Justin Wright » Wisconsin

Gibson Island

Justin Wright — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:51:48 +0000

One of the coolest things I did while I was back in Wisconsin was check out Gibson Island. It’s a tiny island located down the street from where I grew up on the Cloverleaf Lakes. It used to be privately owned so I was never able to go check it out as a kid since it would have been trespassing.

Luckily, the residents of the Cloverleaf Lakes managed to raise over a million dollars through various sources (donations, fundraisers, etc) to purchase the island in order to protect its natural environment and wildlife. It’s amazing to see a group of people take the initiative to make something like this happen.

The Island Is Now Open To The Public

Luckily, the island is now open to the public.. They created a few trails that run through the island as well as wooden boardwalk (see picture to the right) to make the island accessible by wheelchair. Technically, it is connected to the mainland via a small dirt road. However, most people still consider it an island.

You can check out a few pictures of the ribbon cutting ceremony here.

They did an excellent job with the trails and made it very easy to navigate yourself around the island. They even provide walking sticks to those that would prefer to use them. There are also a few benches located throughout the island.

The first thing I noticed when hiking around the island was that it’s much bigger than I though it was. I was used to driving around it in a boat which seems to make it appear smaller.

Here’s a few pictures I snapped while hiking around the island:

View of Pine Lake

Eagle’s in the Area

A Bald Eagle

As you can see, a few Bald Eagles call the island home. It’s a great place to go watch them fly around and grab fish out of the lake.

Great Place To Check Out

Overall, I was really impressed with Gibson Island. I highly recommend checking it out sometime, especially if you live near the Cloverleaf Lakes. For more information on Gibson Island, check out this page.

You can check out my Gibson Island Photo Album for some more photos from the hike.

Lawn Mower Racing At GSR

Justin Wright — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:12:11 +0000

Last night I went and checked out a sport I didn’t even know existed. What was it? Good ol’ lawn mower racing. A bunch of guys have pimped out their lawn mowers to go a lot faster than normal. It was actually pretty interesting to watch.

Check out this video of one of the races:

As you can see, these things were flying. They don’t cut grass anymore that’s for sure.

In The Pits

I was curious to see what these lawn mowers look like so I went back in the pits to snap a few pictures. Here’s what one of them looked like up close:

I was actually surprised to see they look pretty close to stock, except for the exhaust of course.

If you happen to live near Clintonville, you can check them out at the GSR Kartway on Wednesday nights.

Heading Back To Wisconsin

Justin Wright — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:00:18 +0000

Photo Credit: Three if by Bike

I’m sitting at the airport in Chicago right now, tethering off of my phone because they want me to pay 10 bucks to use the wifi here. Ouch. I’m also half asleep, drinking what McDonald’s calls “iced premium coffee.”

Anyways, I’m here waiting for my connecting flight to Green Bay. I’m heading back there for a bit since it’s been over a year since I’ve been home. Funny thing is, my last post about Wisconsin was titled Done Moving, Now I Am Visiting Wisconsin. It feels the same this time around since I just got done moving to Austin a little over a month ago.

I’m also going to my 5 year class reunion on Saturday. I can’t believe it’s been that long! It feels like I was just in high school a couple years ago. It should be a fun time meeting up with the people I went to high school with. I haven’t seen a lot of the people in a long time.

I’m also hoping to work on a project with a client while I’m here so that should keep me busy. I have a feeling the trip is going to fly right by.

I plan on writing as much as I can while I’m here since I have not written much about Wisconsin. Hopefully I can get some good pictures to go along with the posts.

Stay tuned for another week of adventures…

My Trip to Wisconsin (little late)

Justin Wright — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:58:19 +0000

Wow, It’s Thursday (Pretty Much Friday) Already!

I just realized this week went by so fast, I wasn’t even able to write about my week long trip back to Wisconsin last week. So I thought I would share some of my moments I had while I was on vacation.

Flying in to Green Bay

When I flew in to Green Bay, it amazed me as to how small it was. I remember going there when I was growing up and it was always considered the “city” since it was so big compared to the town I lived in.

Now it just felt small, probably because I am used to cities like Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Diego. But it did bring back lots of memories, especially when we drove by Lambeau Field. The home of the Green Bay Packers.

Home to the Small Town

The town I grew up in only has a population of 4,000 people so it is pretty small on the scale of things. It only had a few stop lights and now much to do. But it is always nice to go somewhere small away from the city life.

It was relaxing to hang out by the lake and enjoy the nice air. I even managed to go for a few pontoon rides which I have not done in a long time.

I went to a few bars I used to go to while I was still in college. It amazes me that you can still get dollar pints of beer and wings for 2 dollars a dozen. I sure wish I could find some more deals like that back here in Phoenix.

The Weather

The weather was definitely different than I am used to. Some days it was in the upper 80′s and I could not stop sweating. It is true what they say about dry air vs. humidity. I would take the Phoenix heat any day.

It also rained a lot while I was home. I saw a couple complete downpours and even saw a thunderstorm with some hail. By the time I left, it was only 59 degrees which was freezing!

Country USA

One of the reasons I went home was to go to Country USA, which is one of the biggest country music festivals in the US. Just imagine over 100,000 people all camping in the middle of a field drinking beer.

I spent 3 nights there, but only camped for one of the nights. The first night, I took a party bus down there with my parents and some of their friends. Nothing like drinking on a bus while driving down the interstate.

The worst night was Friday night, even though it was the best night for music. Kenny Chesney was the headliner which was an alright show. I did realize that he plated all of the same songs in the same order as the show I saw here in Phoenix.

A while into the concert, it started to downpour like no other. Kenny quickly took off the stage and called it quits. All of a sudden the whole crowd tried to push its way out into the parking lot.

It was a complete mess, everyone was completely soaked. A lot of people’s phones and cameras were shot since it was raining so hard. It did not stop raining for a good 30 minutes. Unfortunately, it took about that long to make it to our car.

The Trip Comes To An End

The trip went by pretty fast, and I really had a good time. It was really nice to see my family and friends again. I don’t get to see them as often as I wish since I live so far away.

I am working on a new Photo gallery, so keep an eye out for that. I will let everyone know when I have it up and running.

Done Moving, Now I Am Visiting Wisconsin

Justin Wright — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:33:18 +0000

This weekend was a long one. My lease at my Phoenix apartment expired after six months so I had to move all of my stuff. Imaging moving all of your crap in a UHAUL when it is like 110 degrees outside.

I am just happy I survived the whole escapade. Anyways, I am not in my new apartment which is still in Phoenix, but in a much better location. No more bums or crazy stories about what happens outside of my apartment.

I am looking forward to being able to ride my bike and walk outside. So I am very happy with the move. Not to mention the new apartment is on a golf course!

Anyways, I flew back to Wisconsin last night. I will be here until next Sunday so I may not be writing as much as I would like to.

I have a lot going on this week while I am home. I will be attending a country music festival along with a few other events.

I will be posting some recaps and pictures when I return back to Phoenix next week.

So please be patient, I will have some entertaining stories when I return home…

Heading Home for Christmas

Justin Wright — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 20:36:00 +0000

I booked a flight last night to Wisconsin. I decided I wanted to spend a few days with family, especially since I have not seen them since May. I am excited to get home and see snow, HA HA yeah right.

I am only going home through Tuesday since I have to be back to work on Wednesday. I will try and post some pictures with the family and let everyone know how awesome it was to return home.