Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Friday, September 05, 2008
Why not honeymoon in Hayward?
I’ll be the first to admit it’s not your typical honeymoon paradise.
There are no white sand beaches, no cabana boys waiting to refill your margarita glass and no private sushi dinners on the ocean.
In fact, it screams “this is a place where my new husband might like to take a fishing trip with his friends.” In fact, I think it IS a place my new husband has gone fishing with his friends.
But there was a cabin on a lake, a pontoon boat and an early morning wake-up call from a loon.
Besides, who wants to leave Wisconsin in August, one of three months that make this state so appealing?
Why not honeymoon in Hayward?
Cabinless, then ‘home’
Our first cabin in Hayward didn’t work out. We were told once we arrived we could not clean fish on site. The “brand new beds” listed on the Web site were not even close to new. And the sound of a compressor and hammer next door wasn’t relaxing for my husband, who works in construction.
We spent one night, and reluctantly paid an extra $100 to cancel our reservation.
The vehicle was reloaded, and we were off in search of a new cabin on a lake. This is when I learned something about myself: I have an ugly prejudice when it comes to lake names.
The idea of staying at Ghost Lake spooked me, even though it did look serene. Blueberry Lake sounded neat because I imagined waking up and picking fresh fruit for my cereal. I refused to stay on Spider Lake no matter what they offered.
We eventually found ourselves in Birchwood, a community of 518 people about 30 miles south of Hayward. Al Jepson, owner of Sportsman’s Lodge, offers cabins and camper sites on Big Chetac Lake. Al had two open cabins but warned us they were rustic.
We checked in with the bartender and she directed us to the cabins. When we asked for the keys, the bartender looked confused.
“No one’s ever asked for them before,” she replied. “You don’t need them. You’re up north.”
We looked at cabin No. 5 and knew we wanted it — the bed was much more comfortable.
Al’s wife, Carol, came by with some rugs that were fresh out of the dryer. Al stopped to tell us where to buy bait and firewood. The bartender told us where to fish. A nearby vacationer offered her knives to clean our fish.
We knew we’d found our temporary home away from home.
Wisconsin waterfalls
I love waterfalls. We’d even considered honeymooning at Niagara Falls but ultimately decided we’d rather take that trip with my 11-year-old son along, too. Instead, we devoted one day of our honeymoon to exploring some of Wisconsin’s waterfalls.
While we did find the Potato River Falls after some frustrating and misguided directions, the highlight of the day came when visiting Copper Falls State Park in Mellen.
For a mere $7 per carload, visitors can trek the 1.7 mile trail around the Bad River and take in the spectacular scenery. Established in 1929, the park is named after the 29-foot waterfalls that mark the first drop of the Bad River.
The skies were overcast and temperatures were in the mid-70’s on this August day, and it was perfect hiking weather. There were no bugs, and to my glee, no bears.
The trails are well-maintained. They were first built in 1920 and 1921 by veterans who were returning from service in World War I. The Civilian Conserva-tion Corps and other federal programs made further improvements to the park.
Although I enjoyed Copper Falls, I was even more excited when we walked around the corner and discovered Brownstone Falls. This was the stunning sight I was hoping to find.
Do like the lumberjacks
Hayward has a rich logging history. In the late 1880s, loggers began cutting swaths through the virgin timbers of the Chequamegon National Forest to the many lakes that are located in the Northwoods.
Rivers were dammed so lumber could be moved downstream. Logging camps popped up along the river shores. But lumberjacks had time off, too. Competition was bound to develop with so much testosterone in one place.
While in Hayward, we attended Fred Scheer’s Lumberjack Show, which is based on the competitions that were begun by lumberjacks during their down time.
Ben, the show announcer, divided the audience into two: one side was to cheer for lumberjacks David and Sam, and the other for lumberjacks Wes and Cassidy.
Ben soon complimented a heckler in the audience, and encouraged the rest of us to become hecklers, too. “This is one of the few competitions that you can boo, heckle and degrade the other team and get away with it,” he said.
The four young lumberjacks competed in teams of two in the underhand chop and crosscut saw competitions. Then they had an ax-throwing competition and scurried up poles in the 60-foot speed climb.
The show was filled with laughter, which peaked during the water events like the boom rum, where lumberjacks ran from shore to shore across floating logs. Soon everyone but Cassidy was drenched from head to toe.
After the show, we crossed the street to play miniature golf at Lumberjack Village. I’m still not sure what miniature golf has to do with lumberjacks, but my husband and I have an ongoing mini golf bet where the loser has to buy ice cream.
At least the ice cream seemed more lumberjack-like: Big Paul’s Northwoods Favorite involved three scoops of maple nut ice cream, drizzled with chocolate and maple syrup and topped with dried cranberries and walnuts.
And yes, I bought. Again.
Winding down
While in Hayward, we had the chance to witness friends get married outdoors along the Chippewa Flowage in an American Indian ceremony. The ritual involved a blanket around the couple and smoking from a peace pipe.
Eagles soaring overhead at the completion of the ceremony indicating a long marriage ahead, the celebrant said.
While the beautiful lakes and remote wilderness of the Hayward area made our honeymoon enjoyable, so did all the people we met.
Everyone at the Sportsman’s Lodge called us “the honeymooners.” Whenever we went to the bar, someone either bought us a drink or left drink chips for us.
Vacationers were constantly offering us their boats and their knowledge of the lakes. One seasonal resident, Jim, insisted we take his pontoon boat out our last full day there.
Everyone kept telling us that once you visit the area, you will be back.
They’re right — we’re already planning our next trip. Of course, that’s after honeymoon No. 2, which will involve white sand beaches, an ocean and a cabana boy in the middle of Wisconsin’s nasty winter.
Anastasia (formerly Mercer) Penchi is a former Tribune reporter.
All stories copyright 2000 - 2006 La Crosse Tribune and other attributed sources.