Rain and chilly temps continued to the next destination just hours away in the Wisconsin Dells. The plan was to camp 8 days do biking, hiking and meet up with Theresa’s sister, MJB.
The Fox Hill RV ‘Resort’ was selected because it was close to some trailheads for the 400 biking trail and close to the Devils Lake State Park where MJB had reserved a campsite. Note the state campsites were not big rig friendly but would nicely accommodate her teardrop T@B trailer. The Fox Hill park also could accommodate the Smitanic for the planned 8 days, however the park would be closing for the season on the last day, requiring a hard exit at that point.
The park had lots of in season actives including a frisbee golf course, playground, bathhouse, and a currently closed pool.
The assigned site was a large level pull thru site. All utilities were connected as well as camp rug, chairs, grill and firewood were extracted in hopes all will be utilized over the week’s stay.
Multiple days of rain delayed an excursion to Reedsburg to ride the 400 trail to only find out it was closed due to flooding. There was a section of the trail open but it was 1+ hours away. That would be for yet another day. The alternate plan for today led to a nice lunch at the corner bar.
In between rain a walk on a Riverwalk trail also allowed a recon of some pickleball courts in Baraboo. The courts were open but only utilized on weekends this time of year. The town was cute and a nice restaurant on the square was selected for lunch.
The next day a 1.5 hr drive to the biking capital of the US. To ride an open section of the 400 trail. This was a rails to trails project that stretches..... this section was a steady 3% grade with several old train tunnels as points on interest and photo ops.
The return trip back to Sparta was a reward for the climb. Three miles from the car, Kevin’s front tire went flat! He pumped it up and made it another mile before it was flat... then pumped it up again for another fast mile then walked the last mile pushing the bike into the parking lot.
The evening plan was the fun Palace dinner theater that was playing death trap. This evening was the tea was joined by MJB in Wisconsin Dells for the dinner and show. The next day, Saturday, would be to meet MJB for a hike in devils lake. The car was loaded with some lunch items, hiking stick, water. Kevin turned the key and NOTHING! Are you kidding? Several floks from the campground came over to inspect the car and make suggestions on what might be wrong. One person was a tow truck driver and suggested the starter motoer was bad. He cllimbed under the car and beat on the starter motor in an effort to get it unstuck. No LUCK. MJB was notified and drove up to try a jump using her car. Meanwhile Theresa called AAA. The MJB jump failed as well as the AAA attempt from the tow truck. The conclusion was the Jeep had a) Loose battery connections and b) a bad starter. The recommendation was to have it towed to Sullivan Two garage which was closed now but would be open Monday am.
Theresa called enterprise car rental to reserve a car, there was a 30 min window to get there before closing time! MJB drove Theresa into Baraboo. ‘Not sure if you will get a car’ was the first comment as Theresa took her place in the customer queue. 2 other customers turned in cars as she waited. She was more than happy to get a car that was just turned in an not cleaned. There was a stop at grocery store on the way back to the site.
Over a quick lunch it was concluded that there was still time for a hike to balance rock in devils lake. The trail was crowded on this Saturday with a steep climb that was rewarded with nice views and photo ops.
Hugs to MJB as she headed back home to IA the next day.
Rain began again and took over all Sunday which was filled with indoor tasks of laundry cooking and clean up. Kevin patched his tire with duct tape on a week sidewall spot, then put in a new tube
Theresa called a nearby casino to reserve a campsite for Monday as fox hill was closing and the Smitanic must exit!
All systems, mud soaked mats and unused firewood were stowed. Bikes were mounted on a spare rack on the back of the RV. And Kevin’s remote airplanes found a new home on the bed for safe travel.
It took more time to find the hotel entrance to do the campground check in than it did to make the .5 mile drive to the new site at the Ho Chunk Casino.
As the set up was completed a call came in that car would be fixed by 4. Yeah, now we can get back on the trail. The team jumped into the rental car, drove to the repair shop paid the $300 service charge, turned in the rental car, and made it back to the Casino RV park still in time for dinner.
The next morning as the team began the preparation and inspections for travel Kevin made his daily inspection, he found what he suspected as tread separation on the front passenger RV tire! A call to warranty company was made and it was disappointing to learn the coverage is only if you have a spare... really? Several calls to tire places revealed that Hartje tire carries RV tires and was on the next day’s route to Clear Lake. Ok the plan was to stop there and have them advise on how to proceed. Tires are such a critical component to the RV travel. Blowouts could be devastating.
An early start allowed time for the planned tire stop. Tire guy checked the suspect tires including measuring the cracks with a special caliper. He reassured Kevin that they were ok to drive on.
Relieved all was good with the RV, the Jeep was attached and the Smitanic was back on trail bound for more family gatherings in clear lake, IA.
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