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Not really SAD, but

A lot of people are affected with Seasonal Affective Disorder in Wisconsin.  We have many, many days without sun during the winter months.  This year, we've had a string of days with heavy fog and unseasonably warm temperatures in the 30's and 40's.   Personally, I can't claim that I've ever really felt the effects of SAD, but this year, knowing that we are likely moving west later next year, I've been very impatient and annoyed with Wisconsin weather.   Sun trying to fight through the clouds It hasn't helped that my daily routine involves looking at the weather in Fort Collins and Tucson.  Their weather has been spectacularly sunny and more pleasant this time of year.   So, I haven't been blogging much because not much is going on. I've substituted indoor pickleball for hiking. The trails have been muddy and not much fun. For Christmas, we had my mother, Julia's brother and Allie here.  I went and retrieved my mother from Cedar Rapids a...
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Goose Island County Park

Overall, we had a really good time camping at Goose Island County park.  Mid-week is the way to go in Wisconsin this summer.  Early in the week, the campground was perhaps half full. 

Callie was a big fan of the park.



Julia joined me on Wednesday for the rest of the week. She brought her kayak. She put in at the park's boat landing on the north end of the island and followed the current to the federal wildlife reserve's boat landing on the south side of the island.



We got in our steps each day, but we were also glad to slow down and just take in the views.





By Thursday, we felt like we had experienced all of the park, so we drove up to La Crosse for some hiking at Hixon Forest.  Many of these trails are for both hikers and mountain bikers. We did a short loop here.


The trails in the Upper Forest felt crowded with mountain bikers, so we headed to the Lower Forest, starting at the Bicentennial Trailhead.


The maps gave no clue about elevation change.  The Bicentennial Trail is a wide dirt trail that pretty much went straight down the bluffs.  On the way back up, we took the very scenic Rotary View Trail, which was twice as long with many switchbacks (5.4 miles round trip).

From the top, we had expansive views of La Crosse all of the way to the river.



By Friday, the campground was getting busy, and it was time to come home. 

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