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Surf-n-Turf, Denzer, WI (2026)

05/12/2026

First day of boating (aka "surf") season on the Milwaukee Harbor and Lake Michigan. Samson was living his best puppy life on his 'birthday eve'.. Turned 1 year old yesterday.

Checked out the new cruise ship dock being constructed near the Lake Express Ferry Terminal, then caught the Lake Express coming in from Michigan + a big freighter anchored out on the lake.

05/03/2026

As Kim and I have always said "Point Beach never disappoints!"

We've made many trips to Point Beach. Most of them in the winter with snow present.

Boat season was supposed to start on Saturday but the forecast (which turned out to be wrong) was for mid 40's and mostly cloudy on Milwaukee Harbor so we opted to hike Point Beach instead. We made a good choice!

There are numerous routes we've done at Point beach and I decided to try to put together a "best of Point Beach" route for Samson's first visit to this gem.

We parked on the generous wide paved shoulder at about 8211 County Rd O in Two Rivers (just before the monument sign for Point Beach State Park) and headed east on the light foot path. Followed a couple different trails across the 'ridges' and then joined the Ice Age Trail. We followed that up to the "Ice Age Campsite" marked on google maps and then crossed over the dunes to the beach and headed south on the beach. Sometimes walking the beach, sometimes on the sand dunes until we got to Molash Creek. There is a really cool footpath that skirts the edge of Molash Creek before joining the Ice Age Trial taking you to the intersection of Viceroy Road and Cty Road O. We then followed the crushed limestone bike trail back north to our starting point.

A 6.2 mile route that took us 2hrs 43min and got us back to the truck just in time to catch the Kentucky Derby.

Other pictures are from a quick drive into the state park where we saw the lighthouse and drove up to the various picnic areas right on the lake near the campsites.

A great day with virtually no one on the trails (lots of campers in the state park) but parking lots were virtually empty just how we like it.

Definitely put Point Beach on your list and send me a message or leave a comment if you'd like the GPS route map.

04/26/2026

A 2-fer at Devils Lake!

Since boating season starts next week (hopefully) we wanted a good finale to hiking season and decided to visit Devil's Lake State Park.

Knowing the park would be packed on a 65 degree April Saturday we started the day bushwacking a remote part of the South Bluff.

Our afternoon start to the day made for a quick and easy trip across Lake Wisconsin on the Merrimac Ferry. We made it on the first load. Driving through the park around 3pm it was as crowded as we expected. Parking lots pretty stuffed.

We headed around the south end of the lake and up the winding hill to Burma Road (dead-end gravel/dirt road that heads south from S. Shore Road on the west side of the lake/park.

There were a couple turkey hunters just leaving so we chatted with them for a bit and then headed east into the mid/south portion of the South Bluff. We encountered some great typical Baraboo Quartzite rocky outcroppings.

We have had GREAT luck with shed hunting in the Baraboo hills both on the South Bluff and Baxter's Hollow and were hoping for the same on this hike. Also hoping to find a few openings in the forest canopy to perhaps get a view south of Sauk Prairie.

Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to make it to the rock pile areas I saw on the GIS imagery maps where I though perhaps there could be some scenic views.

Samson's amazing nose was on point again. He didn't find a shed but he did find a deer skull and bones we never would have found on our own. (Good Boy Sammy!!!) His shed-hunting training is definitely going well.

Ticks were definitely out in full force and the hike was slightly less interesting than I was hoping for but still a great time.

We added a 2nd hike to the day meeting family on the West side of the park and hiking the fire-lane/emergency access lane from S Shore Road into the best vistas on the West Bluff which NEVER disappoints.

Finished the day at the south parking area as all the crowds of the day had departed with burgers on the grill and views of the sunset over the lake.

04/19/2026

We usually avoid places like this!! Cox Hollow Lake at Governor Dodge State Park! - Pine Cliff Trail

"State Park" is usually translated to "big crowds" in our hiking lexicon... Its also getting late on the spring when crowds start to come out. The Pine Cliff Trail at Gov. Dodge State Park has been on my list for a while but being a 2 hour drive from Waukesha County we needed to save it for the longer days of daylight savings.

Fortunately for us, this past Saturday delivered the perfect combination of long daylight plus a mid/low 40 degree very breezy forecast PLUS sun!

Given the blustery day and temperature drop from the previous weekends we thought that would keep people way and we were right! The park wasn't empty, but it was close to! We hiked all the way around Cox Hollow Lake on the Pine Cliff Trail. Views were spectacular. Trails were a little wet and muddy (and washed out) in spots from the deluge of rain the previous week/night but nothing we couldn't navigate.

We didn't encounter a single person on the trail section of our 4.4 mile route with a few little spur trails with awesome views along with a little rock scrambling/bouldering. We did chat with a few fisherman on the Cox Hollow Lake Dam and there was a few people (one taking a cold plunge) at the beach.

Lots of elevation changes, hardwood forest, pine forest, and a low-land marsh.

We did complete our loop with a road-walk from the Cox Hollow Beach back to the Pine Cliff Trailhead parking area (near Enee Point)

We finished the day over by Twin Valley Lake (the other lake in Gov. Dodge State park) trying out our new Sea Eagle TC16 inflatable canoe (which we are super pleased with) A 16 foot canoe that inflates to a high pressure very stable craft but yet deflates and folds down to fit in the trunk of a car (or in our case the back of a truck/Storyteller Overland Beast)

There are many more miles of trails to explore in Gov. Dodge State Park and we will definitely be returning in the future!

04/12/2026

White Mound! This is why we love cold weather hiking!

We hike in the winter/cold weather because:

-less people
-easier parking
-better views (no leaves on trees)
-less bugs
-less sweat
-less mud (usually) :)

Yesterday's hike at White Mound County Park in Sauk County was a perfect example of all of these things. While it wasn't the coldest of days (mid 50's) a stiff breeze kept us cool and chill.

The views were spectacular. Some of them would have been much less spectacular with leaves on trees blocking the views.

We ran into a handful of people as we circumnavigated the lake and ascended the bluffs but certainly this place would likely be very busy on a nice summer day.

We parked south of this man-made lake off of S Lake Rd in a generous gravel parking area. Made our way up and across the earthen dam. We took a horse trail to catch the "Lime Kiln Trail" and then bushwacked our way from the top of that bluff down to the Lake Trail which we followed all the way around (with one foray up the bluff just past the beach/park pavilion for the view) to the boat launch area on the NW side of the lake.

From there we took the steep climb up the "Ridge Trail" and followed that back south to the truck with filtered but beautiful views of the lake through the treetops.

a 5.7 mile round trip took us 2hr 45 minutes.

I scouted this hike out online with GIS and topographic maps over a year ago and glad we finally got it in. Definitely worth the 2 hour drive from Waukesha County.

04/05/2026

Bushwacking at Baxter Hollow

Baxter Hollow has been on the radar for a long time. This is our second bushwacking adventure there, but we still haven't yet visited the more popular/frequented area (accessed from Stones Pocket Road) with trails.

A month or so ago we hit the NW section off of Pikes Peak Road. Yesterday we explored the Northeast Section accessed from Lehman Road.

The adventure began with a well established 2-track access lane beyond a rusty gate that headed straight south into the parcel. This access lane is a few feet just east of E10793 Lehman Rd.

This little forest lane takes you uphill past a really cool historic log cabin built amongst a lot of the typical Devil's Lake Baraboo Quartzite. Heading further south the access road heads west and we wanted to explore the rocky outcroppings to the south so we left the trail and bushwacked our way down to Otter Creek.

Our efforts were rewarded with another really old tiny dilapidated tin-roof cabin in the middle of the forest along the top of a ridge.

We headed down to the creek where Samson found his 3rd shed of the year (well it was technically a fully antlered skull). We did see several deer stands in the area and I suspect a hunter gut-shot this buck who then made his way to the creek for water and died down there where the hunter was not able to retrieve him. His beautiful atypical antlers will live on, displayed in my office.

The trip back north took us through a brief sleet storm and past a few rockshelter overhangs and a couple little caves Sammy had a fun time exploring.

A 3.7 mile jaunt that took us 2hr 40min leaving us just enough time to head over to Devil's Lake North Shore and a quick hike up to Bison Rock for the sunset and then a little cook out after a quick passing rain shower.

03/29/2026

If you weren't a little scared, was it really an adventure?? The Mines of Spain in Iowa did not disappoint!

This was a long drive from Waukesha County so we had to plan this hike for daylight savings time for later sunsets.

Mines of Spain, just south of Dubuque Iowa has amazing sandstone cliffs, sprawling prairie trails, woods, the river and more. A little bit of an Abelman's Gorge feel in the most popular "Horseshoe Bluff" section.

Being close to Dubuque, I expected this was a popular place on the weekends. We hoped for a colder weekend for more solitude/less people but the sunny 50 degree Saturday had parking lots at about 75% at this beautiful destination.

We arrived around 3:30 lots of people were still coming and going so we decided to hit the woods/prairie segment of our planned route first. This Iowa State Recreation Area sits on the western shore of the Great Mississippi River. After an out-and-back through the hilly woods and prairie south of the bluff we found a little pathway out to the banks of the Mississippi where Samson got to splash around in the water a bit.

The 'official' trials do not go to the very top of the bluff for safety reasons... which we found out for ourselves. :) After tagging the Mississippi we found the narrow footpath at the SE end of the tallest bluff which takes you to a SUPER steep class 4 scramble up to the top of the 300 foot bluff.

I was immediately kicking myself for not bringing Samson's climbing harness and safety line. There were sections we had to lift him up to a ledge before ascending the same ledge ourselves. At the top of the bluff the views were out-of-this world but it was so exposed and windy we didn't get to spend as much time absorbing the aura as we would have liked. Samson was pretty nervous up there and we were pretty nervous (ok scared) thinking about safely ascending back down. With his safety harness (sitting in the truck) the ascent/descent would have still been difficult and technical, but not scary. Lesson learned! All the safety gear in the world doesn't help if you don't bring it.
Awesome hike 4.1 miles total took us 2hr 25 minutes.

03/22/2026

Amazing views abound at the newest addition to Devils Lake State Park!

Within the past couple weeks a newly purchased parcel of land was added to the NE corner of Devil's Lake State Park. This parcel contains the 2nd highest point in Sauk County according to media reports.

Since Devil's Lake is my childhood 'Disneyland' we decided to head up Saturday to check it out! It did NOT disappoint!

Rumor has it the Ice Age Trail will soon be re-routed through this section.

We parked at the end of Hi Hills Drive and headed up a 2-track trail to the high point of this property. The horizon views are incredible. Longest views we've ever seen from the Baraboo Range. From different points you can look down at the city of Baraboo, The bluffs of Devil's Lake and even Blue Mounds in the far distant horizon 30 miles away to the south. To the West/Northwest you can see Rock Springs and Ableman's Gorge (the Upper Narrows) and several other bluffs as well.

We made a hike out of it by heading south through an un-trailed forest to tag Clark Creek on the SW side of Hanson Basin losing several hundred feet of elevation along the route. Samson enjoyed splashing around (and cooling off from the 74 degree temps) in the cold creek.

There is a bit of an access trail cut along the north and western side of Hanson Basin that we followed on our return leg before heading back through the forest to the other high point of the property as sunset approached.

A 3.64 mile route that took us 2.5 hours. Link to AllTrails route Map in comments.

Definitely a fantastic hike for a sunny day! We finished the day with a cookout at Devil's Lake South Shore overlooking the peaceful lake. A+ for a March weekend!

03/15/2026

Huiras Lake State Natural Area!

Huiras Lake State Natural Area! Prairie, high ridges, rolling hills, hardwood and evergreen forest plus a lake and swamp all with extraordinary views.

This Saturday we planned to stay close to home given the impending winter weather (plus we needed to get some work done on the Barndo) so we hit the Huiras Lake

There is enough off-street parking for 1 vehicle and shoulder parking for 4 or 5 more. The hike started much more interesting than I expected from GIS images and pre-hike routing/planning. Prairie, rolling hills, evergreen and hardwood forest all within the first 1/2 mile led us to a floating dock on Huiras Lake.

This land is owned by the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust. There are 2 parcels, the NE parcel with prairie/lake/dock has well established trails. A SW parcel that is land-locked within private property and only accessible through a marsh/swamp where the NE parcel touches the SW parcel at just a single point.

Always looking for a bit of an adventure and never able to resist the temptation to see 'rarely seen' areas we left the trails of the NE section and set off through the swamp. This was a more challenging endeavor than I expected. While the dog didn't mind getting soaked we were hoping to avoid water higher than our waterproof Solomons would protect us from.

I received a reminder lesson how easy it is to get disoriented in deep woods/swamp without sun in the shy to aid in navigation. At one point we did the classic "walk for 20 minutes and end up in the same place you started" scenario. After that I had to navigate closer with the compass on my phone. We eventually made it to the SW section and OH what a treat that was! There were some 2-track access paths in the parcel long with foot paths along the high ridges with swamp/marsh/wet kettles on both sides. The SW parcel has the highpoint of the area with panoramic views. A great place to hike year round but if you want to tag the SW section definitely do it when the swamp is frozen. The swamp traverse took so much longer than expected we actually bailed and cut through the JCC property and followed road back. 4.3 miles 2.5 hours.

03/10/2026

The Kickapoo Valley Reserve! Hanson Rock, West Ridge, and Ice Cave trails. A little bit of everything Wisconsin's Magnificent Driftless Region has to offer!!

We took our Storyteller Overlanding van to the Kickapoo Valley Reserve for an epic Saturday hike! KVR has some fantastic secluded boondocking sites that are vehicle accessible for camping. (also some hike-in and paddle-in sites too). We arrived at KVR Campsite J in thick fog on Friday night. Severe storms overnight departed leaving us a cool Saturday with dry skies but wet trails for an 8 mile 3+ hour hike.

We parked on S Weister Road just south of Hwy P in La Farge and took the "West Ridge Trail" south to the Hanson Rock Trail which takes you up and around the "lookout loop" and rejoins the West Ridge Trail. We then followed the West Ridge Trail to the east (with a little side-trip down the Ice Cave Trail, then backtracked to the West Ridge). We then followed the West Ridge Trail all the way back north re-joining the trail where we had turned onto the Hanson Rock Trail. This hike was everything the Driftless region has to offer. Fantastic long horizon views from the tops of ridges. Steep mostly sandstone cliffs and caves, deep valleys, frozen waterfalls, massive elevation changes, low riverside sections along the Kickapoo and even a close encounter with a bald eagle!

Old growth hardwood forest, with *massive* red, white, and bur oak trees. Magnificent conifers... White and Red pine along with Hemlock and my personal favorite, the Eastern Red Cedar!

A grueling 8 miles with a ton of elevation, made the post-hike cocktail OH so satisfying!

We will be returning to the KVR for a few other spectacular hikes. Definitely put this area on your list!

Surf-n-Turf

05/12/2026

05/03/2026

04/26/2026

04/19/2026

04/12/2026

04/05/2026

03/29/2026

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