Hayward started as a logging town in a river valley. The river was and is the Namekagon, now part of the St. Croix National Scenic Waterway. It’s about 100 miles long and has its name from the Ojibwe Indian word for “river at the place abundant with sturgeons”. The lumberjacks used the river to float logs down to the mills for processing, which of course is no longer necessary since we have roads and trucks. All that’s left of this part of history is the logrolling competitions and that championship contest is usually held in Hayward.
a great use for old railroad beds
My trek to the Namekagon started at Par Place Condominiums where I am staying. These condos are built on the “used to be RoyNona Golf Course” which is also the “used to be Roy Smith farm”. Roy Smith was my grandfather. The river is fairly close to the farm/golf course/condos, so my sister-in-law MP and I decided to bike there. Our route started down a trail on an old railroad bed. I actually remember when trains ran the tracks there and the engineer would wave to me and blow the train whistle. It hurts to say this.
These trails are all over the Hayward area and are used by snowmobiles and skiiers in the winter, bikes and hikers and ATV’s in the summer. The trails circling the town are paved, unlike this one, which is unpaved,peaceful and straight, lined with goldenrod and blackberry bushes. The breeze rattles the leaves on the poplar trees so there is a steady, soft white noise which belies all the motion you see when you glance at them. About half a mile on the trail brought us to Airport Road (another creative place name). Another half mile and we were at a small park on the river, across the road from the small, mostly private airport.
We parked our bikes and walked down to the boat landing. The Namekagon is a great river for canoeing, kayaking, tubing and fishing, although I do not vouch for the fishing part. I have done the other three. There has been a lot of rain this summer, and even some flooding, so the river is high and swift. There are a few white water places but a great deal of it is like this picture – tranquil appearing. Any time we do a river trip we see wildlife, eagles, deer, otters, and bear. And wildflowers are everywhere. Floating down the Namekagon is one of my favorite things to do.
Another one foot dip. The water was cool and the mosquitoes were fierce so we didn’t stay long.
A couple of years ago my family started talking about trips they had made to the Delta Diner, a restaurant in a streetcar, out in the middle of the woods. I had never been there so Mom had it on the list of things I should do this visit. We got right to it – breakfast on Day 2.
My sister-in-law MP, Mom and me, arranged in increasing size.
Since I’m mentioning breakfast, I will tell you that the Delta Diner is not just another greasy spoon place by the road. It is a destination. It has gotten media attention and been touted as one of the most interesting places to eat in our neck of the woods. It is small (duh, it’s a streetcar, really) with a bar overlooking the grill, and a row of booths on either side of the door. People wait outside on picnic tables for their seating. We came for the breakfast menu, which also included some sandwiches and desserts. I had been waiting to try Mom’s favorite, Norwegian pancakes with jalapeno. I was not disappointed in them either.
In calling this “lake a day” challenge I have to explain that I have a very loose meaning of the word lake. It is any body of water, excluding mud puddles or the kitchen sink. Today it was all about a stream called the White River. It is small in some places but since the watershed looks really big on the map I’m sure there are some wider spots. The place where our road crossed over was definitely not a park, but just a place where the pavement allowed us to pull over without obstructing traffic. There was a view of the stream that was flowing swiftly into the largest culvert I have ever seen which carried the water under the road. A canoe or kayak could easily ride through.
I was not the first person to make my way down to the water’s edge but I wouldn’t say there was a path either. Up here in the northwoods we always have to think about poison ivy. There is also the possibility of losing footing and sliding into the stream and I was very aware of that. Photo credits on this day go to my brother Dennis who was handicapped by the direction the sun was hitting us. This was another one foot dip, although the water was clear and only about four feet deep. I need to start wearing my swimsuit everywhere I go and traveling with a towel.
The sun is bright, making me very white. One foot in the water…
The experience of going “home” for a visit has several aspects. There are always interesting changes to discover, always some family or friends to connect with, always memories to refresh/rehearse. But I often find myself wanting to make new memories and enjoy the home territory in a different way. Isn’t it commonly the case that we don’t take the time to be tourists in the familiar places? I grew up in Hayward, Wisconsin and have visited nearly every year since moving away so it is familiar to me but I needed to have a fun way of seeing it from a new perspective.
Enter the “Lake a Day” challenge.
Northern Wisconsin, although it is not known as the “land of 10,000 lakes” like it’s neighbor Minnesota, has many of the same features. There is a lot of water. I grew up on one of the prettiest, cleanest, most refreshing lakes in the area and knew it well, but there were many other bodies of water close by that I did not frequent. Every day I am going to find some “water” of a natural kind and get wet in it (not saying how wet, but wet somewhere). You may travel northern Wisconsin someday and want to check out these great spots.
Day 1: Lake Superior
Lake Superior is as close to being an ocean as a lake can get. It is huge – they don’t call it one of the Great Lakes for nothing. Unlike an ocean it is fresh water but like an ocean it is big enough for ships, dangerous storms and currents, and it has a fascinating history.
An unplanned stop at Lake Superior – the one foot dip.
On this day my mom and I were on our way to visit a friend who lives in Duluth, Minnesota, just across the border from Superior, Wisconsin. As we drove close to the harbor at the western tip of Lake Superior we passed a small park where there was access to the water and also a small ship offering tours to visitors. It wasn’t exactly a beach but it appeared that I might be able to reach the water so we pulled in and parked. As I mentioned earlier, the goal was to get some part of me wet so I found a short path with no barriers and went down to stick a foot in the water.
Lake Superior has many interesting coastal towns in Minnesota and Wisconsin but about the only ones I’ve visited are Duluth/Superior and Bayfield. Madelaine Island, near Bayfield is where my brother’s family has camped for years. I have visited them at the campground there and we had an amazing time leaping into Lake Superior from some rock cliffs. Unforgettable.
On this day we had a great time visiting with my friend at her house and at her husband’s nearby business, Lake Superior Brewery. The root beer we sampled was really good, as are their other beers. Must be the local water, right?
I have not been pushing myself to write for many months and am feeling the need to challenge myself in some way. I want to see how many days in a row I can find a meaningful thought or experience to write about, starting yesterday.
Several months ago I had the opportunity to buy a boat, a kayak, something that I had wished to do for years. And even better, I had someone who also wanted to buy one, and go on outings with me. We bought our used boats and excitedly brought them home. Mark, my cousin, has gone out in his boat several times. He’s fitted it with ropes for his anchor, so he can fish without drifting. He’s renewed his fishing license. He’s been out enough times that he’s “settled in” to how the boat feels and he’s comfortable. Me? I’ve lent my kayak out to a friend for a month. That’s it.
So, last week we planned to go out on the water. We decided to explore the north end of Longboat Key, Florida since my boat was already out there. On the west of the key is the Gulf of Mexico. On the east side is the Intercoastal Waterway with it’s bridges, bayous and mangrove hammocks, and that was the side we were most interested in. It’s waters are calmer, more protected and have interesting features.
I have a lot of questions about my ability as a kayaker. I know enough about paddling to impress someone who has never done it at all, but I really don’t know how far I can paddle or what challenges there might be when someone starts going out a lot. I wonder if I could get lost (we didn’t). I wonder if I could end up in the wrong place and get run over by a yacht (didn’t happen either). I wonder if I could meet up with dangerous marine life (no). I wonder if I could get stuck in the shallows, capsize, get tangled in brush ( um.. nearly happened). For all these reasons, this first trip in my new (used) boat was a challenge, in it’s own way.
There was never a prettier day to be out in a boat
Mark and I started from different points with a plan to meet up in the middle. The first challenge was to time it right and not miss each other. That was actually pretty easy. Longboat Key has a lot of man made canals with houses along them, much like streets in a neighborhood. We paddled south looking at houses and seawalls for a while but that got boring. Boats were everywhere and the water didn’t look very clean, probably because the canals were deep and the bottom was dark. I don’t think I saw anything alive in the water either. I don’t blame the fish for not wanting to hang out there.
Mangroves grow right down into the water … no beach here.
We headed out across the boat channel to a more deserted looking island. It was mildly challenging to avoid all the speedboats and yachts navigating the channel, but kind of fun to ride the waves in their wake. The water started looking cleaner with a lot of sand bar area and beach with mangroves on the shore. Very pretty but still not much life in the water or on the shore. We got around the northern point of this little island and had the most fun of our outing.
A wide spot in the inlet where we could turn around…
We spotted a part of the interior of the island that had no trees. As we got closer we saw a narrow inlet – it looked like someone had swept a path about a yard wide through the foliage and mangrove roots. It was calling my name. The path had a current and it kept going further and further into the island. Lots of birds and lots of minnows. I would say it was like an estuary where fish go to be born and hide until they get big enough to make it on the outside. I was a little surprised to see that Mark had been able to follow. He weighs a bit more than I do and has a heavier kayak, and there were places where the water didn’t look more than eight to ten inches deep. We were able to get turned around and back out without having to get out and drag our kayaks, but it was a place where you could imagine that happening. Very interesting.
He’s fishing, but not catching.
The second really nice place was a little farther down the shore on this same island. The surface of the water was very calm in a small curved bay so it was easy to see when a school of mullet arrived. The water began to boil with ripples everywhere. Mullet love to jump. They are a very exuberant fish. They are the kind that actually might jump into your boat if you are quiet and stick around long enough. But you don’t catch them with a fishing pole – they don’t have eating on their little fish minds when they are like this. We watched for a while and then started the trip back.
The last task we had set for ourselves was to see if my kayak could be safely carried on the roof of my Mazda 3 (a rather small car). The answer is no, not without a roof rack. We did get it up there and strapped it down before Mark noticed that the roof was denting a bit. These are one person kayaks, but they are 13 feet long and hefty for one person to handle. My goal is to be able to load and unload by myself and I think I’ll be able to do it after I get a rack for my car. Now we know.
Having made an investment in this form of recreation, and I absolutely love it, I am challenging myself to get out there and get some good experience. And I love taking friends out with me if anyone wants to come – Mark and I agreed to share our kayaks if we had need for two. And I need to pick a name for my boat… what should it be?
We parked our bikes and walked down to the boat landing. The Namekagon is a great river for canoeing, kayaking, tubing and fishing, although I do not vouch for the fishing part. I have done the other three. There has been a lot of rain this summer, and even some flooding, so the river is high and swift. There are a few white water places but a great deal of it is like this picture – tranquil appearing. Any time we do a river trip we see wildlife, eagles, deer, otters, and bear. And wildflowers are everywhere. Floating down the Namekagon is one of my favorite things to do.
I Just Have to Say... 