Wildcat Mtn and Mill Bluff with a Roche a Cri drive thru

How would you like to wake up to this view every morning?  

Okay, I got a crazy idea on Saturday to drive across the state to visit an old friend or two from my time spent in LaCrosse.  My friend Sarah gratiously let me use the guest room at the Chateaus Parker.

Ever seen a Hemmingway cat?  They have multiple toes!  This is LillyPut

We took a run up to LaCrosse and had a few beers at the Bodega.  I re-met her friend Sanja. 

Sanja and Sarah

Sarah lives in Ontario, WI.  It is really the heart of Amish country in the state.  There is NO cell service at all in Ontario.  Crazy!!!!  But in the summer it is a great place to canoe the Kickapoo River and enjoy Wildcat Mtn SP.

Wildcat Mtn is a sprawling state park that offers hundreds of hiking opportunities.  We choose to check out the Ice Cave in the lower part of the park.  This is a massive ice formation that doesn't melt until July each year, due to the fact it is on the north side of a sheltering bluff.

Then on the trip home I stopped off at Mill Bluff SP.

This is a small SP that offers a few hiking trails up to a bluff and a small park for gatherings.

I am not going to count my stop at Roche a Cri SP because I really just pulled into the parking lot on this one.  I didn't feel up to another hike and it looked like it would be a great place to go climbing.

Thanks again to my friend Sarah for the room and the tour guide service!  We will have to do it again this summer!