First Sip of Wisconsin

Kirsten's first trip to Wisconsin, gotta give her the full treatment!

Polka dancing and boot steins at Essenhaus. "You guys sure have a lot of state pride." Sailing on Winnebago. Carol's surprise retirement party. "You start to wonder if any of our stories don't involve beer." Telugu family dinner and dessert. Barn quilts of Green County. New Glarus brewery and homesteads. Minhas brewery. Sugar River tubing -- $12 at S&B Tubing in Albany, 3 hours. "Anyone wanna trade a Huber Boch for...anything?!" Madison professional ultimate frisbee.

The final verdict? "You have more beer than internet in Wisconsin."

Wisconsin Abroad

I've got a little case of Wisconsin fever. Fairly enough, as this weekend might just count as the greatest sports weekend in the history of wisconsin sports.


What's it like to be a die-hard Wisconsin sports fan stranded 10.5 hours around the world? Woke up from a nap at 12:30 am to watch the Brewers stomp the Diamondbacks 4-1 in the first game of the Divisional Series. Started a second nap at 3:30 am so i could wake up at 5:30 for the start of Wisconsin's destruction of Nebraska, 48-17. Would have been so good to be in either Madison or Milwaukee...or both! Relied on ustvnow.com on both fronts, it streamed pretty darn well. Didn't get to watch the Packers game or the second brewers win, but it felt good to go 4-0!! It's hard to be humble when you're from wisconsin!

An Elder Statesman

One person i've always wanted to become is Joe Elder, my favorite professor from the University of Wisconsin. A wise old sage, versed in all the stories of ancient India, with plenty of his own to tell too. Even before I transferred to Madison to study India, his reputation preceded him. I had semester long classes with him on Civilizations of India and Thought of Gandhi. I interviewed him as part of my final journalism project and stood in rapt attention when he gave the memorial address at the university's September 11th memorial, the friday after the 2001 attacks.

While trying to pas a job lead off to the Center for South Asia, I stumbled on the announcement of his 50th anniversary of teaching at UW. Wow! A pretty solid career, safe to say. He was one person i felt compelled to typewriter a letter last fall, letting him know a former student was off to staff the consulate in Hyderabad. I haven't gotten a response, but i assume it let to a smile.

A Sporting Chance

I hate to go on and on about how important I am...but it’s kinda true.

Case in point, the 2010-11 sports season in Wisconsin.

Here’s my theory: the farther I get away from the great state of Wisconsin, the better its sports teams do. This is a theory that started taking shape many years ago, when my arrival at Madison was matched by a sudden downturn in Bucky’s fortunes. The years right before I transferred, two consecutive Rose Bowls and a Final Four berth. The next three years, not quite the same grandeur. Let’s examine the recent evidence behind the theory:

I move to Washington DC, pretty far from Wisconsin.

Brewers come to town. I go to a game with Josh and Amy. Brewers lose. 8-0. Next day, of course, they win a barnburner 11-7.

Packers come to town. I go to a game with Gloria, Ken, Bargey and Beth. Packers lose. In overtime. To the lowly Redskins. Packers go on to have a good season.

Badgers march all the way to the Rose Bowl. I go to the Rose Bowl in January? Yup, Badgers lose.

So I move to Hyderabad, India, about as far as you can get from Wisconsin without being in the middle of an ocean.

Sure enough, Packers win three straight playoff games on the road, then go on to win the Super Bowl.

And soon enough, March rolls around. The Badgers march on to the Sweet Sixteen behind stellar play from Taylor, Leuer and the role players. Marquette has already won their first round games in the NCAA tournament. As I’m on the far side of the planet, its not too much to expect a UW-MU championship game.

It’s getting so absurd that at least one wise diplomat has started taking the trend into consideration:

Super Bowl Fever > Dengue Fever

I swear, the farther I get from Wisconsin, the better off Wisconsin sports teams are... If this is actually the case, expect a good two-year run for the Badgers, Brewers and Packers.

But the hometeam in the Superbowl presents its own challenges when you're in India Standard Time, 11:30 hours ahead of that great swath of the Central Standard Time Zone than I call home. So a 6 pm Sunday superbowl in the US translates into a 5:30 am Monday morning Superbowl in India. Plus it isn't a big enough ratings hit to warrant even on an early-morning slot on any of the 50-odd cable channels I get.

A local hotel out in the hi-tech part of the city offered a solution for the ex-pats here in Hyderabad. But it'd be hard to get your money's worth out of a $40 "all-you-can-eat, all-you-can-drink" party when in starts at 4 am in a country where you can get a 45 cent lunch down the street from the consulate.

So instead, I set the alarm to wake up early and stream the game over the interview courtesy of ustvnow.com, so legitimate that the State Department had recommended that we sign up for it with our personal email. In truth, though, the alarm wasn't even necessary, i'd worked myself into a frenzy reading pre-game coverage that i could hardly sleep and woke up early.

But come the fourth quarter, 7:45 here, I had to head to work. And you couldn't imagine my desperation when the game hit the three minute mark, Steelers down by 6, Ben Roethlisberger with the ball and a chance to win the game...the most suspenseful moment of Americana of the year...and the clock struck 8:30 and with it the first visa applicant began his clamoring for his interview to get into the US. Sacrilegious, I dare say! Enough time in America, though, and he'll learn... :-)

Needless to say, i sported my homemade Packer badge with pride the rest of the day...and one returning H1B even offered a congratulations when he saw it. Way to go Pack!

Pack It In

FedEx Field is just a metro ride and a stroll from my front door step, so I knew there were no excuses when the Packers came to town to battle the Redskins. Great to cheer alongside Bargey. We both felt unwelcome enough, strangely enough, to move seats.


Less great to lose to first-time fans Gloria and Ken. In overtime. After the last-second game-winning field goal clanked. Ouch.

Makeshift M & a B

Josh and Amy roll into town for a Brewers game.
Brewers roll out an eight-oh egg. Ouch.

(But the next day? Ten runs in the first inning.)

What to do when you can't buy a Brewers shirt?
Roll out the masking tape.

Turtle-Flambeau Flowage

Turtle-Flambeau Scenic Waters Area
Solo Seakayaking

Beautiful islands (195) and shoreline (300+ miles). Many, many great campsites (60) scattered across innumerable lakes and bays (14,000 acres).

Wilderness feel despite some houses on shoreline. Heavy usage by long-term fishermen who use campsites as week-long base. Availability was an issue, even in late Spring.

Great training ground for Apostle Island paddling. Open lakes feel like big open water. Orientation/navigation can be tricky, especially when you're first getting familiar with the flowage.

Put-in and take-out at Springstead Landing, nice developed landing.

5/20/2008 Site C7
paddled through Voluntary Quiet Area
5/21/2008 Site C2



Site Review:

A1 - really nice access, quiet bay, lots of open space
B1 - group site is spacious, secluded private bay, nice fire ring, no beach
C1 - very close to C3
C2 - Beautiful spot above little beach, awesome view of islands
C3 - very close to C1
C4 - really nice island
C7 - great site, but out in the open
D2 - great location, picturesque, secluded
D5 - very small island, looked bumpy
D6 - great fire ring, but lousy tent sites
D7 - nice island, but dinky site
D8 - better situated, 2-way views
D9 - MIA? Site might have suffered from a recent storm?
D11 - nice quiet bay
D26 - fun setting, but no tentpad on isthmus
D30 - nice views with multiple tentpads
D34 - nice bay, but not secluded
D35 - magnificent sand beach all along bay, but smallish site

Seakayak the Apostle Islands

Seakayak the Apostle Islands. As soon as possible. It's glorious. Beware, though, of small craft warnings.

8/8/2005 - Sand 3
8/9/2005 - Oak 4
8/10/2005 - Ironwood 1
8/11/2005 - Rocky 6
8/12/2005 - Basswood 2

A. Carlson, S. Stahlman, L. Behm, N. Ruys, B. Moore, K. Wedemeyer

Notes on the Pike

Notes on the Octonto

Notes on the Peshtigo