Day 2
Friday 8/13/2021
If the Deke Slater and Bicycle Museum opened earlier, I probably would have stopped in. But, it seemed silly to wait around for three hours. Instead, I packed up and drove out.
The first stop of the day was the Necedah National Wildlife Preserve. It's a little early for fall migrations, so the place was pretty quiet, with just a couple of white herons off in the distance.
A flock of 250 whooping cranes were released in the refuge in 2001. A non-profit group named Operation Migration used ultralight aircraft to teach the flock the migratory route to Florida. No, seriously. The Fish and Wildlife Service shut the program down in 2016. The use of the aircraft were deemed too disruptive to the birds and they simply weren't breeding. You can read more about it here:
As for the group Operation Migration, they closed down two years later.
Even without much wildlife to view, a three and a half mile loop trail still seemed the right way to start the day.
The next stop for the day was the Sandhill State Wildlife Area. When I read about this place, I knew it had to be included.
A large part of the preserve is fenced. To gain entrance, you simply sign in at the kiosk, open the massive gate in the chain link fence, drive through and close the gate again. Yes, it's a drive through preserve. The full tour is fourteen miles of well maintained, mostly one way road.
I found the pullout for the short walk to the observation tower...
But sadly, I didn't see any bison.
Would you believe, I shot this from the driver's seat, through the open passenger window, full zoom on my phone? Not bad.
Driving through the forest...
Eventually back out to the wetlands...
By the time I left, it was pushing 2P and I was thinking lunch. The first non chain place I stopped was the Saddle Up Saloon, in Babcock.
Imagine a place with Bud and Busch Lite neon, Buck Henry on the PA and a rodeo on the big TV over the bar.
Sandy, the owner, was tending bar, as well as cooking. Like everywhere else, she was having trouble finding staff. At 2P, the place was nice and quiet. She made me a basic, but quite good grilled chicken sandwich and told me about the last bartender she hired.
There's a line between being a friendly and engaging bartender and getting rowdy with the customers. The new bartender was spending more time partying with them than serving drinks. But, Sandy has some friends locally who step in and cover the occasional shift when they can.
As we were talking, two guys came in for a beer. She talked one of them into helping with the weekly fish fry that night.
The next stop was a place called Rudolph Grotto Gardens and Wonder Cave. The story begins in 1912 and a man named Philip Wagner. In failing health, he visited Our Lady's Shrine in Lourdes, France. He made a promise if his health improved and he could be ordained, he would some day build shrine of his own.
His health did improve and he was ordained. Just a few years later, he was assigned to Saint Philomena's church in Rudolph, Wisconsin. Though Father Wagner knew nothing about mortar and masonry, he started work on his shrine, learning as he went along.
A walk through the garden is free. If you want to walk through the Wonder Cave, that's all of $3.
My home for the night was the town of Marshfield, ranked fifth in a 2010 list of the best small cities to raise a family in Forbes Magazine. Truth be told, I only stopped here because it seemed a good spot to stop for a night.
On the way into town, I drove by the fairgrounds. That's where you'll find the World's Biggest Round Barn. Worth a drive by.
My home for the night was the Neva Jean Motel. It’s one of the older motels, with very small rooms. Two people would have been a bit cramped. But, it was clean and the bed was the most comfortable one of the trip. Lulling me to sleep, the regular distant drone of freight trains on the other side of the road. No horns, just that soothing rumble.
It was way too early to call it a day, so I drove into downtown to the Blue Heron Brewpub. Great staff, great food and a rather varied beer selection.
That's where I met Matt. He was celebrating his retirement. He had been a long haul truck driver for fifteen years. After spending far too many nights away from his family, he took an office job with the trucking company. We wound up on the night schedule. Over time, more and more people rotated onto days. Management kept telling him be was far too valuable on the nights.
So, he started looking for something else and gave his notice. He's going back to driving a truck. But, it's only three days a week and all local. The added bonus, the pay is even a little better. So yeah, he was a genuinely happy guy.
We must have shot the breeze for an hour and a half. Just a great way to wrap the day.
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