided to grab dinner at Ye Olde Shillelagh, but online it said it was temporarily closed. Oddly, it had recent posts on social media, like within the last couple of days, so we headed there to find out what was going on. Was it open? Was it closed? The answer is yes: it burned to the ground two days after St. Patrick's Day, but they had set up a tiki bar and a food cart (and port-a-potties), so we were able to sit listening to live music while enjoying (don't read this part, Jilly Moose) Guinness mushroom soup and cheese curds. Eventually we headed back to Smokey's for some healthier fare; I had a salad with all kinds of vegetables and grilled shrimp, and Travalon had the best steak he's ever had in his life. He gave me a few bites, and it really was amazing. The same Polish bartender was there, and he remembered us, and the same talented duo were singing and playing. The people next to us noticed my Split Rock Lighthouse State Park hoodie and said, "We were just there!" Greg the bartender asked if I wanted to try the chocolate espresso martini this time, since he remembered I had been curious about it the day before, so I caved and said yes. I was afraid the espresso would keep me up, but I slept like a baby and woke up at seven, so here I am blogging. Last night I started this post, but my phone's hot spot failed. I hope this time it works long enough for me to finish!

Famous Hat