July 24 – DillyDog got back to her old perky self as we set off for Wisconsin. We made a short side trip to see Bond Falls at the recommendation of the motel owner and it was sure worth it. It is a spectacular semicircle of roaring water on the middle branch of the Ontonagon River. I can certainly understand why the U. P. (Upper Peninsula) is called the wild country. It is lush and green with a very small population and few vehicles on the road. Our hosts at the motel explained that while there are conveniences, they are remote, wild and free; however, when they showed us the pictures of last spring’s snow, we decided it is a great place to visit, but…
We crossed into Wisconsin, my 49th state, shortly after leaving the falls. There certainly are a lot of lakes; there were directional arrows everywhere for this lake, that lake and the other one. They (the lakes) pop up with no warning and in a flash, they’re gone as though they never existed at all.
As we travel across the state heading down to the mighty Mississippi once again, trees diminished in size, forests became scattered thickets and lakes became ponds. Lovely untamed meadows became pastures, and the bridges we crossed no longer spanned rivers but rather other roadways. We were no longer in the wild U. P.
We came across a wonderful rock formation. It appeared out of the green with no fanfare at, just a quiet small sign announcing Ship Rock. The bottom was covered in graffiti but those more serious climbers who went higher didn’t waste their efforts on such things. We could see the route they must take to the top. Awesome!
We arrived in La Cross fairly early in the afternoon which gave us the opportunity to revisit the mighty Mississippi. They call it the Black River even though we were told it is just a piece of the Mississippi diverted around an island. We found it difficult to believe that just a few weeks ago we were picking Trisha up from the airport next to this very River…about 7-800 miles south. We had an enjoyable, lazy afternoon watching the ducks on the river and eating outside at the Black River Bar & Grill which is a part of the Best Western where we were staying.
Tomorrow will be a single shot into Grand Island, Nebraska to Eddie’s mother’s house…about 500+ miles, instead of the 200-300 miles we have been driving, so we called it a night around 8.
Odyssey 2014 
The rock formation reminds me of something you would see in Arizona.