Lincoln County, Wisconsin

Tonight, I am camped on my brother-in-law’s property on Long Lake. On the way up here, I checked out the dispersed camping situation on Horn Lake, which is northeast of Merrill. Unfortunately, there are only two places to camp at the end of the road. There were already three trailers squeezed into two sites. 

In any event, it doesn’t look like a good option when I leave here. Scott’s flat spot turned out to be very nice. I even have house electricity. Actually, it is an extension cord running from his outhouse, but I’m happy to have it. 

 

Going Camping

Wisconsin state park campgrounds officially open on June 10th at reduced capacity.  Camping is by reservation only, and check-in will be self-serve. 

I have a feeling that it will be almost impossible to get a reservation on weekends.  Also, the reservation fee on top of Wisconsin's fairly expensive camping fees doesn't make me to too excited to sign up.  But...I suspect that it will relieve some pressure on some of the other camping opportunities that should be opening up soon--National forest campgrounds. 

For this first trip of the summer, the plan is to camp on Julia's brother's property up north.  Scott has a cabin on a small lake not too far from Rhinelander.  We stayed there quite often when he was married and from time to time since his divorce, but I haven't been up there since buying the Scamp. He has a lot of lake frontage on a sloping lot. Scott assures me that he has a flat spot to park on.  I hope so.  I don't have any back-up plan. 

Julia will drive separately and meet me up there after she finishes work. After a couple of days, she will head home.  One of my goals is to scout out some potential dispersed sites and/or primitive primitive campgrounds on national forest and county forest land.  If that's successful, I'll stay a couple of days longer.

This week, we celebrated Allie's 23rd birthday. 

My sourdough bread turned out great.  I've been having trouble working with wet dough, and I found a technique that helps with that issue:  flouring the top of the dough, flipping it over, and then turning the sticky dough into itself for shaping.

The weather has turned hot, so Callie and I have moved our hikes to sunrise.

The warming up of the weather means that my farmer neighbor no longer needs steers in his barn to keep the water spigot from freezing. This time of year, he moves half of his animals across the road, putting them on a hillside at the end of my front yard.  I like having them around. 

It's a small farm, and this farmer is definitely "old school."  Davey is about 70 years old and works like a dog, due to broken down equipment and limited resources.  His 40 acres is either too hilly or too wet.  I've never heard him complain.  This is his retirement job after working years as a gravel truck driver.  He inherited the family property from his mother.

One Step Forward, One Step Back

I try to write one blog post per week when I'm not traveling.  That's easy when I'm planning something to do in the future.  All of our future air travel is on hold.  Although Wisconsin private businesses have started opening, public campgrounds have not.  Unlike western states, Wisconsin's opportunities for dispersed camping are very limited. 

I was really excited to learn that the Kickapoo Reserve in southwestern Wisconsin was going to open up for primitive camping without hookups. Then, shortly after Wisconsin citizens started going nuts hanging out at bars and music venues, southwestern Wisconsin had a flare-up of cases.  Kickapoo Reserve has indefinitely called off camping for the summer season. 

The other ball that I need to keep in the air is Justin.  While Allie is doing most of his care, the two sometimes don't get along that well.  There are also certain less pleasant aspects of Justin's care that we typically do for Allie.  Julia and I won't be able to travel together unless we can get Allie on board for doing everything required. 

So...we continue living in the moment. I take my country walks, split my wood, and have an occasional brew at the end of the day.

Vapor Trail IPA

My sourdough bread efforts have produced mixed results.  The pancakes have been outstanding.  Sometimes, the bread is great.  This week, it ended up going straight into the trash.  I guess I need to keep working at it.

Sourdough--It's Alive!

The highlight of the week was a trip to east-central Wisconsin where I did my first biking in over 25 years. I bought my Trek bike in 1983.  It was my first major purchase after college.  For awhile, I was a serious biker.  My friend Dave and I biked across the state of Wisconsin in 1988. On that ride, he met his future wife Ruth.  Dave, Ruth and Julia are still active bikers. 

I dragged my old Trek out of the pole shed last year and had it tuned up by a technician who was younger than the bike.  The higher-end bikes today are lighter, more expensive and supposedly better.  My Trek is steel-sturdy and managed to keep up with the newer bikes of Dave, Ruth and Julia.  We only did 16 miles, but that included some serious hills.  I still prefer hiking/walking, but I have to admit that it felt good to ride fast on the downhills.

Picnic after the Ride.  Dave isn't social distancing from his wife; he just got cold in the shade.

Dave says, "Steel is Real"

Exciting Week in Lodi

We were having a perfectly boring week of social distancing. Then all hell broke loose. I have a neighbor who makes bad choices from time to time. He’s a real nice guy when he isn’t drinking too much or driving too fast.

Thursday morning, he was allegedly doing both.

Somehow, his vehicle hit a utility pole, two cars, and a house. The car ended up on its side just in front of an old man’s living room picture window. The old man was sitting in his living room and could have been killed if the vehicle had bounced differently. My neighbor walked away uninjured. I mean that literally. After the accident, he walked away, across the street, through some back yards, and into the woods which eventually connects with his own property.

We had a front porch seat for the manhunt, which included half a dozen law enforcement vehicles and drones. They caught him just before dusk. Before it was over, we had cop cars driving at a fairly high rate of speed up and down our driveway.

I hope he gets the help that he needs. Being his sixth OWI, I won’t hold my breath.

The Bars Are Open

I spent some time this past week getting the Scamp ready for camping.  Temperatures in the twenties seem to be done for the year.  For me, that meant installing a new water pump, running some fresh water through the plumbing system, and clearing a clog in the kitchen sink.

While my head was underneath the rear seat bench and the kitchen cupboards, most of the Wisconsin Supreme Court had their heads up somewhere else.  The conservative majority voted 4-3 to invalidate Wisconsin's safer-at-home order.  There is no back-up order. The Republican Legislature wanted a work week's delay to negotiate a new order with the Democratic Governor, but the conservatives on the court said, nope.  

Did I mention that one of those justices was voted out of office this spring?  His replacement isn't scheduled to start yet, so his vote was the deciding one. The newly elected justice isn't allowed to vote yet. Not all of the conservatives went along with the right wing judicial activism.  Justice Brian Hagedorn refused to vote along with his fellow conservatives, writing a scathing dissent:

"The rule of law, and therefore the true liberty of the people, is threatened no less by a tyrannical judiciary than by a tyrannical executive or legislature,” Hagedorn wrote. “Today’s decision may or may not be good policy, but it is not grounded in the law.”

Immediately after the majority's decision was announced, bars started opening in Wisconsin--many of them abandoning social distancing.  It is true that Julia's optometry school friends accused her of being in the photos of crowded bars that went viral from Wisconsin. It is not true that we will be in the bars anytime soon. 

Also, as soon as the order was set aside, Annie's Campground near Gresham, Wisconsin posted that things were back to "real normal."  Annie took the further step to ban masks in campground buildings.

"Here's the line up for May 15-17: Beautiful Weather!!!!! Masks are NOT allowed in the buildings for safety sake. They are viewed as a robbery in progress and will be handled that way. 

 

Friday night fish fry, fisherman's platter, shrimp, homemade pizza, pub mix, specialty drinks at bar $3 (Sanitizer and Summer's Not a Bummer Hummers), and more appetizers. 

 

Saturday: 0900-noon is @Starla's Concealed Carry class at the pavilion, no equipment needed... she is a fantastic instructor..."

 

There are very few virus cases in the Gresham area--yet.  Wisconsin's petri dish experiment will undoubtedly now include people from hot spots in Chicago and Milwaukee joining in with like-minded people in northern Wisconsin.  You have to be careful what you wish for.

Some of Wisconsin's larger urban areas immediately implemented their own stay-at-home orders.  Madison's order doesn't expire until July.  Here in Columbia County, no order is in effect.  Some people are complaining that many businesses are not immediately re-opening, but apparently not everyone thinks that things are back to the real normal yet.  Cases are back on the increase, even in Columbia County, due in part to increased availability in testing. 

 

We continue our boring lives here, scanning the interwebs for chances to get away in the Scamp.  National forests, state parks, and the Kickapoo Reserve remain closed.  There are a few municipal and county parks opening up campgrounds, but they aren't an upgrade from my spot on the top of the hill at home.  

 

The view outside the Scamp windows shows that my fruit trees are blooming.

 

Apple Tree

Cherry Tree

 

For my outings, I took a road trip about an hour away to pick up my monthly fresh milled flour and some eggs.  We played around with the idea of joining a CSA (community supported agriculture) share for weekly fresh vegetables this summer, but decided that the cost was more than we wanted to pay.  We'll have a small vegetable garden instead.  After having trouble accessing flour for my weekly sourdough bread, I did come across a CSA for fresh milled flour from organic heirloom grains.  The monthly cost wasn't too bad, and it gives me a chance to take a drive once per month to a different part of Wisconsin.

 

 

On the way back, I stopped near Prairie du Sac for eggs from pasture chickens.  The lady had some duck eggs for me to try as well.  They were surprising good, so I'll be getting more of those next time.  The price was the same as chicken eggs ($3/dozen), but the yolks are much bigger and richer.  

Justin celebrated his 20th birthday this week.  We had a small party in the driveway with strawberry shortcake.  Julia's dad and stepmom were also in attendance.

 Julia goes back to work one day per week, starting Monday.  The plan is to go to two days per week in June.  I had a bad virus nightmare this week. Hopefully,  nothing similar happens during waking hours.

The Seasons They are a Changin'

Come gather 'round, people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin'
And you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'"

(Bob Dylan,"The Times They are a Changin')

Spring is busting out all over Wisconsin, and you can see it in the changed behavior of people.  At least, that's true in our rural county, where corona virus cases have not dramatically increased over the last couple of weeks. Columbia County has increased from 27 cases to 32 cases in the last week or so and has held steady at one death for at least a month. Lots of people are out and about, not wearing masks, hoping that everything goes back to normal soon.  On the other hand, the state of Wisconsin has seen increasing deaths:  from 24 on April 1st to 374 on May 7th. 

The Democratic governor extended the shelter in place order until May 26th.  The Republican Legislature is working to get that order overturned.  With a conservative majority, the Wisconsin Supreme Court seemed sympathetic to the Republican arguments.  The Chief Justice commented that the recent outbreak in Green Bay is among meatpacking employees, not "regular folks."    

As for me, I'm not encouraged much by the politicians or judges on either side of the aisle. That isn't to say that politics and policy aren't important.  I was a political science major before law school.  I'm very much aware of how money and power influence laws and policy.  Policy decisions will influence the final death count.  Political choices will partly determine who will be the winners and losers in the future economy. 

I haven't seen any evidence that an effective treatment or vaccine is coming anytime soon.  Without a cohesive national policy, a lot is being left up to the individual states and individuals themselves.   On a personal level,  Julia has decided to go back to work for one day per week in mid-May.  Eye health is important. A number of precautions will be taken to keep patients and doctors safe.  I don't see any way that it's going to be as safe as sheltering in place, but she feels like it's time to get back to work.  She is still scheduled to retire at the end of December.  That day can't come soon enough for me.  I can easily live on a little bit less in retirement.  But I don't think it's about the money for her.  Julia just isn't quite ready to be done with work.

 Hike on the Ice Age Trail

Wisconsin State parks are open again for day use.  That lets some of the pressure off of other trails.  This week, we went back to Slack's Road and hiked to the Merrimac Ferry and back again.  We didn't pass anyone on the trail and saw only two other hikers and no other dogs. 

Wild flowers are making appearances with the warming weather.   The orioles, grosbeaks and hummingbirds are also back.

Wood Violets

Dutchman Breeches

My personal prediction is that things are going to get much worse before they get better, as we start to open up again.  But you know what?  The geese don't care about my predictions. And neither does Callie.  Nature just keeps going on, as though nothing has changed.  Being in nature makes me feel better--at least for awhile.

Humans can't necessarily see what's just beyond the bend, but we are blessed/cursed with the intelligence to plan for it.  Hope is a positive emotion but not a plan.  We live in interesting times.