August 7-13, 2011

Mary, Linds and I went up for a few days. We spent a lot of time relaxing, reading, and took a walk every night after dinner. We rode bikes on the Three Eagle Trail, and also the trail from Sayner to St. Germaine, and the trail out of Land O’ Lakes. Linds and I enjoyed a nice sail around the lake. Saw some wildlife, and the “bear magnet” (Linds) helped us spot a bear crossing the road between Phelps and Land O’ Lakes. We succeeded in getting the dryer hooked up and vented! We also rescued 18 red pines and planted them around the property.

28 July - 31 July 2011 Bike Trip

Went up Thursday morning with Mark Hanson and Gary Greene to do some serious biking on the scenic paved bike trails. We rode around Phelps Thursday afternoon, and, upon returning to the cabin I got my first flat tire. Friday we went to Sayner and biked to St. Germaine. On the way back I got my second flat tire. Went to Eagle Waters Friday night for a great meal. Saturday we went to Boulder Junction and biked toward Sayner and back. We turned back toward Boulder Junction a little short of Sayner because of approaching storm clouds. I was cruising along, ran over a chipmunk, got my third flat and it started to pour. All three of us got soaked, but it now makes for a good story. I am certain that the spirit of the chipmunk was involved in some way. Saturday night we drove over to St. Germaine to take part in Joe Bucher's Blues Festival. We also found time to get the LP kit installed on the dyer over at Jensen Akins in Conover.

July 14-17, 2011

Mary and I went up about mid-day on our 38th anniversary. Hojem's arrived about mid-day on Friday. On Saturday we rode the bike trail from Sayner to St. Germaine, a terrific trail with gorgeous views and fairly easy roller-coaster hills. We later toured a car show in St. Germaine and walked through the Artarama in Eagle River. Later Saturday Mary and I got a lot of the excess stuff out of the entry porch so we can get to work finishing that room. We made great progress before leaving for home Sunday.

Brice and Family

Mary and I went up Friday morning July 8th, and Brice, Jeanne, Aidan and Reese came up that afternoon for a fun weekend. We repaired the swing on Walton's Mountain, Reese and Aidan rode the tractor around, Reese and I went sailing, we had a great campfire on the beach, went to the Northwoods Children's Museum, and both kids went kayaking where we went to see the beaver dam being reconstructed. Spent a little time at Kartway in Eagle River where we had a crash-crazy kart ride, someone got soaked in the bumper boats, and the kids enjoyed 18 holes of mini golf. Clooney and Buster came as well, and both dogs enjoyed the out-of-doors and all the new experiences and smells. Fortunately, none of them ran into porcupines or skunks. We all headed for home late morning or early afternoon on Sunday, July 10th.

July 4th 2011 Visit

Mary and I went to the cabin on Thursday, June 30th for the 4th of July holiday weekend. We biked with Hojems about 10 miles on the Three Eagle Trail, and then we did another 10 on the Land O' Lakes trail on July 4th. Weather was great; I went sailing 5 times, and we transplanted 11 trees, 10 red pines and one white spruce.

Father's Day Weekend

I rode up Friday morning with Hojem's. Dano and Mary came up Friday night after Dano got in Madison from work. I got to the cabin about 12:45 p.m. and spent two hours mowing. Then moved three trailers of rocks for the rock wall I am building around the new circle driveway. We took a 14-mile bike ride on the paved trails out of Sayner on Saturday. Great day for a ride. Went to eat at Holiday Lodge Saturday night, and headed for home by about 11 a.m. Sunday. Before we left Sunday, Dano gave me her Father's Day present which was glassware that she had produced (through her work) that have an image of the cabin and me skiing on the other side. We headed for home by about 11:00 a.m. Sunday. Linds was not able to join us because she had a wedding in Minneapolis to attend.

First Post to this Blog

This is my first post ever to a blog. My intent is to chronicle the progress and development of our up north retreat at 2574 Black Bear Lane in Phelps, Wisconsin. More to come!