Apostle Islands

With a bit of remaining time at our Drummond Lake Campground, we ventured north to Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Not much on kayaking ourselves, we booked a sightseeing cruise from Bayfield, WI, that toured past the various islands. The sea caves of Devil's Island offered ample photographic opportunities as did the lighthouses. 

Once back in Bayfield, we ventured into a couple of the shops and had a late lunch. By then, we had decided that it was time to head back. With plenty more to explore in the area, the fruit orchards, the picturesque town, and the mainland shoreline, we may venture back another time. Sometimes, when you try to do too much, you just end up tired. We wanted to savor the day with the memories of the beautiful scenery. 

Loved the sea caves

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A Goat, a Moose, and a Big Fish

The only one that was real was the goat. While in Hayward, WI, for the Lumberjack World Championship, we, along with Kevin and Tammy, took the opportunity to stroll through the Wilderness Walk. A goat took a liking to Harold's shorts and wouldn't let go without a fight. 

Walking around downtown Hayward, I spotted a moose chair. I had to sit in it. I have been getting teased about moose ever since I bought my "moose" mug in Rocky Mountain National Park. Harold set me straight, "You do know that's an elk, right?" Hmm, it's still a nice mug.

Then, after Kevin and Tammy left, we went to the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. While neither of us fish, we couldn't resist the lure (ha ha) of the "Big Musky." Half a city block long, four and a half stories high, made of concrete with a gaping mouth, we  had to climb it.  The rest of the grounds have other fish statues, decent-sized in their own right. Then there's all the reels, lures, and trolling motors in the building itself. 

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Yo Ho!

We're not ones to plan a lot of our travels around sporting events. However, we made an exception for the Lumberjack World Championships in Hayward, WI. We ordered our tickets early in 2021 and booked our campground about 30 miles north in Drummond, WI. Drummond Lake Campground is run by the town, has some full hookup sites and is nice and quiet. 

The lumberjack championships was well-orchestrated. It seemed there was an event going almost all the time. While they were cleaning the sawing deck between sawing events, you were watching the log rolling or the boom running. A bit to our surprise, most of the events were in the evening, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Axe throwing was a notable exception, and many of the preliminaries were run in the afternoon. 

We went with our friends Kevin and Tammy. It's good that we are close friends because those bleachers in the Lumberjack Bowl, a site on the National Historic Register, were not very comfortable. You were shoulder-to-shoulder and knee-to-knee on those wooden seats. Those foam log cross-section seat cushions in the souvenir gift shop were hot ticket items. 

I think each of us had a different competition as our favorite. The 90-ft pole climb and descent is almost as scary to watch as the axe cutting. Log rolling and boom running would elicit groans as competitors ending up in the water, and the hot saw competition brought out gleams in the eyes of the guys. Yo Ho! Time to cheer your favorite competitor.

The 81-year-old did get a head start

Yo Ho!

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Rose City Threshing and Heritage Festival

Having grown up in the Shenandoah Valley, home to the Bridgewater Lawn Party and Steam and Gas Meet, I thought it might be kind of interesting to attend the Rose City Threshing and Heritage Festival while I was in Minnesota. About the first thing you see on the grounds is the classic tractor weathervane. I thought that was pretty cool. 

Tornado winds?

There weren't near as many old tractors there as what Bridgewater has. Even so, it was fun to walk around. 

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