Natural Beauty

So I spent my 4th of July this year with my mother at her friend’s cabin near Minong, WI. It’s very beautiful up there with almost no noise, air, or light pollution. This makes for stunning sunsets and near 100% visibility when star gazing.

Stereotypical, I know

Living in a big city, you lose out on the star gazing. Being in a place with no light pollution allows you to see just how many stars there are. It’s quite breathtaking.

How often do you get to see such sights in your life?

Although I realize I was in Wisconsin, I still consider it home (it’s pretty much the same thing as Minnesota only they are famous for cheese). People talk funny, not quite like Fargo, but there are definite similarities.

A Corona moment?

The people who own the cabin are essentially white trash, or in MN/WI terms, rednecks. The oldest sun is 23 and just started truckin’, the youngest just graduated high school & still deciding what to do, while the mom is obesely overweight, rarely works, and steals money from her mom who is now in a nursing home. That aside, they are rather nice people.

Blue as blue should be

Most of the time I had a hard time keeping from laughing. People use “ya know” in the same way the valley girl uses “like”. Life is simpler up there. Many towns have less than 1,000 people (Minong has 521).

I was fortunate to be able to go to the bar in Minong, actually 2. Interestingly enough, Minong has 4 bars, all within about 2 blocks of each other. Two were closed the night I was in town, but one was rather hoppin’ with various townies and other interesting characters. Needless to say it wasn’t a dull evening. I also can’t remember the last time I was served a beer in a bar in a can. To top that off, I can’t remember the last time I had a Pabst Blue Ribbon. To be honest, I can’t even remember the last time I saw PBR outside of the upper Midwest (though I’m not usually looking for such “high quality” beer).

The water is actually quite clean, its the sand that makes it look that color

All in all, my time in the Midwest was relaxing. I heard loons, saw more than 50 deer, and watched hummingbirds and blue jays feed. Although I limit my trips back home, I am proud of where I come from and would recommend visiting at least once in your life, ya know?