Showing posts with label Road Trip 2017. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Road Trip 2017. Show all posts
Friday, August 11, 2017
Road Trip 6 - Back on the Road/ Badlands
August 10-11, 2017
We loaded the Kia back up and headed out from the Tundra Lodge - Going West.
The drive began through Minnesota and we implemented the roadside sandwich making skills and snack distribution.
On our way we discovered the Jolly Green Giant statue in Blue Earth Minnesota and we stopped for cold treats at Dairy Queen in the park beneath his feet.
Our stops began to include Prairie Dog sightings and rock/mineral sale displays. The land got flatter and turned the color of flax.
We pulled in late in the evening for our hotel in Murdo, South Dakota. Our hotel had a Tesla charging station and a high frequency of belt buckle appearances. The sky was huge and we went out to get a look at the stars.
After our hotel breakfast we got back on the highway. We decided to take a route through the Badlands. It added a some miles and hours but it was worth it for the uniqueness and majesty of the landscape. We stopped a few times to climb up on the rocks in the National Park and we slowed down on many curves to catch a look at wildlife, including a big horn sheep who crossed in front of us.
We loaded the Kia back up and headed out from the Tundra Lodge - Going West.
The drive began through Minnesota and we implemented the roadside sandwich making skills and snack distribution.
On our way we discovered the Jolly Green Giant statue in Blue Earth Minnesota and we stopped for cold treats at Dairy Queen in the park beneath his feet.
We pulled in late in the evening for our hotel in Murdo, South Dakota. Our hotel had a Tesla charging station and a high frequency of belt buckle appearances. The sky was huge and we went out to get a look at the stars.
After our hotel breakfast we got back on the highway. We decided to take a route through the Badlands. It added a some miles and hours but it was worth it for the uniqueness and majesty of the landscape. We stopped a few times to climb up on the rocks in the National Park and we slowed down on many curves to catch a look at wildlife, including a big horn sheep who crossed in front of us.
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Road Trip 5 - Bay Beach and our Last Night in WI
August 9, 2017
On Wednesday all of the Baltimore relatives went to Bay Beach Wild Life Sanctuary in the morning. we started with feeding the geese. I wound up with bee sting on the top of my foot and that paused my progression for a few minutes. Luckily the stinger didn't go in deep and I pulled it out quickly. It was only a mild irritation for the next few days. We continued through the park and saw the wolves and otters and displays. The big cousins found a giant Spider web climbing apparatus and invented a game involving getting team members to move to certain places without touching the string. We ate lunch we had packed in their basement education rooms and then the cousins hit the big slide. Next we went across the street to Bay Beach Amusement Park. We bought a bunch of tickets and sent the big kids on their way. Most rides were $.50 and there were rides to please everyone.
Bridget hooked up with Sarah and pushed past her fear to ride a few things she found scary. She did not however find the courage for the Zippin Pippin roller coaster. I went around with Johanna and she got on ride after ride. She smiled at the other kids and was good at waiting in line; they were blissfully short. As we wound down, a bunch of various family members gathered by the Ferris wheel and we got in line. Bridget, Sarah and I sat together, while Emma, Rachael and Megan shared a seat, and Johanna went with aunt Becky. It had sounded like fun, but Bridget, Megan, myself and aunt Becky all found the rocking of seats to be terrifying. There were lots of exclamations of "Don't move" and anxious moments and almost tears. We finally got off and the sentiment from the four of us was "why did we think that was a good idea?"
Our day ended back at the Tundra Lodge and the cousins gathered from other hotels and we all got passes to the water park. We ate pizza together and then went into the water park for the pools, obstacle course, lazy river, and the water slides. The dads went across to a brewpub in the same parking lot, as the moms and kids hit the park. It was so much fun racing each other on the big inner tubes down the slides. The teenagers went with Emma on a run for ice cream, stopping at a playground to eat it and came back full of energy and joy. We had some stress at the end of the day because packing still needed to be done. The next morning we were loading back up for 3 days of driving toward our visit with Mom and Dad Kehrman.
On Wednesday all of the Baltimore relatives went to Bay Beach Wild Life Sanctuary in the morning. we started with feeding the geese. I wound up with bee sting on the top of my foot and that paused my progression for a few minutes. Luckily the stinger didn't go in deep and I pulled it out quickly. It was only a mild irritation for the next few days. We continued through the park and saw the wolves and otters and displays. The big cousins found a giant Spider web climbing apparatus and invented a game involving getting team members to move to certain places without touching the string. We ate lunch we had packed in their basement education rooms and then the cousins hit the big slide. Next we went across the street to Bay Beach Amusement Park. We bought a bunch of tickets and sent the big kids on their way. Most rides were $.50 and there were rides to please everyone.
Bridget hooked up with Sarah and pushed past her fear to ride a few things she found scary. She did not however find the courage for the Zippin Pippin roller coaster. I went around with Johanna and she got on ride after ride. She smiled at the other kids and was good at waiting in line; they were blissfully short. As we wound down, a bunch of various family members gathered by the Ferris wheel and we got in line. Bridget, Sarah and I sat together, while Emma, Rachael and Megan shared a seat, and Johanna went with aunt Becky. It had sounded like fun, but Bridget, Megan, myself and aunt Becky all found the rocking of seats to be terrifying. There were lots of exclamations of "Don't move" and anxious moments and almost tears. We finally got off and the sentiment from the four of us was "why did we think that was a good idea?"
Our day ended back at the Tundra Lodge and the cousins gathered from other hotels and we all got passes to the water park. We ate pizza together and then went into the water park for the pools, obstacle course, lazy river, and the water slides. The dads went across to a brewpub in the same parking lot, as the moms and kids hit the park. It was so much fun racing each other on the big inner tubes down the slides. The teenagers went with Emma on a run for ice cream, stopping at a playground to eat it and came back full of energy and joy. We had some stress at the end of the day because packing still needed to be done. The next morning we were loading back up for 3 days of driving toward our visit with Mom and Dad Kehrman.
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
Road Trip 4 - More time in Wisconsin
August 2017
After our busy day on the bus we went out to dinner at the Titletown Brewing Company. I think we have gone there every time we have visited Wisconsin since we had kids. In addition to the beers they also have their own Root Beer and a penguin Mascot who the girls always remember. Mary, Becky, and Will's families also got tables at Titletown for dinner as well.
The next morning we decided that Johanna really needed to sleep in. She had been a bit of a bear on our bus trip and we didn't need that trend to continue. The Tundra Lodge room worked pretty well and we managed breakfast in the room without too much difficulty, aside from a few spills on sleeping bags. Johanna was on a sleeping bag in between the 2 queens. jim and I had one and Megan and Bridget shared the other. Emma and Rachael shared an uncomfortable fold out bed, without too much complaining.
In the late morning we went to Heritage Hill Park. It happened to be a free kids day so it was a great bargain for us, and they had kid themed extra activities through out the park. the park is full of early Wisconsin living history areas, including a farmhouse and barns, town center, church, fort, and fur trade cabin, plus a replica of a bark chapel. It is a place I visited many times as a kid during our trips to WI and it was a great experience. We had expected them to have food available for purchase on site but they did not. so I ran out to the nearest food (McDonalds) and we ate picnic style on the floor of the huge gazebo. We don't eat McDonald's often, and the consensus was that it was gross but really satisfying, and we didn't want to eat there again this trip. Our Heritage Hill visit ended near the fur traders cabin where the big kids all took turns, throwing an ax at a target. It was a good memory, even as it was happening.
We found an local spot by our hotel for an afternoon ice cream break and hung around the hotel until it was time for Taco Tuesday. My aunts and Uncles invited us to a local restaurant that hosted a $1 Taco Tuesday. They booked out a section of the restaurant and we first had drinks in the bar before getting our seats for dinner. The cousins got comfortable and sorted themselves by age and we settled into a lovely dinner with the Wisconsin family. Jim and I sat with my Uncle Jim, his girlfriend Mary, My Uncle Joe and his sons. We heard a bunch of new stories and family tales.
The next morning we decided that Johanna really needed to sleep in. She had been a bit of a bear on our bus trip and we didn't need that trend to continue. The Tundra Lodge room worked pretty well and we managed breakfast in the room without too much difficulty, aside from a few spills on sleeping bags. Johanna was on a sleeping bag in between the 2 queens. jim and I had one and Megan and Bridget shared the other. Emma and Rachael shared an uncomfortable fold out bed, without too much complaining.
In the late morning we went to Heritage Hill Park. It happened to be a free kids day so it was a great bargain for us, and they had kid themed extra activities through out the park. the park is full of early Wisconsin living history areas, including a farmhouse and barns, town center, church, fort, and fur trade cabin, plus a replica of a bark chapel. It is a place I visited many times as a kid during our trips to WI and it was a great experience. We had expected them to have food available for purchase on site but they did not. so I ran out to the nearest food (McDonalds) and we ate picnic style on the floor of the huge gazebo. We don't eat McDonald's often, and the consensus was that it was gross but really satisfying, and we didn't want to eat there again this trip. Our Heritage Hill visit ended near the fur traders cabin where the big kids all took turns, throwing an ax at a target. It was a good memory, even as it was happening.
We found an local spot by our hotel for an afternoon ice cream break and hung around the hotel until it was time for Taco Tuesday. My aunts and Uncles invited us to a local restaurant that hosted a $1 Taco Tuesday. They booked out a section of the restaurant and we first had drinks in the bar before getting our seats for dinner. The cousins got comfortable and sorted themselves by age and we settled into a lovely dinner with the Wisconsin family. Jim and I sat with my Uncle Jim, his girlfriend Mary, My Uncle Joe and his sons. We heard a bunch of new stories and family tales.
Monday, August 7, 2017
Road Trip 3 - Bus Tour
August 7, 2017
Monday was the big day. My Dad rented a bus and organized 2 pick up locations in Green Bay. We went to the 2nd pick up location, a nearby park and ride, and anxiously awaited the buses arrival along with a few other carloads of family. We climbed aboard with a number of my dad's siblings and their kids, and their grandkids. The teenagers and cousins all funneled toward the back of the bus, and we took up just about every seat. With everyone aboard we started our Newald Trip.
My Dad's brothers and sister had their family home movies transfered to disc so as we drove, they played home movies from the 40's and 50's, and narrated some of the events, and pointed people out for us. There were so many cowboy shirts and hats throughout, as well as impeccably dressed adults.
Dad got on the microphone and pointed out a one room school house along the highway. And then we made a short stop in Wabeno, near the grandstand, and old train station. Dad shared some history and stories. When we got to Laona we went by the grounds of the old hospital, where Don shared his Christmas hospital story, Grampa Jauquet's broken leg story, where he received his draft papers for WWII and Great Grandfather John's crushed hip story. Laona was the "big" logging town in the area, run by the Connors family, and it was the closet town to Newald. The bus then made a stop at Saint Lawrence Church in Laona and we went inside. St. Lawrence was the church where my Dad was confirmed and where they frequently attended Mass or other Catholic services, since Newald was too small for more than one Mass a week. We reloaded the bus and Dad narrated the rest of the town. He had printed off a number of pictures of the town as it was from the turn of the century to the 50's, and pointed the buildings out as we drove by.
From Laona we continued north toward Newald. the highway was flanked by forest and we pulled in to see the historic marker for the Laona School Forest, which was a remediation effort to replant the area which had been logged off during the first part of the 20th century.
Our bus pulled off the highway and into the original property of the Cleereman Jauquet Lumber company. This site was purchased in 1913 by my Dad's Great Grandfather Cleereman and Grandfather Jauquet. The father and son-in law built a house here and a business that became the major employer of the town. This is where my dad and his family lived. In 1945 the property became Jauquet Lumber Company, until the logging operations closed and the family moved to GreenBay in 1954. The property was purchased by cousin Francis Cleereman and became Cleereman Industries. My Dad and his siblings had coordinated with the Cleeremans for our visit.
We were all pleasantly surprised to be welcomed by one of Cleereman Industries partners who gave us a behind the scene tour of their sawmill carriage business. His pride in his company was evident as he showed us the technical sophistication as well as long held skill that made them industry leaders. He took pride in being a skilled local employer with a nationwide market. None of the GreenBay family had been following Cleereman Industries and were clearly impressed. The heavy machinery, fine precision electronics and welding kept our kids interested but having friendly dogs roaming the property was probably the highlight. They were painting a mill and I was fascinated by their custom Cleereman green paint which covers in one coat even over oil. At the end of the tour my dad and his siblings took a quick walk through the house that they grew up in.
After our tour we headed to the local park for a picnic. Uncle Don and Aunt Sue sponsored the lunch but were so pleased to have the local Cleeremans actually prepare and host the lunch. It was beautiful. they laid out white table clothes on the picnic tables in the pavilion and set up a serving table all accented by fresh flowers throughout. The Cleereman's also brought out their family photos and spread them on tables. I was excited to look through them to see if we could fill in any of the gaps in our pictorial history. Lunch was delicious and the setting was lovely. There was a playground along side the pavilion with a metal slide and see-saws. The kids enjoyed themselves. We couldn't have asked for a nicer afternoon.
From lunch we climbed back on the bus and took the short drive two blocks to St. Hubert's Catholic Church. We went in for a few minutes to hear stories of my dad and his siblings, singing, serving and worshiping here. I remember visiting here as a child. The big change from my childhood visit was in the lot next door, the site of the public elementary school. When we visited as a child around 1982, there was a large school building with a sidewalk that lead to stairs by the road. the school was torn down in 1997 and now 10 years later the lot was overgrown with trees and brush. We all walked to the lot and heard some of our favorite stories and picked raspberries from the bushes that now grew there.
We piled back onto the bus and drove south to Laona and the old Soo Line. We pulled up to the Lumberjack Steam Train station. My Dad's brother Jim had arranged for tickets for our whole bus load and after an invitation from the engineer to pull the rope to the whistle. An exhilarated group of kids and adults having just sounded the whistle, boarded the train. It had a series of train cars from different periods and 3 cabooses, because those are fun to ride in. Soon the train departed and and we were headed to Camp Five, it's Logging Camp Museum, and old lumber company farm. Jim brought the kids to the farm and sent me off with my dad and his siblings for some research in the museum. Our girls had fun holding baby chicks, bunnies, and kittens as well as feeding goats and laughing at some young hogs. Cousin and Aunt and Uncles enjoyed the interactive cook kitchen and logging bunk house and array of logging equipment. We took the train ride back and climbed on the bus for the trip back to Green Bay. We watched more home movies and continued with family memories along the ride.
I m so grateful for this experience and to have been able to do it with so much of our extended family was such a gift. It was well planned and well-executed and surpassed all of our expectations.
Monday was the big day. My Dad rented a bus and organized 2 pick up locations in Green Bay. We went to the 2nd pick up location, a nearby park and ride, and anxiously awaited the buses arrival along with a few other carloads of family. We climbed aboard with a number of my dad's siblings and their kids, and their grandkids. The teenagers and cousins all funneled toward the back of the bus, and we took up just about every seat. With everyone aboard we started our Newald Trip.
My Dad's brothers and sister had their family home movies transfered to disc so as we drove, they played home movies from the 40's and 50's, and narrated some of the events, and pointed people out for us. There were so many cowboy shirts and hats throughout, as well as impeccably dressed adults.
From Laona we continued north toward Newald. the highway was flanked by forest and we pulled in to see the historic marker for the Laona School Forest, which was a remediation effort to replant the area which had been logged off during the first part of the 20th century.
Our bus pulled off the highway and into the original property of the Cleereman Jauquet Lumber company. This site was purchased in 1913 by my Dad's Great Grandfather Cleereman and Grandfather Jauquet. The father and son-in law built a house here and a business that became the major employer of the town. This is where my dad and his family lived. In 1945 the property became Jauquet Lumber Company, until the logging operations closed and the family moved to GreenBay in 1954. The property was purchased by cousin Francis Cleereman and became Cleereman Industries. My Dad and his siblings had coordinated with the Cleeremans for our visit.
We were all pleasantly surprised to be welcomed by one of Cleereman Industries partners who gave us a behind the scene tour of their sawmill carriage business. His pride in his company was evident as he showed us the technical sophistication as well as long held skill that made them industry leaders. He took pride in being a skilled local employer with a nationwide market. None of the GreenBay family had been following Cleereman Industries and were clearly impressed. The heavy machinery, fine precision electronics and welding kept our kids interested but having friendly dogs roaming the property was probably the highlight. They were painting a mill and I was fascinated by their custom Cleereman green paint which covers in one coat even over oil. At the end of the tour my dad and his siblings took a quick walk through the house that they grew up in.
After our tour we headed to the local park for a picnic. Uncle Don and Aunt Sue sponsored the lunch but were so pleased to have the local Cleeremans actually prepare and host the lunch. It was beautiful. they laid out white table clothes on the picnic tables in the pavilion and set up a serving table all accented by fresh flowers throughout. The Cleereman's also brought out their family photos and spread them on tables. I was excited to look through them to see if we could fill in any of the gaps in our pictorial history. Lunch was delicious and the setting was lovely. There was a playground along side the pavilion with a metal slide and see-saws. The kids enjoyed themselves. We couldn't have asked for a nicer afternoon.
 |
| Joe, Jim, John, Barb, Don, and Bill |
We piled back onto the bus and drove south to Laona and the old Soo Line. We pulled up to the Lumberjack Steam Train station. My Dad's brother Jim had arranged for tickets for our whole bus load and after an invitation from the engineer to pull the rope to the whistle. An exhilarated group of kids and adults having just sounded the whistle, boarded the train. It had a series of train cars from different periods and 3 cabooses, because those are fun to ride in. Soon the train departed and and we were headed to Camp Five, it's Logging Camp Museum, and old lumber company farm. Jim brought the kids to the farm and sent me off with my dad and his siblings for some research in the museum. Our girls had fun holding baby chicks, bunnies, and kittens as well as feeding goats and laughing at some young hogs. Cousin and Aunt and Uncles enjoyed the interactive cook kitchen and logging bunk house and array of logging equipment. We took the train ride back and climbed on the bus for the trip back to Green Bay. We watched more home movies and continued with family memories along the ride.
I m so grateful for this experience and to have been able to do it with so much of our extended family was such a gift. It was well planned and well-executed and surpassed all of our expectations.
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