We Got Our I-Pass Today!

In the mail!  Joan ordered it on line and had it sent to Telemark.  Of course, we won’t need it until we hit an Illinois tool road- we put it off buying one for so long because we didn’t realize that we would be using it so much – but finally learned how to order it on line.     Does it seem odd to have it up here when we barely see any cars???  Yes! 

New Boat Cover

The new boat cover that we had ordered from L and M in Hayward was in so we trailered the boat down to see if it fit.  Good thing we had the boat with us:  the cover was too small.  They gave us another one, more light weight than we wanted, to see if it fit, and so they ordered the larger one.  Super nice.  They let us take it out of the box and try to get it on the boat and then took it right back and ordered the larger size.
   Price is less than ½ of the prices on the Web.

Back "home" safe

   What a great town!

      We drove back to Cable and launched the boat at Lakewoods in case something went wrong ( again) but everything was perfect.  Ron drove it back to the Telemark Pointe dock.
   We went out to dinner at the Landing on the Chippewa Flowage with friends.  All you can eat Walleye on Fridays.  A great place  right on the water.

Boat Fixed!

Lakeside Marina in Cable had fixed our boat in just one day, so we picked it up this morning.  There had just been a wire somehow detached from one of the motor’s coils.  A quick fix!

     They also got the broken key out the ignition: somehow it broke off when Ron leaned back in the boat the other day.  Awkward.

    We kept the boat on the trailer and dropped it at the condo because there was not time to launch it before Joan was to be at the Food Pantry in Cable to volunteer from 2-6 pm.  She had such a good time: they are VERY organized and have good ways to hand out the food.  She helped restock the shelves for the next month’s distribution day.

     The Food Shelf in Cable is linked to other food pantries in the area.  It’s an affiliation of the BRICK Ministries in Ashland, the local Cable area churches and Cable Area Resources in Emergencies (CARE).

Our Boat Spent the Night at Lakewoods…Not at “Home”

We had boat trouble yesterday… (“More trouble again?” you say.)  We had to leave the boat at the Lakewoods Resort.  After we gassed up there, the battery wouldn't start again, even the extra battery (for the trolling motor).   Ron had thought the motor had been running “lean” anyway, since it would not run very fast at all that day, and the man at Lakewoods thought a spark plug was needing replacement.  So we had to leave it docked at Lakewoods and called a friend (Marge) to take us back to the condo last night.  Ron brought the battery back to the condo to recharge.

Ron uses the paddle to get to the launching ramp

      After the Mushroom Foray this morning, we went back to Lakewoods this afternoon with the trailer; the motor started once, but died getting into gear, and would not start again.  Ron had to get it to the launch ramp somehow!  He paddled over to the ramp and others helped grab it and pull it to the trailer with ropes.  Then we trailered it to Cable and left it at the shop.  They’ll check it out !!

Others help to grab the boat and then pull it
onto the trailer; everyone is always so helpful

Fungi Lecture and Dinner, then a “Mushroom Foray”

Title of Lecture.  That tree he is standing
by is filled with a fungus.

After Marge dropped us off at the condo, we hurriedly changed clothes, and drove back to Lakewoods  for the evening lecture sponsored by the Cable Natural History Museum: a lecture about fungi and dinner choices prepared by the chef, especially using fungi – they grow their own.  Joan had a delicious salad and Ron had a portabella mushroom with artichoke dip baked inside it. 

    The lecture, by Brit, the editor of the magazine Fungi, was so interesting, complete with slides.  We had heard him before up here a few years ago.  He’s a good speaker and very entertaining.  He said he prepared especially for the layperson, but he still threw out a lot of scientific names.  We really enjoyed the evening.

Following the museum's van, leading the caravan

A very long path through several states

   This morning, we were up early at the museum to join the caravan to the mushroom hunting site, part of the North Country Trail.  It took about 30 minutes to drive there, most of the time on a gravel road amid beautiful trees. 

Then we walked along a forest path, with Brit showing us mushrooms everywhere  (again sharing all the scientific names, both current ones and old ones...we were lost with all the names but there were some there who knew them all too.)  There were about 25 of us and everyone was very excited. 

Not all of them were poisonous, in fact most were not, but they were not particularly good ones to eat either; he said they were very bland.  We were allowed to collect any we wanted.



Tiny mushrooms that stain wood blue. 
Artists use the stained wood.

We saw some very tiny ones:  Brit was excited too.  He said they were picture book perfect examples!

The goal was to reach the Juniper Rock overlook, where there is a HUGE rock to climb and then enjoy the view, which we all did.  We had to hurry back then since we had taken so much time on the path…there were just SO MANY mushrooms to see. 

View from Juniper Rock

 Our friends Cari and Don had gone with us so it was extra fun.   Afterwards we went back to the condo and loaded the trailer to go get the boat from Lakewoods Resort.

Look at the woods in the background

Beautiful Day = Boat Ride

Boat at the new dock

Today was the warmest it’s been since we’ve been here and it was sunny, so we took our first boat ride of the season…no fishing, just a nice slow ride around Garden Lake and some of Lake Namakagon.  There are new docks this year out at the Telemark Pointe so we got into our boat and saw the SKY and the WATER and the trees turning already. 

   We came back to the unit and Joan made smothered pork chops…never had before, but we had purchased pork chops from the local butcher in Cable.  Used a Web recipe, and were they good!

Lots of water, lots of sky

We Went to Watch Hawks!

Today we went to Duluth to the Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve, high on a hill overlooking Lake Superior.  It is along the migration route of raptors which occurs every September and October.  We rode in the van from the Cable Natural History Museum and there were 7 of us.  It was a lot of fun and we were looking forward to seeing lots of birds flying overhead.

The counting board - look there's one that has
been seen over 11,000 times this season

    


When we got there, we learned that there had been 5,500 birds seen on Monday. There are people who watch and count..they are  called “counters”, so this is a very serious and careful accounting situation.  There were 300 some on Tuesday, but although several were listed for today, we only saw three!  It turns out that it needs to be a sunny, warm day, to develop the thermals from the rocks for the birds to fly on and the wind needs to come from the northwest.  Today it was cloudy and cold and the wind was wrong.  Of course the Cable Museum planned this trip last March and could not predict the weather.

    We still learned a lot and enjoyed the trip.

Here's one of the three raptors we saw

Cable Book Discussion Groups

A new Redbery Book Store display this year

Joan always attends the Redbery Book Store’s book discussion groups when she comes to Cable.  The dates and books to read are on their website, so she looks ahead, orders the books and reads them prior to the meetings.  It is so much fun meeting with the small groups of ladies .  Both Tuesday and Wednesday evenings this week she attended groups and there will be several more before we leave.  One visitor said that there were probably more book groups per capita here than anywhere else in the US.
     

Here’s what happened the first night of the book discussion groups: 

    The first one on the bookstore’s Web calendar was Tuesday at 6 :30 pm, so Joan got there a little early (of course) and everything was locked up.  Pretty soon Bev, the owner drive up, oh good, she thought.  “Oh,”  said Bev, “ We're meeting at Mooselips.” 

Yes, you heard right... Mooselips!

"Where's that?" Joan asked.  “Seven miles south of town,” she said. 

Joan said, “At Seely?” ( which she knew was the town 7 miles south of Cable),  -- and if you think Cable is small and hard to find on the map... Seely isn't even on the state map!!!

Joan asked, “At the Sawmill Saloon?”  since that was the only store she knew  in Seely (except a chainsaw sculpture place and a lumber yard).  “Yes,” Bev said., “And I’ll be right behind you.”  

      So Joan took off for Seely. 

There it was listed: 

Later Joan asked, What is Mooselips.  (We thought it was maybe the lodging name or the bar?)  Oh, the friend said, It’s the coffee shop there.   

Wow!  In "Downtown Seely"

 One of the three businesses in DOWNTOWN SEELY:  A saloon (restaurant and lodging)chainsaw sculpture, and a lumber yard.

True "Lincoln Logs"

At the lumber yard in Seely, they build the ordered houses, then take them apart to deliver them!   Wish we could get one!

Is Boating a Sport … or?

We launched the boat today!

Some of you will remember the “Boating Fun” times we had the first year we brought it up here to Cable, WI.  (http://ronandjoanjourney.blogspot.com/2012/08/boat-fun.html)

So exciting to see the boat backing down into the water when we [finally] know what to do!

Or?.....

Oops!  We heard a bang as it got into the water.  Hmmmm… then we noticed that the motor was down and Ron remembered that he had not removed the transom saver (after having removed the bungee cords holding it on.)  The transom saver holds the motor up during travel and we had lost two last year along the road until we finally bought a big new one and learned how to [really] put it on.  And it was GONE….at the bottom of the lake apparently...but surely it had to be just off the launching ramp…and it was!

A transom saver

    We got the boat out of the way, tying it to the dock so we could look for the transom saver.  There it was.  Ron tried the net, sticks from the shore, etc (he really didn’t want to wade out there) and finally got into the boat to get closer and snag it with the net.  Meanwhile, two other boats waiting to be launched…ah well!

      He pulled the van and trailer up out of the water so Joan could drive back to the condo at Telemark Pointe while he would take the boat to the dock there, right on the lakeshore where we stay.  He said, “Go on ahead, I’ll meet you there.”  Joan had a book discussion meeting in town that evening, but did not want to just leave him there in case the boat didn’t start – the first time out this year for us.  However, the other boats needed the room to launch so she drove down the road until she found a convenient parking spot and got out to look back to the dock to make sure he was going.  Both other boats left and he was still there, so she walked back down to the launching area and he was gone!  Oh good! 

     One of the other boat owners was still there and told Joan that Ron had used the trolling motor to take off, not the outboard.  Hmmmm…. We’ve had experience with traveling distances with a trolling motor when there are pretty big waves.  [We had not shared with you back in 2009 when Ron’s brother Daryl brought his pontoon boat up and on our the first day out ran out of gas, started to use the trolling motor, which soon ran out of battery and was actually pushed backward by the waves, and he went to get out the oars  -- Joan had double checked with him to be sure he had some before we started – he said Of course!  – but he had one small canoe paddle!  -- we were actually “rescued” by a passing boat, just in time as it was already getting dark.  So we know that taking a trip with a wind on the lake with just a trolling motor is not always successful.  However, Ron does have real OARS in the boat!]

     We watched Ron move slowly while being also moved by the wind and waves…and not necessarily forward.  Then he started to go toward the shore!  Joan rushed down the road to see him tying up at a private dock, actually near where the van and trailer were parked.  He said he had seen it and come to shore, as he couldn’t have started the outboard motor as he had left the boat keys in the van when he took off the trailer padlock.  Oops!

    He got the keys, started the boat and took off for Telemark!

    Horray!

    Another Boat Fun Time!  Hmmmm?

Our Kitty Helps Ron Do a Jigsaw Puzzle

Rob likes his jigsaw puzzle…Kitty has been waiting.

Magic Soup!

Joan started the soup this morning but only had diced tomatoes, tomato bullion and chicken to put in it.  We carry a crock pot with us to make it more easily. 
     But for lunch today, she put some in the blender and added milk for cream of tomato soup.  WOW.. Was that good!  Seemed better than normal even!

     Joan calls it Magic Soup now... When Ron has it everyday for lunch, his glucose numbers are nice and low!!!!   When we are unable to eat it everyday, like when we are “living out of suitcases”, they have been higher.

     We thought there would not be a very good sunset tonight because there were not many clouds, but even from our unit, we can see that the lake water is PINK from the sunset!

Here at Telemark: Can You Believe How Beautiful It Is Up Here?

View from kitchen window

We have arrived!  We got here last night about 8 p.m., driving from Rochester, MN, and we are now at the unit we own, unit #401P at Telemark Red Apple Pointe Club (RCI#2253) which is a large 2 bedroom condo right on the lake and complete with garage!  And we have already started moving the furniture!

Previously arranged: sofa, chairs along wall

We are here for the fall colors – and they have already begun this year!

    There are two properties called “Telemark” and we are now at RCI #2253, Telemark Pointe, Red Apple Club (which is 10 miles east of the Telemark condos-  called Christiana Villas -  by Mt Telemark  RCI#1831) on County Road M, out of the small town of Cable, WI, which is on US 63, about 20 miles north of Hayward in Bayfield County.

     We have been coming here every year but one since we purchased our first unit on eBay in 2004.  We usually stay 4-6 weeks.  This year we’ll be here at the Pointe four weeks and then one additional week in the Christiana villas (with a special Bonus Week for owners!)

Rearranging furniture
We've shared before with you how we "decorate"

       This condo unit is a huge 1300 sq ft two-bedroom unit, ½ of a duplex and right on the lake with cathedral ceilings and lake views from every room. That’s what Ron always wanted, a place to fish on a cold northern lake.  Since we are right on the lake, he can just walk out and walk down the short hill to the docks to get in the boat to fish. 

     The units all have full-sized washer and dryers but a small dishwasher.  The bedrooms are large and the full-sized deck that overlooks  Garden Lake, part of Lake Namakagon, opens both from the living room and master bedroom.  There is a large kitchen with lots of storage, and other storage areas too throughout the condo, so it is so easy to stay here.  Two full baths, one with a single tub jacuzzi.  Free internet in the unit.  Landline telephone.  Gas fireplace.   We can park right in front, and just easily walk into the one-story building.  As we’ve said several other times in this BLOG, this is our favorite timeshare resort!



US 63 North

Sunset is behind us

Driving US 63 north from Rochester   Starting to get the "Northwoods feel” but need to get rid of these corn fields and get more deciduous trees along the road for the true Northwoods.  Anxious to get to Telemark.

Only Two More Days!

Two days driving, one more night stay and then to Telemark tomorrow night, Yay! 
 
But now we are still driving through Chicago suburb towns to get to I 90 .

 Today we are driving from Chicago to Rochester MN to visit Ron's Aunt Velva, 102 years old.  Then tomorrow afternoon, stop at Costco, then up to Cable, WI where we’ll stay four weeks in the large 2 bedroom condo on the lake at Telemark Pointe Red Apple Club (the official name on RCI.)  We’ll be in what we think is the best unit: lake views from every room (except the second bedroom – but there is a tree view from there!)

    More people should purchase here!  No pressure or phone calls to buy but just a notice that any units available cost $299 and there are so many Owner Bonuses – extra weeks for $199, and now for the fall: weeks are $50 this year!  WOW!

     We will be able to take advantage this special for our 5th week this year October 11-18.

Sep 13, 2014, at 4:39 PM

 On I 90

No traffic.

Sunshine

Nice straight smooth road

       Joan doesn’t like driving in the dark, rain, cold or with traffic, so today is perfect.  Ron said, “Oh, you're not picky at all!”  

       Nope!  Haha

What Is This Man Doing on a Ladder?

A project for a friend of course!

The ballast on the florescent lights at Myrna’s was flickering and Ron changed the ballast to fix it.  We stayed two nights with Myrna in order that Ron could easily visit his mother, who is in a home about 45 minutes away, the Vines, in Elgin, IL.

The Boat Cover

We picked up the boat at Keenan’s in Springfield and Ron put the cover back on.  On the way to Chicago, a large hole developed at the back and so Myrna gave us a tarp, first to put over it while it rained as it was parked at her house, and then Ron put it under the cover to  protect it on the trip north. 

 

We are  looking for a new cover.