A quiet and peaceful night for emJay and I at the Schroeder Motel. We were over to the school fro breakfast and lunch making at 6:00am!!!

emJay helps load up Connie for a day of riding . . .

Glidden is known for the ‘Largest Black Bear in the World’. 666 pounds and standing 7’10’’. Every business in town seems to have Bear in the name!!!

a . . .  as we left town here was one of the Sappi wood yards where all the timber hauling trucks we have seen drop their wood . . . right next to a rail line!!!

Our first town to ride through was Butternut . . . a very neat and tidy little community.

. . .they were not celebrating veterans as such but their local citizens . . .

. . . including jack Koch who had a 40 year career in Wildlife Management with WDNR . . . great tribute to local citizens . . .

. . . to bad it was only 9:00am . . . a ‘tini seemed like a good idea!!!!

. . .lots of deer on today’s ride. This one was getting ready to check out the garbage can when I showed up. Put back it’s ears and was gone!!!

. . . hey nice idea, buy what about bicyclists!!!!

Denise helped this turtle across the road. It had two leeches attached to it back!!!!

. . .  lots of nice color today along the road . . .

 

. . . the flowers seemed to come in batches.

. . . the this is funny. I would have liked to meet the individual. I bet they know how to celebrate life.

Next town down the road today was Mercer . . . normally sort of a sleepy town . . .

. . . but the first Wednesday of every August is ‘LOON CELEBRATION DAY’ . . .and today is that day. Approx. 5,500 people descend on the town. Over 200 vendors set up shop. Everything you probably wouldn’t buy at home but people are on vacation!!!

. . .besides the pelican in Pelican Rapids, MN . . . the giant musky in Hayward and now the ‘Largest Loon’ in the world . . . right here in Mercer, WI.

emJay has some Nature Conservancy supporters who live in Florida half the year and Mercer the other half (I bet you can guess which half is where). They have a nice furniture store with lots of northern WI motif. Perfect for the cabin . . .

. . . and Otto invented this patented weed rake for removing weed in front of the cabin. Snow scoops too!!!

The Deer Lodge . . .

  . . . was welcoming visitors, along the way.

. . . today we rode by the WinMan Rec area where the mbbt has mountain biked or the last several years.

. . . we tried to stop at this place last year and it was closed. Still is . . . out of business, like so many establishments around the northern part of the state.

. . .soon we were entering the boulder Junction area at the end of our 70 mile day. The county has a paved trail the last 18 miles into town . . . nice!

. . . including new bridges just for bicyclists!!!

. . . this poor crittter did not survive crossing the path. Lots of bikes along the way . . many curious about our loaded bikes and what we were doing!!

. . . as we neared town we passed this fellow touching up the large propane tank proclaiming Boulder Junction as the ‘Musky Capital of the World’. I crossed the road and asked him’ I thought Hayward was the Musky Capital of the World?’. No answer. I thought maybe he hadn’t heard me or had ear buds in listening to music, so asked him, ‘Did you paint the fish too?’ . . . he never looked at me as he walked back and forth to his paint tray, but finally responded, ‘I’m working, I don’t have time to talk’. hmmm. .  I thought. I said, ‘Maybe I would let the Chamber of Commerce know that’ He responded . ‘Good idea!!!’. Never looked up . . .