OUR TRAVELS

We have had a great time in northern Wisconsin over these past six weeks.  The best times have been visiting with my (Donna) large family!  My sister Bev and my sister Chris and their families made us feel welcome by inviting us to family events, going sightseeing, and dining out. Here are photos from our nephew Jake's wedding to Willow.  Both were great sports about the heavy rain that fell during the ceremony.  Jake made the white trellis in the background from a roadside find - a discarded patio table.  Good job welding, don't you think?  The wedding and reception were held at the local watering hole - this is Wisconsin after all! Our nieces Katrina, Kari, her wife Aurora, my nephew Steve and his wife Michele. My brothers Charlie, Ted and their families as well as a picture of my niece Lindsay.  Unfortunately, we did not get photos of some people - sisters Wanda and Kathy. Jake talked his mom into making the cupcakes for the reception.  Along with others we helped her bake 4

Rib Mountain is just right - for us.  We're walking 6 to 7 miles each day round trip and getting enough exercise to justify eating ice cream!  We went to the Windmill Ice Cream Shop in Tomahawk, WI for a 2-scooper.  We got way more than that - and for only $3.50 each.  Now that's a deal! We love the view from the top of Rib Mountain.  We sit up here every morning for awhile taking in the sights and silence. A fallen birch tree picture is below.  Did you know that birch bark was used in place of writing paper before the advent of mass paper production?  Its use goes back centuries.  The winter bark of birch trees is used to make baskets, containers and hair clips.  The bark is made up of several thin layers that are held together by betulin (a powdery white substance which can be used as a painkiller.) Also, the bark is highly rot resistant.  That's why you often see a felled birch tree rotted from the inside.   We found this baneberry plant on our hikes up Rib Mountain.   T

And that's a good thing, because some wild mushroom are inedible or even poisonous!  Recently, severe thunderstorms have brought a lot of rain to our neck of the woods in Wisconsin.  As a result, our daily hikes have been teeming with mushrooms.  We have never seen so many varieties nor so many mushrooms in the forest.  Donna has really enjoyed stopping to snap photos of them. Did you know that a   mushroom is the reproductive structure produced by some fungi? Eeeww!! Is that what I eat?  It can also be described like the fruit of a plant.  Now that sounds better!   Popularly, the term  mushroom  is used to identify the edible sporophores; the term  toadstool  is often reserved for inedible or poisonous sporophores. Our daughter-in-law asked us whether we had seen any red mushrooms with white polka dots like the ones she has seen in the movies.  We said no..... until we saw mushrooms that actually looked like they had white polka dots on them..... well, not exactly polka dots - may

All kinds of local fare - landjaeger, smoked meats, squeaky cheese curds, many kinds of cheeses, berries and cherries.  Followed by a hand tossed pizza and a local craft beer chaser at Red Eye Brewery. My sister Bev and her husband Red once sent us some great tasting Wisconsin smoked meat for Christmas from Nueske's Meats in Wittenberg, WI.  Of course, we visited the smokehouse and store the first full day here in Wisconsin.  We purchased some smoked bacon, pork chops, meat sticks, and landjaeger.  Landjaeger is a semi-dried sausage traditionally made in Southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Alsace.  Since it doesn't require refrigeration, it is a popular snack food for outdoor activities like hiking.  Hmm, that fits well into our current lifestyle!  By the way, Nueske's meats are sold in many grocery stores across the country, and, yes, we have found it in the Dallas area. For our good friends Gail and Randy, we have found the perfect camper for you at Nueske's.