Fridge Nightmares in Chippewa Falls

Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin is home to Leinenkugel’s and less than a two hour drive, so it was a great choice for our next camping adventure. Armed with an idea of the things to do and see and reservations at Country Villa Motel and Country Camping, we loaded everything up and hit the road.

We’ve gotten pretty good at the set up routine and splitting the work, we get it all done in around 10 minutes. Jamey’s in charge of most of the outside set up; leveling, water, sewer hook-up and putting beers into the outdoor fridge, while I run the water inside, throw in a toilet bomb and turn on the water heater. Which is how Jamey found it …

Rotten Meat

We forgot hamburger patties in the freezer of the outdoor kitchen from the last camping trip, three weeks prior. That means for three weeks, that meat sat in the fridge with no power, in the July heat. The smell. Oh the smell.

The only minor saving grace was that we plugged the camper in at home before we left, so the fridge and freezer was running overnight and froze the rotten meat and maggots into a frozen mess of solid disgustingness.

We always keep disinfecting wipes and paper towels in the camper, but we did not have enough paper towels or bleach to thoroughly clean this mess. So I drove the 10 miles to the nearest gas station to stock up. When I got there, their credit card machine was down and they were only accepting cash. I rarely carry cash, so I had to use the ATM, which seemed to be running on dial-up internet from 1987. Jamey was stuck there the dogs who seemed think the smell of rotten meat was divine.

We got the outdoor fridge cleaned and disinfected, but that smell … it lingers. It gets on everything … it was horrific. Neither of us could stomach the idea of standing near that fridge while we grilled dinner that evening, so we walked down to the restaurant nearby.

After dinner, we built a fire and had a nice relaxing evening and did not open that fridge again.

Bike to Beer

Saturday morning, we had a good breakfast (with ingredients brought from the indoor fridge, we were still ignoring the outdoor one) and took the dogs for a nice long walk before heading out on our bikes.

I put in my headphones, turned on my audiobook, and we biked six miles to the Leinienkugel Lodge and signed up for the tour. We elected the tour that included two beers plus a pint glass to take home. I’m a big fan of their Honey Weiss and Summer Shandy, but Jamey was a bit reluctant – thinking they’re a big macrobrewery and everything would be terrible. We were both surprised how much we liked the Berry Weiss, it was sweet without being cloying, and a perfect summer refreshment. The lodge/brewery was really neat too, it’s got a great outdoor patio and the creek goes right past the brewery making it a really enjoyable place to sip some beers. While there, we met a gentle giant named Bear. He got many pats from both of us.

We got back on our bikes for a short 1 mile ride over to Brewster Bros. Brewing Co.

This is a unique business that both brews beer and distills liquor. Their Dark Timber stout is so good! Lunch time came and went and we were pretty hungry, so we talked about heading back to the campsite and grilling some brats for lunch. Then we remembered the smell of that fridge … so we had pizza delivered to the brewery and ordered another round of delicious beers! Eventually, we knew the boys would be in need of a walk soon, so we biked back to the campground.

While the campground was pretty full, we hardly saw anyone, it was very quiet. We took the dogs for another long walk through the campground, down the road and through a neighborhood. And then, after a day of heat, biking and drinking, we took a good, long nap.

A couple hours later, we built a fire, grilled some burgers, and put some tunes on the outdoor speakers and just sat by the fire well into the wee hours of the morning.

Overall, despite the nightmare of the rotten meat, this was a very relaxing and enjoyable camping trip!