Got a bike rack!

When we were at Blue Mound State Park we went to Camping World to see what options we had for carrying our bikes and our kayak. We never really found a solution for the kayak we were happy with, so we decided we'd continue just putting it inside the fifth wheel while traveling. However, we did purchase a rack for the bikes and Wayne immediately got to work setting it up.

 

We also walked to the back end of the campground and went up the hiking trail to the tower.

  

The view from the top of the tower was nice, and we enjoyed our walk. I think we'll be back to this Wisconsin State Park again, the only thing it was lacking was kayaking opportunities.  We were supposed to go to Lake Kegonsa State Park at the end of October for a quick weekend trip but had to cancel because of trouble with our landing legs on the fiver. Wayne ordered new ones, installed them, and now we're hoping the weather will cooperate so we can go out for 3 nights on Thanksgiving weekend at Kettle Moraine State Park before putting the fiver in storage for the winter. I am not looking forward to that!

Since we weren't able to go camping I decided to drive to Kettle Moraine State Park for a hike instead. I chose the Emma Carlin trails since I haven't been on those before. They are open for hikers and mountain bikers, and since the trail was so narrow it was quite inconvenient to have to keep hopping off into the underbrush to avoid getting run over. So, when the trail intersected with the National Ice Age Trail I switched to that one. Much quieter, much wider, and a better variety of things to see. I walked for about 3 miles before returning to the parking lot, and when I came out on the Ice Age Trail I was at the opposite end from where I parked. I was delighted to discover this little pond surrounded by wildflowers and spent about half an hour playing with my camera.

 

The last few days, thanks to a commercial on TV for Arizona, all I can think about is how great it would be to pack up and go south for the winter. Four years, 3 months and counting until we can consider that option!