On Golden Pond

Green Lake, Wisconsin - Thur. June 11th to Sunday June 14th, 2009

Within 3 minutes of arriving at the lake house and even before unloading the car I found myself playing catch on the front lawn with 7 year old William completely outfitted from head to toe in a full set of red catcher’s gear. Soon Ben and a few other neighborhood kids appeared and a good ol’ fashioned front yard ball game was underway. Never mind the plate glass front door not more that 15’ behind home plate.

The next day we all walked the two blocks to Mayberry’esk downtown Green Lake for breakfast at the local favorite diner. When we got home it was time to help Amy straighten up the house and garden from a long winter of absence. The girls cleaned off the rear deck and furniture while the boys trimmed the front tree and cleaned out the front flower bed to make room for fresh plantings. We’d head to the local nursery for a bouquet of perennials later in the week. Awww - The Rites of Spring. Next we headed to the garage. I don’t think I have ever detangled more fishing line, pumped up more little bicycle tires or fixed more derailed bike chains in my life. But hey that’s what uncles are for and it was all fun anyway.

The visit to Green Lake would not have been complete without “da boys” trip to the local bait to get worms with our elbows hanging out of the pickup truck windows, the cottonwood fuzz a flying in the air and Flo Rider cranked on the radio. Even with the shop owner’s professional recommendation for bait it wasn’t until after we left Green Lake that Ben was finally able to catch that huge base hanging around the dock just off the back yard. That afternoon I took the boys golfing at one of the nicer courses around. I hadn’t been on a course for a while so I just drove the cart and let them play – that is between wrestling matches on the green.

The next day we decided to go on a peaceful Rails to Trails ride in the rural countryside. Only in Wisconsin will you find the trail signs with mileage and directional arrows to the next watering hole demarked with a martini glass symbol. It was a great trail through rolling hills of freshly planted farm land, red barns and tall silos and everything beautiful until about a mile into the ride we suddenly emerged out of the shady canopy of a tree tunnel into a large grassy clearing on our right with square contraptions regularly spaced across a large field and small wooden decks maybe 150 feet further away but on the same alignment and spacing plus a few people milling around in vests!? The whole place oddly and suddenly resembling a skeet shooting range but with our bike path naturally cutting across the outfield and three targets blissfully rolling along. Luckily there were no weapons pointed directly at us at the time and nothing bad happened but we did pick up our pace a bit. I wonder if the thought of incompatible recreational land uses every crossed the local town planning commissions minds?

The last day we were there we watched Ben learn a 360 on his knee board as we took the ski boat across the lake to Richard’s parent’s house. We toured their incredible lake cottage, and AIA award winner, and took the sail boat out for a spin.

The Devil in the White City Tour

After an awesome relaxing stop in Green Lake with my sister and family we were ready for some action. It was time to hit the famed city of Chicago. Roby had never been there before so we were eager to tour every nook and cranny. My sister Ami lives in Chicago in Glencoe so she and her husband Richard were gracious enough to let us stay at their home. Ami was up at Green Lake so we basically had the house to ourselves. Their house was perfectly situated on the train line so we had easy access and did not have to worry about taking the truck into the city. Roby is not used to driving with rude horn blowing drivers!!

We decided to venture through Glencoe and found an incredible urban trail to ride called the Forest Preserve. It started at the famed Chicago Botanical Gardens routing itself through the adjoining neighborhoods but perfectly situated in the trees,aptly named, the Forest Preserve, so you did not know there were thousands of cars whizzing by within 10 feet of you-oh except when those rude city drivers laid on their horns. Amazingly a lot of people were out and about on a Monday afternoon. After 2 hours of country bliss we had to brave the city traffic back to the Midas Shop to pick up the truck after its much needed oil change and new rotors. Amazing we have put more miles on the truck than we did in a year on Kauai. That night we were having dinner with my brother-in-law Richard and we needed to pick up the Chinese food. I felt it was appropriate to "open up" the Aston Martin. The mile ride to the restaurant was a flash before our eyes. Now I know how it feels to be James Bond.
The next two days were set aside for exploring the city. We wore out our running shoes. 25 miles in 2 days!! The first day was all about trying to keep ourselves dry which we were not very successful because our trusty umbrella would flip inside out when the wind would hit it and was therefore basically useless and our rain jackets are only water resistant and after 4 hours they gave in to the downpour. We did however get to pass some time at the famous Gino's East Pizzeria with a classic deep dish and a few beers. The steamy hot water coming from the rain shower was a perfect cap to the evening. Wednesday we awoke to sun and steamy humidity but more suitable for exploring. We were on a mission to complete the entire north side of Chicago in one day-all walking. No wimpy trolleys or buses for us. The journey began at the train station with a straight shot to Millennium Park where we listened to the orchestra play while having lunch, strolled through the flower gardens, crossed the bridge to Daley Plaza, perused the Institute of Art. After our quick bit to eat at the local Italian deli we picked up our pace and reached the Architectural Tour Boat with a minute to spare. The ride headed down the Chicago River which is probably just as polluted as the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland but since it has not caught on fire is not quite as famous. The tour gave a different perspective of the skyline and we had a cute young college kid narrating the historical significance in his best baritone commercial voice-over. The hours were passing by and we still were only 1/2 way done with our tour so we high-stepped it to the Navy Pier and stopped at the famed Billy Goat Bar for Happy Hour and a beer. Then we back-tracked-oh about 6 miles, to hit the 96th floor at the Sears Tower. Instead of calling it a night we had to say we made it to Rush Street which of course took us back to where we started from so we turned around and re-traced our steps. After an hour of walking, burning holes in the soles of our running shoes, and a bad need for a bathroom, we finally reached our destination-some cozy unpadded patio chairs at Rosebuds on Rush. I think they only have Italian restaurants in Chicago! Our feet finally gave out on us and we could not get out of the chairs and muster the walk back to the train station so cheated and took a cab back. 8 hours of walking did us in. Nestled in our plastic cushioned seats with our books hoping for a quiet ride back to the suburbs. unfortunately we were introduced to the Chicago Train Guard hospitality. A feud broke out between the guard and a passenger and they had to stop the train to let the police handle the matter.

Oh city life!!

Twin Cities

After a long and flat ride through Sioux Falls (see I knew it was flat) we finally reached Minnesota. Instead of staying on a southerly course we decided to take a detour to Minneapolis. Our good friend Katie from Kauai was back in the midwest for the summer and we were going to hook up with her at the biggest mall in North America (not the world anymore)-The Great Mall of America. Needless to say we were overwhelmed with all the "stuff" let alone the amusement park inside the mall. I think we forgot how to shop in addition to losing the desire. After five minutes we were ready to leave. To wait for Katie we passed the time at Borders Bookstore. We found a nice Italian restaurant, a real meal after a week of bad all you can eat buffet diner food in South Dakota. We were celebrating our 20th anniversary so it was worth splurging on a meal that did not include mushy canned vegetables or requiring everything to be fried to be edible. The time passed quickly and after two hours we said goodbye and headed out for some cityscape. It was great to see a friendly face and just hanging out and reminiscing. We were big time daredevils and ventured over the famous bridge that collapsed. In St Paul we found the last neighborhood of late century Victorian homes. It was a 3 mile double-laned tree-lined boulevard with huge homes and yards-looked just like Pleasantville. We stopped for a quick drink at the local watering hole. We even went by the street where the statute of Mary Tyler Moore is located. Unfortunately our tour was all through the front windshield (Edward Abbey would be disappointed in us) but again the weather was not cooperating so we could not get out and really enjoy the wonderful city. This way we did not have to encounter the 1,000 mosquitos to go along with the city with 1000 lakes.

Short but sweet trip to the twin cities

The Black Hills

June 2nd-June 6th

We were ambivalent about leaving Alta because we had settled into such a nice little routine but we were excited to continue exploring. We put it off as long as possible and left on June 2nd after lunch. This put us in a time crunch because we needed to get to Devils Tower on the 3rd by 11:00 am to meet our guide to go climbing. We had to go across the entire state of Wyoming and due to the state not having a great road system, there was no straight shot. Of course we did not leave until 1:30 pm so we were already behind the ball. This was not going to be a fun leisurely 4 hour day. We pulled into Buffalo Wyoming around 9:00 pm and spent the night but we still had 2 hours the next morning to make our climb. This meant no sleeping in, we were going to have to be up bright and early (7:00 am) so we could get ready and have breakfast before we hit the road. Buffalo is a cute western town with great architecture and the perfect breakfast diner. We sat at the counter and watched the big short-order cook sling pancakes, and eggs. After a hearty meal we jumped in the car with a minute to spare to get us to Devils Tower by 11:00 am. Putting the pedal to the metal we made it but upon arrival at the National Monument, we encountered some really nasty weather. As we expected, the guide denied us our climb for safety issues due to the rain and cold. We also found out that June is the month for many Indian rituals and most climbers agree not to climb on Devils Tower for the entire month. It was probably a good thing we did not climb; we did not need any curses passed onto us if we had climbed. Therefore, instead we entered the park and hiked the trail around the Tower and pretended we were doing a reconnaisance mission to find our route. It definitely would have been the most challenging climb we have ever done but we could have made it. We thought about waiting out the weather for a day but the forecast was not promising and the Tower needed a full 24 hours to dry out so we bid our farewell to the Tower and said it would have to wait til another day. Our first disappointment.

The drive to Deadwood South Dakota was pretty silent. We kept thinking about making the summit. Fortunately the scenery was exceptionally beautiful. I know what you are thinking-South Dakota beautiful, but it is. The scenic byway through Spearfish is well worth the detour. We can definitely understand why the Harley riders love this area. The windy roads, beautiful mountains, pine forests, and roaring rivers. Then all of sudden we came upon what looked like a movie set. The town of Deadwood is a revamped mining town made into the perfect "kitsch" area. Gambling became legal in this part of South Dakota to encourage tourism and every building in Deadwood was converted into an old timey casino. Not big stakes but as many penny slot machines as you can find. We initially just drove through the town heading for Sturgis. Little did we know that Sturgis is not a very happening town unless the Harley Davidson event is going on. In fact it is downright dreadful. We made a quick stop at the HD store and had a few beers at the local tavern. Unfortunately, South Dakota has not come into the 21st century and still allows smoking so we could not hang out at the bar for very long. It was getting late and we had to decide if we were going to stay in the po dunk town of Sturgis or head back to Deadwood. We flipped a coin and Deadwood won so we headed to the KOA just outside of town and got a "cabin", made our beds and headed to town for dinner and some good old fashioned fun. Upon arrival, we really hit a "dead" town. We went into the first restaurant and literally there was no one there. Every gaming station was empty and three quarters of the restaurant was empty, so we thought we needed to find some more action. Next stop was a sports bar-we thought had to be better-well. . . Fearing nothing was going to improve, we chose to stay and have some pizza and a few beers. At least with no one in the bar we did not have to worry about smoking. After dinner we tried our hand at a few slot machines but the fun was just not there so we headed back to the cabin and called it a night. Guess you can't force the fun!!

After a good night's sleep we rose to a beautiful and surprisingly warmer day. Our venture was to hit Mt Rushmore and Custer State Park. Again we chose to take the scenic route and again well worth it. The sad part is the pine forests have been hit with the bark beetle terribly. The State is very proactive in preventing the disease from spreading so they have cleared as much of the dead trees as possible. This unfortunately has exposed the emptiness of the area. Nonetheless, the rivers, and contours of the road are still enjoyable. Upon arrival at Mt Rushmore we were amazed by the development and park structures built up around the Monument. It is really a shrine to the area. We decided to take the free tour by the Park Ranger and learned all about the history of the monument and the Black Hills. We were throughly impressed and left with a new found appreciation for South Dakota!

The Ranger told us about the Iron Mountain Parkway which would take us down to Custer. It was named after a differnt monument that Borghum, the sculptor of Mt Rushmore, designed in Georgia. This drive is within the top 5 we have done to date. For a back road this was exceptionally planned. In the exact locations they removed an allotment of trees and as you rounded the corner you had a perfect line of vision to Mt Rushmore, even at 5-10 miles away. Also, the bridges were "pig-tailed" so they wound around themselves and were the old fashioned wooden and stone bridges. Roby was in heaven for the next 2 hours. This area was continuing to impress more and more. We hit Custer and familiarized ourselves with the town. Our goal was to ride some trails in Custer State Park. They marketed themselves as being as good as MOAB and we were going to find out since we were Slick Rock graduates. Unfortunately that day we were a bit late in getting into town so we were going to have to wait on the ride until the following day. The weather was cooperating so we decided to camp at the WELIKEIT campground. I think they tried to make it sound like an Indian name. The camphosts were a bit out of the Deliverance but very friendly. We chose to get a covered site because rain was forecasted. We parked at our site and decided we needed to get in a bike ride. We were jonsing for some exercise. One of the Custer State Park entrances was located near our campground and if you ride into it there is no fee, so we figured the five mile ride would be a good warmup for the trail we had picked out. For some reason, we keep forgetting that it is not flat in this area. We should have known better considering the area is called the Black "Hills". The five miles was completely uphill and riding a moutain bike on pavement is not very enjoyable. We kept taking the curves hoping the summit was there but unfortunately they were all "false summits" Finally we came upon the 1 mile sign-praying for some downhill or at least some flat ground, but to no avail-it was just another incline. Finally the park entrance arrived and we had this dilemna because it was a downhill into the park which then meant we had to ride uphill to get out. Should we go or just turn around and have a nice downhill ride home. I had to use the restroom so the decision was answered. We were going in. After the pit stop we hit a nice easy trail along the lake. We decided against the long steep trail not only because we were being wimps but the time was getting late and we did not want to run out of daylight. Other than one nice long uphill, we bombed it back to the campground. After dinner and some light reading we were ready for bed. The bike ride was exactly what the doctor ordered. Unfortunately, in picking our campsite we were over a quarter of a mile from the bathroom thus making my midnight run truly a run!! I would have just gone outside but after that bike ride I was not sure if I could hold myself up!!!

The next morning the weather was not cooperating and the week of miserable weather was truly upon us. This nixed our chance of testing out the trails on the other side of the park so we cannot testify as to the legitimacy of Custer's claim of magnificent trails. Another day! We did get in a quick hike to the Cathedral Spires which is another famous area for rock climbing. Just these incredible rock outcrops in the middle of nowhere sticking straight up. The gray skies and cold temperatures put us in a blue mood so we decided to just keep heading east. Made a quick stop in Rapid City to grab some groceries and proceeded toward Wall South Dakota. We had to see what that drug store was all about. You have to understand, South Dakota is famous for being the biggest "kitschy" state- Why do they have a Flinstone Park or a Jellystone Park, or the biggest Drug Store, or a fake gambling town. No one would go there otherwise. Well Wall South Dakota was the epitomy of tacky. Actually there is no purpose for this place to even exist and the restuarants nor the store would be missed if they were just removed from the State. But we had to go check it out for ourselves. We found a nice little cabin for $39. No camping tonight. It was pouring down rain the entire ride from Custer. After checking in we headed to the Drug Store and our five minute tour was plenty. As beautiful as South Dakota was, we were ready to be done with it.

Alta Tude

Alta Tude – Alta, Wyoming May 22nd – June 2nd, 2009

When we arrived at Bryan and Julie’s Log Home or should I say compound in Alta, Wyoming we walked in, dropped our bags and had an immediate and welcoming sense of being at home. We first thought we would only stay for a few days but that thought almost instantly turned into … well , maybe we could stay a week or so. What a great place to kick back for awhile, relax and check a few things off of our todo list. Plenty of relaxation but those bees that mysteriously penetrated the walls as if they were invisible kept me plenty busy with the fly swatter.

Happily out of our truck which now had permanently indented seats, we spent the first couple of days at the cabin just enjoying the mtn. views, reading, practicing the guitar and relaxing in the ankle deep grass of the aspen glade just outside the back door.

After a few days of bliss mixed with swatting bees, we decided we needed some exercise so I dug the road bikes out of the back of the garage and we headed up ski hill road all the way to the gates of Grand Targhee Ski Area at 8,000 feet and savored the reward for our pain with a 40 mph bomb all the way back down the hill toward home.

The next day, after a couple of hours studying fly knots and rummaging around through Bry’s fly gear that I found next to that box of booze that he hide in the garage I decided to try my hand at some of the local world class stream fishing. Well, it was world class beautiful scenery but I didn’t catch a damn thing. They say that even a fish can stay out of trouble if he just keeps his mouth shut but the real trouble was that the rivers were all blown out from the heavy run off from snow melt. We had a great time anyway and I had a rare encounter with a bull Moose that crashed suddenly out of the willow thicket just across the river only about thirty yards from me. It was incredible except for the 10 second stare down after he saw me and stopped still in his tracks. I though I might die soon and wasn’t sure what would happen next but luckily he turned and bolted back into the bush like he had just seen a pale white alien with a fishing hat on. That afternoon we hopped back on the road bikes and made the 20 mile roundtrip ride south through Teton Valley on the regional bike path and checked out one of Bryan’s old projects – Teton Springs. A very nice upscale golf community located just outside of Victor only about 20 minutes from Jackson Hole.

Because the fishing wasn’t so good and the rivers were near at flood stage we thought hmmmm - White Water!!! We booked a rafting trip on the Snake River for the next day. The trip was short because of the high flow rate but very sweet. We managed to stay right side up through the class 4 Lunch Counter rapids at 19,000 cfs. Afterward, we headed to the Town Square Tavern and sat outside on the second story balcony looking out over the heart of Jackson Hole in the late afternoon sun. Over a few beers we recalled the day’s historical narrative from our life-long boat guide Tom. What a character, what a job. In the past I’ve often considered pursuing a recreational adventure career like Tom’s and I think I would probably love it until maybe I had to do it everyday for a living and then I might not care for it as much.


After we dried out from the river we decided to check out the local Mountain Bike scene and headed to the Dead Horse Basin of Horseshoe Canyon just west across Teton Valley from Driggs. We climbed up out of the valley on the Bovine trail – straight up - then traversed on the Southbound trail around the mountain about three quarters up the slope, through wildflowers toward incredible views of the Grand Tetons and made numerous switch backs up even higher as we rounded the cone shaped mtn. before cresting the saddle and bombing down 1500’ of vertical float on the smooth, banked Slingshot single track trail. This was a classic cross country trail that was as good as the very center of your peanut butter and jelly sandwich (or even peanut butter and chocolate sandwich – Leo). The hot tub back at the cabin was beckoning our bumps and bruises and it definitely hit the spot.

The last few days we spent catching up on some house chores, Patti researched our itinerary for Europe and booked our Geneva flights and I worked on our Devil’s Tower rock climb planned for the next week. One afternoon I decided to mow and weed whack the grass on their lot…I mean Ranch, 5 hours later and covered from teeth to toe with little gooey bits of freshly shredded grass I dusted my hands off, took a swig of my now warm beer and nodded my head in acknowledgment of a job well done. Just as I put the mower away rain drops started to polka-dot the deck and we unfortunately had to cancel the best part that we had saved for last – an evening under the stars in front of the fire pit with a glass of wine and marshmallows dangling over amber coals.

Mellow Yellow

Mellow Yellow – Yellowstone Nat’l Park, Wyoming, 5/20 & 21/09

From our hotel in Butte we headed East on I-90 toward Bozeman, a great looking mid- size town in a verdant valley surrounded by snow capped mountains and home to Montana State University. After cruising Main Street, looking around a bit and stopping at a grocery store we left the interstate and drove south on 191 along the Gallatin River toward Big Sky and the town of West Yellowstone - our next stop. Looking at a flat map of Montana you just see roads, but where there are roads there are valleys and where there are valleys - in the spring - there are hell rip roaring white water rivers. The spring snow melt was at near peak and for sixty miles or more we followed the Gallatin River and watched tons of rafters and kayakers braving the near flood stage rapids. We looked at each other and both said – we gotta do that!

West Yellowstone is a funky little spot just outside of the park’s west entrance with lots of touristy attractions, shops, restaurants and lots and lots of hotel rooms and RV Parks. We made our typical pass through town looking for the key ingredients - a place to sleep, mtn. biking trails and beer – not necessarily in that order. First we spotted the Gallatin Nat’l Forest cross country ski & mtn. bike trail facility and then the Wolf Pack Brew Pub both only about two blocks away from the nice and new looking Grizzly RV Camp Ground – Perfect! Given the near freezing night time temps and the name of the camp ground we decided not to tent camp and rented one of their small log cabins for $40. We unpacked and headed to the Wolf Pack - surely they would have the Cavs game on. The owner was friendly and the wheat brew was good but she had the place up for sale to help pay for a mid life career change as she prepared to enter Law School. Patti tried to talk her out of it for the next two hours with one eye on the game.

Wednesday morning after studying cloud formations from my porch swing we hopped into the truck ventured into the Park and made our way towards our destination for the day - Old Faithful. Driving through the park and past the still frozen Yellowstone Lake we noticed that the mountains are not as spectacular here as in many of the other areas that we have recently passed through and unfortunately the 1988 fire that burned over half of the park’s forest is still quite evident. What is spectacular is the geothermal geysers – and aside from that, the picturesque rivers, river valleys and waterfalls will be the most memorable aspect of the landscape. Especially when you see these areas sprinkled with all of the wildlife like lots of buffalo, deer and elk. We also saw a grey wolf on the hunt and a sleeping grizzly that caused a small bear jam of camera wilding tourists jumping out of their haphazardly parked cars still halfway in the road. Guilty.

Thursday we suited up and peddled over to the start of the Gallatin Forest Mtn. Bike area. This large fenced network of trails is designated for non motorized recreation and is cut out of thick hilly woods with cross country skiers in mind – so not too steep or narrow and lots of good signage. We still got lost. There wasn’t a soul there probably because it was definitely still the shoulder season with the trail barely firm enough to ride and snow drifts in many areas the higher we climbed. Good thing Patti loves mud.

Our trip plan was to continue East through the Park the next day on our way to Devils Tower in NE Wyoming for a day of rock climbing and then on to Mt. Rushmore. That night I spoke to my friend Bryan who is currently in NYC but has a log home about an hour south of Yellowstone in Alta on the boarder of Idaho and Wyoming – Wydaho we call it. He insisted that we make the detour to his place and hide out there for a week or 3. We had briefly considered going down that way for a day or so and then decided against it because he and Julie wouldn’t be there. However, with Bryan’s detailed description reminding us of life in a log cabin at the foot of the Tetons in the spring with Fly fishing, Mtn biking, hot tubing, smores etc., etc. we couldn’t pass it up. What the hell Wydaho, screw our travel schedule, here we come.