I feel like I'm back there in Wisconsin, even while sitting at my desk here in Anchorage. The pictures and texts come in, sometimes prefaced by questions for directions and best routes.

The Appleton museum looks like a complete hit. The batch of pictures had nothing but smiles.



I was able to put together some directions when it came to visiting the zoo in Madison.

"When you're on Park Street keep going. Try not to stop."

"Vilas Park is a nest of one ways. Wrap around to the west side before turning in."

I try to be helpful and suspect that I am. However, I kept following rabbit trails into the past.

"You'll pass the place I played hockey every night."

"On your right is the entrance to the arboretum. I pedaled through there every day. No, you don't need to turn there. I'm just sayin'."




Safe in the yard in Coloma. Man, Piper and Henry sure look like siblings.

Hoping to avoid Chicago at any cost, we targeted Minneapolis as the airport for this summer's Midwestern visit. After a late evening arrival, some tooling around the Mall of America, and visiting family in the twin cities, we found ourselves quickly zipping into Wisconsin, smiling happily at the lack of traffic and urban annoyances. I suspect Minneapolis has plenty of congested city moments, but we surely didn't encounter them on the weekend we were there. After a stop in Baldwin, WI for Culver's, Piper dozed off and we smiled as the car glided along with the cruise set at 77.




After some time rambling around the Northwoods (when the photos are fully downloaded I'll have more to say about that), we pointed the car toward Coloma where we happily tucked it in its parking spot, content to stay out of the car for a few days.

Piper is big enough to climb all over the playground at the Coloma park, and climb she did. She's probably braver than she should be, but she's also more agile and steady than she should be, so it works out nicely.

Each kid climbs and slides, dangles and jumps, and eventually sprints off towards another challenge.



Grandpa's 90th birthday celebration was a hit, and I'll certainly have more to say about that as well when the camera gets uploaded.



Like missives from the front, the texts and photos pour in. The Madison Zoo, Culver's, splash park at Stevens Point, the new park in Hancock, Culver's...

Being back in Alaska a bachelor for 3 weeks has me busy in my own right, but certainly not as much as those two kids tearing up central Wisconsin.