Another Country

As we drove up the driveway for a relative visit last Saturday morning, the wife commented that the home "sure looks tired." It is an old house, the oldest portion dating perhaps to several years after the end of the Civil War, with two additions, the latest being being less than twenty years old. The old part of the house is sided with steel grey-blue siding, dating before purchase in 1971) accented by deteriorating wood shutters painted black. The house color, and its tired nature was was enhanced by the thick dark grey clouds which obscured any hint of sun. The nature of the outside of the portends a few issues inside the house. Spending a night there is, I determined, it was worse than traveling to a country in the developing world.

The two-story part of the house may date to the 1870's with a later one story addition prior to the 1971 purchase by the current owner. The newer addition, dating to 2008, comes off the one story forming a L shape dwelling. That addition provided a full bath, bedroom, closet, and family room which opens to the kitchen. The one story portion of the house essentially functions as its own dwelling and the two story portion is seldom used. The house has two basements, separated by the additions, under the original two-story is a stone basement, with low ceilings further lowered by duct work to provide central heating. The one story long ago addition has a concrete block basement done after 1971 to replace of an old cistern. The 2008 addition has a crawl space that connects to this basement. Hence, the house is a hodge podge and that is further amplified by three furnaces, one for the old house first floor, one for the old house second floor, and one for the additions.

When we visit it is like we are camping. I realized it is worse than preparing to travel to a developing country. We bring our water for drinking as the water in the house has an odor and we cannot figure out the cause. We bring our own food to consume, and we now bring our own sleeping gear.

The house has five bedrooms, but only one is suitable for sleeping two persons, and that is the owner's room, and is in the 2008 addition. One bedroom is a craft room, another has varied furniture items stored, one has a bed for one person, and the other has been affected by urine and feces sitting above from a bat infestation noticed a year ago. We slept in that room in June 2025, and noticed the smell, but it got worse when a few days after I departed, and my wife stayed with the relation for a few weeks due to an injury. A bat was found in the stairwell.

Given the situation, we do not sleep in that room on this visit. Hence, we brought an air mattress, we borrowed from a friend along with sleeping bags and pillows. In this case we slept in the family room (2008 addition) and my wife's sister and husband set up their air mattress and slept in the living room (original house). As it poured rain over the night, we could all hear not only the rain, but also the deluge of rain coming over the down gutters. 

I used the half bath next in the original house, and found it difficult to use to clean up given all the decorations, or some today would refer to as clutter. To add insult to injury, the house with one ply toilet paper, not only is it one play that is translucent, but it is rough. Even toilet paper at the state park campgrounds is better than that. 

Thus, it is an experience when traveling to visit. Remediation and other work is required, the downspouts are likely causing a leak in the old  basement, and the I suspect the bat urine may have compromised the insulation. The moral of the story is that dwellings need upkeep, and they need regular maintenance. Money and time has to be spent to keep a home in good condition.

Cargo Shorts

In the warmer months, I wear shorts, most often cargo shorts. My collection of current and past cargo shorts have mainly been through purchases, but I received a couple pairs as hand-me ups from a nephew. I am not sure how long I have been wearing cargo shorts, but it has been quite some time. I have a few pair of non-cargo shorts, that I tend to wear for better summer events (say a party). When growing up, we had what were called play clothes, and school (good) clothes. One of my kids, a few weeks ago, commented one Friday evening on the pair of play time cargo shorts I was wearing by saying something to the effect that "they are coming back in style." 

I was somewhat taken aback by my son's statement because I did not know cargo pants had gone out of style. I mentioned to my wife that I was surprised by the comment, because as far as I knew they were still in style. My wife replied with something like, "it is not surprising that you thought they were still in style." Secretly, I think she still thought they were in style, as when I bought a few pair this summer she made no comment about cargo shorts. This year I bought a couple pair at Goodwill to replace some that had worn out. I was surprised to find out that, while we went to Goodwill together, she let me shop on my own. Guessing that she trusted my judgement. Now, would Goodwill carry out of style clothes? They turn over their goods fairly rapidly, about every three to four weeks. I think back, and just about a month ago, I bought a new pair of cargo shorts at Kohls. My few trips to Kohls over the years I never noticed cargo shorts not being available. I don't think Kohls would carry clothes that are out of style. Who would buy them, as I doubt there are not many fashion trend-setters like me who purchase out of style clothing in order to be ahead of the next fashion trend curve. 

Hand me-up Cargo Shorts

The only time in the summer in which I tend to wear long pants is to a MMSD meeting, or a special event. And, in the summer they are generally my trusty tan khaki pants. Khaki pants are kind of timeless.

Hence, once again, like with eyeglass styles, and other items of clothing, I am a head of the fashion curve. I have been a trendsetter by wearing cargo shorts before they came back in style. It seems nowadays that is common to leave out certain facts to form your narrative, by concentrating on those that make your point, so I would simply leave out the part that I continued to wear them for the past two to three decades. One just needs to know that I am a fashion trend-setter, a simple unknown influencer in the fashion field who dresses under the radar.

Frank Barone dressed as "Fruity Pierre"
His pants are khaki colored

Onetime years ago my wife commented that she would like to upgrade my clothing choices, apparently taking me back to "trends", rather than allowing me to be ahead of the trends. One of her friends had done this for her husband. It reminded me of an Everybody Loves Raymond episode where Marie gets rid of most of Frank's clothes to a secondhand store or charity, and most were thrown out, because as Marie said even the bums did not want them. Frank wonders what happened to his clothes and has to wear a new shirt and sweater Marie purchased. He finds the outfit too flashy. My wife bought me new swim suits just over a year ago and of course they had to be multicolored rather than just say, navy blue. Purchased in August, she says that the pickings were not very good. 

My play clothes, which are now my everyday clothes are well worn, I even threw out a couple pair of shorts this year, yes cargo shorts, because my wife refused to repair them any more. I asked if she let me use her sewing machine and I could try to repair them, but that did not get too far. The need for some replacement shorts is what led me to purchase shorts this year, the two lightly used pair at Goodwill and the one pair at Kohls. One of the pair I purchased at Goodwill and the one at Kohls were different colors from two I purchased at Kohls several years ago.  I have come to realize that I may be forced to throw out a couple more pair at the end of this season. I have had some t-shirts that she wanted to throw out but I have saved some for when I need a shirt for those times when painting or doing other such work that can stain a shirt. I certainly would not want to get a t-shirt that is near worn out stained with paint. Even the third world is overcome by too many clothes, part of the American excess. 

Two pair, mainly used for camping
I think they were purchased 2-3 years ago

To write this blog, I went to my computer, not believing that I am out of fashion, Google with its AI approach told me the following: 

Yes, cargo shorts are still popular for men, but they have undergone a massive modern redesign. While the oversized, baggy, and overstuffed styles of the late '90s and 2000s are still considered a fashion faux pas, the "Modern Cargo Short" is highly relevant

The category is experiencing a strong resurgence on both the streetwear scene and the high-fashion runways of designers like Dior and Willy Chavarria. Today's popularity is fueled by the broader shift toward comfort, practicality, and aesthetics like "Gorpcore" and techwear.

It then went on to list what makes 2026 cargo shorts different. Well, you can have your Dior and whatever, but I will not give up my cargo shorts even if they date back over 25 years and are baggy and overstuffed. After all, who proclaims clothes as being "in" or "out"? A designer who keeps changing styles to sell more clothes? A panel of so-called experts who want to keep clothing sales up? My wife? What they all miss is that I am comfortable wearing what they call a "fashion faux pas clothes" and do not realize at some point they will be back in fashion, hence, me being a fashion trend setter. I am so far ahead of the times, people may think I am behind the times. 

Being so far ahead of fashion trends can perhaps make me subject to some looks and comments, but I proudly wear bear the title of one who is so so far ahead of fashion trends that people think I am behind the times. Cargo shorts may have gone out of fashion, but they have a certain staying power. 

Biking Vilas County

The trails wind through forest, by lakes, and near or above wetlands. The paved Heart of Vilas County trail system represents a great way to view and enjoy the Northwoods of Wisconsin, and get some exercise. As you travel, your senses are enhanced by the lingering scent of pine, the interplay of light and shadow through the tree canopy, and the soft hum of the rolling of bike tire on asphalt among the song of the birds. The Heart of Vilas system may not fully meet the design standards set by AASHTO (American Assoc of State Highway and Transportation Officials), but doing so would have affected connectivity, and the enjoyment of the trails. Many of the trails are along or adjacent to highway right of ways, or on public forest land. Vilas County, in northern Wisconsin, has been known more for its lakes, fishing and snowmobiling than for other activities. However, a series of bicycle trails have provided Vilas with a whole other source of recreational activity. This post is about biking the Northwoods.

Northern Wisconsin author, Victoria Houston, who writes fiction about murders in the Northwoods, has yet to feature bicycling in her fictional Loon Lake as far as I know. One of her main characters is Ray Pratt, a fishing guide, photographer and grave digger. In typical Northwoods style, Ray lives in a mobile home on a lake and dumped his sewage onto the roses cared by the deceased wife of the dentist next door, Dr Paul Osborne, who is friends with Ray. Biking up north does not require one to fish with Ray, and it adds to what a person can do in the north woods. It may not be as popular as fishing, it still has a dedicated group of persons. At Big Bear Hideaway, where we stay, I would say the occupants of the cabins, over our six years is they have as their primary activity 1/3 fishing, 1/3 bikers and the remainder mixed. Based purely on observation. 

Crystal Lake (2021)
The trail runs through the beach parking lot

Last week Wednesday to Wednesday, my biking partner and I met up with some family members at Big Bear Hideaway in Boulder Junction to do some biking for the week. Boulder Junction is well situated on the route, and has easy access to many of the nicer trail segments. My wife and I have joined my sister and her husband for a week of biking since about 2021. The two of us have done every segment, except for the Mercer to Manitowish Waters segment. We like the trails, that since 2022 we have camped seven times at Cunard Lake, between Woodruff and St Germain, and have often biked many of the segments when staying at that lake. Cunard Lake is a quiet campground, no generators, or radios or the like allowed. It is also, one of the three least busiest in the Northern Highlands American Legion State Forest (NHAL).

On-road segment near Trout Lake (2021)

Our first time doing any major biking on the trails was when we camped at Upper Gresham Lake southwest of Boulder Junction for five nights, and during that time attended the 50th wedding anniversary party of my brother and his spouse. Since that time, they have paved all of North Creek Rd which connects CTH H to CTHM, and made a connection south from the trail along K south to North Creek, which would allow easier biking from Upper Gresham to Boulder Junction. The trail segment along CTH H was completed a couple years ago. 

2021 sign along CTH H for the North Creek Loop
which has now been completed

Biking is big with Baby Boomers, and enthusiasm has increased with the variety of electric bikes now available. Heck, some of these bikes you do not even need to pedal. I am not sure of the ratio of electric to non-electric (analog) bikes, but our riding time is probably favored by non-analog bikes. At least this is what it seems, even though AI tells me e-bikes make up only about 7% of bike sales in the US, compared to half in Germany. Perhaps, I am attuned to e-bikes as they ride past me on my bike rides, often not pedaling. One day on my usual home bike route, I came upon an electric scooter rider, and was about 50 or so feet behind him. I was able, for a bit to keep up, but had to slow down for a walker and at that point he just kept on zooming and my stamina was waning, and I needed enough for the next six or more miles to complete my route. 

You can find time to hike, too.
View on Fallison Lake Tr (Sept 2024)

Last year my wife and I, during a camping trip, biked near Sayner. We were passed by some e-bikers. We completed our route and spent part of the day at Crystal Lake Beach. We again saw the four e-bikers who stopped to use the restroom and relax a bit. They talked about how far they ventured, compared to us on our analog bikes. While it put us to shame, it occurred to me that for many e-bikers the limiting factor is not stamina, but two other factors, time and battery power. On occasion you overhear an e-biker comment on the state of their battery. I am not sure what type of e-bike they had, but I don't think it was a pedal assist. 

Heart of Vilas Trail (2024)

This last visit to Big Bear was the first before Labor Day, with others after Labor Day. Last year, a week or so after Labor Day, we had less than fortunate weather, cold and wet for many of our days. This past visit, we had rain on the day of our arrival, and the temp was about 62, but the next two days had good weather followed by two days of inclement and one mixed day, but the last day of biking, the weather was very nice. Yet, we make do with what weather comes our way.

Boulder Junction, WI
Self-proclaimed Musky Capital of the World
Keeps Ray Pratt (fictional character) busy in
Victoria Houston novels.

Trails go beyond the Heart of Vilas. There is the Three Eagle Trail, mainly non-paved, which runs from Three Lakes to Eagle River, we have done that a couple of times. There is also a trail near Conover, which we have not done. One nice trail not part of the Heart of Vilas is the Forest Lake Trail, part of which winds through private property in a heavily wooded area. Riding it this year we noticed a storm took down many trees. The first time I rode that was in Oct 2021 and the paved path was blanketed with maple leaves.

In the Northwoods, even the deer use the crosswalk (Sept 2021)

I think the most common demographic we see biking are what I refer to as "old" people and which my wife points out that I am one of them. She is older than me and I look at her as the minimum of old. When at Big Bear there was a group of what I referred to as "older ladies" in a cabin, and I was quickly criticized that they were about "our age." Well, my sister-in-law was supposed to try and get the year they graduated high school but did not. When she met them she had to agree they were likely older. I took a group picture of them the day they departed and I have to think my term was appropriate. That is a  good thing, because later we had a group of "ladies" show up in another cabin and so I now had two different nomenclatures--one for each group of ladies. The second group had some in our demographic but some younger. Some of them were hard-ass bicyclists. 

On a wet rainy day, we did some hiking in Sept 2024
along the Black River in the UP

The problem with aged bicyclists, older people biking, is that they face a higher risk of severe injury from fractures and head trauma. My last bike accident, since I was over 65, they made me do a CT scan of my head. They found it is as hard as my wife claims it to be. Seriously, it was just a couple months ago that a 75 year old man I know died after crashing on a bike path. A friend crashed several years ago on a Heart of Vilas Trail; a hard-ass biker, she was thrown off her bike when she hit a bridge abutment and thrown into the side rail. Fortunate for her, an emergency room physician happened by as the next biker and attended to her while 911 was called. Taken to Woodruff Hospital she was later med flighted to Marshfield due to the severity of her injuries. This makes me think I should stop riding no-hands as I leisurely bike. This activity was reported to my wife by some of my fellow family members who were behind me last week. I look at riding no hands as helping build my core muscles--taking off of a person who said kids who ride electric scooters are getting exercise as they are working their core muscles. I figured the same thing would work on a bike.

Part of Forest Lake Trail (Sept 2025)

To help mitigate the effects of injury seasoned citizen bikers should stick to bike paths or low use residential streets--just the type of complexion of which the Heart of Vilas trails are composed, albeit there are crossings of some busy highways, like Hwy 70 west of St Germain on the trail to Sayner. The downfall to the trail system, are highway crossings. Hwy 70 would be the busiest, but there are crossings of K, M and N, county highways, but not as busy as many county highways near Madison.  The major problem for road crossings is for analog bikers, getting on a bike and in some locations having a steep uphill grade giving no time to get any speed.

Trail portion between Manitowish Waters 
and Boulder Junction (2026). 

The Northwoods is not just about fishing and snowmobiling. It is about hiking, canoeing or kayaking and now bicycling.  Yet, the basic benefit to most of what you choose to do is an ability to enjoy the scent of the pines, the towering trees, and a subdued lake shore. There is a certain peace when you stand at a lake shore on a mid-morning late summer day to take a pause while biking, with the sun glistening off the clear blue water. That is the purpose of the Wisconsin Northwoods that is facilitated when biking in Vilas County,

Photos by author

Note: If you get to Boulder Junction stop at the Aqualand bakery and purchase a a cream puff, or a true cream filled donut or, my favorite, a cruller. You will not be disappointed.

Noise at the Campground

A few weeks ago I posted about a boy who talked all the time. Henry. Henry camped with his parents and older on a site next to us at Cunard Lake Campground in late July. Henry has been surpassed by a group of girls that camped on our loop at Mirror Lake State Park. When camping you never know what noises you have to bear.

Mirror Lake State Park

It was a group of four girls, who had done a very good job of setting up their tent and screen tent. They continued to talk and talk. I think they quieted down some later in the evening. They were present for only a couple days, arriving Monday, but leaving Wednesday, but their presence sure put Henry to shame. Of course, Henry was one person, this was a group of four. Given that they were further from us than Henry, I suspect their gabbing was not as annoying as it may have been if they were right next to us. 

Many years ago we camped at Mirror Lake in September, perhaps our second season of camping, and our two boys were young. The experience that night almost ruined camping for us. There were two men who arrived late, and made a great deal of noise and were very loud. Another camper on the loop got up to ask them to quiet down during the early morning hours of the next day, but they did not. This camper, in a time before cell phones, left and called the sheriff. The sheriff deputy arrived and I recall a long conversation. It was cold when we got up the next morning, without having gotten any sleep, I recall a thin layer of ice in the coffee pot. Because we lacked sleep, we decided to pack up and go home. That was likely the most troublesome time we ever had camping. When we got up, those two men were soundly sleeping, and I felt like banging some pots together. They may have been too drunk or high to wake up even if I banged the pots.

Mirror Lake State Park

Noises, however, can be by other than humans. My camping partner, Land Girl, is a light sleeper, and any noise, even heavy breathing, can be bothersome to her. At Mirror Lake there was some animal, not sure if a bird or mammal, made an annoying noise that kept her awake most of the night. I never recalled hearing that noise before. Perhaps the best way to describe the noise, was like a fast moving ratchet. The first night the noise went to about 3 or 4 am, and the next night about 2 am. Whatever was making the noise got kinder to Land Girl as each night came. This disrupts here sleep, particularly since I tend to get up about 5:30 am to use the restroom. 

The most present noise at Mirror Lake is the Interstate Highway that is less than half a mile distant. The constant hum or roar of the traffic provides a noise akin to what millennial parents have in the sound machine to get their young children to sleep. It has the opposite effect on Land Girl. The funny thing is, even though the highway, and Lake Delton and Wisconsin Dells are so close, our Verizon phone only got only two bars at the campsite. And, at times, one bar.

Mirror Lake State Park, Echo Rock

The last time we camped at Mirror Lake was in June of 2024 and we had the annoying pleasure of the Sponge moths (Gypsy moths) falling down our of the trees on the screen tent, camper, car and even us. The plopping sound was more annoying by the appearance of a moth on the picnic table in front of you.

As a child my wife camped with siblings and parents, often joined by one or two sets of family members and their children. I have to think they were not the most quiet bunch of campers, and if that was today, would I be writing a blog post about them as I have about Henry and now the four girls. Perhaps, now that I am in my late middle age (this will give the wife a laugh, as she will say I am a senior citizen and not late middle age), I may find the noises more annoying than before, although no reasonable person would think that disturbance many years ago at Mirror Lake was reasonable.