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.
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 4th 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.
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