August 21 - 28 - Bowler to Eau Claire, WI (139 miles) - stayed 7 nights at Eagle Ridge Campground
August 28 - September 9 - Eau Claire, WI to Welcome, MN (233 miles) - stayed 7 nights at Checkers Welcome Campground
Labor Day, last Summer Holiday, whew!
When we left Door County, we knew we were up against a holiday. It’s very hard to find a place to stay on a holiday weekend. And, we spent quite a bit on our last RV park, so we were looking to tighten our belt and stay closer to budget. We are able to do that in two ways. First, we joined Passport America for $40. There are many campgrounds that offer stays at up to half price if you are a member. Some are very strict about which and how many days you can get it, but it’s worth working with the restrictions. Second, we slowed down and started staying a week at a time. Weekly rates are also much more affordable than nightly. Once we secure our spot for Labor Day weekend, we started looking toward getting across the Plain States to the Pacific Northwest before the weather gets cold and we go back to San Antonio for Thanksgiving. But let’s take a moment and look back.
Wisconsin is lovely. We stayed at our second casino. They usually have nice, inexpensive campgrounds and offer enticements to get you to gamble. Bill enjoyed that. Each day, we got $10 of free play on the slots, and Tuesday was Senior Day (50 years old and older). Eek! We qualified for Senior Day! We actually made money, believe it or not, on the Wheel of Fortune slot machine that was enough to pay for our stay. Score!
Our second stay in Wisconsin was between Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls, home of Leinenkugel brewery. I’m not a beer drinker, and Bill doesn’t drink at all, but I do like their summer shandy. And for the $10 admission, you got to sample 5 of their beers. So, we took the tour and established that, I don’t like most beer, but I do like the flavored ones. I really enjoyed the Berry Weiss and Grapefruit Shandy. They even mixed the berry Weiss and summer shandy to make a berry lemonade. Yum! I worked hard to drink both our samples, but didn’t quite make it. I bought some summer squash at Eau Claire’s farmers market and made some summer squash soup. Thanks, Christina, for the recipe. I’ll put it in the next post.
But mostly, I was struck by the farms. Everywhere you could fit a field, there was corn! I did a little research and learned that farmhouses are painted white because it’s a symbol of purity and cleanliness. The barns are traditionally painted red because orange-ish linseed oil was mixed with rust to preserve the wood and protect against mold and fungus.
In this area, there are about 50 Amish communities. Every once in a while we’d spot an Amish family shopping at Walmart, or visiting the city park. It was a little surreal. You could tell which farms were Amish by the colorful shirts and black trousers drying in the clothesline’s outside. And almost all the barns had barn quilts (hex signs), an Amish tradition that originally was a 6 (sects) -pointed star to promote fertility and prosperity. All the farmers and shop keepers picked up on the tradition and made their own. They even have a fundraiser bike ride around the area to view them all - their version of street art! If I had more space, I’d be making my own, I’m so taken with them. They’re beautiful bright-colored spots in an otherwise very green space.
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