Finding Wonders in Ashland, Wisconsin

Today was one of the least favorite days of our year--when we are stuck in a diesel shop waiting room, thinking about how much it is going to cost for the annual maintenance on the motor home. As the day gets longer, you know that the $153/hour diesel mechanic fees are adding up, so we were glad to get out of there by early afternoon. Between new tires and this maintenance, it's been an expensive summer.

Then we were on the road to Ashland, Wisconsin, to snag one of the last first-come-first-serve sites at the city's waterfront campground at Kreher Park.

Before the sunset, we did some exploring of our new home town. We found that several city parks have artesian wells. We had to do some googling to find out what that meant. In some areas the pressure inside the aquifer causes the underground water to freely bubble up to the surface. We filled bottles up at this ever-bubbling spigot, and it felt strange to walk away and not turn off the water.

Downtown Ashland is known for its larger-than-life murals. Denisa is standing beside these girls, just to show how big they really are.

We had a map that led us all over town to find these works of art. Many of them commemorated heroes and famous citizens.

Others blended in with the store fronts, even if the painted people were dressed in clothing from another era.

Denisa took this picture because we have come to Ashland because of its proximity to the Apostle Islands. A National Lakeshore, this mural depicts some of the most photographed parts of the islands that we are hoping to explore.

We went out to the Northern Great Lakes visitor center, where we climbed to the top for a view of our new surroundings.

This is a new and beautiful welcome center, with three floors of information about the great lakes, and these islands that we want to see. Mark is on the third floor, taking a picture down to the first floor and its exhibits.

We were advised to come here by some new friends that we met on the dock next to our campground. Because they spend much of their summers in these waters, they had great advice for what to do in the area. They even had a suggestion for how to see the Apostle Islands--as they invited us to take a trip around the islands on their boat! But that's a story for another blog as we wander to find more wonders!