Over the River and Through the Woods in Wisconsin We Go!

It really is over the river and through the woods as you travel through Wisconsin. We decided to go to Pepin, birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder, so we traveled down a little state highway, past the Mississippi River, the Pepin River, the Black River, and others. Some of the rivers we crossed multiple times. We also traveled through the woods - it often seemed it was just us, the river, and the woods. It was beautiful and green and we enjoyed our driving time today.

As we prepared to leave the hotel this morning, we realized that we had purchased some things that we needed to find a place for. Lorie said she visualized Dad and how he always packs so carefully and makes everything fit, and, lo and behold, she was able to find a place for everything and make it fit very well. Elizabeth said that she channeled her inner Bub.

While we were driving along, we stopped at several scenic outlooks and historical markers. It was interesting to learn something about Wisconsin because we really did not know much about it.

Since we were traveling down a back road, there were not very many stopping places in terms of food. We went through several small towns with just a handful of people -- between 114 and 421, depending on the town. We had thought that we would eat in Pepin but the trip was taking longer than we thought and Lorie was getting hungry. As we drove through Stockholm, we said a sign that said "Stockholm Pie Company". We turned around and drove back there, thinking that sounded like a good place to eat. It turns out that they are closed on Wednesday. This little town of Stockholm is right on the river (like all the towns we passed), but for some reason it was more tourist orientated. There were several small stores and little eating places. However, they were all closed on Wednesday, except for the Bogus Creek Cafe. So, guess where we ate?

The Bogus Creek is so named because about 100 years ago, a man was making counterfeit money. When the sheriff came to arrest him, he threw all his money-making equipment in the creek - thus, the name, Bogus Creek.

We sat outside with the mosquitoes, but there was a cool breeze. We each ordered a sandwich. They had full or half sandwiches. We ordered half - expecting that it would be a true half sandwich - in other words, a sandwich cut in half. When the sandwiches arrived, they were more like open-faced sandwiches. A piece of bread and the sandwich makings on top, but no top piece of bread. We were wondering if you ordered the whole sandwich, if you would get the top piece of bread and that would be the only difference. However, we didn't ask. There were several people there (probably because it was the only place in town that was open) and our waitress was very busy.

After eating, we continued down the road to Pepin. We drove out the seven miles away from Pepin and saw the reconstructed log house that represents the log house Laura Ingalls Wilder was born in. Then we went back to town and went through the museum. It was interesting. We were happy to have had the chance to see it.

We then had about a three hour drive to Madison where we are staying tonight. We enjoyed the drive along the Wisconsin River and past several more towns.

We are staying at the Cambria Suites tonight. It is very nice. One of our criteria for choosing this hotel was the fact that it had a coin laundry for guests. We have needed to do laundry for the past three nights, but have not had access to machines. In Fargo, North Dakota, they said they had guest laundry. When we inquired about it at the front desk, the clerk told us that there was no laundry for the guests, but that she would do it for us. We thought that sounded a little weird, so we declined. Then, we thought for sure the Ramada, next to Mall of America, would have guest laundry, but it did not. So, as we chose a hotel for tonight, we looked for location and for the guest amenities to include a coin laundry. We just talked with the young man at the front desk and told him about the clerk offering to do our laundry in Fargo. He said he had offered to do people's laundry before; he said, "That is just what we do." I guess I have to say I am impressed with the customer service we have experienced at our lodging places. :)

For some reason, spell check is not working tonight, so if there are spelling errors in this post, I apologize. Hope you all are well!