Sightseeing on Highway 8

Spending the day on a two laner through Wisconsin was the epitome of this road trip….

Despite cold and sprinkles, this day took me out of the Twin Cities into beauty of rural life. Someone please send me some synonyms for beauty ---- I need a bunch. I used to tell my kids God’s creation filled my soul. This has my spiritual gas tank permanently on F.

I am beginning to think I am the only non-upper midwesterner in these woods. I would be thrilled to see a license plate from anywhere south of Kansas.

A sign offering pumpkins and maple syrup attracted my attention just past Balsam Lake. ¼ mile down the road sat Glenna Farms. The young man inside gladly told his story of growing up on the dairy farm down the road, and then heading for the big city and a fast-lane, big bucks job. When the maple tree farm was offered to his Dad, he started thinking about what he and his family really wanted in life. At age 36, he traded air miles for the fair smiles of his wife and daughters. Now, they turn maple sap into syrup and send it all over the country.

“Where do you recommend for lunch?” “The Paradise Lodge --- it is a large log building down on the lake. It is a little off the road, but worth it.” How right he was. I ate wild rice/chicken soup while watching birds fight the winds across the lake. The water was surrounded by maple trees and something that is very Aspen-like. (I don’t know much about names, but thoroughly enjoy them, anyway).

Miles and miles of National Forest ushered me into Eagle River, WI where I settled into the Super 8 for the night…. I and most of the construction workers in northern Wisconsin, it seemed.

“Where could I get a good dessert?” I asked the front desk clerk. “I don’t know --- I don’t ever eat them.” It turns out the restaurant directly across the street had great homemade pies ---- her loss.

Just in case you always wanted to know, the International Snowmobiling Hall of Fame sits proudly in Eagle River. That is another sport I failed. No wheelies, but an embarrassing fall. Guess I am not featured in this museum!No computer connection there, so I am waiting for a McDonald’s to send this along. Thanks for praying ---I can tell and it gives me peace like a river.