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WISCONSIN June 26 thru July 17, 2006
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Wisconsin Map Library |
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Wisconsin Campgrounds |
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Wisconsin - Vacation |
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Wisconsin Relief Map |
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Edge 305 Unthaw |
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eTrex Vista |
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On Monday, June 26th, Mark Luffman and Dennis Renner will be taking the Amtrak Train from Flagstaff, AZ to Chicago, IL at 5 AM and then Bike Touring throughout Wisconsin for three weeks. |
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| The web server is working better now. Thank you for your patience. We are having a great time and the weather has been wonderful! | |||
Mon-Tue,
June 26-27, 2006
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  Amtrak -
Flagstaff to Chicago, 5:01 AM - 32 hours. Frank & Carol Kodl were so
kind to drive us to Flagstaff from Cottonwood at 2 AM in the morning -
Thanks! Frank is making a list of all that we owe him for such a
favor... The train was 3 hours late
getting started from Flagstaff, AZ. We spent a turbulent night in a
two-person sleeper car. For the cost of the sleeper, our meals were
included. This is well worth the extra $175 that we paid. We were rudely
awoken at 11:30 PM and accused of smoking illegal substances in our
room! NOT TRUE - it was the guys in room 10. We were in room 9 across
the narrow hall from them. Later in the night the authorities got the
right room and read them the riot act. Click the Photo links to see some
of what we enjoyed seeing. |
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| Wednesday,
June 28, 2006 55.2 Miles, 1030a-6p  |
Day
One - Today was our first day on the tour. We traveled some harrowing
roads and spent many miles on some of the most beautiful trails. We
covered approximately 51.2 miles and rode 4 miles further looking for
the camp store where we spent the night, Illinois Beaches State Park. It
is along the big lake just north of Ben's old stomping grounds for basic
training, Great Lakes Naval Academy. |
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| Thursday,
June 29, 2006 62 Miles, 9a-6p |
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| Friday,
June 30, 2006 55 Miles, 8a-4p |
Day
Three - Traveling from White Fish Bay, Exel Inn to Kohler-Andrae SP. It
is just south of Sheboygan, WI. Our speeds were up due to a strong tail
wind. Dennis' map skills got us set in the right direction and ended up
at the right place. We called ahead and they told us that the campground
was already full before noon. Then they informed us that we could stay
in a special part of the campground just for bike groups who are passing
through for the night. We cannot stay another day and must move on. A
stop in Gibbsville lead us to the General Store. It is like a Dollar or
99 Cent store, but has 1000's of types of food that you haven't heard of
before. I bought some oatmeal from England! We hope to get to Point
Beach SP tomorrow night. It is about 45 miles north. We'll see how many
miles it takes to get there by bike. Mark's feet and Dennis' right knee
hurts. Maybe tomorrow will be an easier day with fewer miles. Again we
will have to ask to stay in the special campsite for bikes since
tomorrow is Saturday and the campgrounds are most likely already full
for the weekend. I am trying to get more photos that give a hint as to
what towns we have passed through. |
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| Saturday,
July 1, 2006 48 Miles, 9a-4p |
Day
Four - The
day started with a strong tail wind that lasted through out the day. for
about 10-12 miles it changed and came directly out of the west blowing
us to the right. We traveled through Sheboygan, Cleveland, Manitowoc,
and Two Rivers. From Two Rivers we followed a forest trail that was
unbelievably beautiful. It is a limestone rock trail about 8 feet wide
that twists and turns for about four miles to the Point Beach SP where
we camped for the night. It is quite hot and very muggy. The mosquitoes
are trying to grab us and fly us back to their nests! Yikes!!! |
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| Sunday,
July 2, 2006 51.2 Miles, 9a-6p |
Day
Five started after dodging mosquitoes while packing up our things for
the day. Mark has an infection in the left leg and a bad blister on the
left foot. Dr. Dave Shillington came to the rescue and called in a
prescription for at the Sturgeon Bay Walgreens. Thanks, Dave! We made it
to the store just before the pharmacy closed! We stayed in a cabin
across the street from Walgreens. It is like a small hunting cabin. Mark
is soaking the foot and hoping for a quick recovery. Along the way we met Jane & Don Wienke while stopping to take a break and eat some strawberries.
Their
family runs a custom food canning and they sell their goods there along the
road at their farm and throughout the area at many grocery stores. They have a website -
www.wienkes.com - check it
out. |
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| Monday,
July 3, 2006 7 Miles, 5p-7p |
Day
Six - Rest
Day - Sturgeon Bay Dennis took a long walk. We rode to Wal-Mart and grocery store. Ate out at a Chinese buffet. |
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| Tuesday,
July 4, 2006 31.3 Miles, 9a-2p |
Day
Seven - Rode
to Fish Creek to stay in Peninsula SP for the night. Smooth easy ride
today. We rode through Egg Harbor just before the July 4th Parade. |
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| Wednesday,
July 5, 2006 67.8 Miles, x:00 AM |
Day
Eight - We
left Peninsula SP at approximately 9am. The hill out of the park in the
morning was a killer - but we both made it up and out! We headed north
to the end of the peninsula to catch the ferry to Washington
Island. The ride was $10 out and back. We rode out and directly back so
we would have enough time to reach Sturgeon Bay before night. The ride
south was very hilly and we unfortunately had a nasty head wind. This
was our greatest number of miles for one day so far. We stayed in the
Potawatomi SP which is just north west of Sturgeon Bay. |
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| Thursday,
July 6, 2006 64 Miles |
Day
Nine - Camp
at Potawatomi SP was cold. We awoke and got our gear ready to go. Mark
walked up the first steep hill - to get warmed up! Dennis just rode his
bike up the darned thing! The rest of the day was spent with stops along
the way to fight off foot and knee pains. Subway was our lunch as it has
been quite a few days! I don't know where Dennis puts that foot long
sub! We arrived in Green Bay coming in along the north-eastern shore.
There are many beautiful homes here along the shore. Downtown Green Bay
was confusing, but bearable. We then traveled north to find the
beginning of the Bay-Mountain Trail that leads to Wausau. We had to
cross a construction road closures and ask directions a couple of times.
After finding the trail we had to travel another 12 miles to find a
place to camp - a city Polka Grounds area where trail travelers are
allowed to camp for the night. |
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| Friday,
July 7, 2006 38.3 Miles, 9a-6p |
Day
Ten - Our night at Pulaski was quiet except for the fireworks that awoke
Dennis in the night. I was still working on the computer. Today we took
a quiet ride on the Mountain-Bay Rails for Trails to Shawano where we
washed our clothes at a laundry and relaxed. I'm charging all my e-stuff up
now. We will look for a place to camp or stay in a motel tonight. We
stayed in a Pine Grove Campground about 13 miles west of Shawano. |
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| Saturday,
July 8, 2006 53.9 Miles, 9a-6p |
Day
Eleven - We traveled north to return to the Mountain-Bay Trail and
headed west. It seemed that a bad rain storm was going to dump on us in
Eland, but after hightailing it out of there we rode in light rain for
about a half an hour. A local Subway came to the rescue providing a
porch to park under and a dry place to eat. The rain stopped before we
finished our lunches. We then continued on to Wausau to stay in the fairgrounds campground. It is located entirely within the city - a
beautiful tall pine grove with quite a number of campsites. We even have
electricity! I am sitting at the picnic table typing this in the dark. |
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| Sunday,
July 9, 2006 46.4 Miles |
Day
Twelve - Today we left Wausau and headed south to Steven's Point. We
arrived later in the afternoon and headed north east of town to Jordan
Park Campground. This was another buggy night. They expected us to pay
$13 for each tent in our campsite that had an adult in it. We did not
think it was much of a good idea. |
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| Monday,
July 10, 2006 12.3 Miles |
Day
Thirteen - We awoke and had a visitor soon after breakfast. Arvin, the
campground host rode up on his recumbent bike - a Easy Racer Sport
model. He had plenty of good conversation about Wisconsin and his
travels to Arizona too. We then packed up and rode into Steven's Point
to the Hostel Shoppe where I ordered my bike from. I bought a new helmet
and three smaller crank gears for my bike to give it more range for hill
climbing with a load. Since I am quite a load, it should help in any
situation. Today is a rest day - we stayed in the Rock Star Inn at
Steven's Point. |
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| Tuesday,
July 11, 2006 39.3 Miles |
Day
Fourteen - Tuesday - we are heading south to Friendship, WI to a
campground called Roche a Chi. After about 39 miles, we found a pleasant
place to stay tonight. Pineland
Camping Park is a nice campground with a pool, store, grill, and
free wireless Internet! I am typing this in the bar & grill where they
serve food. I went swimming and then came over for dinner and website
updates. Today's weather gave us some light drizzle and the temperature
was cooler than it has been. It was a really nice day. On top of this, I
bought a new pair of bike shoes and my feet did not hurt so badly today. |
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| Wednesday,
July 12, 2006 56.7 Miles |
Day
Fifteen - Wednesday - Portage City Campground is our destination today.
The camp ground does not exist any more - so we stayed in a motel. The
Sunset Motel was recommended by the folks at the Chamber of Commerce. We
had not stopped for lunch today for we were very tired and exhausted due
to the fast pace we kept up today. It was a very hot day, reaching near
90 degrees. My new lower gears really helped on several large hills. We
did not get a chance to visit Wisconsin Dells - a big tourist trap along
the route we took. Going into town was a little too much out of the way
for us. |
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| Thursday,
July 13, 2006 64.6 Miles |
Day
Sixteen - Thursday - We hope to reach Cottage Grove to start on the
Glacial-Drumlin Trail and camp (elev - 873) near Lake Mills. Today was
another very hot day! Lots of rolling hills and a headwind. I listened
to C.S. Lewis' The Last Battle on my mp3 player. It really made
the time seem pass more quickly. At about 5 pm I had a flat rear tire
that had to be patched. This was a sweaty job with all the heat! At
about 6 pm we arrived at the Sand Hill Station Campground. It is walk
only in with 15 sites within an oak tree grove. There are lots of
flowers and 100's of lightning bugs lighting up the evening. Tomorrow we
head for Milwaukee. Dennis took several short movie clips that are in
the photos page. |
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| Friday,
July 14, 2006 67.4 Miles |
Day
Seventeen - Friday - Lake Mills (elev - 873) to Milwaukee (679 elev)
Today was nice during our morning packing. Just as we were ready to ride
off a thunderstorm rolled in and started a medium rain. It rained half of
the day from light to heavy. The sun came out in the mid afternoon. We
stopped in to the Bicycle Doctor Store. It is a very nicely arranged
store with lots of bikes on display. We finished the Glacial-Drumlin
Trail and rode through Waukesha and the connected with the New Berlin
Trail. This brought us into Milwaukee where we followed Lincoln Road
across the city and finally came to the coast. We then rode to the
airport to find a motel. Tomorrow we plan to travel to Illinois Beaches
SP where we camped the first night of our trip. |
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| Saturday,
July 15, 2006 52.1 Miles |
Day
Eighteen - Saturday - Illinois Beach State Park This is the second to
the last day of our trip. It was Hot, Humid and we had a Headwind. The
only thing missing were the big Hills to complete the 4-H's. We made it
to the campground before 6 pm. They had 20 or more campsites left, so we
found one easily. It is very near to the shower house. Tomorrow we will
ride in to Chicago to Wesley's apartment. He wants us to go to the
movies in the evening to see Pirates of the Caribbean. We are looking
into riding another day after we get there to reach 1000 miles. We
should reach about 925 miles when we get there. |
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| Sunday,
July 16, 2006 47.1 Miles |
Day
Nineteen - Sunday - Illinois Beach State Park to Chicago. Our ride into
Chicago was quite hot. We pushed on without lunch so we could arrive in
time to go to the movies with Wesley and his friend, Ashley. We went to
see The Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man's Chest. We enjoyed riding
the train around the city. |
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| Monday,
July 17, 2006 16.7 Miles |
Day
Twenty - Monday - We rode with Wesley who borrowed a bike down to the
Navy Pier. It was over 90 degrees! Staying out of the sun and finding
some shade was essential. We also stopped at the grocery store for some
food. Tina arrived at 8 pm at the airport. We rode the train out and
back to Wesley's apartment. |
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| Tuesday,
July 18, 2006 19.2 Miles |
Day
Twenty-One - Tuesday - Dennis an I rode through the downtown area to the
Shed Aquarium. Dennis and I were split up at one of the intersections
along the way and ended up at he aquarium on our own. Wesley and Tina
met us there after a visit to the bank. We decided that it was too late
in the afternoon to go through the aquarium so we returned to Wesley's
apartment. We went to a wonderful Italian restaurant in the evening
called Vivo. The food was delicious! Our dining area was a special room
that was made in an old elevator shaft. Bob Jones joined us for dinner.
Later we rode the train taking the scenic routes. |
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| Wednesday,
July 19, 2006
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  Day
Twenty-Two - No bike riding today! We went to the Field
Museum to see the King Tut exhibit only to discover that it was sold
out. We went into the museum on general admission to look at the many
other exhibits throughout the museum. We went to the Ancient Egypt and
Pacific Islands exhibits. We also saw the T-Rex named Sue and a couple
of stuffed elephants. After the museum we walked to the Hancock Tower
and went up to the 96th floor to take a look. It was quite a view! Today
I kept our photos separate since there were so many. Dennis' Photos
Mark's Photos |
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| Thursday,
July 20, 2006
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Day
Twenty-Three - It rained heavily throughout the night and finally
stopped at around 11 AM. We picked up supplies at the local Walgreens
and prepared for our train trip tomorrow. In the afternoon we rode on
the train to visit Lincoln Park Zoo. It is a free zoo for all to visit.
We enjoyed the Lion House and the Primates Collections before the zoo
closed at 6 PM. |
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| Friday,
July 21, 2006 Miles
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Day
Twenty-Four - Amtrak
Chicago to Flagstaff, 3:15 PM - Today we will ride our bikes down to the
Amtrak Union Station to box them up and check them in for our trip to
Flagstaff. We left the station right on time. Sleeping on the train is
quite an experience. After getting off you feel as if you are being
jogged from side to side. More photos from our bike ride to the station
and on the train are to be added today. |
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Saturday,
July 22, 2006
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Day
Twenty-Five - Arrive in
Flagstaff late Saturday evening at 9 PM. Laurie and Noah will be picking us up
with our truck. Dennis has decided to ride the train at the same time as
we do so he can get a ride to Cottonwood easily. |
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