Summer Days and The River

This was taken in my back yard after I looked into exactly why our dogs were barking up the tree...

The Hastings Bridge. Soon (use your own definition of "soon") to be taken down and replaced with bigger and better.

Another shot from the dark underbelly of the Hastings Bridge.

Yes, it's been patched up a few times. Yes, it's missing a few truss bolts. It has symmetry, so what's the problem?

This is a much newer bridge leading from Minnesota into Osceola Wisconsin. On a recent motorcycle ride with my buddy, Steve, we stopped here for a few photos. The St. Croix River is pretty quiet here, compared to how wild and frothy it is just upstream after rolling over the St. Croix Falls.

I was on a recent ride--on the John Deere that is, when this fella dropped by to admire our perennials.

A very photogenic lad indeed, and he didn't seem to mind a bit that the lawn was not getting mowed.

This was taken at Point Douglas Park on a very foggy morning. Yes, there is a bridge very nearby. No, I didn't take any pictures of it. (Steve did though).

Nugget Lake, located near Plum City Wisconsin.

A picture of cool, if not angry, looking clouds taken from my back yard.

Wisconsin Travels

When I ride my motorcycle, I tend to gravitate towards Wisconsin. There are loads of fun roads to ride, mixed in with great scenery. Over the past month I have taken fairly long, all-day rides into America's Dairyland. The first trip brought me to the areas around the relatively small towns of Ojibwa and Winter. Both towns are situated a bit northeast of Ladysmith, and both are close to the Flambeau River State and Chequamegon Forests. As always, I'm a sucker for taking pics of old churches and the occasional river wayside rest.

This old church, situated up a small hill just off the road, didn't have a sign, and a peek inside the window gave me the impression it doesn't get much use. It did have a very nicely maintained cemetery behind it, and even an old two-holer outhouse which I was quite thankful for.

A little further up the road, on highway 70, I found a roadside rest right on a small river that drains out of Lake Chippewa to the north. I sat there for over a half hour, trying to wait out an American Eagle that had landed on a tree just across the river from me. As I sat there, I noticed a woman sitting outside her cabin under the tree the Eagle was in. She spent that half hour looking at me through a huge honkin lens. My 70-300mm lens felt pretty inadequate... Lens envy, I guess. But hey, maybe she put pics of me on her blog!

I found this little green shack on highway 8 (somewhere out there). Looking at the pic now I realize my shot-positioning could have been better. Next time...

These are from my second road trip, May 29th, which found me southeast of LaCrosse in what can truly be called "Amish Country". The rolling, scenic hills around Ontario and La Farge are literally dotted with Amish farms. I saw more horse drawn buggies than cars on the roads, and nearly all of the people smiled and waved as I rode by. I had numerous opportunities to snap a few pics of the hard working Amish people, but I have heard that many have strong feelings against being photographed, for religious reasons, so I respected their wishes and captured their faces in my memory only.

I don't know if this particular farm was Amish, but the scenic road is one of the two Wisconsin Rustic Roads I bumped into. Very scenic.

I stopped for a bag lunch on this Rustic Road. Just the sound of the breeze blowing through the leaves here.

Here's an Amish farm with the laundry hung up on the line. Apparently they washed whites that day...

I saw this farm about a mile in the distance. Even after zooming in and studying the picture, I have no idea what the yellow stuff is on the outside of the silo. Sprayed on insulation? Maybe one great big can of Great Stuff.

This is Immanuel Lutheran Church, located, um, out there in Wisconsin. I know, I should pay better attention to where I am, but hey, that's what my GPS is for. The entrance isn't where the entrance looks like it is. It seems like they bricked-over the original entrance, and now one has to walk around to the side of the church to get in. At least they didn't use a giant can of Great Stuff.

Country Cross Roads

Over the last few weeks, I spent a little time riding around the areas of Vasa, Cannon Falls, Welch, and Miesville, enjoying the great motorcycling roads and taking some pics of the local churches. I hope you like them. Don't forget to check out the archives at the bottom of the page, it's some of the best stuff you've seen in the last 5 minutes or so.

Welch

Vasa

Miesville

Cannon Falls

An Up North Photo Shoot

Hey guys,

I took a road trip to Duluth last weekend with my photog-buddy Steve, and along the way I snapped a few photos. The majority of these were taken on Highway 23 on the way up. Oddly enough, though our destination was Duluth, no photos were taken there. Go figure.

Thanks for visiting, and don't forget to check out my archives!

The Band Director

Nailed it...

I still don't know what the chain was for. Use your imagination I guess.

If you've read "Into The Wild" by Jon Krakauer, you know why I snapped this one.

Break down on the way to Misfit Island

Mr. Happy and the Weather Channel

The Honeymoon's Over

This used to be a bar (I guess) on Highway 23 that burned down. The building is cement and the burned wood strips just caught my eye.