After our workshop at Dillmans in Wisconsin, we picked up a hire car from Rhinelander airport to drive up to Sudbury, in Canada, and visit my brother Wayne and his family. We ordered a mid sized sedan but ended up with a Mercury Grand Marquis  with all the electric fancy bits, a big V8 engine, full leather lounge chairs and shiny wood trim that looks like plastic (or maybe plastic trim that looks like wood). Anyway, it takes up a lot of road, gulps down gasoline and would have looked really ugly, even in the 1980’s.

The Northern region of Wisconsin / Michigan  is known as the Northwoods. It is a flat, green maze of lakes and creeks. Much of the country is covered with heavily wooded forests of birch, maple and a variety of conifers. In winter the region is covered with feet of snow and the temperature stays below freezing till spring. The green grass and  dense growth of the woodlands was a surprise in such low temperatures. We managed to spot a coyote, many squirells, chipmonks, deer and loons, but bears and moose have evaded us.

Northwoods towns are quaint and tidy

Patriotism is always evident.

The rural properties try to out barn one another.

Waving Chipmonk