WI June ’23 Off-Roading

WI June ’23 Off-Roading

Joined up with some friends from the Tacoma World forums for a quick weekend trip. Started by camping near Mountain, WI in the National Forest. Weather was excellent and bugs were not bad at all for this time of year. Didn’t take too many photos because we were just enjoying the drive. Tried to sneak … Read more

Baxter’s Hollow Rapids

Baxter's Hollow Rapids

Darkness was setting in as I reached the final stop on the weekend’s adventure. I had not expected water levels on Otter Creek to be flowing quite so well at Baxter’s Hollow, but I frantically scrambled to get some photos before I was completely out of light. So after driving to the end of Stones … Read more

Wisconsin River Overland Tour

Wisconsin River Overland Tour - Tacoma glamor shots

Leaving Wyalusing and heading home, a few of us decided to take an alternate route called the Wisconsin River Overland Tour, or WROT for short. It was shared to us by a TacomaWorld forum member but was un-verified by anyone in our group, and there isn’t much info about it online. A couple of the … Read more

Big Springs Nature Park

Big Springs Nature Park - Guttenberg, Iowa

My final destination for the day was at Big Springs Nature Park in Guttenberg, Iowa. From Hazel Green, Wisconsin I followed IA-3 and US-52 along what they call the Great River Road National Scenic Byway. The drive itself is pretty fun and shows the Iowa side along the Mississippi but often times goes inland. Either … Read more

Wisconsin Historical Marker: The Point of Beginning

Historical Marker 172: Point of Beginning

After leaving Potosi, I continued on the Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail heading south. Nearly this entire section is on pavement and much is running through farmlands – still scenic if you like rural midwestern scenery, but nothing epic to write home about. Thankfully the sun rays and partially cloudy skies made up for otherwise dull … Read more

Potosi Point

Potosi Point - Bald eagle flying back towards shore with a fresh fish catch

The endpoint of this weekend’s group expedition was at Potosi Point, a small peninsula that sticks out into the Mississippi River and has a small boat launch at the end. Our group of Toyotas broke into two groups to start the day to keep our length on the trails manageable. Group #1 arrived first and … Read more

Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail – Lansing to Potosi

Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail - Flexing shenanigans at graffiti rock on Dugway Road

Starting off from Mount Hosmer Park in Lansing, Iowa, our goal today was to explore the southern section of the Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail. This is a popular route leading over gravel roads and through scenic areas of the “driftless region”. This is definitley not a comprehensive photo journal of the trip, just some shots … Read more

Mount Hosmer Park

Mount Hosmer Park - Views across the Mississippi River valley

Heading out from camp at Wyalusing State Park we quickly encountered some ominus rain clouds. We often joke that it wouldn’t be one of our normal outings if rain wasn’t involved (oh, if you only knew how true this is). Today we were actually welcoming precipitation to keep down the dust on gravel roads. Crossing … Read more

Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail – BRF to Picnic Point

My Tacoma on the ice & snow covered trail between large log piles (photo courtesy of my friend Jonathan)

I’m not sure how or why it came to be reality, but for some reason our Tacoma crew decided it would be smart to try a winter outing. In February. In Wisconsin. And it was a good idea! Well mostly aside from the frozen camping. Read on for more details! Day 1: Main Trail Drive … Read more

WI Pipeline Off-Roading (June ’22)

Tacoma Off-roading - Overhead drone shot of the group (photo credit Camerasandcoffee of Tacoma World)

Back in summer of 2020 I bought a Toyota Tacoma with the intention of being able to explore deeper into places that my other cars & small SUVs wouldn’t allow. After over a year of maintenance, planning, and building it up I was able to join a group from the Tacoma World forums on a … Read more