Grit Your Teeth Fellow Phobics

Brady's Bluff Shelter

I'll let you know right away this blog contains photos of snakes. For those of you with Ophidiophobia, I understand the shock factor of photos popping up on your phone. It can be very disturbing, mine is spiders.

This photo was from a fellow phobic. How she manage to stay composed for a shot at this unusual event is beyond me. At the top of Brady's Bluff sits the shelter built by the CCC. A lovely comforting resting stop when you reach the summit. While seated and taking in the views, she felt safe retreating to the shelter only to find a family of snakes, slithering through the logs.

I'm  sure glad it wasn't me. But I was curious to see the photo and so are you if you're still reading this blog.

Seeing is Believing

Every trip we sightsee in a town nearby. Necedah not to be confused with Neenah was our destination.









First stop was the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge to see the migrating birds. We couldn't believe our eyes. We had a chance to see two Whooping Cranes and a family of Trumpeter Swans while hiking the trails.

We toured through town and saw a sign for a Polish Deli. It was like stepping into another country. The cashier had a thick polish accent, labeling of items was a bit off like beacon (bacon) and they offered an array of groceries that needed translation. It was a feast for the eyes as we looked around and gathered soups and candies we'd never heard of. I hope their ethnicity doesn't get diluted, and is cherished by all that visits.


Our last stop was by far the most unusual, a shrine. Queen of the Holy Rosary. A lot of effort went into displays and an unfinished chapel remains to be seeing it's completion. A local women is said to have been visited by the Blessed Virgin Mary back in the 1950's. A 100,000 people came out to witness a reappearance. It still has followers but lacks the Catholic's churches blessing.















I suggest you go see these unusual sites for yourself.

Buckhorn O' Plenty

Sunset at fishing pier

The last of the season trip for HaRVey, a fall outing to central Wisconsins' Buckhorn State Park. At the bottom of an ancient glacial lake, the modern facilities were greatly appreciated.  Sand and water surrounds the park, a unique landscape of oak barrens and sandblows. The Wisconsin and Yellow Rivers converge forming the reservoir Castle Rock Lake so we hoped for some fishing fun.  Shallow waters and sandy bottoms were ideal for swimmers but fishing was less than ideal at least for us novice casters.







Sunrise at campsite

We were able to launch our boat on the canoe trail but the open lakes were a bit too windy for our little boat. Many great campsites for tents on the waters edge. The park provided sunrise and sunset views. What more could you ask for.




Sandblow vista


















Big Bloody-32 oz, all you need is one

Nearby our site we found a service road to walk a half mile to a local bar aptly named Buckhorn Grill & Bar. On our last day we opted for an sunny afternoon with some Bloody's and Beer enjoying all their outside fun and games. We enjoyed the last of their season pig roast dinner and had a bloody good time visiting with the team of staff members.



Every Sunday Pig Roast



Outdoor bar and playground