After Wayne dropped the camper at Ottawa Lake for me on July 4th I spent the next 4 days driving back and forth to the camper and home or work.
 |
| Wouldn't you love to see me try to tow this with my little Vibe? |
It was a sweet idea on his part, and to be honest I wouldn't have probably taken walks in the humidity we've been experiencing otherwise. But....
 |
| Clover and Birdsfoot Trefoil dominate the prairie |
However, $28 a day site fees + two hours of driving and the cost of gas just to nudge me into taking my daily walk is a bit steep. And I confess it was weird to sleep in the camper 3 nights in a row without my hubby. The tent is my domain and I enjoy the solitude, but the camper is for the both of us and it just made me feel lonely to be there without him.
As for the walks, I skipped the more popular trails at first and actually took to the horse/snowmobile trails. The trail is wider than the Ice Age Trail and therefore I was less likely to encounter mosquitoes or ticks.
Kettle Moraine State Forest is well signed, no matter what trail you are on it's hard to get lost. And you might even pick up some political opinions on the blazes as well.
Personally I've been turning a blind eye to the political realm these days. It's such a circus who knows how things may evolve. Truthfully I'm a little frightened to find out.
I'll just stick my head in the sand, or in the berry bushes, whatever.
 |
| Blue Spring Lake segment of the Ice Age Trail |
On my last morning at the campground I headed over to the Emma Carlin trails parking lot on Cty Hwy Z to attempt to finish up the Blue Spring Lake segment.
The spur trail from the parking lot was open and sunny and I enjoyed the blooms and the sound of some distant cicadas.
 |
| Queen Anne's Lace - Daucus carota |
 |
| The bees were loving the Mullein - Verbascum |
Once into the woods on the narrow trail it was a different story and I ended up mostly jogging for a mile and a half to try to stay ahead of the angry mosquitoes. Then I had to turn around and jog back, making sure to mark where I left off. As for ticks, haven't seen a single one yet this season, must be because it has been so dry.
 |
| Deptford Pink - Dianthus armeria |
Wayne returned to the camper on Thursday when he finally got a day off, and it was good timing because Katrina and her boyfriend Charlie swung by to join us since they live only about half an hour from Ottawa Lake. Who doesn't love a cookout that includes kitten cuddling and playing a round of Cards Against Humanity?
If you've made it this far I will now reveal the big news. We were supposed to do a Lake Superior tour next month through Canada but had trouble making the reservations so now we are heading to Rocky Mountain National Park instead! We will arrive at Estes Park on the 22nd of August and are staying for 6 nights. On our way back home we are going to swing a little bit north and be in Custer the week before Labor Day. Anybody going to be in either of those places at those times? We'd love to meet up with other travelers if the opportunity arises!
Custer? You mean, like South Dakota? I think the stars have aligned because I plan to be in Rapid City that week! I'll have to show you my fave Black Hills trails....Harney Peak and Sunday Gulch. :)
ReplyDeleteWow! Big plans!
ReplyDeleteThat's a drastic change of plans!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea about taking the wider trails to avoid the ticks. But what a bummer to find out the ticks may be fewer but the mosquitoes are plentiful. I too am not watching the political side show and am afraid to see what is going to happen in these next months before the election and possibly even after depending….. Now that’s a change of venue. . Really surprised you couldn’t get campsites around Lake Superior but you could at Rocky Mountain. You are going to love Rocky Mountain. There is SO much FABULOUS hiking. We’ll be in Vermont so I’m sorry we can’t meet up.
ReplyDeleteOhhh, Estes Park is a cool place to stay, and being in RMNP in summer has to be THE best. We'll be home then, so we won't see you guys. Wish Jimmy and I could have taken more time in WI, but we still have a long way to go before we get to California. Skeeters around Lake Superior are pretty bad, but we haven't seen a tick, either. Lots of big, bad T-storms in the area.
ReplyDeleteHave fun. That is our old stomping ground.
ReplyDelete