I would finally be able to make a 3 day trip to Winona and really hoped to take the bike, and as it got closer, it looked as though we’d have perfect weather for doing so. However, it is such a long ride to take alone, seeing that I hardly take any Interstates and do prefer taking a more scenic route with the bike. Plus everyone always worries when I do this trip by myself with the bike. So, I asked Kevin if he’d be interested since he wasn’t able to connect with Candy during his last trip up there, and he said “yes.”
This weekend was when our brother, Steve, and the family also planned to be there. Then Lori also planned to go with her new beau. So it was an almost complete family affair. I really wanted to get to Dad’s resting place and spend time with Candy. Since I wasn’t sure when we’d get there on Saturday, but knew Steve and the gang were also going to Dad’s grave that day, I didn’t try to make any commitments to meet them there, but it turned out in our favor that we got there around the same time.
Back up to our journey over there… we headed out from my place around 8 a.m. and I planned a more direct route taking two lane highways most of the way there. More specifically, Hwy 33 through Portage and Baraboo, with a few other two laners out of Baraboo, but back onto 33 around Reedsburg. This was so that we could venture through more of the driftless region and through Wildcat Mountain. Although Kevin has already been to these places this year during his camping trips, I had not. Besides, I highly doubt he’d turn down going there again.
We stopped in Hillsboro prior to Widlcat with hopes to get some breakfast, but the two eateries on the main drag were now coffee or power drink shops. I got a chai latte and he got some fresh bakery from the Amish stand at the corner. There are two other eateries there, the brewery and drive-in, but neither were open yet.
From there we headed through Wildcat and then a stop at Grandad’s Bluff which to my amazement, I have never been to with the bike. Drove by there plenty of times, but never realized exactly where it is until last year.
From there we crossed the Mississippi from La Crosse to La Crescent and then planned to go straight to Preston Veterans Cemetery. However, it was getting late and we hadn’t eaten yet. So, we decided to stop in of all places what turned out to be Houston. Where my friend’s daughter and fiancé now live. We found a really nice coffee shop with food, and while we were there my niece, Maggie, messaged me that they were stopped for lunch in Preston and then heading over the cemetery. I told her we would be there in around 40 minutes.
When we arrived, they were at Dad’s gravesite and we visited there for a while before heading out for Winona. We took part of the same way back (Hwy 16) and then other really nice roads up to Lewiston before heading east on Hwy 14 into Winona.
We all met up for dinner at Mango’s that evening and had a great visit again, and really good Mexican food.
The next day (Sunday), Steve and the family planned on heading back home since they were there already Friday. So, we made sure to be at the house with Candy around the time they planned to stop to say good-bye. After that we planned to take a route Kevin planned the night before up to Wabasha and Nelson with some back roads up to Wabasha and a bunch of county roads after Nelson on the Wisconsin side. At one point Kevin’s route got messed up and I was getting very low on gas, so we ended up heading back to Hwy 35 to get some gas in Alma. Oh, and some ice-cream too, but only some Wells Blue Bunny at the Kwik Trip. Then we headed back up 35 to continue on our route he had planned. We saw some really beautiful scenery, bluffs and gorge/valleys on this trip.
After we got back we met Lori and Dale at Cander’s where we had planned to pick up some dinner for all of us. When we got there Dale asked me when I was going to get a real bike like Kevin’s. I thought that was a bit ignorant. I have almost 62K miles on my bike and never really had any problems with it. Well, he couldn’t have been very serious because the next thing he asked is if he could take it for a spin. So, he did and then he took Lori for one on it too.
We had found out there was a BBQ event taking place down by the Levee over the holiday weekend and we planned to go there to get some food to take home for our dinner. We ended up getting everything at the Backwaters BBQ stand since Candy mentioned their food was good, and she was correct. Then we had another great visit with lots of laughs, and would have liked to stay longer, but we were pretty beat.
The next day we didn’t plan to stop by the house to see Canders because we knew we would have to leave before she wakes up. I think it was around 8 a.m. when we left and we had planned the route the night before with a stop at Mindoro Cut; which Kevin has already been to as well this year.
It was sunny when we left, but a wee bit chilly at times.
There wasn’t anyone at the Cut when we arrived, except some guy showed up with a pick-up truck and trailer, which I thought was odd until he got out to open the gate to the gravel road leading out of the parking area and mentioned to us “nice day for a ride.” Which it was until shortly after we left there and when we got onto Hwy 108 it turned to all clouds and fog. By this time I needed a coffee release, so we ventured into West Salem’s Kwik Trip. Then back on our intended route on Hwy 16 east to Hwy 162 south/east, and then a bunch of back roads we have never been on before. Eventually it became partly to mostly sunny. Thank goodness because it was getting chilly and damp.
Eventually we hit Hwy 80 north to Hwy 58 south and then Hwy 82 east. I thought we’d run into a bunch of holiday traffic coming back on 82/23, but it wasn’t too bad. We stopped in Montello for lunch at Oyster Cracker’s diner and the food and coffee were excellent.
Boy I really needed this mini vaca and it felt so good to take it with the bike!!!
