I left home in Galisteo on Sunday, June 15th around mid-day. Its Father’s Day but Paul isn’t much on celebrating that anyways. I figured we would drive as far as possible but not too late. Cedar Bluff State Park in Kansas was our destination. We arrived after check in so self pay and find a spot. There were plenty of places to camp next to the lake. I didn’t end up swimming (buggy) but Billy Goat and I took a nice hike on some trails starting from the visitor center in the morning. Off early then stopped for a coffee and break at the World’s Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City Kansas. Pretty cool and some other tourists took our photo.
A nice rest area worth noting -The Big Blue River Historical Marker on Hwy. 80 in Kanasas. There is a cool concrete bridge and a nice walk in the woods with a sculpture by Paul Von Ringelheim.
Traveling some back roads and scenic routes like 34 it took awhile to move forward but it was pretty. We made it to a community park, Nicholson-Ford Marsh in Marshalton, Iowa where we took a stroll and settled in. The parking lot had some late guests playing music so not the best sleep. Woke up groggy and decided to get going to Madison. Anne and Pat are selling their home so a lot of hustle and bustle cleaning and getting ready for realtor photos. (realtor brother Matt). I headed to moms in the country to chill out for the rest of the week
Mom is doing good. Gardening, library, store, puzzles, movies, and dinner out a couple of nights. I took mom to a cool sculpture garden near her home.(Bobrowitz Sculpture Garden)almost too much to see. We did an easy walk at the Loew Lake Unit of the Kettle Moraine Forest. Some of the family came for Friday night fish fry and slept over. Sunday I spent the day/evening in Madison. It was very hot so I slept indoors. Dinner with Carrie and Anne at Mickey’s. Billy Goat was loving the cousin dog company of Maeve and Nicco.
Morning coffee with Luna, Jacob and George at Rotunda Cafe. Sweet place for breakfast and they allow dogs. I set off soon after to Northern Wisconsin to visit my friends Max and Rochelle near Shell Lake. They have a large farm and it was super quiet at night. I had a peaceful sleep in the van. We hung out the next day and I got to see more of the property. We enjoyed outdoor dinner and again Billy was loving Mixer and Mizu’s dog company. Sadly the concert for Wednesday in Excelsoir was cancelled so I didn’t get to see The Suburbs play. Next time.
Early up and out and mostly an uneventful driving day. Stopped at Kanoplolis Lake SP and camped right next to the lake. I jumped in for a swim and Billy stayed at the shoreline. Relaxed, read a book, and tried to get some sleep. We woke early to a storm coming in and so we packed up. A beautiful, striking sunrise with the dark clouds looming to the West. We got swallowed up in it for a bit but no one was on the roads. Hard driving but we made it back home for dinner in Galisteo, Whew!