Wisconsin

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Ashland, Wisconsin with Zeb and Soapy

We stopped in Ashland, Wisconsin.   Ashland is on Chequamegon Bay in Lake Superior.   We are really in northern Wisconsin.   This is a great town.   They even have special signs to mark ATV Routes.

ATV Route. We want to go!

ATV Route. We want to go!

Isn’t this a fun town!   The city has encouraged mural art.   The murals on buildings are huge.   Look at this one honoring the US military.

Mural art honoring US Military

Mural art honoring US Military

We think it is great!   This entire block is a mural of a city.

Mural Art for entire block

Mural Art for entire block

We think this is a wonderful idea.   This Ashland Railroad Mural

Ashland Railroad Mural

Ashland Railroad Mural

is perfect and it is located across from this engine.

Steam engine

Steam engine

When this engine was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, it was the world’s largest steam locomotive.   It weighed 190,000 pounds.   Steam operations were concluded in 1954.   This engine was donated to Ashland in 1956.   And it is big!   We are in Ashland in October, and there are many cute Halloween decorations around town.   This was at our hotel.

Halloween decorations in front of our hotel

Halloween decorations in front of our hotel

Driving through town, we admired this display in someone’s yard.

Halloween decorations in the neighborhood

Halloween decorations in the neighborhood

Isn’t it cheerful?   The bank must not like this man.

The thief will hang

The thief will hang

Perhaps bank robbers will be hanged.   Check out this lady on the street.

Halloween lady

Halloween lady

She leaves us speechless.    Unusual signs catch our attention.   The fish is bigger than the boat.

Go with SS River Rock

Go with SS River Rock

We love it!   Ashland has beautiful old stone buildings.   We like the old architecture.

Catholic church

Catholic church

This is Our Lady of the Catholic Church.   Remember Ashland is located on Chequamegon Bay, a part of Lake Superior.   From this pier we see the mouth of the bay opening into Lake Superior.

Pier looking toward Lake Superior

Pier looking toward Lake Superior

This park is an ideal location for a picnic.

Let's have a picnic

Let’s have a picnic

What a beautiful view!   Another pier so you can take your boat into Lake Superior.

Pier over Chequamegon Bay

Pier over Chequamegon Bay

The people of Ashland were very friendly and there is so much to see and do here.   We hope  you visit soon.   We like Ashland!

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Zeb and Soapy Visit Wisconsin Concrete Park

Driving in Phillips, Wisconsin, we had to turn around.    Wisconsin Concrete Park looked so interesting, we had to see it.   Here is the Friends of Fred Smith Veterans Monument.

Friends of Fred Smith Veterans Monument

Friends of Fred Smith Veterans Monument

This statue is Iwo Jima.

Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima

Look at this one.

Budweiser Wagon

Budweiser Wagon

It is the Budweiser Wagon, with the dog, Spuds!   Wisconsin native, Fred Smith worked as a lumberjack.   When he retired at age 63, he taught himself how to build sculptures.   He created over 200 statues that are here, near his home.   He made concrete sculptures for about 15 years.    He passed away in 1976, 90 years after his birth.   This is what we saw driving on the highway.

So many sculptures

So many sculptures

This sculpture of Paul Bunyan is the tallest in the park.

Paul Bunyan

Paul Bunyan

Of course, we need lumberjacks here also.   Zeb and Soapy are on the saw.

Wisconsin lumberjacks

Wisconsin lumberjacks

In the north woods, fishing is popular, so here is the fish.

A fish

A fish

This is one of several horse drawn carts in the park.

Let's go for a ride

Let’s go for a ride

Nice way to travel.   Another group of animals.

Great group

Great group

The movie Ben Hur is featured here.

From Ben Hur

From Ben Hur

Honoring Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln here.

Lincoln Todd Monument

Lincoln Todd Monument

The sign says this is the second statue of its kind.    A similar granite statue is in Racine, Wisconsin, but it was not made by Fred Smith.   We liked this deer.

We like this deer

We like this deer

Of course, fireplaces are so relaxing.

Peaceful fireplace

Peaceful fireplace

We, Zeb and Soapy Smith Duck, have never seen anything like this.   It is fascinating.   For more information visit http://www.friendsoffredsmith.org   If you are near Phillips, Wisconsin, we hope you stop and walk through this park.

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Northern Wisconsin with Zeb and Soapy Smith Duck

We drove across a bridge from Duluth, Minnesota to Superior, Wisconsin.   When mom and our cousin, Eider Duck’s dad were kids, they used to vacation in Northern Wisconsin.   We are crossing northern Wisconsin, heading toward Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.   Just before Michigan, we took highway 51 south.    We passed by, and drove on, so many quiet roads like this one.

Quiet roads

Quiet roads

Here you can see that the leaves were turning colors for autumn, but they were not yet at their peak color.

Leaves changing, but not peak colors yet

Leaves changing, but not peak colors yet

A little north of Tomahawk, we turned on a small road that partially circled a calm lake.

Mom spent many summers at this lake

Mom and Eider’s dad spent many summers at this lake

This is the lake mom and her brother visited as kids.   Isn’t it a beautiful place?   Was great for kids to learn to swim and handle small boats.   Here we are sitting on logs.

We are sitting on logs

We are sitting on logs

This is what you would imagine for the forests in the north woods area.   Wisconsin is not all woods though.   This is a Wisconsin farm.   Remember, Wisconsin is the Dairy State.

Pretty Wisconsin farm

Pretty Wisconsin farm

Isn’t this pretty?

Reflections in the lake

Reflections in the lake

We saw so many scenes like this.   The tall trees and a lake.   We love the reflection of the trees on the still water of the lakes.   Another typical scene driving down most roads in Northern Wisconsin.

Typical Northern Wisconsin road

Typical Northern Wisconsin road

You can see the leaves have started to change colors.

Leaves starting to change around this lake

Leaves starting to change around this lake

On this quick tour of Wisconsin, we drove from Superior east to highway 51 near the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.   Then south to Tomahawk.   A little west and drove on highway 13 back to Ashland, located on Lake Superior.    We loved our drive through Northern Wisconsin.   We hope you like it also.