Whenever we enter a town lately, we are informed by the locals that we are in the heart of Wisconsin bear country. Eating breakfast in Clam Lake, one of the customers was leaving the restaurant and saw a bear across the road. We could not run outside fast enough to see the bear. We were told the bear would be making the rounds of the dumpsters in town even during the day. We kept ourselves on the lookout for bears all along our route, but none ever materialized--until we arrived in Glidden, where we did see what is claimed to be the world's biggest black bear at 675 pounds. He is posed and behind glass, right beside the Bruin Cafe. We visited with the owner, Karen Powell. She shared her historical photos of Glidden, then made sure we had plenty of ice and cold water for our last 10 miles into Butternut.
We arrived in Butternut at an ice-cream/candy store. We were offered samples of fresh cheese curds. I had been hearing about them since we arrived in Wisconsin. They are made from the leftover whey after the cheese is made. Add salt and voila, you have fresh cheese curds. Some people eat them fried, though we haven't tried that dish.
At Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, we were met by Vivian Ernst who is the church secretary. She showed us where to park our bikes, shower, do laundry and bed down in the church basement. She even organized food for our breakfast. The only thing we miss in Butternut is a grocery store. The only grocery store is closing tomorrow, for good. We stopped in and the shelves are on sale. We did find an excellent meal at Jumbo's, the town restaurant.
Vivian Ernst, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church
We stopped in the local feed store, owned by Vivian's son. They had many animals on display. One that was new to us was a Fisher. It is similar to a weasel. It is not native to this area, but was brought in to prey on the porcupines, which were killing the local trees. Now, the Fishers have become a pest by eating the farmers' cats. It's just not nice to mess with Mother Nature.
I was generously offered the use of a computer by Betty Hirtreiter. She is a retired reading specialist. She now does teaching in the church and keeps up with her grandchildren.
Tomorrow is sounding a little ominous, as thunderstorms are predicted. We will assess our situation when we get up in the morning.
I was generously offered the use of a computer by Betty Hirtreiter. She is a retired reading specialist. She now does teaching in the church and keeps up with her grandchildren.
Tomorrow is sounding a little ominous, as thunderstorms are predicted. We will assess our situation when we get up in the morning.
1 comment:
The ONE grocery store in town didn't get enough business to stay open? That's sad. What's the town going to do now for food? Or does the entire population eat out regularly? It's just such a different world from ours, even though it's the same country, speaking the same language.
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