Eagle River, WI

When I was growing up, many years ago, I remember going to the Eagle River area of the state, ‘up north’, to those people from Milwaukee.   It was quite an undertaking, Eagle River is 240 plus miles from Milwaukee most of it on two lane roads, pulling a trailer!  Google says it only takes 4 ½ hours for the trip now....

It didn’t seem like 4 ½ hours when I was growing up.  I don’t remember my sister or me asking the ever popular “Are we there yet?” but you may get a different answer from our mom and dad when bringing up the subject.

On one of the cool and rainy days I stopped to walk through the tourist town of Eagle River.  I’m sure most of the shops have changed but the wares are still pretty much the same.  There are the ever present T-shirts saying ‘Eagle River Wisconsin’ with any of a hundred different lettering schemes and logos.  There are the traditional rubber tomahawks, incense burners and assorted knick knacks.  I did have to stop at Tremblay’s to pick up some homemade fudge and pecan turtles.  Since I got home most of the turtles have disappeared so now I will either have to find suitable replacements in NM or order some more, http://www.tremblaysweetshop.com/.

I wasn’t there for the touristy stuff.  There is a stretch of the Wisconsin River that follows along the highway that I always liked.  The river is still forest lined with large boulders randomly setting in the river.  There are just enough boulders that you have to pay attention if you are canoeing or kayaking.  Here’s where I set my sights to find a good location to photograph the river AND catch a sunset.

I asked dad to come along with me just to get him out of the house, he didn’t need any convincing.  I have been to this area a couple times before on previous trips and each time found the river in a different condition.  This time it looked like it was up near its normal level.  We were concerned about mosquitoes but neither of us remembered to bring repellent.  Fortunately not many were out that evening.  We stopped at a few spots and I shot a few images but not quite what I was hoping for.  Our last stop worked out.  The sun was setting and clouds made their appearance.  Overall I am quite happy with the results.

As a bonus on the way back home we drove by a farmer’s field and counted 17 white tailed deer, by far the most either of us have ever seen at one time.  Even better, they stayed in the field as we drove by so I didn’t have to do any evasive maneuvers to miss them if they came up to the road.

Update: About a week after I got home I stared itching on my legs and right arm.  I thought it was kind of strange mosquito bites usually bother me right away.  The other strange thing was these 'bites' didn't go away at all!  They were bothering me almost constantly with only a couple hours of relief when using hydrocortisone cream or Calamine lotion.  Today at urgent care I was diagnosed with having messed with poison ivy (and lost).  Today I started a six day regimen of steroids.

Thank you for stopping by,

Mark