Slippery Rock Falls / Chute Pond County Park

Chute Pond County Park – View of Slippery Rock Falls from the bottom

While in Mountain I stopped for a quick lunch and sized up my route. Weather is still great and it’s only just past mid-day. Next stop is at Chute Pond County Park for…you guessed it…another waterfall. This one is super easy to reach via the park’s flat walking trail. Start off at the dam and … Read more

Baldwin Creek Falls

Baldwin Creek Falls - View of the falls from below

I left Crivitz and drove a little ways westward to Mountain, Wisconsin in search of new falls I have not yet visited. I’m also itching to get some hiking miles under foot as I’ve been sitting and driving for far too long. Up next is the Baldwin Creek Trail to see Baldwin Creek Falls. There … Read more

Lac Lawrann Conservancy

Lac Lawrann Conservancy - Sandhill cranes hiking with me along the Railroad Spur Trail

Last stop of the day was at the Lac Lawrann Conservancy, a 145-acre nature preserve in West Bend, Wisconsin. I had no idea what to expect but came to find this is quite a hidden gem for a county park. According to the signs it was purchased by Lawrence and Ann Maurin in 1955 as … Read more

Willow Rapids

Willow Rapids/Falls aerial view

Making my way home on the short summer weekend wedding trip and stopped off at Willow Rapids in Lynne/Tripoli, Wisconsin. These are a bit off the beaten path but fairly easy to access from gravel forest roads. Today is incredibly sunny and bright making any reasonable efforts at quality photography a total loss, but I’ll … Read more

Cedar Falls (2021)

Cedar Falls - Aerial view from drone

Late July of ’21 my cousin got married near Wausau and it was the perfect opportunity for a short weekend camping trip. Weather was surprisingly mild for this time of year and temps were only in the high 70’s / low 80’s making it very pleasant. It didn’t take long before deciding that I would … Read more

Little Niagara Falls

Little Niagara Falls - Main falls view

Beginning the end of this weekend’s journey starting with Little Niagara Falls. Access is quite easy – park somewhere near Putnam Hall on the UW Eau Claire campus (or walk the path along the river) and walk a short distance through Putnam Park. Today the weather was hot and thankfully in summer parking is plentiful … Read more

Kayaking at Mirror Lake State Park

Kayaking at Mirror Lake State Park

While in The Dells area I checked out a couple waterfall spots but many of the water sources feeding smaller falls are dried up right now. Rather than waste my whole day, I headed to Mirror Lake State Park and got my kayak on the water. Main goal was to test out a new PFD … Read more

2021 WI Turkey Hunting (Governor Dodge State Park)

Sun behind clouds while hunting/hiking near Old Orchard Pass trail area

After getting shutout at Yellowstone Wildlife Area I decided to try my luck at Governor Dodge State Park which is only about a 30 minute drive away. I saved a screenshot to show how the temperatures were screwing with me – weather was unseasonably warm except for this weekend. Low temps on Sunday morning were downright … Read more

2021 WI Turkey Hunting (Yellowstone Wildlife Area)

Turkeys on a private farm area while road scouting

After a long winter lockdown courtesy of COVID-19, I was able to awake from hibernation, get fully vaccinated, and go hunting for turkey in late April. Based on last year I headed right back to Yellowstone Lake State Park / Yellowstone Wildlife Area in the southwestern region of the state known as the Driftless Area. … Read more

2020 Elk Hunt @ New Mexico Gila Wilderness

Looking north across Snow Lake from the Continental Divide Trail

Finally I had arrived in New Mexico’s Gila Wilderness! It was a long drive and I completely underestimated how long the final stretch would take but I made it in one piece. Had to take a few glamour shots of the new-to-me Toyota Tacoma that handled the terrain like a champ. These photos were at … Read more