Wednesday
Dec082010
Deep in the Backwoods
Wednesday, December 8, 2010 at 5:23AM
It's been a while since I wrote about my travels across Wisconsin, so with the recent snow fall reminding me of the first snow I saw this winter, I thought it was about time I got cracking on this blog post.
The two campaign trips which took me furthest from home saw us heading deep into the woods. Both times we drove North, the first time more to the West, to the Eau Claire area, and the second pretty much straight North to Ashland. I say we, but actually, it was me who was doing most of the driving, which I really enjoyed. I love driving along the highways and down winding country roads, taking in the American landscape. It's made all the better by very few cars on the road (comparatively speaking to California and England) and much wider roads (especially compared to England). And best of all, is the cruise control! Set the speed, and let the feet relax. So simple.
And so it was, that I drove North. For the first trip we were driving at night, along endless country roads until we reached the lakeside log cabin of a colleague from work. It was such a secluded location, but it was really beautiful, overlooking Lake Eau Claire, set back amongst the trees; a true cabin experience. Though there are a number of cabins in the area, and the local town is really only ten minutes away, it still feels a little in the middle of nowhere; perfect to escape from everything, and spend a weekend relaxing with the family. The cabin was almost brand new, with a huge range of amenities (heat, TV, internet, multiple bedrooms), so it wasn't like we were out in the wilderness, braving the elements. That would be true back country spirit.
But still, I felt like we were a little removed from civilisation. Once we got off the freeway, we barely passed any cars. I think once we hit the back roads we didn't pass a single one. The only lights that came at us were those of a combine harvester, ploughing the field next to the road at 11.07pm! As it came thundering towards us, I was strongly reminded of the scene in the Pixar film Cars, with the evil combine harvester. It really was just like that!
The only other sign of life we came across paradoxically seemed to emphasise the distance we were from civilisation.
When we hit the country roads I began seeing signs like the one here, and though the meaning seems fairly obvious, I wondered what exactly it meant. Then lo-and-behold, the headlights shone upon a reflective sticker, which was on the back on one of these carts, a horse pulling it, trotting down the road. They belong to the Amish folk of Wisconsin, who live lives without the commodities most of us associate with the modern world. It's hard to generalise what rules the Amish-Menonnite adhere to, but most reject the day-to-day use of modern technology, including cars and electricity, and reject government interference, including any form of education or social security. From time to time though, they do make use of modern conveniences. Apparently they are great craftspeople, very skilled at making wooden furniture amongst other things.
In the fast paced modern world we live in, it was a nice shock to run into this slower, simpler lifestyle, as we overtook the horse and cart.
After a night's sleep in the cabin, I awoke to the sound of gunshots...not the typical Madison alarm clock. Hunting is an integral part of life out in the countryside, and at times often a necessity. Wisconsin has some big bears you know. I found this out whilst walking down the street campaigning one day, when at one house I found a family gathered around a truck. In the truck, of all things, was a black bear! I couldn't believe my eyes, but they do exist, and often wander near homes; so a gun is at times necessary to scare them off, or defend yourself and your home. I am not certain, but I think this bear in the truck wasn't dead, but merely drugged. I think they were going to release it back into the wild, but I wasn't about to stick around to find out what happened when it woke up.
If the slow way of life out in the country starts to get to you, there is always solace and friendship to be found in the local drinking hole. If you're out near Fall Creek, you can do no better than Big Jim's Sports Bar. A true local bar, we found ourselves in there after an afternoon walking the streets canvassing votes; we thought we could have a sit down in there, and maybe get a few more votes too. We arrived at just the right time, as the weekly pot luck draw was occurring at 6pm, and the place was pretty busy. Big Jim himself recommended I try a local brew, and I happily obliged, though apparently it's not a favourite of the locals, who prefer more traditional beers like Budweiser. Big Jim (he was pretty big) was a great character; in fact the bar was full of them. As we were there, one guy won $300 on the pot luck, and bought the entire bar a drink. I chatted with one local labourer who told me all about the winter up there, and what type of snow mobile was the best to buy. He even showed me the scars he had from crashing his snow mobile two years ago!
The winters up there can be pretty bad. We found that on our second trip North, driving from Wausau up to Ashland. The roads through the Northwoods began to get a little treacherous as the first snow of the season rolled in. It was picturesque, driving on long straight roads with white dusted pine trees on either side of you, but it could easily be very dangerous. When the big snow sets in, cars don't have much of a chance; hence the use of snow mobiles. There are miles and miles of snow mobile cross-country trails up in Northern Wisconsin, and we saw many warning signs about them. Even the hotel we stayed at had instructions on how to park your snow mobile. Maybe if I can brave the cold, we'll have a trip up there when the snow has set in and have a ride on a snow mobile.
I found Northern Wisconsin to be really beautiful, driving through little holiday destinations like Minocqua, surrounded by dozens of lakes and a few Native American Reserves. Lake Superior was just as vast as Lake Michigan, but perhaps even more scenic, even with the rain coming down at the time we were there. Minocqua, with lots of little unique shops and some semblance of civilisation seemed like a great weekend getaway, and though I am not a great 'Outdoorsman', I would thoroughly enjoy spending some time exploring the Chequamegon area.
There's a great name; Chequamegon. I guarantee you cannot pronounce that correctly, no matter how many times you try. She-warm-again is more like the correct way to say it, as you can hear here. This website is dedicated to the correct pronunciation of Wisconsin names! http://www.misspronouncer.com/parks/chequamegon_nicolet.html
There seemed to be a lot to explore for a day or two up in that area; just on the one road we were on, we passed a
Casino, a giant corkscrew and a giant duck statue! What more could you want! And if all else fails, you could always end up where we did for dinner one evening, at Larry's Good Time Saloon, in Hurley. It's right on the border with Michigan (which we ventured into for 5 minutes), and had pretty decent food. My boss spun some wild tale for the gullible staff there about how we were travel writers from Europe. I guess he wasn't too far from the truth! But as far as good times go, the one street town of Hurley is apparently the place to party in Northern Wisconsin. On that one street, for such a small population, there were about a dozen bars, and 4 or 5 strip clubs!
Whatever gets you through those long cold nights!
The two campaign trips which took me furthest from home saw us heading deep into the woods. Both times we drove North, the first time more to the West, to the Eau Claire area, and the second pretty much straight North to Ashland. I say we, but actually, it was me who was doing most of the driving, which I really enjoyed. I love driving along the highways and down winding country roads, taking in the American landscape. It's made all the better by very few cars on the road (comparatively speaking to California and England) and much wider roads (especially compared to England). And best of all, is the cruise control! Set the speed, and let the feet relax. So simple.
And so it was, that I drove North. For the first trip we were driving at night, along endless country roads until we reached the lakeside log cabin of a colleague from work. It was such a secluded location, but it was really beautiful, overlooking Lake Eau Claire, set back amongst the trees; a true cabin experience. Though there are a number of cabins in the area, and the local town is really only ten minutes away, it still feels a little in the middle of nowhere; perfect to escape from everything, and spend a weekend relaxing with the family. The cabin was almost brand new, with a huge range of amenities (heat, TV, internet, multiple bedrooms), so it wasn't like we were out in the wilderness, braving the elements. That would be true back country spirit.
But still, I felt like we were a little removed from civilisation. Once we got off the freeway, we barely passed any cars. I think once we hit the back roads we didn't pass a single one. The only lights that came at us were those of a combine harvester, ploughing the field next to the road at 11.07pm! As it came thundering towards us, I was strongly reminded of the scene in the Pixar film Cars, with the evil combine harvester. It really was just like that!
The only other sign of life we came across paradoxically seemed to emphasise the distance we were from civilisation.
When we hit the country roads I began seeing signs like the one here, and though the meaning seems fairly obvious, I wondered what exactly it meant. Then lo-and-behold, the headlights shone upon a reflective sticker, which was on the back on one of these carts, a horse pulling it, trotting down the road. They belong to the Amish folk of Wisconsin, who live lives without the commodities most of us associate with the modern world. It's hard to generalise what rules the Amish-Menonnite adhere to, but most reject the day-to-day use of modern technology, including cars and electricity, and reject government interference, including any form of education or social security. From time to time though, they do make use of modern conveniences. Apparently they are great craftspeople, very skilled at making wooden furniture amongst other things.
In the fast paced modern world we live in, it was a nice shock to run into this slower, simpler lifestyle, as we overtook the horse and cart.
After a night's sleep in the cabin, I awoke to the sound of gunshots...not the typical Madison alarm clock. Hunting is an integral part of life out in the countryside, and at times often a necessity. Wisconsin has some big bears you know. I found this out whilst walking down the street campaigning one day, when at one house I found a family gathered around a truck. In the truck, of all things, was a black bear! I couldn't believe my eyes, but they do exist, and often wander near homes; so a gun is at times necessary to scare them off, or defend yourself and your home. I am not certain, but I think this bear in the truck wasn't dead, but merely drugged. I think they were going to release it back into the wild, but I wasn't about to stick around to find out what happened when it woke up.
If the slow way of life out in the country starts to get to you, there is always solace and friendship to be found in the local drinking hole. If you're out near Fall Creek, you can do no better than Big Jim's Sports Bar. A true local bar, we found ourselves in there after an afternoon walking the streets canvassing votes; we thought we could have a sit down in there, and maybe get a few more votes too. We arrived at just the right time, as the weekly pot luck draw was occurring at 6pm, and the place was pretty busy. Big Jim himself recommended I try a local brew, and I happily obliged, though apparently it's not a favourite of the locals, who prefer more traditional beers like Budweiser. Big Jim (he was pretty big) was a great character; in fact the bar was full of them. As we were there, one guy won $300 on the pot luck, and bought the entire bar a drink. I chatted with one local labourer who told me all about the winter up there, and what type of snow mobile was the best to buy. He even showed me the scars he had from crashing his snow mobile two years ago!
The winters up there can be pretty bad. We found that on our second trip North, driving from Wausau up to Ashland. The roads through the Northwoods began to get a little treacherous as the first snow of the season rolled in. It was picturesque, driving on long straight roads with white dusted pine trees on either side of you, but it could easily be very dangerous. When the big snow sets in, cars don't have much of a chance; hence the use of snow mobiles. There are miles and miles of snow mobile cross-country trails up in Northern Wisconsin, and we saw many warning signs about them. Even the hotel we stayed at had instructions on how to park your snow mobile. Maybe if I can brave the cold, we'll have a trip up there when the snow has set in and have a ride on a snow mobile.
I found Northern Wisconsin to be really beautiful, driving through little holiday destinations like Minocqua, surrounded by dozens of lakes and a few Native American Reserves. Lake Superior was just as vast as Lake Michigan, but perhaps even more scenic, even with the rain coming down at the time we were there. Minocqua, with lots of little unique shops and some semblance of civilisation seemed like a great weekend getaway, and though I am not a great 'Outdoorsman', I would thoroughly enjoy spending some time exploring the Chequamegon area.
There's a great name; Chequamegon. I guarantee you cannot pronounce that correctly, no matter how many times you try. She-warm-again is more like the correct way to say it, as you can hear here. This website is dedicated to the correct pronunciation of Wisconsin names! http://www.misspronouncer.com/parks/chequamegon_nicolet.html
There seemed to be a lot to explore for a day or two up in that area; just on the one road we were on, we passed a
Casino, a giant corkscrew and a giant duck statue! What more could you want! And if all else fails, you could always end up where we did for dinner one evening, at Larry's Good Time Saloon, in Hurley. It's right on the border with Michigan (which we ventured into for 5 minutes), and had pretty decent food. My boss spun some wild tale for the gullible staff there about how we were travel writers from Europe. I guess he wasn't too far from the truth! But as far as good times go, the one street town of Hurley is apparently the place to party in Northern Wisconsin. On that one street, for such a small population, there were about a dozen bars, and 4 or 5 strip clubs!Whatever gets you through those long cold nights!
Reader Comments (6)
I thought you would love this
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-sorkin/sarah-palin-killing-animals_b_793600.html
:)
Love the pictures! You know way more about rural America and especially Wisconsin than I do now! Since it's so beautiful, do you want to live up there?!
&& ew guns
Very nice post. The Amish are a peculiar bunch. They dislike "modern" technology, but have no qualms about using some forms of technology while ignoring others. I find their designation of what is and is not acceptable to be pretty arbitrary, and sometimes just plain silly. For instance, I travelled with my Dad once to purchase a large amount of lumber at a low price from an Amish person. To calculate the final sales total, he whipped out a solar powered calculator.
Haha. So true. I heard they use technology when they feel they need to, like a monthly trip in a hire car to the grocery store, or the use of a phone every few weeks to call relatives. Trusted Wiki tells me their kids are only educated K-8.
If you didn't already, read the article Nicole posted. I love Mr. Liberal Aaron Sorkin, he is a superb writer, and this is such a funny post about Palin.
I enjoyed this post and the article, the usual wonderful writing from Aaron Sorkin. Have you given Nicole your answer about going to live in "the backwoods" ? I am sure that she realises that you would not like to be that far from "civilisation" for too long !
While I know Sorkin's article is not exactly an academic piece published in a reputable journal to be picked apart, I have to take issue with his article. I feel like vomiting as I write this, but I have to defend Sarah Palin here, at least on a few counts.
Her statement "Unless you've never worn leather shoes, sat upon a leather chair or eaten meat, save your condemnation." is of course utterly ridiculous and and a calculated attempt to gain support from conservatives while rubbing it in the face of liberals (generally speaking). However, she has a point in a broader sense. Sorkin's argument that despite the fact that he partakes in the products that derive themselves from the slaughter of animals he is different from Palin is flimsy on several grounds.
Firstly, killing an animal is killing an animal. Certainly, we can talk about "humane" killing in a certain sense, but this only true to the same extent that the Geneva Convention civilizes wars and lethal injections humanize executions. The end result is still the same, no matter how we dress it up; one can certainly argue that one option (e.g. lethal injections) is better than the alternative (e.g. being hanged) but this is still within the framework of the same result: death.
So if Sorkin really objected to Palin's "murder" of the moose (or whatever it was), he should put his actions behind his words and refrain from eating meat and using animal products. Because, like it or not, he doesn't "need" to eat that hamburger anymore than Palin "needs" to kill that moose. And Sorkin's hyperbolic claim that the moose was "the first moose ever murdered for political gain", connecting the killing of an animal with something that is not worthwile, or to be commended for, is hardly any better than cattle being slaughtered for meat or animal skins being used to create a belt or jacket that could be made via other, modern means.
The truth is, we don't need to eat animals, so really, anyone who uses products deriving from the death of animals is being hypocrtical if they are criticizing Palin. Who are they to say that the usage they get out of dead animals is superior or ethically appropriate compared to Palin's use of dead animals? You can become a vegatarian if you want very easily in today's society, so the oft cited reason of food being superior to say, Palin's political gains, is unfounded. You don't need that food anymore than Palin needs extra political capital.
Finally, I also take exception to Sorkin's claim that Palin was killing the moose for fun. I have not watched the episode in question, but I doubt she said anything like "I enjoy killing animals" and even if she did, I think one would have to assume that she enjoys the sport of killing animals, not the actual suffering and death involved in the sport. Plenty of people enjoy the sport of hunting and have legitimate reasons for doing so, be it the atmosphere of the open woods (in the case of places like Wisconsin) or just the challenge involved.
In summary, if you really, truly object to killing animals, don't eat meat and avoid animal byproducts, because in today's western world neither are needed for survival, and thus any claim of moral superiority to someone who hunts animals, for whatever reason, is flimsy at best.