Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!!

 We spent the last week at our family cabin which sets at the end of this driveway on a lake in Northwestern Wisconsin.  Even though it is only 25 miles from our home, it is still a nice getaway.   It is internet challenged here at the cabin, although with the recent advances of cell phone towers,  we now have limited cell service.  It is still many miles to buy a gallon of milk though.

 My Great Grandfather homesteaded this land many moons ago.  This was one of my Grandpas machines from back in the day.  Nice!!

 This was another.  They are our lawn ornaments as you make your way down the driveway towards the cabin.

 This area that used to be field is now a mixture of trees.  Some are nice and healthy, and others tip over easily from root rot, or at least that's the generic term we use.  It has something to do with what sometimes happen when trees take over farm field.

 This is a creek that enters the lake and makes a U turn right back out again.  The above picture is just after it leaves the lake.
  
 We were welcomed back home to a nice covering of fresh snow in the upper St.Croix River valley.

 We decided to go for a drive this afternoon.  Some virgin snow...lots of it.  

 These are some of my favorite biking roads.  I have used a cross bike here a few times, but the mountain bike is my favorite ride for these roads.  Miles and miles of wilderness riding here.  I am still nursing that !*%#^$! leg that I injured a month ago.  If not for that, I would have had a bicycle out today instead of the truck.

 Here is a small branch of the St.Croix River.  

 St.Croix River 

More St.Croix.  Up until July 1st, one could take either fork of the river here.  Not any more.  We had a bad windstorm and you would play hell getting through that one now because of the downed trees.

This is a picture of the opposite side of the road.  The storm was a biggie.  It involved a very large area, although the wind damage was sporadic.    

This is on a road that dead ends in along the St.Croix...and my father was the dozer operator that made this road years ago when he first started his career in the the forestry field.   In fact, the last five pictures were from that road.  We had many family picnics here and we carried on the tradition with our children.

I am hoping the next post will involve some outside activity.  Going to give a go one of these days.

Lets get outdoors and have some fun!!

7 comments:

  1. That looks like a great getaway! Happy New Year!

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  2. Sorry to hear about your leg. Hope it gets better soon.

    Great photos in a beautiful area. Looks kinda strange to see such little snow on the ground up there at this time of year.

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  3. I've always been intrigued by Wisconsin. Woods,Water,Aldo Leopold. I like how you have heritage with your cabin. Best wishes in the New Year!

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  4. What a beautiful part of the upper Midwest. You're very lucky to have roots and a sense of place in this kind of area.

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  5. Happy New Year. Great photos and story about the family homestead. The leg is getting better every day so hang in there.

    Cheers

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  6. Enjoyed the photos. Looks like you have more snow than us. We just got enough snow in the last week to make x-c skiing a possibility. Best wishes for the New Year!

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  7. Yes, I do feel blessed to not only live in this part of the world, but also to have a long family history here.

    The leg can't heal fast enough...bummer.

    Thanks for the comments.

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