Made a trip up north to Minnesota (Chisago City) and then later to the Hayward Wisconsin area. Started out as a road trip for my son Ryan and I to attend my nieces wedding. We listened to the ISU Cyclones playing Oklahoma. We missed hearing most the game as we lost our radio station, but what a great result! Before we left, a good friend of mine and my brother's, stopped by on his way up from Austin Texas to wedding. I of course quickly put him to work splitting wood. He was nervous with the Fiskars and I just couldn't convince him to get closer to improve his swing. I was actually relieved when he called it quits. An incredibly smart Electrical/computer engineer, but not the best lumberjack.. After a morning of showers the sky cleared and the day was perfect for their wedding. Here my brother and his wife look on as the vows were exchanged. Here is some of my tribe. Daughter and her boyfriend, my youngest son in the middle and some yaywho on the right. After helping clean up after the reception we grabbed a motel for the night then headed out to the land of cheese bright and early the next day. More posts to come.
After our free continental breakfast at the motel (still not sure what continent some of that food was from) we drove the short two hours to Hayward. On the way we stopped at the Spooner National Guard to check out the M4 they have displayed there. I have been taking the family up "North" for well over 20 years now. I fondly remember lifting Ryan up onto the tank for the first time those many years ago, and now he is signed up for the Guard, heading to Fort Benning at the end of January. Odd. Must be allergic to something, eyes are watering. When we made it to Hayward, the house was full of his sisters, nieces and his mom and dad as was the lake cabin. They were all up celebrating Bayfield's Applefest and Stone Lake's Cranberryfest. Fall colors were still really good which is unusual for October up there. Here's a picture of the back yard. Before heading down to the lake cabin we darted into town for some "essentials". Not sure how this will taste but seriously, as a Packers fan, is there any way I was NOT going to buy it? I heard Horkn telling me from a far to buy a New Glarus Oktoberfest six pack. So I did. Oh and wildwest, Kevin was in my bag I brought along, but he had a "splitting" headache. More to come.
Just before heading out to the lake cabin I delivered the three Ash planks that I'd milled from the Ash tree I took down several years ago. He wasn't sure what he would make with it but he's very talented so I'm sure it'll turn out great. We also took a peek at the 12 cords of mostly Oak and hard Maple he has put up for the next few years. At the cabin we were greeted with this view of the lake from the deck. Boy it would be tough to look out and see that everyday. One more post to come.
