wildman recap
and i promise this is the last time I’ll refer to anything as wildman (maybe).
i thought I’d run through what went down during my all-too-brief reprieve from the interweb relations. i enjoyed the time in northeast wisconsin . the relaxation was much needed and much appreciated. it was pretty much the weekend i had hoped for going in. it ended up being a bit more of a hit to the bank, but well worth the $200ish that went into it. props and thanks to G. for the invitation. alright. enough of that. you can peep pics here and here’s the breakdown:
wednesday
because i was packed the night before, i took a leisure shower and then followed fish over to the coffee shop for some waffles. they were undercooked, but mine wasn’t too bad. with the car loaded it was off to the leinenkugel’s brewery in chippewa falls for a tour (new favorite leinie’s = leinie’s red). informative. thanks vinny. from there it was wausau and a shopko for some supplies. after hooking up with 52 we were on the lookout for sweet dives. it started to rain pretty bad so visibility dropped, and we thought the car ahead of us was looking for bars too, so we passed a few that could have been solid in favor of Bob and Joni’s off of 64.
there we met stephanie (or destroyed job chick) who had just moved up about a month prior. apparently the entire resort she was working at (by this time only a week) was razed in a tornado. so now she works at a resort about twenty minutes from the bar as a cook. she told us we’d go right through the carnage on the way up to the ranch. i have to admit i had high expectations for this destruction, but after a few miles we hadn’t seen even a sign of a storm. just as he uttered something along the lines of “she could have just been full of shit,” we came upon the path of the twister. awesome. smaller trees bent, thick trunks snapped, and entire miles of forest broken or ripped up from the roots. there was a bulldozer, so (because we’re apparently that lame) we did a sweet reenactment of a scene from garden state with the help of some guy walking through the wreckage. into town some of the roofs had been torn off.
then it was off to the cabin (after a slight misdirection; apparently the first dirt road on the right was actually the last road, plus a left, and then another right). i was slow on the entry so most beds were taken. i snagged the couch (which would later reveal itself to be a horrible decision). we went down to the river, scoped the grounds, played some ball, grilled and had a fire. there was a lot of drinking, but because of my four hours rest (no regrets on that one) and the long drive, i was out by eleven (and wasn’t even the first one out).
thursday
some people may have thought fish and i were joking. when he mentioned wanting to marathon some show all day, they probably thought he meant a few episodes. i woke up about seven and (after some pop-tarts) started flipping through the satellite cable. sci-fi (always a solid favorite for ridiculous programming) was running a marathon of dead like me. fish woke up around 10.30. we watched until midnight. it’s a ridiculously underrated show. that was pretty much everything on the day though.
friday
friday started out strong as well. woke up about quarter to six in time for a 7a concert by the pussycat dolls on some random station. horrible singing, awesome torsos, idiotic theatrics, and a very early morning added up to a top notch show. after that there was some man v. wild to watch. most of the house went to town, so fish and i headed upriver for some “fuck bear grylls” action. gorgeous river and the trial was interesting. we decided to actually get in, so we stopped back for swim shorts.
we went farther north this time and ended up trying to cross some rapids. after an entire crew of unfortunate kayaks drifted by, and some major difficulty, and some rough pain i finally got over to one of the berms. we chilled there for a bit and took this clip…
…of fish leisurely swimming in a slow current. on the way back across the river i decided to try and wade along the rocks instead of putting more pressure on my piece of shit foot. not the best idea. the current took me down about fifteen feet, across a couple rocks, and underwater for about twenty seconds before i finally regained my footing. it seems that it’d be similar to climbing a waterfall. i was a little knocked up, but easily the coolest single event of the weekend. then we went back up and after a shower i started drinking.
after a quick nap we headed down the road for some local bars. awesome places. we put some shitty jams on both jukeboxes to annoy the patrons and then headed back to the cabin about midnight. everyone was chilling around the fire and drinking. it was the most i drank on the trip. ended up cashing later than previously also. i had claimed the couch again, but butz and jenna were chilling on it. i waited awhile, but the conversation was getting more ridiculous and i was getting more tired. so i took off my shoes and rolled over the top of the couch from the back directly onto jenna. i passed out there for awhile and then woke up long enough to hear “asshole” (a pretty accurate label considering) before rolling down after jenna moved to the floor.
saturday
the whole crew (by now about fifteen people) headed up to the menomonie river for some whitewater rafting. fish and i got our fees together in the morning to partake. a great choice. the drive was a bit long and we had to wait two hours to actually catch a raft, but it was fun. plus, i got to listen to shitty live guitar jamming from the bar. they had us go down the main rapids twice (probably to try and make it seem worth the bank) and the guide was decent. funny kid actually.
once we were back it was all about grub and beers. we grilled up whatever meat was left and drank as much as we could. well they did. i lost a taste for the sauce so only had a beer after getting back. i almost cashed in around the fire so i switched it up and went inside for awhile. then i had a series of naps that made up my night’s rest. way too fucking hot in the house.
sunday
the drive home started about noon-thirty after waking about nine. packed everything up while some of the guys hit up ropes and challenges. i was out there for a bit, but got bored and overheated. Jenna said her and butz could drive G. so fish and i went on our way before most folk were ready. we stopped for grub at Hudson’s grill in wausau and i was stuffed. their chili cheese steak burger was more of a lasagna platter with a side of fries. ridiculous.
the rest of the ride was wet. twice the visibility dropped to about twenty feet (rough, but manageable).
and
here’s another clip of fish in the water:
oh, and dwane is slamming T’s (figure i’d toss an inside joke into the mix; don’t ask because even i don’t know).