Camping

Camping is somewhat of a crap shoot. Can't control the weather, never know what kind of people will be at the park, never know what might go wrong. This last, four night trip is a case in point. Here's some things that went wrong:

• Nephew Brandon, age 6, broke his collar bone the day before the trip, so he camped in a brace and a sling, no bike, no roller blades, no swimming




• First night's supper of hamburgers tumble to the sandy ground when the grill inexplicably collapses, causing us to have crunchy hamburgers




• Heavy downpour on second day collapses camper awning and screen house, breaking four poles and getting a whole lot of crap wet




• Peggy, one of the adult campers, falls victim to a stomach bug and spends a whole day sick in her tent




• Camping coffee pot gets broken, dooming us to--gulp--instant!




• Tripod chain weakens in fire, dumping our stockpot into the ashes

It should have been a disaster of a trip, but it wasn't. It was beautiful and peaceful. Twice we had lakes to ourselves, we saw seven deer, loons, cormorants, woodpeckers and nuthatches, and a white pelican. The fireworks in the little town of Mellen didn't start until after 10 pm, and the fireworks the waiting crowd set off were almost professional quality. The marshmallows were fresh and roasted themselves to perfection, and we didn't run out of food or drink. The stars were bright and crowded the sky, winking among the clearly visible belt of the Milky Way. We were surrounded in Nature and it was beautiful.

Copper Falls, Copper Falls State Park, Wisconsin

Day Lake, Chequamegon National Forest

Approaching Madeline Island on the ferry

Wild Iris in Big Bay State Park, Madeline Island, Wisconsin

Loon Lake in the evening, Copper Falls State Park