Half-way to Canada...but still in Wisconsin

My job takes me all over the great state of Wisconsin. Right now I'm right in the middle of another EPIC road trip providing workshops for 16 of our current 32 FACT groups. My co-worker Amanda has the other 16. My groups are geographically spread out throughout Western and Northern Wisconsin. On February 1st I set out on the first of three legs of my road trip with the goal to train 7 groups in 6 days. 1400 miles later I'm back in Madison gearing up for next week's journey to Hurley, Rhinelander and Eagle River. I'm also thinking of the amazing trip I had this past week.

From the driftless region of the state, to the Mississippi River and Lake Superior. I really got my money's worth as far as naturally beauty in the America's Dairyland. One place in particular that amazed me with it's beauty was Bayfield.

This sleepy little town is nestled on the Southwestern shore of Lake Superior. Although I spent only one night there, I was able to talk with some locals who tipped me off on some great photo opportunities. Let me first start with the motel I stayed at...The Seagull Bay Motel. On their website they promise rooms with a view. They delivered on that promise. Here's the sunset I saw within an hour of checking in.


After checking in and talking with one of the owners, I was told to eat at Maggie's. I would eat twice at this restaurant. Needless to say, it was good.

Rather than drive the 1/2 mile to Maggie's I opted to take the path that connected my motel to the downtown area. This provided me the opportunity to get some interesting photos under the light of the 3/4 moon that night.

The next day a special deliver met me as I opened the blinds...a beautiful sunrise.

I spent the next 4 hours in the workshop and lunch meeting (back at Maggie's). When my job responsibilities were complete I made the decision to make two special stops to grab some more photos. First stop was the ice road that connects Madeline Island to Bayfield. The ice is thick enough (2 feet) for a few months during the year to allow cars to drive the 2.5 miles from Madeline Island to Bayfield. I had never been on an ice road before, so I decided I was going to drive my car across Lake Superior to Madeline Island and back for no special reason but to say I did it. Here's proof...
My final destination were the Ice Caves on the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. This was a last minute choice for me since before last week I had no idea they even were there. In the end, seeing these amazing ice structures, was the right decision to make...even if it took me 2 hours of hiking to get there and back. Here are the best of the best photos from the Ice Caves.





With more travel on my calendar over the next two weeks you can be sure there will be more photos that I'll post on my blog. Until then, enjoy the winter beauty of Wisconsin (yea...I said winter beauty...funny, for those that know me...I know).