Wisconsin

And next? We're thinking Wisconsin.

Wisconsin it was! A very nice ride thru Iowa via Dubuque all off Interstates was rudely interrupted by the new tire pressure monitor (TPMS) going off warning that the left front tire had suddenly dropped to 29psi.

It didn't feel like the tire was down, the steering felt normal and the coach wasn't down on that side. Luckily we were just coming up to the Wisconsin State Line and stopped at the Tourist Information to investigate. I got out my tire pressure gauge and it confirmed my suspicion that the tire was fine. I had a spare battery for the sensor and when I replaced the old one it instantly stopped alarming and showed the same as the other from tire. If I ever bought another TPMS it wouldn't be made by Tire Minder! It's been a pain in the butt ever since we bought it.

Barbara's bear behind shot at the Ho-Chunk Casino

Barbara started getting a sore throat. Soon after that she started sneezing then coughing. It rapidly became a hacking cough. Luckily we only had 150 miles to go for the day and found a very nice Good Sam park in Baraboo WI at the Ho-Chunk Casino. We decided to stay 6 nights to let her get over the cold and to explore the Wisconsin Dells area.

Ringling Brothers Circus Museum

After a couple of days she started to feel better and we started looking around. Just down the road we found “Circus World”. Who knew that Ringling Brothers were from Baraboo? I mean to say, who even knows where Baraboo is!! They started the circus and came here each winter to work on new acts, train the animals, repair the equipment ready for the next season. Now it's a museum with circus memorabilia and vehicles from all around the world. Much of it is from the UK and it was great to be reminded of the circus shows we saw as kids in the 50's and 60's.

24 carat gold leaf covered wagon

At the circus, riding a 25' tall unicycle!!

All the fun of the circus.

We noticed there was an Elks Lodge in Baraboo but when we got there we discovered 2 more things. 1 - It was only open Wednesday thru Friday (And it was Saturday). 2 - The lodge was originally the Al Ringling mansion and was open for tours. 

The tour lasted an hour and was fascinating because the house was in the process of restoration after serving for 75 years as the main lodge. The Elks had saved the structure from demolition and hadn't destroyed the interior. They have recently sold the mansion to a young couple who are restoring it and have discovering amazing stuff like a 24 carat gold leafed ceilings hidden by modern drop ceilings in the ballroom!

The Al Ringling Mansion, now the Elks Lodge

Beautiful interior under restoration.

After 6 nights we decided to move on. Barbara was feeling much better and with a cruise on the Upper Dells we had seen all we needed to see. In another of those coincidences we've had lately, the sister of our old neighbors in San Diego (Jason and Ruby) saw our post on Facebook about the cruise on the Dells.

Sheri and her husband David live an hour or so from the Dells.

Wisconsin Dells tour boat.

The Wisconsin River

The Dells get their name from the French word for Layers, from the layered rock formations

Can you see all the faces that I see??

We exchanged messages and Barbara and I drove to Janesville where they live and where the Elks have a camping spot. When Sheri called us and asked where we were in Wisconsin she couldn't believe we were in Janesville. We made arrangements to have dinner at a local bar the next evening.

We needed to go shopping and we'd seen a supermarket called Festival on the way into town. We pulled into the parking lot, as we walked into the store we noticed a HUGE liquor store that was part of the market but separate from it. As we explored the beer section the door to the big walk in cooler opened and out walked Sheri!! She was so surprised she couldn't speak. Later on over dinner we devised another surprise for her brother Jason. We called him from my phone but when he answered Sheri started talking! It was hilarious, We had a great night together catching up on their news and the farm they have bought and started renovating.

Barbara, me and Sheri in the liquor store. SURPRISE!

On another side of our trip, the plan was to go to the Upper Peninsular (UP) of Michigan and some friends from Casa Grande where going to be there and had invited us camp on their property. We had experienced quite a lot of thunder and heavy rain in Wisconsin but up there they had a huge flood that washed away over 20 roads and destroyed many homes. We decided that maybe the UP could wait for a month or so and we'd better make plans for July 4^th which is always a busy time in campgrounds. After some research and several phone calls we found a place in Sturgeon Bay for 10 days.

Me, David, Sheri and Barbara out for dinner.

One last night at the Elks with Sheri (where we hilariously won a local knowledge quiz even though we've never been here before!) and off we go again.