Summer Roadtrip Day 3: Lincoln NE to New Glarus WI

Today was a light sightseeing day. We started the day by driving to Omaha to deliver one of the girls' belongings that she was unable to take with her when she moved earlier in the year. After moving boxes into her apartment, we got a tour of her place, then went to brunch with her. We dropped her off at her place around noon, then headed toward Wisconsin. 

We took a rest stop in Adair IA to see the smiling face water tower.

We then drove pretty much straight through IA until we crossed the Mississippi River into WI.

Once in Wisconsin, we stopped at the Dickeyville Grotto and Shrines.

By the time we got to Platteville, we were hungry, so stopped for dinner before heading to my mom's house. 

A few miles out of town, a big raccoon crossed the road in front of us (we did not hit it).

We arrived at mom's house around 7:30 pm and spent the night.

Summer Roadtrip Day 4: New Glarus WI to Munising MI

This morning we added mom to our adventure and headed to Fond du lac to see the lighthouse.

From there, we drove to Oshkosh to see the lighthouse at Asylum Point. As we pulled up, mom and I started laughing because it was much smaller than anticipated. 

From there we decided to have lunch at a brewery in Green Bay but they were only serving cold club sandwiches for lunch that day (the cook was off for Father's Day) and almost everything else downtown was closed. We found a breakfast place that was open, so had breakfast for lunch. 

From there we headed to Michigan's upper peninsula, stopping to take pictures of the giant crane sculpture

and mosquito sculpture (at Rapid River MI)

While standing in the grass next to the highway, a tick found me (which I later felt crawling on my leg and then threw it out the car window). 

From there we went to kitch-iti-kipi (big spring), which was really cool. We enjoyed taking the hand-cranked raft across the spring and looking through the clear water.

We then visited Manistique, where we took a pictures of Paul Bunyan

And saw a big moose statue.

We also had dinner at Flatiron brewery.

On the drive to the motel near Munising, two deer crossed the road in front of us and we saw several more along the side of the road, along with several cranes.

Summer Roadtrip Days 6-8: Munising MI to southern WI

Today we left Munising and stopped at Lakenenland sculpture park. It was a lot bigger than I anticipated and had so many cool sculptures.

From there we drove to Da Yoopers tourist trap in Ishpeming MI. 

Before reaching Iron River MI, a black bear crossed the road in front of us.

On the way to Woodruff, Steve mentioned that his family used to have a cabin in the area on Midlake, so we took a detour to see the area. He was able to go in and see the cabin (lots of changes).

We then left the cabin area and went to see the world's largest penny in Woodruff WI.

We then stopped for lunch in Minoqua.

As we continued south, we stopped at the Food+Farm Exploration Center in Plover to see the world's biggest potato masher 

and John Deere's largest tractor 

and then continued to De Forest to see Sissy the Cow 

This was at a Ehlenbach's cheese chalet, 

so Steve stocked up on cheese curds - or so we thought. They didn't last long. 

We then stopped to pose with Pinkie the pink elephant.

Days 7-8

Our original plan was to spend one day with mom so we could all rest a bit and help with some projects before Steve and I headed back toward home, but his back was really bothering him, so we decided to stay an additional day.

This gave us a chance to visit Puempel's 

stock up on cheese

get some landjaegers,

and buy New Glarus beer.

Summer Roadtrip Day 9: New Glarus WI to Sioux Falls SD

We loaded up the minivan with some dishes and a table and chairs from my mom, then started our trip towards home 

We drove through rain and wind this morning, with the rain letting up just before we reached Fennimore WI to stop at Carr Valley Cheese and stock up. We also posed with Igor the Mouse.

At one point, Steve rolled up the window and it made a loud bang. He suspected that the cable on the window controller snapped, and made a mental note to not roll down his window again. 

We then headed towards Prairie du Chien and then crossed the Mississippi River 

Once we entered Marquette IA, we saw a slightly different version of Pinky the pink elephant. 

Our route followed the Mississippi River for a few miles before heading west.

When we were near Waukon IA, we posed next to the Bull and Cowboy statue.

From there, we drove to Austin MN and saw The Power of Food / Big Fork statue.

It was really interesting to see that it was covered in smaller forks!

Then we went to the SPAM museum and spent a lot more time there than initially planned. (I don't even like SPAM!!!)

The next stop was in Blue Earth to see the Green Giant (and Sprout) and visit the related museum.

From there, we drove to Sioux Falls, where we checked out the lightly flowing falls.

Later that night, we went to a dive bar to hear Steve's friend play in a band.