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

Regner Park Rapids [Fail?]

Regner Park in West Bend, Wisconsin - Low water means rapids are gone

Quick stop on my way home from “up north” at Regner Park in West Bend, Wisconsin to see if I can find some small rapids. I parked on Silverbrook Drive and walking just past the baseball diamonds it’s not difficult to find. Sadly though the rapids are all but gone due to low water levels … 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

Rock Falls (Under Re-Construction)

Rock Falls (Under Re-Construction)

Made a very short stop at Rock Falls, Wisconsin to see what was supposed to be Rock Falls. Sadly, the bridge is currently under re-construction and it isn’t possible to safely access the area. I had no idea there was even construction until I arrived from the east side. I took a detour and drove … 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

Roaring Creek Falls

Roaring Creek Falls in Black River Falls, Wisconsin

Back in 2019 I visited Lost Falls. After returning home and looking at online maps, there was a Google review on Roaring Creek saying there are more falls 1/4 mile upstream in the same area (review now disappeared, strange). So today I returned in search of these other unknown falls that seem to be well-traveled … 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