Friday, 12 July 2019: Manitwish Waters

Justin and I have been consumed with our shoreline and all the related intricacies so we decided we needed a road trip.  We headed north to Manitowish Waters to see his high school/college buddy Tom.  I call him Alaska Tom and his lady friend Joan.  We stopped in Minoqua along the way for a visit and then dinner with niece Lindy and her husband Steve.  It was a short, but very pleasant visit.  I keep hoping that one day we will get to spend more time with them.  Maybe when we go out west and see them on their land in New Mexico?  ?  ?


We got into Tom and Joan's quite late on Wednesday an so enjoyed putzing and hanging with them.

The views on their lake are grand and when Tom grilled steaks for dinner, staying outside was even better.  
  








Finally, today, Justin was able to press "send" on the DNR application.  We left Tom and Joan's and headed to the public library.  He has been busting his butt to make this happen.  

We are now one step closer to some kind of peace of mind... or being able to spend a boat load of money.  

He included 4-6 drawings, he called them rudimentary but I thought they were masterpieces, as well as attaching a handful of photos and text describing the status.  As much as I might have made friends with all the good folks at Menards, he is on a first name basis with all sorts of people at the DNR.  At one point he was waiting to hear back from the DNR as to what one of the attachments even was.  He said he could read and understand the words, of course, but he had no idea what the purpose of the document they're looking for was, what it looked like, or whether we had one, let alone how to access it if we do or get one done if we don't. It was called something like a "Determination of Wetland Impact." His first impression from the application was that it wasn't necessary for what we're doing, but then it looked as if he was blocked from paying and sending until that was resolved. 

Dave, our guy from Pier and Water Solutions gets $1,000 to complete this process.  The filing fee is $600, so Justin's work just saved us $400.  He said it would have been nice to have AutoCAD, but then he would have to have some clue how to use it!  Now Justin says he's willing to walk Don through the process too.  Having the time has to be an advantage in retirement right?

I want to go with Dave.  He is my guy.  Butch is the other guy and he is just too pushy for me.  He has a good reputation and the right equipment but I want to go with Dave.  Fred and Judy seem to be going with Butch and the McNally's will do whatever Fred does.  We need to work with Don and Amy since the machinery will access our shore through their yard.  Justin wants to move the gazebo over about ten feet so we can have our own access but that is about when my eyes start glazing over.


Anyway... fish fry with Tom and Joan and a few well deserved adult beverages of celebration!

There was a time when I was all about bunnies.  Today I just think they are cute.