Houghton Falls and some app recommendations

Today it rained, but we did a short hike. I survived because it was shorter than yesterday. I still don't like walking in slick conditions going downhill over tree roots. We never did find Houghton Falls, but we saw some interesting things along the way. The Falls may come and go with the season and I am guessing that the falls are not the reason people make the effort with this trail.

Along the way, I saw a couple of women examining and photographing a strange looking plant. They said the plant was quite rare and was called Indian Pipe or Ghost Flower. The totally white plant did have a pipe-like appearance so I also took a couple of pictures with my iPhone. 

I tend to explore apps I think may have educational value and I have been using several apps or services that make an effort to identify what appears in an image. I tried them on the strange flower I had photographed and both made successful identifications.

The first service is part of Google Photos and is called Google Lens. It is available to all at no cost.

The second app is called PlantSnap. I tried this app in Hawaii with mixed success, but it worked fine with the Ghost Flower. This flower has such a unique appearance that the identification services probably have an easy time finding a match,

The Ghost Flower has such a strange appearance because it lacks the chlorophyll that gives most plants their green color. This plant is parasitic and is able to get nutrients from other plants. 

Settle for pickled herring

Hanging out with younger folks can be a challenge. For today's activity, our group decided to hike to an overlook near the sea caves. You have probably seen the photos of kayakers exploring these caves or maybe the brave souls who walk out to the caves when the lake freezes in winter. We decided on a hike - a 4.6 mile "moderate" difficulty hike. I am not much of a hiker. I consider myself a city stroller and walk 1.3 miles or so to my coffee shop (and back) frequently. I have difficulty with hiking conditions - sharp downhills with steps are a particular problem - bad feet/ankles from too many years of basketball I claim as the cause for my problem. Moderate turned out to be more difficult than I could handle and rather than slowing the young folks down, Cindy, Kaia, and I turned around after a mile or so. I did make my 10,000 steps today. The good photos were at the end of the hike, but I am a purist and only post the images I take.

All I could come up with is this picture of pickled herring. I ordered this delicacy a few years ago and may have posted a similar picture, but I am a fan of pickled herring and I ordered this appetizer again today because I remembered how good it was. My feet may be in decline, but my memory is great. Same reaction to the delicacy this time. Last time we tried to find a place to purchase some to take with us, but could not find an outlet in Bayfield.

I recommend iBuprofen for sore feet.

Wisconsin - Up North

We haven't really spent much time travelling since Rome, but we had the opportunity this week to take a quick trip up north (about 100 miles north of our lake place) with the Tanners. We brought both of our campers - the rPod for Grandma and Grandpa and the popup for everyone else. We are in Washburn, WI, on the shore of Lake Superior. I think we are just south of the Apostle Islands.

We used to take more road trips in the summer, but that was when we had to travel this time of year. It is nice to avoid the busy travel season as much as we can. It is hot and typically very crowded especially if you like to camp. The Internet allows folks to book ahead of time in national parks and this makes it nearly impossible to just go when you want. Most parks have a 48-hour cancellation policy so there is little penalty for making a reservation just in case. The sites with hookups (electrical, water, and sewer) go first. I have reached the age at which I don't sleep on the ground anymore. Our location for the next few days has electrical and wifi (actually television too, but I can get by with just wifi) so we are in good shape for these short stays. 

This seems a great location. Washburn is very close and a nice tourist town. A couple of coffee shops, a great bakery (above), and some artists. It is a small community so things are not out of hand when it comes to tourism, but a very nice place. I assume every lakeshore community in this area is similar. Just right.

I have posted pictures of our rPod several times before, but I don't remember showing what the inside of the camper looks like. If you can imagine me sitting on a short queen bed taking this picture, you should have a sense of the size of our camper. We have a television/video system, shower/toilet (on the left), table/couch/second bed (on the right), and a kitchen area with fridge, microwave, two-burner stove and sink. This is a nice setup for two people. We looked at larger rigs, but wanted something we could pull with a four-wheel drive suv allowing us to unhook get around pretty much as if we were travelling by car. We pay $28 per night which seems reasonable. Did I mention we have WiFi?