We arrived a day later than planned because of the repair/service we needed to get on the motorcoach. We had called the office at Ft McCoy & let them know of our expected delay & called again when we were finally on the way to keep them from releasing our reserved campsite. Always good to be respectful & keep everyone in the loop.
Our drive was easy & was mostly on 4-lane, divided highways. Just after noon, we exited the highway to find a spot to have lunch. I usually make a couple sandwiches in the morning of our travel days & tuck them into the cooler with some frozen ice packs. This eliminates the need to open the fridge & let the cool air out. The fridge stays at 36 degrees for trips that last 8 hours or more. The freezer goes from 0 to 20+ in that amount of time but I think it’s because there is a faulty/twisted seal on the bottom we hadn’t addressed with any fix it techs.
We spotted a church right off the exit ramp – a good spot to park with lots of room to manuver around on a weekday with only a couple cars near the building. And a HUGE raccoon was walking slowly through the parking lot. It was definitely sizing up the car & motorcoach. YIKES! He stopped & starred at me & I could see he had an injury to his left eye. He eventually wandered on down the embankment & toward the back corner of the lot. I got the pups out for a QUICK potty & then scooted them up into the coach. I was a bit concerned he would come back. After we ate, I took the girls out again but didn’t spot the raccoon. The preacher came out & asked if we had called the sheriff’s office about a sick raccoon which we had not. Apparently a passing car had seen him too & called. The sherif showed up then & the two men decided to leave well enough alone instead of searching for the critter. We loaded up & went on our way.
We frequently spot lumber trucks driving on the interstate with large amounts of building materials. With the astronomical price of lumber, I was surprised these trucks were not escorted by guards. Just a side observation from a curious traveler.
Following GPS on our phones, we were directed to a smaller highway toward the end of the trip. However, that became a dirt road & I was on the verge of a meltdown, recalling the dirt road we got lost on between Oklahoma & Kansas. Perry stopped the RV & I went ahead to see where the GPS would direct us. I will admit, the dirt road was very well maintained & the farms with big, nice houses were reassuring, unlike the “lost” episode. I drove another three miles around easy curves & low inclines/declines. Then the road became a splotchy asphalt for a few more curves. And a nicely paved 4-way stop appeared with signs directing travelers to the campground of Ft McCoy, our destination!
I returned to where Perry had stopped & radioed him to follow me. I would have radioed him earlier but our 2-way (which we LOVE) wasn’t within range. We took it slow & easy & all was well. Finding the campsite was a piece of cake – the people in the office had told me the site number during our previous conversations. Perry backed in & we were set up & comfy within 30 minutes, dog fence & all. That was at about 2:30pm so we settled in for a quick nap.
We went to the little town of Tomah for dinner. We apparently didn’t pick the best spot for service but that’s how it goes sometimes. Back at camp, Perry took the pups for a walk while I did the nightly chores & then we conked out. Life is not hard when you are retired.
The next day we returned to Tomah for a wander through an antique store we spotted the evening before. Fortunately, we both love a wander through a good antique store or Perry would have had to kick this guy out of the chair.
Wisconsin is known for it’s amazing cheese production & there was a big cheese store right next door. TONS of cheese varieties & lots of gift items to peruse. But we still had to get lunch & go grocery shopping so we only bought a cheese wedge eraser for Lily & a lapel pin for our collection / display in the camper.
On the way back to the campground we turned into the main gate at Ft McCoy for a drive about look-see. And we promptly got lost. That’s a good thing in that we saw more of the BIG base & the old buildings but we did have to ask someone which way was “out”.
The campground is off the main base – still part of Ft McCoy property (60,000 acres) but not within the gated section. And it is open to civilians, too. They have boats, petal cars, cabins & lots more to rent & the facilities are kept up nicely. The campsites are spacious & wooded – a big plus in our opinion. There isn’t a whole lot to see in the vicinity so we stayed “in” most of the time & caught up on reading & blogging.
The 3rd day we ventured to Sparta which was a bit closer than Tomah & a little bigger. We found the fiberglass mold graveyard that was listed on the “Roadside America” app we use to search for odd things. It’s basically a junk yard for the molds F.A.S.T Fiberglass produces. BIG molds for whales, Trojans, well known eateries 3-D logos, etc. I’ve shown some of the cool things below. It brought back memories of the past & made us laugh. A drive around town followed & we found a few other fun things listed on the app including a 32 ft tall man on a bike.
We stopped at a little coffee / bakery in the historic downtown area for lunch & I had the best tuna melt sandwich. Perry had a chicken salad sandwich he raved about, too. We skipped the malts & had A&W Root Beers in bottles – loved those! And we found the county museum housed in the old Masonic Lodge. Wonderful, interactive displays & super friendly people. Upstairs was a separate museum all about bikes from the olden days & lots of separate displays about a US Astronaut (Deke Slayton) who was born in Sparta. They were very proud of their Sputnik astronaut.
On Saturday we stayed in much of the day & caught up on the blog. We figured out how to get Discovery Plus on our live stream TV. We are so not technology people so this was a huge accomplishment – don’t laugh. Then we were able to watch Hometown Makeover with Ben & Erin. Sure do wish we had seen it before we visited Wetompka, Alabama a couple months prior. Now that we know the stories, we will have to go back there for another visit!
On our last day in the area we drove around Sparta looking for more “odd” things to snap pictures of. And we found some neat things, indeed. We also found Blyton Veteran’s Park where we photographed a few of their memorials for specific conflicts. The people of this lovely community know how to honor their heros!
A good sleep had us rested up for a long drive to Milwaukee the next day. We arrived at the Wisconsin State Fair RV Park by 3pm. It was an easy trip but the traffic was heavy at the very end as we entered the very busy city. The campground was essentially the old parking lot of the fairgrounds. It was certainly not what we typically go for but there were several sites & museums we wanted to visit in the city so the convenience won out.
This place was in a VERY urban area which is not particularly a favorite of ours. We stepped out to have dinner & found a crazy world, indeed. A fella nearly backed into us as we squeezed into the rather tight parking lot of the Italian restaurant, there was a very loud couple having a shouting match across the street – arms waving & all, a police car raced down the street with siren & lights & the restaurant we choose had an extremely dark lobby that felt kinda morbid as we entered. The good news was it smelled incredible inside, the patrons at the tables looked respectable & they served sweet tea! Dinner was perfect. As we left we noted the arguing couple had disappeared & the racing police car was not in sight. We returned to the parking lot that pretends to be a campground with no incidents. And, just to put it out there, Georgia roads are stellar compared to the roads we encountered in Milwaukee. IF I had dentures, I’d need to use a double dollop of Polli-Grip!
A drive into the center of Milwaukee is not for the faint of heart. Fast, curvy & very crazy drivers make for potential disasters on the road. We escaped crashes but it got dicey as we made our way over to the Harley-Davidson Museum. Perry still has one of his three Harleys tucked away to be used when we spend time back in Georgia. He & his brothers LOVE the brand. A trip to this place was like finding the Holy Grail to him. And it was a very big place. Here are some pictures of motorcycles displayed.
While driving around the area near the Campground, we spotted this random gas station, preserved for posterity. It was one of a chain of gas stations in the area many years ago – a relic of the Wadhams Oil & Grease Compamy. The mannequin inside gave me a fright when I stepped closer to take a picture. The shelves inside are lined with the company’s offerings. Neat how the past is celebrated!
The Italian restaurant we visited the first night we arrived in Milwaukee was so good we went there a second time. If we are ever there agin, it will be a “must” for a third visit!
We determined a city as big & complicated as Milwaukee is way to much for me. We stayed in the RV most of the time, avoiding the heat & the strange goings on around us. It allowed me the time to FINALLY get caught up on our blog issues.
And then we had the 4th of July … the asphalt campground was right next to the city’s fireworks launch location. And did they ever put on a show! It was insane! We gave Spice TWO Pet Gummies to calm her down. They worked in keeping her shaking under control but she was bug eyed for the hour & a half duration of the explosions overhead. Afterwards, lots of folks, both in the park & at surrounding homes, kept the explosions going until 2 or 3 in the morning. The following night was some of the same. We were glad to leave on Tuesday!
And off to Michigan we went – right through the ridiculous interstate maze of Milwaukee!
Not all who wander are lost! #whereswaldocamping