Retirement……LOVE IT!

We arrived at Lake DuBay (doo-bay) Shores Campground on June 20th.  Unfortunately we neglected to look at our calendar closely enough because, when we arrived, we discovered that we were one day EARLY!  Fortunately for us, though, the campground had our space available and we could go ahead with check in and get settled.

The campground is fairly “rustic” but it is COVERED in shade because of the many beautiful Wisconsin trees.  It is cooler up here and the humidity is less than Missouri, but there is still some humidity.  Our RV is mostly in the shade all day which is really nice.

This campground is located on the shores of Lake DuBay.  The lake is fed by the Wisconsin River (as are most of the larger lakes up here).  We are not in one of the campsites close to the edge of the lake for two reasons: 1) Those campsites are more expensive, and 2) Those campsites are not equipped with 50 amps.  That’s just as well with us.  This lake is really beautiful.

It’s really quite, laid back, and relaxing up here;  not a whole lot to do, but that is fine with us.  The nearest town is Mosinee (Mo-zin-ee).  It is really a nice little town which is neat, clean, and has very friendly people.

In the last week and a half we have visited several of the surrounding towns.   One thing we have noticed here in Wisconsin is the towns/cities are clean and well kept.  People have pride in their houses and property and keep it looking nice (it doesn’t matter if it’s a large house or tiny house; there’s no trash or junk laying around).  We visited the towns of Stevens Point, Wausau, and Wisconsin Rapids.  The pictures will show you how neat and clean the towns are.

The first place we visited was downtown Stevens Point.  They had a lovely town square with a water fountain for kids to play in and many interesting, historic buildings. Many of these buildings had unusual architectural designs. We even stopped at a sidewalk cafe and had something cold to drink (Guu’s On Main – pronounced “Goo’s”).  It was a relaxing afternoon.

A couple of days later we visited Wausau, WI, and Rib Mountain which is home to Rib Mountain State Park.

Rib Mountain is the third highest point in the state of Wisconsin.  The mountain is almost four miles long and peaks at 1,942 feet.  It is also home to Granite Peak Ski Area which opened in 1937 and was one of the first ski areas in North America.

This is Rib Mountain from the highway. You can plainly see the ski slopes. There are more ski trails than I thought there would be even though they are pretty short runs (compared to skiing in the Colorado Rockies).

Wausau is a city built on the Wisconsin River.  In fact, the river runs right through the middle of the downtown area.  The downtown area is quaint and quite lovely.

A couple of days later we took a day trip to the town of Wisconsin Rapids, WI.  On the way there, we decided to look at DuBay Park Campground (which was just a short distance from our campground and on our way).  The campground was small and rustic.  We found an interesting sign about the Du Bay Trading Post with some historic background.

Wisconsin Rapids is another town that is divided by the Wisconsin River.  When we arrived in historic downtown Wisconsin Rapids, we found a lovely park right on the river to have our picnic lunch.

After we ate, we walk up river along the path in the riverside park.  As we walked up river, we noticed what we thought were some rapids.  However, these rapids were the result of the town’s power plant that uses the river to power its turbines.

Historic downtown Wisconsin Rapids also has some very interesting buildings.  One particular building is called The Hamm Building.  It has a uniques history to it that was explained on a plaque inside the building.

This is The Hamm Building.

The Hamm Building. The store that is now in this building is called Karen’s Wines and Steins. It’s a small gift shop and a bar and grill.

The very to of The Hamm Building are letters and numbers that say, “MRS. J. HAMMS 1894.”

This is the plaque that tells the history of The Hamm Building.

What a uniquely shaped building!

The city of Wisconsin Rapids has a bit of an unusual history.  Europeans began to settle this area in the 1830s.  The community was divided by the Wisconsin River.  The west side was incorporated as Centralia and the east side as Grand Rapids.  The two cities merged in 1900 taking the name Grand Rapids.  However, in order to avoid mail and other goods from being misdirected to the much better known Grand Rapids, Michigan, the name was changed in 1920 to Wisconsin Rapids.

So far, we really like Wisconsin.  It is beautiful in the summer!  The winter?  Well….I don’t think I want to be here in the winter with the amounts of snow they receive annually.

So for now ….. “On the Road Again!”

Betty 😊