After a long, cold, snowy Wisconsin winter, it's finally starting to seem like better weather is here to stay.
It was a balmy 68 degrees yesterday afternoon, when I walked out of the soul sucking building where I work. I had a few things to do on the way home, but I knew tonight would be the perfect time to get my head right with a 'Mental Floss' ride…
I got home, and gave our 'third son' Bruno his dinner, and tossed his tennis ball a few times to give him a bit of exercise (here's Bruno).
My wife had things she was doing, and my youngest boy is spending a few days in Woodruff WI. With a buddy of his, helping open a cabin in the woods. Who am I to turn down an opportunity for a guilt free ride? Now it was time to fire up the beast, and head to my favorite local riding area, the 'Kettle Moraine'. The Kettle, is an area formed by glaciers millions of years ago, and the landscape left behind by those big chunks of ice is nothing short of breath taking… The roads are twisty, up n down, tree lined, and full of wildlife. I headed north, and because of the fact that there are yet to be any leaves on the trees or bushes, I could see 'Holy Hill' in the distance, and it was calling me… Kinda makes me feel like the Tin Man, following the Yellow Brick Road.
From their web site, a little snip about the place.
(snip)
Holy Hill is located in southeast Wisconsin, on the highest elevation in that part of the state. Situated on 435 acres of rural countryside, it provides the visitor with the opportunity for spiritual enrichment. We often hear visitors remark about the peace, beauty and serenity they find at Holy Hill.
As early as 1903, Holy Hill was declared a Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians. In 2006, the Shrine was raised to the status of Minor Basilica. But as far back as the 1700s and perhaps earlier, the Americans Indians came to Holy Hill because they considered it a sacred place.
(end snip)
A short time later, I was at the entrance (the time stamp on the pictures is an hour behind… Gotta get a smart teen to change the time for me).
The sign said the area closed at 5:00, but I figured it would be OK for me to take some quick pictures.
The Pic's don't do this place justice… It is HUGE, and during tours, you can go to the top of the towers, and see for miles. Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, are all big events, as is just about any Sunday. In the fall, the colors on the trees bring sight seers from all over the world.
I got my pictures, and headed out. A few miles down the road, I stopped and took another picture looking back (it's hard to see, but Holy Hill is in the lower right).
As I said before, the roads in this area are twisty, and I wanted to get a picture of one of the warning signs, you know the kind with a snaky looking squiggle on a yellow sign, with a 20mph warning… Well, I was having too much fun to stop, so ya just gotta take my word for it.
I decided to keep riding north, and drop in on my parents. Well dad was at a 'men's club' meeting at the retirement complex where they live, so I had a nice visit with my mom (and of course some of mom's cooking). Although the day was a beautiful one, once the sun goes down this early in the season, the temps follow quickly. I threw on the leathers, gave mom a hug and thanked her for dinner, and was ready to head out… One more picture, the sunset was too pretty to pass up.
On the way home, the head was on a swivel, speed was kept reasonable, and the brakes were covered… Bambi was everywhere! I had to see 30 deer in the 45 minutes it took to get home.
All in all, the ride did what I expected it to do. I got my head right, saw some beautiful Wisconsin country side, got a nice dinner from my mom and put in about 100 miles… Life is good
Black Dog
