The obvious plan would have been to start where I'd left off in Sparta and I don't completely remember why that didn't happen. It may have been the area's prominence of sand, my mistaken belief that it wouldn't be that much fun or, the most probable reason was that there's an area there of ATV trails and I'd become a bit wary of riding at my preferred pace in areas that were potentially crowded. Long, long ago in an off-road area 'without right-of-way rules' there was a collision that won't ever be forgotten. Both of us hurt, we were very lucky it wasn't worse.
So, rather than Sparta, I decided that a good place to start the ride (and spend the night) would be near Neillsville. As such, I missed about 40 miles or so as the crow flies of the ride, something I'm hoping to resolve this coming summer, most likely with Eric.
This was Thursday afternoon, headed south along Lake Pepin August 27th.
A very rare "in these parts" phone booth at Pleasantville, Wisconsin. I don't know if it's still there.
Crossing I-94 on Haugen Road.
Long shadows on Haugen Road......
Breaking camp on Friday morning, warmest thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Jim, Camp Hosts for their kindness and hospitality.
On my way out, Clark County Snyder Park.
I spent an hour or so at the nearby Highground Veterans Memorial Park, a very inspiring tribute to our Service people. I'd been there before, stopping this time to see the Korean War Memorial that was still under construction. (Note the kickstand pad that more and more places are providing)
Stopped here as well, The Silver Dome on the National Historic Register.
May as well get RR #76 as long as I was right there.....
Here we go.....Part 2 of the Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail
Clark County riding area, maps are marked with intersection numbers for easier navigation.
Whatever lost vehicle part this was, it couldn't have been too important.
The rain started here so I stopped to put the rain cover on the MotoFizz duffel bag.
Colby Factory Road.....
Showers let up, stopped for an early lunch at the Torpedo in Thorp, WI.
Stopped here to get a shot of almost the first and last sunshine of the day. I had just passed the Little Red Schoolhouse.....and a very big, very intense and quite fast black and white dog.
The entrance into the Perkinstown Trails off of Wisconsin Highway 64.
Puddles......
Big long puddles.....
Conrad's Tee.......
Looks like not everyone got the memo about this being a non-motorized trail......
Almost to Perkinstown.....
Organic Tracks.....
Perkinstown Town Hall......
Big Falls....
It had been awhile since I'd been on some fun curves and this section that I'd just been through did the trick.
Raining again, sometimes really hard.
Wet and wetter......
Here I'd just met a large group of ATV's, one of them being pulled by a tow rope. I'd expected to see at least one motorcycle over the course of the day which I never did. Other than the ATV folks and soon, many bear hunters and a few of their dogs that weren't deep in the woods somewhere, there were no humans.
Rain drops on the river.....
This sight more and more prominent as the day went on. I finally met a fisherman at a stop and he mentioned that the fishing was terrible due to all of the recent rain.
North on Glidden Shortcut Road......
Never saw one but did see many, many bear hunters here south of Clam Lake.
Atkins Lake Park......was here in 2009 and revisited last summer, 2016 in nicer weather.
Decided not to camp for the night knowing that the rain and cool weather were to continue. The Tdub right outside my motel window here at the Black Bear Inn/Lodge/Supperclub in Drummond. I enjoyed a notable Fish Fry that evening just a few walkable doors down. I noticed this past summer that the Black Bear succumbed to the recent downturn in tourism.
Saturday morning, the bike mostly under the roof overhang.
My Broiled Polluck was fantastic....
SnoJacks Bar Stool Races......
Just outside of Drummond, Horse Pasture Grade.....
Friend Randy had mentioned that Horse Pasture Grade had been his favorite part of the ride and I could understand why. The day started dry but the rain returned mid-morning.
The Delta-Drummond Road was being tuned up and this was part of the detour.
After more than one attempt finally I found the Delta Diner open. My provolone, asparagus and black olive omelet was excellent. A very warm, inviting and friendly place to dine.
At the intersection of US Hwy 2.....
North of Hwy 2.....
The front was coming in from over Lake Superior....windy and wet.
A forest of birches suitable for swinging??
I took great care at these ATV intersections, making sure I wouldn't get in someone's way.
A road that wasn't on the 'Trail.....
Now it was raining again and mastering Rut Control was mandatory.
Shiny Roads Be Gone!!
This an intersection that even then I knew very well and in the year's since then, even better. Klemik Road and Hwy 13, just a short ways west of Cornucopia.
Finally learned where 'that road' goes....
Downtown Corny, the Township Road Maintenance building in the distance. Lots of sled parking available this time of year.
101+ years as a Cornucopia institution......
Another one of my bikes in front of Peg's grandfather's fishing boat......but this little Yamaha had been there before.
The town's Artesian spring under the roof and a source of fresh water for many locals.
The Siskiwit Picnic Shelter......
Almost on Wisconsin's northernmost road but not quite.
Blueberry Road on the Red Cliff Reservation. The last time I had been here was two Halloween's previous and was on the ST2. This day in 2009 was definitely more of a TW200 day.
It was just north of here last summer where I met the woman with her dogs that had locked the keys in her car.
Point Detour, the end of the road and the end of the Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail.
By this point I was nearing my threshold for shiny roads that weekend.
In the Point Detour Campground and was surprised to see 6 or 7 of the campsites taken. The caretaker came over to see if I needed a site and told me that it had been a busy summer for motorcycles. "There's some club down in Milwaukee has some kind of ride that comes up here from the Illinois border on bad roads."
The caretaker and his pups left me to go chop some wood for one of the campers
In the campground, just to the west of the end of the road.
Miles from Neillsville......
After a few minutes of trying to decide what to do, heading back to Corny and a warm room seemed like the thing to do.....so I did it. I checked in to one of the Village Inn's upstairs rooms and the impossible coincidence happened. There were 5 or 6 rooms upstairs above the restaurant and after enjoying dinner there I went back down to the bike to grab something I'd forgotten to retrieve and heard a voice that I knew very well. Joan, a consultant that had been spending a fair amount of time advising the company where I worked just happened to have friends in the area and also just happened to, at the last minute, not unlike me, need a room nearby. 200 miles from home in one of Wisconsin's most distant, small remote towns and there were two people that worked together down in Minneapolis.
I had planned to be up early Sunday morning to take some photos of the little unincorporated town that I actually had come to know quite well through numerous visits with Peg's family. At 5AM, the power went out and the entire town was extra dark so a walkabout seemed the perfect thing to do.
The convenience store had once again closed, leaving the town without a gas station.
Years ago I waded on this beach long before I ever knew my fiance or my wife. I actually swam here with the both of them and their lovely extended family.
Siskiwit Bay Coffee - stopped there for coffee and scones, often or most every time I was up there at least. These last couple of years the establishment has gone through both Open and Closed periods.
The Cornucopia school, now Community Center.
The Village Inn, my room the middle window upstairs. As you can see, it was a beautiful day for my ride home. :)
A quick stop at the Wayside along Hwy 13. Duluth/Superior are further on to the west but I won't be going that far before turning south. The Trailways 200 did a fantastic job of the Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail as I knew it would, at a perfect for me pace.
At the intersection of Cty A and Cty M. A truck hauling harvested green beans obviously lost a few right here.
Wow! What a trip. Lots of variety in both roads and scenery.
ReplyDeleteNo other motorcycles. That kind of fits the Geezer's posts these days. Motorcycles are an increasingly small percentage of traffic on the roads these days.
Richard, these roads are typically very quiet but this Route is a popular one with the adventure bikers. I just assumed that I'd come upon or more likely at my pace, be passed by someone in a bigger hurry than I was in.
DeleteI can assure you that the roads in SW Wisconsin that we ride are often as populated with riders as they are with drivers though still not busy by anyone's definition.
I find it a very nice idea to reminisce about past trips, while confined to indoors due to the cold. What a great outing although the wet dirt roads would scare the heck out of me. You little mule seem to be the perfect vehicle for this kind of trails though.
ReplyDeleteSonja, as you can imagine, I find this a very easy task. You are correct, the TW200 is in its element on roads like these though the KLR last summer seemed just as compatible.
DeleteGood morning my friend! I very much look forward to this run in 2017. As mentioned it will be wonderful to do it together. Your adventure is so well documented it really adds to the excitement of heading north. Several mo th to prepare. First things first-get that new bike back home from Idaho/Wyoming. Accessories are arriving nearly weekly! The above mentioned gets us through the winter here in Wisconsin.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the awesome adventure!
Eric, I'm already looking forward to this and trying to get caught up on where the 'Trail has changed. Where we start, where we camp, gas stops, etc. make winter evenings even more fun :)
DeleteFor some reason, in that picture of your boots I can smell the damp forest. Also, I've never seen an elk on that road, but I have seen millions of toads crossing the road during a rain storm. Thanks for the memories!
ReplyDeleteJason, it was wet, very wet! I didn't notice the frogs and was more worried about running bears those days with all of the hounds out in the woods. For a remote area, there were hunters aplenty.
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