Cooling off and catching up

As I sit here and am writing this, just today, we are starting to feel like it is fall. Up until today, the weather has been quite unseasonably warm. Just last week we had a day with the highs in the upper 70°s and even a day with a high of 80°! And believe me, I'm not complaining; I've been enjoying being able to wear shorts this late into the year.

On the bicycle front, things have been all quiet on the western front this last week. The bicycle is locked up and is still in need of a new chain. 

Back to the topic of fall, this last Saturday Renee and I headed for more isolated areas, hoping to get a glimpse of the changing colors of fall. Our initial plan was to head north to the Wisconsin Dells, enjoy the sights as we drove up there, and stop in at our favorite Mexican market up to pick up some carnitas for dinner that evening. 

As we meandered our way up there, we took a detour and ended up going through the town of Bluffview, WI. As we approached, the topic of discussion went to the "Badger Army Ammunition Plant". The former facility was operated by the U.S. Army, making ammo during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam wars. We had driven by the "Badger" before, but we were under the impression that this closed US Army base was closed to the public. 

This time we stopped and did some research. We discovered in our research, that the Badger may indeed be open to the public, at least portions of it. We were near the front gate of the facility, so we headed in. The gate was indeed open and the grounds were available for recreational use to the public. 

For about two hours, we explored the grounds. It seems that much of the Badger is closed to the public, as these portions of lands belong to other governmental agencies. We explored the roadways that covered the public portion of the facility. We stopped at both of the cemeteries on site, saw some beautiful sights, and learned a little of the Badger's history from the pamphlet we picked up at the gate. 

It's piqued our interest in learning more about the site and doing some exploring on foot and on bicycle. We are hoping to do this next summer so hang out, as I will be sharing more as I can!