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Saturday, April 12, 2014

Chilly Morning With the Turkeys

I made it through the night, but it was a cold one!  The tent has 3 large windows that zip on 2 sides, closed on the bottom and the top is only held closed with a toggle.  The tent billowed all night even though the wind was only 5-10 mph.  I was curled up like a snail in my Smartwool layers inside my sleeping bag and with my hood on my jacket pulled up.  As usual, my feet just didn't get warm all night so every time I woke up I had a little trouble falling back asleep because of them.

I forgot my light for my Kindle (thought I left it with my camping stuff..where is it then?) so I was done for the night by 9pm.  When I told my mother I was going to Kettle Moraine to try out my new tent she expressed her worry about me going and my smart reply was "afraid the turkeys are going to get me?"  I giggled when I was settling down for the night and suddenly heard gobbling nearby.  I also heard geese and cranes, and about 4am I awoke to more gobbling and even an owl.  I had tent campers on either side of me so if I had been in danger of stampeding turkeys I'm sure I could have gone to them for aid.

photo courtesy of nature.org
This morning I'm enjoying some decaf chai tea at Starbuck's while listening to Bob Dylan singing "Tangled up in Blue".  Not too shabby.  The wifi keeps kicking me out though.  Before I climbed into my tent to read last night I took a quick walk at Scuppernong Springs across from the Ottawa Lake campground.  The light was nice and it's the only open spot around here in the state forest.  Here's a few straight-out-of-the-camera shots of my walk.







I know, spring in southeastern Wisconsin looks a lot like early winter, doesn't it?  At least it was warm.  It's cloudy here now but warming up fast into the 50's.  A storm is forecasted for around noon so I'm heading out of here to hit the trail again and take the long route today.  Pictures from the trail for you tomorrow!




4 comments:

  1. Nice scenery shots! Glad you survived the cold night in your tent.

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  2. At least the ice is off and the snow has melted. Did you ever warm a rock by the campfire and place it in the bottom of your sleeping bag by your feet? We used to do that and it worked pretty good.

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  3. enjoyed your latest camping account Pam and the photographs too. It's pretty hard to get to sleep if your feet are cold. Have you ever heard of those little pocket gel heat pads - you re-energise them by resting in hot water - but have one ready for that moment when you need the warmth essentially. I had one years ago from Australian Geographic stores

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  4. Ottawa was our favorite home park when we lived in WI. We would camp there with boy scouts- us leaders would cheat and use heaters. Made many trips around those springs over the years.

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