Tony's House and out to Dinner - Brule, WI

Tony and Betty Kleutsch's house in Brule, WI.

Me, Tony and Betty eating fish fry at the local tavern

The local tavern on Fish Fry Night

Tony Kleutsch's House - Brule, WI

Arbor Vitae, WI to Brule, WI

Today I left Morgan's cabin to head to Tony Kleutsch's house in Brule, WI.  I packed up my motorcycle and said goodbye to my Mom and Dad.  They are heading off to spend a few days at Skip Wagner's house.

It looked as though it will be a cool, but nice day to ride, so I figured this would be my best day to make a run for Tony Kleutsch's house.

My Dad, my Mom and in outside of Morgan's cabin in Arbor Vitae, WI.

After I left, I decided to head up to Norther Lights Harley-Davidson in Arbor Vitae, WI to check it out.  They were closed, but the Northern Light HOG chapter was having a barbecue and ride.  I didn't get to go inside the dealership and look around, but I did talk to several of the members and find out what they were up to and also tell them about my trip around the country.  They were all very nice, as most Wisconsinites are.  I stayed for about 45 minutes, but even though I would have loved to have stayed and gone on their ride with them, I needed to get going because I wanted to stop by the Tomahawk Harley Plant and get another point for the ABC's of traveling before I head up to Tony's house.

The Northern Lights HOG Chapter having their Barbecue before they went on their ride.

 I stopped along the way and got my "L" for my ABC's of touring in Lincoln County, WI.  My ABC's are coming along pretty good.  I've taken quite a few pictures and I have a lot of points.  I'm not sure if I will be in the top point scorers or not, but it is fun to try.  I think that by my best estimate, I should have over 100 points by the time I'm finished.

The letter "L" for counties on my ABC's of Touring

 I got to Tomahawk, WI and found the Harley Plant.  According to what I read, this is where Harley-Davidson makes all of their fiberglass parts for their motorcycles. (The front ferrings and the saddlebags)  This is another point on my ABC's.

The Tomahawk Harley-Davidson plant for my ABC's of Touring.

 I headed across Highway 8 from Tomahawk.  This took me into Ingram, WI where I got another letter for my ABC's and then to Tony, WI, which is the home of Jim Leonard who went to Flambeau High School, which was one of the schools in our conference when I went to high school in Winter, WI.  He then went on to play at Wisconsin and then on to the NFL where he played with Buffalo and Batimore.  He just signed this spring with the New York Jets for three years.  Not bad for another kid from Northern Wisconsin.

The letter "I" for Cities for my ABC's of Touring

I stopped in Winter, WI to see if I could find anyone I knew since I went to High School here.  I didn't see anyone in town. (There are only 344 people in Winter) I went out to Magnuson's house where I talked to Dale Magnuson, Dean and Keith's brother.  He said they were both up in Hayward, which was on the way to Brule, WI.  I called Keith Magnuson and he said he would be there for a while and I should call them when I got to Hayward.  I told him I would be there in about an hour or so.

I rode up to Hayward on Highway B which runs by Treeland Resorts so I decided to stop and see if Laurie Simon, another one of my classmates from Winter High School, was working.  As it turns out, she had just finished work and was just leaving.  She said she would love to go with me and see Dean and Keith in Hayward.  Laurie followed me in her car since I didn't have any room on my motorcycle and we met Dean and Keith at the McDonald's Parking lot.  We decided to go down the street and have a drink and talk for a while.  We went to Coop's Pizza which was a small, but nice place not too far from the McDonald's.

Dean Magnuson, myself and Keith Magnuson at Coop's Pizza

Laurie did not want her picture taken, so she is the one taking the picture above.

After I stopped and saw everyone, I had to get going to Tony's house because it was still a couple hours before I would get there.  As it turned out, it was more like three hours because I took a wrong turn and it started to drizzle so I had to go much slower than I would if if was dry.

I finally got here about 11:15 and talked to Tony and his wife, Betty for a few minutes.  They went to bed as Tony had to work early the next morning.

I'll get to hang out with them more tomorrow before I get going on my trip again.  It will be nice to spend some time with Tony.  It's been quite a while since I have been able to to that.

A rainy day in Arbor Vitae, WI watching the eagles

Today was a real quiet day.  It was very overcast most of the day.  The rain started and stopped all day.  

The view of the lake from the porch

The one highlight of the day, other than being able to spend it with my parents, was that the eagles came out and were flying all around the cabin.  There were three or four different eagles that were flying around the house.  It was pretty neat seeing all those eagles in one place.

The eagles flying around the house

Later in the day it got a little nicer out, but the sun never did come out.  I just hung out and spend some time with my parents since I hadn't seen them for a while.  It was just a nice quiet day.

The view of Morgan's Cabin from the lake

Tomorrow looks like it will be a nice day.  I am going to try to go down to Tomahawk, Wi to see the Harley-Davidson plant where they make the fiberglass parts for the touring motorcycles.  They are closed, but I will be able to get one more point in my ABC's of Touring contest.

After I stop there I am going to ride over to Ladysmith, WI and try to see Dana Fransen, who I went to Winter High School with.  Dana was one of the people on our 4x200 relay that made it to sectionals our senior year.

I'll stop in Winter, WI on the way to stay with Tony Kleutsch for the night.  He lives in Brule, WI which is near Ashland, Wi on Lake Superior.  Hopefully, I will see some people I know from high school.

I should have quite an eventful day tomorrow.

A day in Minocqua watching Skip Wagner's band

A day at my parents lake property

Madison, WI to Arbor Vitae, WI with a water ski show along the way

I left Madison about 10:00 because I was a little worried about the weather ahead. On the radar it looked like I was going to ride right into a storm. After looking at it for a while, I decided to go ahead and try to make it as it looked like I wouldn't run into it.

The start of the day was very nice. I was actually riding in a t-shirt because it was so warm. It was a really nice day to be out riding.

Along the way, I stopped in Jefferson County to get another point for my ABC's of Touring.

When I got about halfway to Minocqua, WI the sky started to look like a storm was on its way right across where I was headed. I decided to ride as far as I could and try to make it to Arbor Vitae before I got caught in the rain.

When I got to Minocqua, WI, I noticed that they were having a water ski show as I came through town. I remember watching them perform when I was in Minocqua as a little kid.

One of the announcers said that they were going to show the power of one of the boats that they had. The driver gunned the motor and the boat rode a "wheelie" just like a motorcycle would. It was really incredible to watch.

After that trick they did quite a bit of trick skiing in the show.

I took some video of some of the ski jumping that they did. The first one was just for distance.

The next one was where two guys jumped at the same time.

The next one was where nine people jumped at the same time. Seven actually finished and stayed up on their skis. Two fell during the jump. It was pretty neat.

After the water ski show, I went over to the Morgan's cabin which is located in Vilas County, WI. Yes, another letter in my ABC's of touring!

I finally got to the Morgan's Cabin. It was nice to see my Mom and Dad. I hadn't been to the Morgan's cabin since I was about ten years old. It had changed quite a bit since I had been there last. I'm going to get a good night's sleep since I don't have to get up and go anywhere tomorrow. I'm just going to relax and enjoy some time with my parents.