Amy Kline

Copper Peak Ski Jump, Rainbow Falls and Madeline Island Ferry

August 20, 2023August 20, 2023 Amy Kline

Today was mostly a driving day with a couple stops along the way. We leisurely packed up in the morning. We are going to try tumbling some of the rocks we found with Jeff’s rock tumbler has has from his childhood. Then display them in a vase or glass lamp base or something. We left on Highway 41 or course and had to snap a picture of the sign to Miami.

Our first stop was the Copper Peak Ski Jump. Jeff went up the ski lift and then took an elevator and then some stairs to get to the top. It was extremely windy but the view was amazing. The chairlift is the steepest chairlift in the United States.

Right down the road a bit was Rainbow Falls. We had hiked to this falls a couple times in college during the TKE weekends up at Indianhead Ski Lodge. It looks a lot different in summer, and we think we took a much longer hike this time, coming from Lake Superior for a mile or so through woods and lots of steps up. Great hike!

We made a quick stop to the Big Top Chautauqua blue tent which is home to a famous NPR concert series. It is not as big as we thought it would be. Literally a tent in the woods with a ticket booth in the driveway.

Did I mention how windy it was? The ferry to Madeline Island was a pretty choppy ride. We were in the front and waves splashed over the front as we made the crossing.

Storms were coming soon, so we set up in record time. Now that the kids are older and we have done this so many times, we can set up the camper in about 15 minutes if we need to hurry. The storm was intense, but over fairly soon and it was a peaceful night’s sleep.

Pattison Park Campground

August 19, 2023August 26, 2023 Amy Kline

The crossing from Madeline Island to the mainland was beautiful this time. Calm waters, warm but not hot, and a gentle breeze. Jeff and I went to the top deck to enjoy the view.

We arrived at Pattison State Park by early afternoon and got all set up quickly. Carson and I went off to explore the park. We went to the nature center which had an explanation of tree rings, and also a great display about the CCC that built a lot of the campground and buildings during the Great Depression. Then we went to find Big Manitou Falls, which is the biggest waterfall in Wisconsin at 165 feet tall. It was very impressive! There was a selfie station at “the best place to take a picture in Wisconsin” (according to the sign), so of course we had to take a selfie. The rest of the hike was beautiful too. It is on the North Country Trail, which we have kind of followed during our entire trip. As we hiked back to our campsite, there were a bunch of wet paint signs on the park benches along the way. Of course the first thing one wants to do when one sees that sign is touch the wet paint! Carson learned that it was indeed wet, so he had to wash his hands in the lake, LOL

Madeline Island

August 19, 2023August 21, 2023 Amy Kline

We spent a nice lesiurely morning at the campsite. It was pretty cool for August so not many mosquitoes at all. Nerd hobbies alert: Jeff put his Ham radio intennea up to try to connect with other operators, while I did some cross stitching. How old are we?

We went in to the town for lunch and some cell signal so we could catch up with the world’s news and so I could upload photos for the blog. I enjoy giving up social media during these remote camping trips, but it is frustrating when I want to look something up and can’t. Example: What rock/plant/tree is this? or What is this random cool looking ruin in the middle of no where and why was it built here? I have an inquiring mind and want to know things! LOL

After lunch and grocery shopping, we drove around the island. Most of it is gravel roads and privately owned. Jeff found the road that becomes an ice road in the winter when the lake freezes over too much for the ferry to run. There is another fort that we could have gone to see, but the teens with us were protesting because “all forts are the same!”. They are not wrong!

We got back to our campsite mid afternoon and read or did our nerdy hobbies, and then Jeff cooked grilled pork tenderloin sandwiches for supper. The winds finally started dying down about sunset, but the beach remained deserted.