Well it was bound to happen having driven over 30,000 miles in a year over a mix of smoothly paved and rutted dirt roads. This time I got another low tire pressure light just as I pulled into a space for the night- I measured the pressure and it was just a few pounds down, …
Author Archives: marylandry
Wisconsin: Madison and northbound
After my brief foray into the Land of Lincoln it was back into Wisconsin kind of retracing my steps for a little bit as I went northward through the state towards Michigan’s upper penninsula. I spent a night in Lake Geneva, where I’d gone for a walk on my route south, then continued into Madison …
Illinois: Chicago
I’d been to Chicago before a few years back for a visit downtown for a few days and a couple of concerts, and it still remains the only part of Illinois I’ve been to. Again. This time it was because it was such a short jump across the state line and also to visit friends …
Wisconsin: All the cheese (thanks from my waistline)
Vermont may remain my favorite food and beverage state, but man does Wisconsin give it a run for its money in the dairy department. I’d been to the mecca of cheeseheads before but only to visit my friend’s family lake home on the eastern Lake Michigan coastline, so the rest of the state has been …
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Wisconsin: Spring Green
Further south in the state I stumbled upon a small area packed with attractions and experiences ranging from classic to fantastical. Spring Green is home to Frank Lloyd Wright’s home, Taliesin, and his architectural school among other family sites. I’m not certain why I’ve developed this need to visit all the Wright sites I pass, …
Wisconsin: Apostle Islands to La Crosse
Crossing into Wisconsin from Duluth was exciting for a number of reasons: 1) only minutes into the state I came across a museum dedicated to accordions, 2) the grey dreary weather was clearing, and 3) it meant I was so close to all the cheese. Sadly the accordion museum seemed to be closed so I …
Minnesota: Boundary Waters and the Superior coastline
The drizzly, windy weather followed me east into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, but after a grey and stormy evening the morning turned blue and mild. After a hunt for a place to rent a canoe and explore (I mean, it’s in the name) I was sadly unsuccessful- all the local places I could …
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Minnesota: the Paul Bunyan trail to Voyageurs National Park
North of the twin cities quickly turns into the land of Paul Bunyan and his woodland entourage. Outside Brainerd I spotted Paul’s giant footprints in the scenic Kohl’s parking lot (my sandals for scale), Babe the blue ox in Elvis style, a corn cob man named Colonel Cobber (story here), a giant statue of Paul’s …
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Minnesota: Twin Cities area
The extent of my experience in Minnesota previously has been a few stints in the airport, my main memories of which are there were cute shops and a lot of good looking men, so not bad! On my way north from Iowa I took a brief pit stop in Blue Earth, which aside from having …
Nebraska and Iowa: rivers and lakes with a side of ice cream
I’d driven across Nebraska twice and popped over for a coffee brunch once and to visit Kevin’s mom’s new house in progress, but hadn’t stayed overnight there and was so close I had to veer over the border from SD for a night to check it out. I was told that the Niobrara River was …
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The Van is Go 