This trip was inspired by the second season of the television show “Feasting on Asphalt”. We are following the Great River Road that runs along the Mississippi River from Venice, Louisiana to the headwaters in Lake Itasca State Park, Minnesota. When possible we will stop at locations featured in the show, however time has found many of them closed.
I slept really well that night, no doubt a combination of a poor sleep the night before, a long day, and wine slushie. And even though I was up early, for me anyway, there were several people up before me and out on the water behind my campsite. I couldn’t see what it was through the thick stand of trees but I think it was a small tributary and not the Mississippi River. As the dogs seemed content to lounge a bit longer, I left them in the tent while I went to have a quick shower. I noticed that I had been a little light with the sunblock and had a lovely shade of pink on my left arm; the unmistakable mark of the road traveler.
Realizing that I was asking for either a fall or a visit to a chiropractor, I stopped and took a deep breath before I reached to the very lower back area hoping that it was just another piece of vegetation. The little bump pulled away easily enough and for a split second I felt relieved. Until I looked down and saw a small lone star tick pinched between thumb and forefinger. Crap. I broke Rule #1 when it comes to dealing with ticks: never leave the head embedded. I was optimistic that since the ticks were so little that either I couldn’t see the head or the head was so small that it wouldn’t cause any issues. Like an infection. I thought about just washing off and going back to my tent where I had tweezers to remove the ticks but in that moment of almost-panic, I just brushed the other two off. Had they been the larger ticks from home that I’m more familiar with, I would have gone for the tweezers. At least that’s what I tell myself and not that I had a mini-meltdown.
I finished washing off the soap, checking for any more hangers-on, and then went back to the tent where I went over the dogs. They had none. I had three and they had none. Oh well. I guess that since Piper and Jack had each had some in Natchez, it was only fair that I joined in the fun.
He left and I made my coffee. In case you’re curious, I have a collapsible cone filter that rests on top of my mug. Add the grounds and pour over the water and soon you have a delightful cup of coffee to enjoy with leftover donuts. You can’t let donuts sit for too long after all or they go stale.
With donuts safely packed away (in my belly), a coffee in hand, and camp packed up, we headed out down the road. We drove right next to the Mississippi River which was a nice change from when we first started out in Louisiana and were driving next to levees. It’s also much less built-up and a pleasant place to stop to let some travelling dogs out to walk around. Of course even this far north, the flooding was still severe enough to cover over roads and a few of the parks that we had stopped at were off limits because of the water level.
The waffle was really good with a nice crispy exterior and a soft chewy interior. I added a little bit of butter and just the barest hint of syrup and I was in waffle heaven. It was a warm sunny day and we had finally escaped some of the humidity, there was a nice breeze blowing off the Mississippi River right in front of us, and the smell of smoke kept the air perfumed with the smell of barbecue. I just had to find out what was going on. That and a creepy guy that I’m pretty sure was higher than a kite was wandering in the area and I figured that at least if I was moving it would be harder for him to approach me. I wasn’t worried that he’d try anything but the thought of having to push him in the river or having to pull him from the river made me want to move on.
We continued on along the river. I’m not quite sure where I was when I looked to my right and saw a massive golden dome in what looked like an industrial area. It took me totally by surprise especially since I never saw a sign to give any indication of what it was. It looked way too pretty to be a factory.
We crossed into Wisconsin and were following the road north when we came to Potosi. At first I was struck by what a cute town it was and HOLY CRAP THEY HAVE A BREWERY!!!! Quick turn into the parking lot of Potosi Brewery, a hustle through a patio, and into the side door. Yes I can bring the dogs onto the patio (SCORE!), yes I can order food to go so I can sit on the patio (Double SCORE), yes we have several beers on tap (excited hopping from foot to foot). I was handed a menu and so many things called to me but the brisket sandwich seemed to be calling the loudest. I sampled a few beers then settled on the golden (Good Old Potosi) and went out to the patio. It is one of the nicest patios I have ever had the pleasure of sitting on. There was a waterfall streaming out of the rock face behind the patio with a koi pond at the base. It was nice and shady, a welcome respite from the heat of the day, especially for this northern girl. The tables weren’t crammed in next to each other, I’m sure partly because the patio wasn’t technically open yet. And even though it wasn’t open, one of the staff brought my food out to me and stayed for a minute to play with the pups. And several people that were passing by took my lead and also joined us on the patio It was just way too nice to sit inside.
The verdict on Potosi Brewery: YOU MUST GO. The food is outstanding, the beer is incredible, and the people are just ridiculously nice. When I popped back inside to tell them how much I enjoyed the food, I noticed growlers for root beer and had to ask about it. I’ve noticed that alcoholic root beers are showing up all over the place but this is one that’s non-alcoholic and after tasting a sample, I left with a growler in hand. I’m not a big fan of re-visiting places but this is one place that I would go back and spend some time really exploring.
Usually I don’t have fires when I’m camping because, well I’m not sure. I like fires and I like sitting around fires. I think it’s because when you’re by yourself you have to sit there and watch the fire. And since you’re not supposed to transport wood from one place to another you have to use it all up. However, the dogs all seemed exhausted and were content to flop down rather than explore so we were going to be up for a while. I didn’t even bother running their leashes to their tie-out since no one was camping near us any way.
Once the fire had burned out and were were all dozey on the blanket (yes even Piper eventually joined us) we crept into the tent and were all snuggled up and asleep.
