Across Northern Wisconsin

When we came out of the Boundary Waters we had planned to spend only 3 more nights at Fall Lake before moving on.  That would give us plenty of time to regroup and repack our gear before heading south and east.  Just about that time a severe heat wave struck the upper Midwest.  The temperatures in Ely were hitting 90 degrees, and the temps in central Minnesota were over 100 degrees.  Why go south in the face of that misery?  We were parked at one of our favorite places, we had good power to run the AC, and we had no other particular place to be.  Labor Day weekend was coming up, and we had no reservations anywhere else if we moved.  So we decided to just sit tight and wait out the heat wave.  Ultimately we stayed a total of 9 additional nights at Fall Lake.

Finally, on September 2, we took off.  We had no firm plans, but planned to head across northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  We stopped briefly in Duluth for groceries, then decided to shoot for the Walmart in Ashland WI to spend the night.  However, when we checked our Walmart database, it indicated that store did not allow overnight parking.  Dang!  Dorcas called the store to confirm, and they said no problem, come on over.  So off we went.  However, when we arrived at the store, there were signs all over saying that no overnight parking was allowed.  Dorcas went inside to get the straight poop.  It turns out the store has no objection, but there is a city ordinance prohibiting overnight parking.  They said the ordinance is rarely enforced, and it was safe to park.  We decided to risk it and found a nice spot near the back of the store, not visible from the street, between a parked 18-wheeler and a class C RV.  We were not disturbed.

The badger, Wisconsin's mascot

The next day we drove out on the Bayfield Peninsula towards the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.  On the way we stopped at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, which is jointly operated by the National Park Service, National Forest Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Wisconsin Historical Society.  It is a wonderful facility and features a 5-story observation tower.  It had loads of exhibits and videos.  It would be easy to spend a whole day there.

Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center

We continued up the western shore of the Bayfield Peninsula with great views of Chequamegon Bay and Lake Superior.  We stopped and toured the quaint village of Bayfield, were we spent some time in the HQ and visitor center for the Apostle Islands National Lake Lakeshore.   The Apostle Islands are difficult to explore without a boat.  Most visitors use a kayak or take a tourist excursion.  Our open canoe is not well suited for paddling the big waters among the islands, so we didn't paddle.  While at park HQ we learned that folks could park overnight in their parking lot for a very modest fee, so we checked in.  Before the establishment of the park, brownstone limestone was quarried from a number of the islands and used in the construction of buildings.  The park HQ was built from the this brownstone and was formerly the Bayfield County Courthouse.

Camping at park HQ Apostle Islands NLS

On the pier in Bayview

After leaving the peninsula we doubled back through Ashland.  While we had spent a previous night in Ashland, we had not explored this scenic town.  At the NGLVC we had learned of Kreher Park, a town RV park in Ashland on the Superior shore.  We checked it out and it was very nice, so we signed up for 2 nights.

Our camp at Kreher Park in Ashland

The town of Ashland features a dozen or more murals throughout the downtown area depicting the town's history and heritage.  We explored the town and enjoyed the artwork.

An Ashland mural

A mural honoring Ashland veterans

Ashland Town Hall constructed with local brownstone