The Wisconsin Kitties
7/15/12
7/9/12
July 4th in Wisconsin
Last weekend we drove out to Trempealeau, Wisconsin for a week of family visiting. We edged around the devastating storm that caused tornadoes in Ohio and knocked out power for some 2 million people in the DC metro area.
We thought we were leaving town just in time to avoid the triple-digit heat wave that had hit our area. Ha ha! As soon as we pulled into Wisconsin, the heat was just starting to creep up on the Midwest. Hans and I laughed as we remarked how we'd pulled over at the first exit in Wisconsin to catch some burgers and shakes at a Culver's (not known outside the upper Midwest).
Arriving on a Saturday evening, it was good timing to be rested-up for the impromptu Grunwald picnic that was going to take place on Sunday, with the meltiest ribs that I will ever dream about. Seriously.
Hans' aunt and I tried to scrap up a game of badminton but the heat was already too oppressive. Besides, it was more fun to sit in the shade and heckle the croquet players (who were doing plenty of trash-talking themselves).
The garden was outstanding, as usual, but I never got around to taking pictures before the weather ravaged all the poor blossoms. I did, however, spend an evening watching the local birds.
A yellow finch, a warbling wren, and a shy grosbeak
On Tuesday we met up with my sister, Kerri, and her kids and went tubing on the Zumbro River. Unfortunately, the heat was evaporating 5 inches of water from the river level every day, so by the time Hans and I went for a ride the water was pretty darn low. Around the first corner we got stuck on some rocks and Hans' tube burst, he cut his hand, and I shredded my bare feet on the sharp rocks. We still had a good time though. Seven hours later, Hans was very very sunburned. At the end of the night we staggered into a Walmart for some Neosporin, band-aids, and aloe.
We spent a very pleasant afternoon with Hans' great-aunt, Rita, and I got to see the view from Grandad Bluff
La Crosse from Grandad Bluff
On the 4th Hans, his mom, and I paid a morning visit to the new winery that is practically in their backyard. We were all very impressed by the selection and quality of the wines that were being made. One stand-out was the West Prairie White, which is made from a hybrid of Reisling and Gewurztraminer. I am looking forward to opening their cranberry wine during the holidays this year. AND, they are working on establishing a true ice wine! I really think that the Elmaro Vineyard is going to be very exciting in the future. Later, we tried to brave the record-setting heat at La Crosse's Riverfest, but participants were few and we ended up ducking into an Irish pub to escape the awful temperatures and then gave up for the day.
Swifty Swine racing piggies (they run for Oreos) at Riverfest
The next day we got up early(ish) and went to Lake Wissota in Chippewa County for some very intense tubing.
Inner tubing on Lake Wissota (see Ma Weiland in the first picture!)
At the end of the day, Hans and I decided to buy some discount fireworks since we'd been too tired to do any the night before. Bad news: on July 5th a burn ban was announced for Trempealeau County, so we were restricted to the 3-1/2 minute sparklers only. We still managed to take some interesting pictures.
Long exposure play with sparklers
On Friday we packed up the cooler we'd brought with fresh-picked garden veggies, local cheese, all the wine we bought, and THEN we stopped at Woodman's our way out of town for *some* beer (more like 5 six-packs), more cheese, road snacks, and some awesome bratwurst.
DC was still hot when we got back.