page under continuous updating as of 3-26-18 …
When I can, I go.
This is where I’ll archive material related to the places I end up. Much of my meandering is related to a quest to walk the entire Ice Age Trail and is reached through a standalone page on the index above. Many trips were fodder for my discontinued Portage County Gazette column “Outdoors Central” and are categorized by distance: local (Central Wisconsin-ish), regional (the rest of Wisconsin and Minnesota for now, but maybe others soon), and everywhere else.
I hadn’t been posting most of my columns to my blog because of a verbal agreement I had with my former editor at the Gazette, but I’m working on getting them online. Some of my older posts might still have direct links to the Gazette that work, while others may no longer work because of issues at the paper, which unfortunately changed ownership (and started getting rid of its local contributors). All of this will take a while, but I’ll get there, too.
The “Australia” page is for UWSP’s winterim trip to Australia, which I led in 2015-2016. “Yellowstone” is a pet project that, for various reasons, is on hold; I hope that’s not permanent, but other projects have since taken priority.
Local
Sandhill Wildlife Area offers a smart weekend choice (March 2018)
Winter walk at Mead helps beat the snowplow blues (George Mead State Wildlife Area, March 2018)
Short day at McMillan Long on satisfaction (McMillan State Wildlife Area, March 2018)
Murry Creek Segment helps the good times last (Feb. 2018)
When change seems “barley” tolerable, head outside (Schmeeckle Reserve and other topics, Jan. 2018)
Merrill School Forest a great first, second or third choice (Jan. 2018)
Setting the record straight on “Waupaca” (August 2017)
Bill collectors calling? Must be outdoor recreation time (Green Circle Trail, July 2017)
Small steps in Marathon County good enough for now (Mission Lake, May 2017)
“Jewel of Marathon County Forests” offers miles of winter fun (Nine Mile County Forest Recreation area)
Powers Bluff offers Himalayan-sized fun (Jan. 2017)
Nobility not required, but courtesy is nice (Green Circle Trail, January 2017)
Time to start asking questions about Rib Mountain proposal (Nov. 2016)
A few pictures of a Wisconsin jewel (Gallery of photos from Hartman Creek State Park, Oct. 2016)
Rib Mountain’s scenery is spectacularly … yellow (Oct. 2016)
Heart of winter helps us value community treasures (Green Circle Trail and Schmeeckle Reserve, but mostly Ron & Donna Zimmerman and Bev Laska)
No shortage of sub-freezing outdoor activity (Izaak Walton League Jamboree, Schmeeckle Reserve, Sylvan Hill, and skunky politicians, Feb. 2016)
1,631 words of thankfulness and counting (Dells of the Eau Claire, Nov. 2015)
A walk around Schmeeckle (Oct. 2015)
Original “selfie stick” provides view of a bigger picture (Oct. 2015)
Went camping. Wrote about it. (Dells of the Eau Claire, Oct. 2015)
(more links coming)
Regional
Monona’s Edna Taylor Conservation Park brings mounds of benefits (Jan. 2018)
Hiking Lodi in winter? Yes, peas (Feb. 2018)
If you can put up with the Dells, you’ll love Mirror Lake (August 2017)
Leopold Center, Portage good bookends for Ice Age Trail connector (July 2017)
Elroy-Sparta still a Wisconsin gem (Elroy-Sparta State Trail, June 2017)
Got in a few jabs at politicians. Looks like it wasn’t enough. (Gov. Nelson State Park in Madison, Nov. 2016)
Hoffman Hills Recreation Area (Oct. 2016)
Screen-free weekend turns out picture-perfect (Waushara County and DNR land sell-off, Feb. 2016)
This week’s ponderings: Owls, a movie, whether we should keep working (Snowy owls, “A Walk in the Woods,” and … blech … politicians)
(more links coming)
Everywhere Else
(more links coming)
A riot of wildflowers reminds us of what we’ve been missing (Big Bend National Park, March 2018)
Kansas’ Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is a park like no other (Jan. 2017)
Wisconsin, Costa Rica not so different at times (July 2016)
Costa Rica: Lazy outdoor writer’s option (July 2016)
Words Are Roads 