Camping at Blue Mound State Park with a guest appearance from "Little Mexico."

Last weekend was my last camp outing for the year.

....and I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad.

Now don't get me wrong.....I still love camping.  I anticipate many more enjoyable trips in my future-- both at my favorite places as well as new ones....and certainly more that involve horses!

...but I'm still glad that it's over for the year. I'm ready for fall weather and I'm ready to settle down for the colder months and enjoy some bonding time with my animals.

I don't want to sound like a whiner, but  the truth of the matter is that camping this summer has been rough, lackluster, and without much enjoyment.

Except for my first outing with the horses at Wildcat SP with Vickie, all of my trips have included rain, extreme humidity, and hot weather. While I DO expect some of that over the course of a camping season, I don't expect to deal with it every day for every trip. In short--this summer has sucked for camping.

I know that come April of 2017, I will once again be raring to get the tent out and get next season started, so there's that.

....and I'm cool with that.

For now, I'll blog a little about this last trip.

For the reasons I mentioned above, I almost didn't go.

At a week away,  the weather looked absolutely perfect. The prediction had been for partly sunny skies, 70 's temps during the day and high 50 ' s at night. Ideal camp weather in my mind.

Once midweek rolled in, the predictions changed to 40% chance of storms Friday evening into Saturday. Ok--not great, but that still left decent temps and a 60% chance that things would remain dry. I could live with that. I felt I was certainly due a nice weekend for camping.

....then just 2 days away, the rain chance was up to 80% with rain & storms likely overnight and through most of the day Saturday.

Shit.

For us, this was to be a simple weekend outing for 2 nights. We would check in on Friday and leave on Sunday.  With short, weekend trips, that really only leaves Saturday to relax and enjoy the day.

...and they were predicting rain all day on Saturday.

We had made reservations at Blue Mound State Park (Non-electric site #44) for this outing. It's not one of my more common picks, but it's still a very nice park that remains on my short list of enjoyable camping destinations.

My co-worker/friend, Wendy was also camping in the site across from us. We had planned to do this earlier in the summer and Wendy has been collecting camping items all summer long in preparation for this weekend. It would be her first camping experience with her family.

.....and yet, I still wanted to bail.

I just wasn't in the mood for another wet, steamy outing (...and I didn't mention it, but they were also now predicting high humidity with slowly climbing temps as well).

I was on the phone to my mom the moment I saw the weather forecast go down the tubes. I told her my enthusiasm for camping had reached an all time low and at that point, I just wanted to spend the weekend at home with my animals.

I thought my mom would be disappointed if I didn't want to go, but she wasn't.  She understood. She said she was fine with staying home and she was fine with going.

I talked to Wendy the next day and she, too, said it was okay with her if I decided not to go. As for her family, they were still going. It was their first trip and they were determined not to let a bit of rain (or a torrential,  downpour with a side of thunder and lightening) spoil their fun.

I wanted to ask her if she could put that enthusiasm into a drink and share some of that with me.....

So, for the next day and a half -- I struggled with the decision on whether or not I really wanted to go. I told myself that I have never backed out of a camp trip before. Just like Wendy, I had always been determined to make the best of it.

....but one more in  the humidity and rain and heat...

Ugh.

I tried driving through nearby Devil's Lake SP, thinking that seeing the other campers and smelling the familiar campfire smells would get me revved up to go.

Nope.

My brain was screaming that it had had enough.

...So bringing us to the night before,  I was still feeling pretty bad about wanting to pull out. I had taken 2 days off to ease the planning and help me further enjoy the trip. I knew I needed to make those days count and not waste them. I also felt like my mom still wanted to go and most of all, I didn't want to ditch Wendy and her family who had agreed to camp next to us.

Finally, on Friday morning, I phoned my mom and told her I was still fighting with my desire to go.

So my mom says "Let's just go."

So I said "Ok." .....at this point I had over thought everything and my mind was numb.

I even agreed to leaving my car behind and just piling me and all my crap into the truck with my mom and Jerseydog (which is something I normally don't do. I like having my car). Sadly, I was already 100% tuned out at that point.

What ensued made for a rather interesting camping trip....

As is customarily the case with both my mother and I, we pulled into the campground far later than we had hoped.

My mom was a bit intimidated by the narrow roads in this campground as they make maneuvering a trailer into place a little more challenging.  We had to turn around and come at our campsite from the opposite direction we drove in so my mom didn't have to back a corkscrew pattern to get set up.

Did I say how much I am enjoying the fact that I went back to tent camping?  No?
....just thought I'd mention that again...

Once we were facing the correct direction, backing in was a snap. I don't think my mom realizes how good she has mastered backing her trailer.  I've seen a few dudes she could put to shame! (...and when I finally get that horse trailer and must tow again --she's hired!!  *Big Grin*)

Rain had been threatening throughout our setup and we got a few sprinkles, but nothing significant.  It was also comfortably cool outside. I happily told myself that if it stayed this way, I could live with it and be content.

Wendy and her family had set up their camp long before us.

I enjoyed looking over at their big tent across the road from our site.

The rest of the evening was uneventful. My mom and I enjoyed some pizza flavored brats on the portable grill (because we hadn't bought firewood yet) and turned in for an early bedtime since we were both tired.

Considering the weather predictions, I slept reasonably well. While I enjoy rip roaring Thunderstorms  in the safety of my apartment,  I don't enjoy them in a tent. As luck would have it, however, it didn't storm. It rained. Hard.

....but no storms.

There is ONE positive thing that I have come away from this camping season with and that is just how much I love my tent. My tent has done fabulously through all the rainy weather this year keeping both myself and my canine tent mate dry as a bone.

Jersey will hang out in my mom's camper when she has to (for a variety of reasons), but she has made it very clear that she prefers being in the tent with me. She likes being MY camp & hike dog. ♡♡♡♡

My tent has been a great investment and I have been very happy with it as this is my 3rd season since re-homing my old camper.

Getting back on track,  Saturday turned out to be a fair day. Everything was very wet, but everyone managed to stay dry and the ongoing rain was very minimal. 

Wendy got her first initiation as a camper when the resident raccoons broke into her coolers overnight and helped themselves to her yummy vittles.

In classic,  Wendy, style -- she was good natured and laughed about it and resigned herself and the family to a trip to the store for more food.

My mom and I made our own trip to the store on Saturday (the nearest Wal-Mart about 22 minutes away). The sneaky raccoons had snatched the bag of Jersey's food off of our picnic table while we were busy setting up. I'd like to say we should know better,  but these were brave little stinkers! 

I also needed to buy underwear.

Yup. Forgot them. Therein lies the consequences of a numb brain burned out by  previous, bad weather.

...and because my mother loves to shop, I had to convince her that we really do have a Wal-Mart in our home town (Ok, not really, but getting my shopaholic, mother out of a store after we have the essentials isn't always easy).

Upon returning to our campsite, we discovered.....

...that we'd acquired neighbors. 

This was just a casual,  faraway snapshot I took that doesn't really tell the whole story.

For the next evening, the site next to us was home to (at least) a dozen, Hispanic campers from the neighboring state.

Their picnic table had so much food and drinks on it, I don't think it was possible to find the table.

Their site also sported a full - size grille, a screen tent, and 2 small to medium sized tents (how they had room to move around,  I don't know).

We weren't spying on them. It was hard not to notice.

They also treated us?

No. Wait.

Subjected us...

to their selections of music favorites.

My mom noted that some of the songs were American but were being sung in Spanish. The only tune I recognized was "Unchained Melody," from the movie GHOST. That song was the only one they played in  English (I guess they couldn't find the Spanish version).

 

During this time Jersey and I took a few invigorating hikes around the campground. Unfortunately,  I assumed the trails would be too wet.

By Saturday night, I was ready to rip my hair out. No peaceful forest noises for me (...and just for the record, I am not bigoted -- I would have been EQUALLY annoyed had they been English songs. They were quite loud).

Camping etiquette usually dictates that music should not be heard beyond your own campsite.

*sigh*

My mother was a much better sport than I, dubbing our neighbors "Little Mexico," and amusing herself  with texting funny, Mexican word jokes back and forth with my sister.

 

In between texts,  she made us a yummy hamburger dinner on the campfire.

....At least it didn't rain all day as predicted. 

After dinner, Wendy's family joined us for S'mores around the campfire. I mentioned to Wendy that with the state of our neighbor's picnic table that she should, at least, have a raccoon free night. They'd all be wearing sombreros on their little masked heads by morning!

I also experimented with adding Starburst candy to marshmallows for roasting. I'd found the idea online and it was quite yummy.

As dusk turned to dark, mom and I decided to try to distract ourselves from the noise next door by playing several hands of UNO.

My mom seriously kicked my butt.

Grrrrrr.

Thankfully, our neighbors respected quiet time and we were able to have a lovely night for sleeping. 

On Sunday, Wendy and her family headed out to The Good Neighbor Festival in Middleton. They had their site reserved for one more night, so didn't need to pack up.

My mom and I relaxed around a yummy sausage and egg breakfast in the morning and gradually broke camp in increments. It was humid (surprised?) and neither of us was in a huge hurry.

Unbeknownst to me, my mom snapped this lovely photo of me carting stuff out of my tent like a busy little ant with a piece of bread.

I will need to monitor her and her camera in the future *winks*.

All in all, it wasn't as bad of a weekend as I thought it was going to be.

On the bright side, I think Wendy is hooked. She's already trying to plan "one more," yet for this season.

Here's a shot of Wendy and hubby, Walter at their site (#43).

As for me, I'm hoping I fanned that fire just a little bit and I'll see Wendy's family on some future campouts.

....but not until next year as I am done for the season!

Hot, humid days....and a bit of a scare!

Tex and I had a ride today that was mostly walking and lasted all of about 30 minutes, give or take. I think if he'd had his way, he wouldn't have left his place in front of that fan. The look on his face is saying "Do we have to?" (...just a short one, my man)

I gave Griffin the option of coming with me into the barn for a groom and possibly a light bath, but he wasn't interested when I went out with his halter and called for him. He wasn't overly sweaty and seemed content to eat in the sun with his buddy, Mort(*gasp* he DOES have access to shade). He knows on hot days, he only gets groomed (or a bath) so if he didn't want to come with me, I wasn't going to make him.

The temperature outside today was about 88 degrees with the heat index in the mid to upper 90's. I don't recall the exact percentage of humidity, but it was high enough to make me constantly feel like I'd just stepped out of the shower (while completely lacking the refreshing feel of a shower).

....and today was the coolest of the last 3 days.

Ugh...

Dangerous heat warnings kept me from doing much these last few days which is probably just as well since my Dad gave everyone a good scare on Friday.

Without getting into too much personal detail, my father has been struggling with some electrolyte/dietary/mineral imbalances for quite some time.

Last November he had a seizure that put him in the hospital for over a week. It took that long to get things regulated again.

Since then, he has been eating better AND doing better....but obviously it wasn't good enough, because on Friday he had another seizure that caused a pretty serious fall and knocked him unconscious. 

Thankfully (and somewhat surprisingly), the end result of that fall was only a significant goose egg to the back of his head. We've all been joking that we need to check the floor for cracks!

This seizure resulted in another 3-day stay at the hospital including bloodwork, a cat scan, and an MRI. All were normal except for the dietary deficiencies I noted above.

As I write this, he is back home,  and with some additional dietary changes and mineral supplements (and a few other changes that are too private to mention)we are hoping not to see another seizure.

Both my mom and I are skeptical that the real root of the problem has yet to rear it's ugly head. We are "trying" to trust in his doctors..

....and to complicate matters, my dad -- shall we say -- isn't always the best patient when it comes to listening to his doctors. In his working life, he'd always been a manager-- the one in charge. Listening to others does not come easy to him and he has a stubborn streak a mile wide (of which he  has dutifully passed to his oldest daughter--me. *Grins sheepishly*).

Still, with all that said-- we all love him dearly, even when he thinks we aren't taking his side (as if there are sides to be taken when it comes to the health and well being of a loved one). ♡♡

We are all praying that the recommended changes will prevent any (near)future hospital stays and that we can help dad stick to the necessary changes that need to be made.

******

On a lighter note, I did get myself out for a hike earlier in the week. 

Last Wednesday brought warm temperatures and humidity, but not quite severe enough to be dangerous (OR to discourage me from getting outside for some after work enjoyment).

So after my house chores were done, I stuffed myself into my coolest tank and capris and headed over to Devil's Lake for a hike.

There was a very mild threat of rain, so I chose an easy hike I have done many times before. I plodded along the Tumbled Rocks trail over to the south shore beach and back again (because plodding is all I do when it's sticky humid outside). 

The photos below are from my hike...

This is the North Shore beach. It's the more popular of the 2 beaches and is one of 2 ways one can take to the start of the Tumbled Rocks Trail.

This is the start of the trail. It is 2 miles from here to the South Shore beach. Going out and back, I did an uncomplicated,  4 mile hike.

While parts of the trail are sunny, there are some nice, shady sections as well. This was a wonderful reprieve in the humidity.

The Tumbled Rocks trail runs alongside the lake, so the views are pretty and listening to the waters lap the rocks is soothing to the ears.

Recent storm damage (we've had a lot of storms lately) created an unexpected obstacle. It's a good thing no one was sitting on that bench at the wrong time!

A view of the downed tree from the other side.

I snapped a photo of a person using a paddleboard out on the lake. This is on my "bucket list" to try one day!

Despite the slimy temperatures, there was actually quite a few folks out hiking.  I passed a few couples simply enjoying a hike as I was. 

In addition, another 3-4 folks passed me doing some trail running.

One gentleman was watching wildlife at one of the benches with his binoculars. 

Another gentleman approached me from behind on the trail and inquired if I lived here and if I had ever swam in the lake.

..."Yes and yes, I have..."

He then wanted to know if it was clear water and therefore suitable for scuba diving. 

I told him I have never Scuba dived, but I thought the lake fairly clear and it might be worth a try if he had the equipment and expertise to do so.....

On the South side of the lake I talked to a few other people who were fishing, but unfortunately-- the fish were not too interested in biting...

Sometimes on these more commonly used trails, it's nice to chat with people and see how they are enjoying their day.

As for now-- I am silently praying to Mother Nature to give us a break from the heat and humidity so I can try to have an enjoyable week this week. 

We shall see.....  

A Little Catch Up...

My family and I just returned from our July camp outing. Saying that makes it sound like we went hours away.....

In reality, it was only another short trip to a nearby state park. This time we stayed at Mirror Lake State Park.

Mirror Lake isn't as popular as Devil's Lake, but it's still a nice state park with decent campsites, easy hike trails, and a small, shallow beach.

We stayed for 3 nights this time, and...unlike last time, it didn't rain the majority of the time. We only had one night in which the storms found us. Unfortunately,  the humidity on this trip was about the same as last time, and just like on that stay, my hiking was only minimal.  *sigh* 

I am hoping my weekend outing at the end of August will be better in terms of weather and will afford me some good hiking.

My sister,  Gayle, bought herself a larger tent and this was her first time using it.  Her sleeping quarters were some of the largest I have seen yet. Her tent is Colossal (with a capital "C"). It has dividers to make 3 rooms and is plenty big enough for herself,  Brendan, Fiona,  and Winston (their Husky Lab X).
.....and I think they'd still have room in there for another 2-3 people and all their STUFF. My sister seems very happy with her tent.

We spent the outing mostly visiting, doing some very small hikes (mostly to the bathroom *giggles*), and goofing off with Fiona. There was silly string, water guns, and giant purple Frisbees involved. Fiona and I also had a rather engaging game of glow-in-the-dark horse shoes.
.....mostly that involved her handing me the horse shoes and telling me how to throw them. Sometimes Fiona is just too smart for her own good! 

On the horse front, I haven't been getting a whole lot of rides in with either horse. We seem to get a handful of nice, comfortable days and then a couple of real hot, humid, and sticky numbers that make me feel like I am a rainforest dweller.

I don't do a lot of riding on days like that, because frankly-- I just don't enjoy it.  With that said, however, I DO love just hanging out with my equine boys and so we spend the scorcher afternoons hand grazing, doing pampered grooming,  getting cool baths, and a lazy walk here and there.

The spring and fall months are my favorite times to ride and that's when I get the most rides in.

My phone is being a bit of a pain at the moment in letting me get all my photos attached, so I just have a few to share today with no real captions added....

I improvise on a hike and have a difficult week

To say that my week hasn't been a happy one would be a bit of an understatement.

I've had a lot of life's little inconveniences (but necessities) get in my way of enjoying things over the last week.  While none of them were big,  life altering events,  I've had enough of the small things annoy me that I just wanted to feel sorry for myself,  throw my hands up, and give up.

....and yes, these things too, shall pass...

As much as I'd love to share my frustrations from a "therapy" standpoint,  some of it is just too personal to share here so I will just leave it at that.

Early in the week I did do a hike at Devil's Lake. My plan was to hike the 2.8 mile Johnson Moraine Trail, but at some point I misjudged where I was on trail (Note: ALWAYS take your map- even if you think you know a trail well) and I ended up hiking portions of 2 other trails as well as a service road on my way back ( in order to avoid a hill without much of a view).

In retrospect,  I should have chosen an easy, super short trail for the day because I was already dealing with some soreness issues in my body.

....but like the stubborn, Dutch lady I am, I chose to ignore what my body was telling me and do the hike I wanted anyway.

The trail had a lot of long hills as well as one or two steeper climbs. The photo above shows the start of the first long hill.

Now, I will have you know-- I took several beautiful photos of this hike (some of the prettiest I've had yet), but stupid me-- I uploaded the photos onto my blog and then went back to erase them out of gallery.

This is something I normally do after I write a blog post to keep from using up the space on my phone. Unfortunately,  as I have learned the hard way, you must actually post the writing to your blog so they will save permanently before deleting them out of your gallery or you will loose them.

I did not do this.

**sigh**

so I was left with only the reject photos I was not actually going to post.

Lesson learned.

....so I apologize for not having "prettier" pictures to post.

I'm still getting the hang of this blogging thing on my phone .....and.....at least for me, there IS a learning curve.   

This is the first trail intersection after that long hill. As you can see, the trail is marked and there is a map at (some of) the trail intersections, but you can't rely on that because some of the maps are faded and not all have your position marked well (leaving it open to guesswork).

This trail crosses over HWY DL and this section was on the other side. I took this photo right before I encountered one of the steepest hills that made my arthritic ankle cry in pain.

Hills can be challenging when you are feeling good-- but when you are already sore, they can pretty much ruin a hike.

The views were pretty though...

If only I could have shared those pictures... (sad face).

Meet Little bunny Foo-foo!!

I saw this little guy and about 20 of his cousins during my hike.

There are a LOT of rabbits out right now.

....and that is about all I have to share of this hike. I did this hike last Tuesday and haven't hiked since.

I spent the Wednesday evening after a bit sore & sick and went to bed early..

On Thursday,  it stormed in the evening, but I managed a groom session with Griffin. I would have liked to have done a walk with him, but the weather and my still being a little sore didn't allow that to happen.

I'm starting to come out of the ache-y-ness finally, so perhaps I can get a hike in sometime between seeing the horses and fireworks yet this weekend.

I hope everyone has a nice 4th of July holiday!

I had planned a longer hike this afternoon but.....

My plan after work today was to try to fit in another hike after running a few errands. I was going to do 2 Devil's Lake trails totaling just under 4 miles. 

When I arrived home, however, I was so tired having not slept much in the last 3 days (my own fault) that I took a nap instead. By the time I awoke to my cats demanding dinner, it was well after six (sorry boys).

Not wanting to give up the whole evening to doing nothing, I headed over to the lake anyway and decided to do a short trail with the remaining daylight left.

My choice was the 0.7 mile, Grotto trail on the South shore. I hiked it out and back doing an easy 1.4 miles.

.....at least is was better than not getting to hike at all.

I have explored probably just over half of the trails at Devil's Lake. By the end of this summer and into fall, I am hoping to complete all -- if not most of them.

The 2 questionable trails for me are the Potholes trail and the cc c trail (both being extremely difficult trails). I want to be a bit more fit and have some more strength built in my knee/ankle before doing those.

....and I WILL do them..

I have never done the Grottos trail before,  so exploring it tonight was a bit of a treat. It has a few easy hills and dips, but otherwise was a very wide, simple trail.

One thing that is very nice about being able to blog on my cell phone is that I can do so anywhere. The photo below is my current view as I write this!

...So much better than staring at a monitor on a desk!!

The trail had some small bridges.

The views were beautiful!! ...which is so typical of this state park. It's part of the reason so many camp and play here...

Unfortunately,  no photo I can possibly take will ever do it justice.

This last photo is the entrance to the difficult,  Potholes trail. It doesn't look hard in the photo, but when you start up it and realize just how steep it is (going straight up into the bluffs) you can see that it's not for the faint of heart.

I'm hoping I can do some "on trail" photos of the challenging, potholes trail.

Tomorrow, the weather is supposed to be a touch of storms with hot temperatures and dangerous humidity.

My old man Griffin has been quite bothered by some of the hot days we've had so far this summer ( & going off his feed a bit), so I will probably make it a nice bath/spa day for him.

 

I need to do a pony post soon...so maybe some sudsy pics tomorrow (Big Grin)!

THAT pretty hike I've been waiting for.....and "Bear Thoughts"

I've been craving a good, nature hike for some time now. I'd hoped to scratch that itch when I was camping, but the questionable weather made that difficult.

So yesterday, when I got done at work, I raced through my normal, afternoon house chores, donned my sneakers, strapped my phone to my arm, and headed over to the Steinke Basin trail head.

The Steinke Basin Trail Loop is a short, 2.4 mile loop that is part of Devil's Lake State Park. This is one of a few trails that have an access point outside of the park. There is a separate parking lot just up the road from the main exit.

I have several, favorite Devil's Lake trails--and this is one of them. This particular hike is considered easy, but there's still enough uphill grades to get your heart rate elevated (unless, of course, you are much more physically fit than I, which is probably most people). I thought this would be just the right hike to do after a long day at work.....not too difficult.....not too long. The weather was also a perfect, 77 degrees.

Since many of my hikes tend to be last minute,  spur of the moment, deals....I am usually solo.

Most folks who know me - know that I am an incredibly deep thinker (often times, too much for my own good).

As I set off on my hike, I let my mind wander as usual......I wondered what life would be like if I didn't have to work. How nice it would be to just enjoy my animals and hike and camp as much as I'd like.  There are so many places I'd like to visit if only I had the funds & time to get there.

Ahhhhh...that elusive, perfect world!

As my feet left the open, sunny section behind and carried me into the woods, I could hear the breeze rustling through the trees with an odd tree creak every now and then. Just myself and nature. Relaxing.

....that is until I heard a small to medium animal move through the woods on my left.

....and I thought about Wisconsin's Black Bear statistics (now, for the record, I know the sound wasn't a bear).

...as I said before, I'm a deep thinker...

The Wisconsin black bear population has risen from approximately 9,000 bears in 1989 to more than 28,000 animals currently.  Black bears are gradually spreading out to more southern parts of the state. 

I was curious of the chances of seeing a Black Bear on some of these remote, forested trails in Devil's Lake.  

It gave me some piece of mind to know that I had done my research on what actions a hiker should take should they come upon on a bear. Unfortunately,  should a bear decide I was a threat, I had nothing at my disposal except for a set of keys to use to protect myself. 

...and I was alone (groups are safer).

I told myself that because I am still fairly south, my chances of encountering a bear on my hike were pretty minimal.

....and so I kept hiking on and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings and the other wildlife. I saw squirrels, a variety of birds, a couple of small rabbits, and  some mosquitos.

Wait.

Did I just say that?

Mosquitos?

Not exactly the wildlife one appreciates. Unfortunately,  a few spots on the trail had tiny bridge crossings over some tiny creek bed areas. In those spots, I managed to aquire a few bites. 

Next time, bug spray, chica...

Thankfully, most of the trail was fine however.

At one point, I crossed an access road and saw the only other human I passed while on the trail. A young lady was trail running the other way-- coming towards me.   ....and she was FLYING-- like a gazelle on fire. 

I thought to myself how much I wish I could run like that.....feel that runner's high. If only my lower half weren't so broken and I didn't have a bum knee and a bad ankle. *sigh*

Still....I am grateful for being able to hike, ride horses, and camp. 

....and I plan on doing those things for as long as possible!

....unless a black bear eats me. *laughs*

So I finished my hike uneventful and found myself wishing that it were longer. Next time.

When I arrived home, I did indeed look for information on Black Bears at Devil's Lake. I discovered that there have, in fact, been sightings at DL as far back as 2009. Bear scat (poop) has also been found on the south end of the park. Frightening enough, the sightings have mostly occurred in the Steinke Basin Area where I was just hiking. Yikes! (I wish i could post the info link, but my phone is not letting me add it at the moment. Grrrrr...).

I've been wanting a set of Trekking poles to help me hike hills better. Perhaps now is the time to invest in a set. They could also make a convenient defense tool should, God forbid, I ever need it. 

I know that plenty of hikers hike in far more bear populated areas safely (even among Grizzlies, which Thank the good Lord, we don't have around here). I don't plan to stop hiking, so becoming educated about what to do and hiking smart are the alternatives!

Here are a few photos from my hike. Enjoy!

Parking area. Several cars, but I only saw 1 other hiker/runner.

Vacation. Birthday. Camping. (in no particular order)..

My annual birthday, camp outing couldn't have come at a better time this year.  I was feeling quite a bit burned out from work and,  in a sense,  wanted a little break from the horse life.

I am the only horse lover in my family (sadly enough).

....so when we want to spend time together, we camp (the non - horse kind).

My mom and I camp together quite often. As far as camping companions go-- I think we make a great team in that we share a site and work together to have a great time. I am hoping that one day,  we will be able to take some seriously long road trips in each other's company. 

...Unfortunately, in life, there are always obstacles.

I have my animals to care for (I don't trust most boarding establishments and have yet to find a great pet sitter).

...and my mom has my dad.

He loathes camping in the same way that Superman hates kryptonite. In addition to that, he is disabled and has difficulty staying alone over long periods of time.

Thankfully,  we have 3 beautiful state parks within a half hour driving distance of our homes.

We are lucky.

We can camp AND take care of our respective responsibilities.

....but maybe one day circumstances will change and we can have that far away adventure.

Our stay last week was at the very popular,  Devil's Lake State Park. Our site this year was 065 in the Quartzite campground.

As is generally the case, my mom choose the site based on her ability to back her small ( but not tiny) camper into position. My mother, who is a self proclaimed "Glamper." wants just about every amenity she can have (short of air conditioning and the kitchen sink).

I, on the other hand, enjoy a few amenities (i.e A decent airbed and the convenience of electricity when available), but I'm happiest cooking on campfires and sleeping in a tent.

I downgraded from my old Pop Up camper 3 years ago to a high quality, canvas tent. While I would be lying if I said I never miss the camper, I can also say that it's not enough to have the desire to go back. The tent offers me 100X's the flexibility of the camper and is the most doable option for horse camping should I ever get that horse trailer I've been dreaming of having for years (the money gods are taking their own,  sweet time shining that light in my direction).

Our campsite was nice, but less wooded than I would have liked.

The first night of our stay was fairly windy, but nice enough for a fire and a bit of hanging out.

My sister and her husband and my niece, Fiona, also joined us, but they shared site 046 with friends.

I had plans to hike my favorite trails during the day, but since the weather forecast threatened the chance of storms all weekend, I pretty much just used the time to relax. I did a short stroll around the campground here and there, but nothing of any distance (or sadly.....with any sort of pretty view). I mostly busied myself with my nose in a book or working on some crossword puzzles I had brought along.

I think the highlight of my weekend was watching Fiona delight at seeing the live frogs, turtles, and snakes at the nature center. She couldn't get enough of watching them.

....and she can't get enough of camping.

Fiona is not yet 3yrs old and she loves the outdoors with the same level of enthusiasm that my dad has in his hatred of camping.

On the second night, we had a good storm for a few hours.

....as in several INCHES of rain.

My mom and I watched a movie (which we would do the 3rd night as well due to MORE rain).

My sister and her friends hung out in their rather large tent and made silly, Snapchat videos. Little Fiona thought the rain was about as much fun as bouncing on the air mattress in the tent. Thunder & Lightening? No problem....This little girl could care less.

Due to the impending rain (and a few mild leaks), Gayle & company choose to head home a day early. I didn't blame them as I also went home for the 3rd night due to the high incidence of heavy rain, lightning, thunder, and flooding. I needed to go home in the morning anyway to care for my cats-- so it worked out ok.

My mom felt safe in her trailer, so I left at 11 pm (quiet time). We watched an old Lucille Ball movie and ate Nachos up to that point. It goes without saying, that I would have rather enjoyed a campfire on a balmy evening....

.....but only Mother Nature can pick the weather.

In the morning, I was rather thrilled that my tent had undergone a second night of heavy rains and not a drop was to be found inside. I can't say enough for Kodiak Canvas Tents. I. Love. My. Tent.

It wasn't until the following day that I learned that Fiona threw a bit of a tantrum when her mom started taking their tent down. She wasn't ready to go home!!

....even if the big, bad storm wanted to huff and puff and blow their whole campsite down!!

Fiona had already made herself a "professional" camper. On our first day there, she made the observation that my mom's camper has wheels. In talking with her, I then proceeded to show her how the camper must hook up to the truck so it can be pulled to the campsite. I showed her the truck hitch and the coupler on the camper.

After this little show and tell,  Fiona took it upon herself to make sure all friends & family in attendance knew how these things worked.

She's not even 3 years old.

Bright. Little. Girl!!

As luck would have it, our last night gave us perfect weather. My mom and I enjoyed a lovely campfire, super yummy ribs, and banana split marshmallows for dessert.

My only regrets were that the stupid weather chased me home for a night (and that I let it....) and I didn't even get in a single hike on a favorite trail.

.....at least Devil's Lake is super close to my home and there are plenty of day trips to be had yet this summer!

Next month we are all at Mirror Lake SP for 3 nights. I am hoping the weather will be better as I am overdue for that pretty hike!!

A "Duh" Moment and the camp outing that wasn't. ..

My back felt a little better today.

Unfortunately,  It still wasn't good enough for me to risk doing something I would enjoy (like taking one of my equine charges for a ride).

I had also hoped I'd get done with work to split a little early and use a vacation hour or two.

...that didn't happen either. *sigh*

Because I was having a "duh" moment on Wednesday when I was at the barn, I had to drive out and take some more grain out to put in Griffin's feed bin (Griffin eats senior feed which I provide). On that Wednesday,  I had stopped at Tractor Supply to pick up some horse treats that we were out of.  For some crazy reason,  it never occurred to me that Griffin's feed receptacle needed refilling also..

So here I am, 2 days later,driving out to the farm (35 min, one way) for the expressed purpose of ensuring my old man has his grain (which is also necessary if I intend to get  ANY of his medicine into him).

Because my back still wasn't up to par for riding, I only stayed long enough to refill grain, Griffin's single dose, medicine cups, and give some treats and rubs.

On my way home, I got to thinking how I had almost planned an impromptu,  camp outing for this weekend. 

One of my dad's hobbies is showing his 68' Ford Pick up at car shows.  It just so happens that he and my mom are attending a car show this weekend. 

Car shows generally mean Jerseydog spends a lot of time with me (so she isn't crossing her legs all day waiting for someone to let her out).

What a perfect weekend for a solo, camp outing with my Jerseydog. 

Or not.

Visions of the winter blanket I have yet to buy Griffin worked their way passed the "duh" triggers in my brain and reminded me that I needed to save my pennies instead of spending them on a camping reservation. 

....Enter in my stupid back issue

...and a Noah ' s Ark sort of weather forecast for tonight (flood warning and rain by the bucketfuls).

...and my camp outing wouldn't have happened.

With nothing much to do and  a recovering, bum, back muscle, I decided it might be nice to just take a drive through my closest state park and just have a gander at how many folks ARE braving the impending rain to camp (not to mention taking in a nice whiff of a campfire or two)...

I stopped at a gas station and grabbed an iced coffee and then headed over to Devil's Lake SP,  which is practically in my backyard.

Hanging out by the beach for a spell,  I savored my coffee and enjoyed the feel of nature around me. The first two photos below are shots looking out over the water. Those bluffs on either side have spectacular views if you have the stamina to hike them (serious uphill trails not for the faint of heart). Speaking from personal experience, however, the view is 100% worth it!

Before I left, I took a little cruise through 2 of the 3 campgrounds.  Somewhat surprising, they were pretty full.

Even though Devil's Lake was not my intended camp spot for this weekend,  I thought about which site I would choose if I WAS camping there.

Hands down, one of my most coveted sites is in the Ice Age Campground which is farthest from the beach. It tends to be the least popular because it doesn't really accommodate anything larger then a Pop Up camper. The majority in this campground are tent campers. It's all in the woods...and I LOVE it.

Site 428 is on my list of favorite possibilities for  a solo outing.

...and it just so happens that it wasn't occupied (yet), so I stopped and snatched a photo (bottom 2 photos). Sadly the pictures don't do this pretty site justice...

One of these days, though, site 428 will be mine for a short time. All mine. :-)