One Fell Swoop

After this update, I won't be quite so behind.

Several alert readers have been asking about the trip to Wilton, WI. It was splendid. We biked to and through the old railway tunnels on the Elroy Sparta bike trail, ate pie, kayaked the Kickapoo river for 4.25 hours, ate more pie, biked again and ate more pie. The pie was good. This is where we ate the pie, Gina's Pies Are Square. It's awesome, and currently for sale, lock stock and barrel, for $195,000.



Here's Lenore, Gina and some pie. We are on a first-name basis with Gina. The pizza there is also square and excellent.


You can try a couple of her recipes here. Mmmmm.

Most people who ride the Elroy-Sparta trail tend to stay in Elroy or Sparta. However, we prefer to stay in Wilton, which is right in the middle and offers the best access to the two best tunnels. And pie. This is the teeny four-room hotel where we stayed ($45/night with a kitchenette). The town also has a nice campground, a pool, two bars, a Latvian jeweler, and there are B&Bs around too.



Here are some shots from our rides. The weather was perfect, though the trail was in rough shape from all the rain they had (had). The big tunnel is so long you can't see daylight at the other end. Inevitably, there's always some joker who brings a bright, bright light and a train whistle...




Here's a picture inside the really long tunnel -- I think it's a mile long, but I could be wrong.



This is Hardware Hank's.


I love this store. It's your basic old-fashioned hardware/general store, and it has absolutely everything. If there was a hardware store in Harry Potter, this would be it. Whatever you need, it's in the next aisle over. They don't take credit cards though. Only cash, checks and maybe Galleons. Check out the inside of this store. Could you not spend hours in here? Lenore bought a bike seat and a t-shirt and had a key made. I bought some candy, a new jug to make iced tea in, and a part to fix my hose.






So then we went kayaking... We like to rent kayaks from Titanic Canoe Rental in Ontario (1-877-Get Sunk). They only charge $20 per boat for as long as you want to paddle. We went about an hour too long. But it was still a lovely day, and we had a nice picnic along the way. The Kickapoo river is very bendy and scenic -- I took way too many pictures and had a hard time deciding which ones to post. I thought maybe I could pick three, but ended up with five. So there you go.







We also visited Lenore's godmother Anna, who gave us a tour of her fabulous house and performed a weaving and spinning demonstration. The rugs Anna makes are both functional and beautiful -- she uses shirts or end bolts from a linen (bed sheet) outlet that she rips into strips and then weaves into intricate designs of all different patterns and colors. Hence the term "rag rug," which are, like quilts, often works of art. Needless to say, I didn't bring her any potholders.



The big loom -- it's a work of art itself.


Anna spinning wool into yarn.


Wood dyed with natural dyes made from flowers.


Anna's husband was a woodworker and made beautiful furniture and sculptures. This is a rocking chair he made to rock their babies.


Here are the two little movies I made of Anna spinning wool into yarn.