Met a couple of friends, Todd and Scott (Bear) from Barneveld, WI (just west of Madison) in the middle of their 10 day jaunt around WI.
I met them about 45 miles NE of Plover at The Dells of the Eau Claire Co. Park.
From there we rode 2 days covering about 230 miles ending up at Trempaleau, WI.
From there they continued on SE towards Barneveld with 2 more days of riding and I went NE back to Plover, about another 120 miles.
Great fall ride on various roads, bike paths (rails to trails) some paved, some not. Toss in a few gravel roads and we got to see it all.
Faster than a locomotive and stronger than a speeding bullet....or is that reversed?
Ended up getting a medium buck right after Christmas. 4 pts on one side and 2 on the other. He had been hanging around for awhile. Made a good shot on him, unlike the doe. A nice lung shot that only allowed him a walk of 40 yards before he died. I did not go after him for a couple hours after after shooting him and when I went out to find him he was almost froze stiff so that told me he died pretty quick, even though temps were about -10 to -15. I had to bring him in the shack early in the morning to let him thaw out enough to start skinning him out and processing him. When I found him, I grabbed a antler and it came off in my hand, so I was careful not bang the other side and lose both. Making venison burger. The doe and buck ended up filling 6 of these 2 bowls of burger and a nice supply of steaks, roasts and stew meat. Made some stew in the crock pot last Saturday, my wife was impressed (as was I) with the tenderness of the venison and great taste of everything. Gave packages of mixtures of the venison "cuts" to Lynn's Uncle (who can't eat beef, cholesterol issue) and Aunt, my Uncle Rudy who didn't get a deer (I tried to shoot him a doe with my bow a day after I got the buck, but missed!) and the couple that lets me hunt on their land.
Early and late bow made up for a poor rifle season. Spending time out in the woods at the shack is the best part of the whole deal. Bear den my son found during rifle hunting, the bear was in then. He took me back out there a few weeks later, but the bear was not home.
