Miles: 159
Trump signs: 1 :(
Feingold signs: 2 :)
Eagles: 1
Stations covering the Packer Pre-season game: 3
Country music stations: 4
Memories:
Therese: Seeing the bald eagle on the side of the road peeling roadkill from the pavement.
Danny: When dad thought the square dock was going to be a beach.
Grace: Still basking in yesterday's memories: catching two fish and two sticks.
Gordon: Finally seeing Lake Superior
Woulda, coulda shoulda: Given a bit more time, I would definitely explore the Visitor Center and grounds a bit more. We've discovered that this are deserves a return trip to spend more time exploring. When we have the entire lake to conquer, we have to leave a few local activities off our list!
We get pretty dirty on the camp trail which doesn’t phase me a bit. But I can’t stand a dirty hotel. Luckily our little County Inn was just about as spotless as I’ve ever seen. The addition of our $9.99 Menards little toaster meant pop-tarts for the kids: a sweet treat.
We hung out with cousin Julie for a bit and hit the road around 10:00. We had hoped to visit a model railroad museum in Spooner Wi, but a washed out bridge on the way to Washburn added a detour that ate into our time. We arrived at camp hungry and a bit cranky which was soon cancelled out by the beautiful vista of Lake Superior that awaited us from our campsite.
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| Setting up camp with a beautiful view of Lake Superior |
The campsite is on a bluff directly overlooking the lake. In addition to our scenic campsite, we can walk about 50 feet to a small picnic area and have completely unobstructed views.
Danny discovered he’s a stick person. Ever since the lake in Chippewa Falls, he’s been carrying around a stick to walk with and of course to hit stuff (stuff, not people) with. He golfed all the pinecones out of the tent site, actually split a piece of firewood and has carried his stick with him ever since. He walked a couple times with me on camp errands saying that “people who use sticks like to walk.”
Every year it gets a little easier to set up camp as our helpers take on more responsibility. This year Grace helped with tent set-up. Both kids inflated the camp pads and put in the window poles. In between, much time was taken to explore.
The artist in Grace is always attracted to sketching with charcoal and one of her first activities was to decorate a few rocks lining the fire pit.
After lunch, we explored the campsite. The overlook of the lake is stunning and peaceful. We decided to take the steps down to the beach only to discover that the bottom of the steps consisted of a small 4 foot square dock with sturdy railings and no beach. It must have eroded years ago. A bit anticlimactic but also funny.
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| Steps from our campsite this beautiful vista awaited. We came back after dark to stargaze. |
Exploring and a few sibling squabbles out of the way, we decided to check out the visitor center just outside of Washburn. We arrived at 4:30 with just 1/2 hour to look around. If I had to do this over again I’d budget more time here. The grounds consist of a beautiful .75 mile nature trail. Inside is a wonderful museum of lake life and the fur and lumber trade of days gone by. The guides gave us some excellent tips on how to spend the evening and the following day.
After a delicious dinner (if I do say so myself) of roasted corn, spaghetti and meatballs, salad and left over watermelon from our afternoon farm stand stop we headed out to Friendly Valley Beach to watch a hazy sunset.
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| Avoiding the flies - pesky but not bitey - we ate indoors. A fine healthy meal if I do say so myself! |
The kids seemed barely phased by the 40 degree temperature difference between Lake Wisota and the Lake Superior. We dragged them away under the hazy remains of a mellow sunset.
The guide at the visitor center said there was a good possibility of Northern Lights, but even after many marshmallows were toasted, teeth were brushed and the top layer of dirt was brushed off, none were to be seen. Nevertheless, the bright stars and visible Milky Way was reward enough for a day of hard work and play.
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| Ending our day at Friendly Valley Beach |
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