A Few Days at Blue Mounds

Julia and I hitched up the Scamp on Wednesday, got our motors runnin' and headed out on the highway, looking for adventure and whatever came our way.  

Well, maybe not.  Wisconsin state parks require advanced reservations for camping this year.  We made prior arrangements at Blue Mounds State Park to spend a couple of days mid-week, before the crowds arrived for the July 4th weekend.  Blue Mounds is about an hour from our house.

Hazy Jane IPA

Things have been a little tense with the four adults (more or less) in our house, staring at each other for the last few months.  The real grown-ups had to get away to preserve sanity.  Allie and Justin were left to fend for themselves and defend the castle.  They did remarkably well, despite some challenges, and we appreciated the chance to get away for some safe down-time with nature and each other.

Campground check-in was touch-less.  The office was closed.  A sign directs campers to go directly to their campsite.  You can print a copy of your confirmation to put up on the site or show your phone if asked.  No one asked us for anything.  Aside from waving hi and thanks to the workers cleaning the bathrooms several times per day and spraying down the water spigots, there is no interaction with park personnel.  We brought our own water and bathroom, so things were touch-less there too.

The pool is closed.  The towers are closed.  The playground was closed.  Trails are open.  We hiked the park's trails and also strolled the Military Ridge Bike/Hike Trail which passes next to the state park. 

After a daily five mile hike early in the morning to beat the heat, we spent the afternoons and evenings at the campsite:  reading, cooking, drinking, and staring into the fire.  We tried to remember the last time we enjoyed a dinner inside a restaurant.  But mostly, we tried to stay in the moment and enjoy this respite from the current days. 

Reading a book by the fire

When we first arrived on Wednesday, the campground was about one-third full.  When we left this morning, things were just about filled up.  Camping mid-week seems like a good way to avoid the crowds.  Julia has changed her work schedule to allow more of these outings. 

Summer of Social Distancing

Callie the Cattle Dog:  Social Distancing

I enjoyed my week in northern Wisconsin immensely, but I was under strict orders to be back home for Father's Day weekend.  Last Friday, I hitched up under darkening skies and made it back home just before the storms hit. 

We've had quite a bit of rain over the last few days.  I won't complain because it's kept the weather cool.  Days over 90 during Wisconsin's summers are uncommon. Today, the high nudged just over 70. 

I don't have much planned for extended trips.  This fall, if at all possible, I would like to spend some time in South Dakota, but it's just too early to make any decisions.  Allie is trying to find a job, preferably on the West Coast.  Justin is trying to go back to college this fall.  Julia has unfinished business before her retirement.  I'll be taking things week by week.

Things have started opening up here for camping.  State parks, national forests and the Kickapoo Reserve are all open.  Interestingly, places that take reservations are booking up fast.  I tried to get a mid-week camping reservation at Wildcat State Park.  I was very surprised that much of the summer is booked up already.  Several of Julia's patients have remarked that they recently bought RVs or trailers as part of the effort to be outside and safer this year.  The trick will be finding the hidden gems away from the popular places.

Wisconsin made the news this week when one of our local strip clubs in the Wisconsin Dells had a covid outbreak. I guess they weren't social distancing. 

Boulder Lake

From Scott’s property, I drove about an hour or so east into the Chequmegon-Nicolet National Forest.

I was interested in two campgrounds that recently opened: Bagley Rapids and Boulder Lake. My original plan was to first spend some time at Bagley Rapids, an inexpensive primitive campground on the Oconto River. From one of the waterfront sites, you can hear the sound of the rapids while drifting off to sleep.

However, a road detour took me right past Boulder Lake. I figured that was fate; so I pulled in Monday morning. There were more people camped here than I expected, but I found a beautiful lakeside site without hookups that simply lured me in.

The campsite had its own trail to the lake.

As the sunset, looks called out that all is still well in the natural world. Well, I know it’s not, but the sound of the loons still brought me peace and joy.

On the next day, I was brought back to earth when I found a new form of campground litter.

I’m going to spend a few days here, focusing on the lake and the call of the loons. I need this.

Harrison Hills

We’ve enjoyed our first camping trip of the year and the time spent with Scott, Julia’s brother. We have different ideas about what’s safe during these days, but having the Scamp on the property and a long covered porch to socialize more safely has made for a pleasant  stay. 

On the day after Julia’s arrival, we drove ten minutes to the Harrison Hills segment of the Ice Age Trail. In the beginning, we opted to start our hike on the well-maintained and roughly parallel ATV trail. It made for easy side-by-side hiking and seemed less “ticky,” which can be a problem this time of year. Additionally, it was early enough that the ATV riders had not yet recovered from Saturday morning hangovers, so we initially had the trail to ourselves.

The weather was crisp with temperatures starting in the 40’s and topping out in the 60’s. This area of the state is characterized by thick woods, small lakes and wetlands. 

After about three miles, the trail was interrupted by a “water feature” caused by four inches of recent rain. After discussing whether or not to get wet in the water of unknown depth, we decided that a six mike hike in and out would be enough.

Callie felt cheated, so she went for a short swim on the return trip.

By now, the ATV’s started showing up. Watching them ride by, with everyone but the leader breathing a cloud of trail dust, made me glad to have married another silent sports enthusiast. The Ice Age Trail intersects with the ATV trail several times, so we jumped off into the narrower walking path. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a trail map, so by 50/50 chance, we headed the wrong way. 

However, it was such a beautiful day, we didn’t really care. After hiking up a steep hill ending with a radio broadcast tower, we figured out our (my) mistake, and retraced our steps to get to the other side of the ATV’s.

Soon, we were back at the now-crowded parking lot. Not much social distancing going on here, so we hurried into the truck and headed back to Scott’s for spicy Bloody Mary’s and a game of cards.

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.