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!

Makin' tracks with Jersey

My last hike was over 2 weeks ago.

While the ride with Tex last week certainly fed my trail bug a little, I was overdue for a hike under my own power (there is something certainly gratifying about enjoying some trail miles on your own two feet).

After another week of heat and nasty humidity (not to mention my consumption of not-so- healthy snack foods while being lazy indoors), I was ready to get back outside on a trail somewhere (I have become seriously addicted to moving down the trail--whether it's on a horse or my own two feet).

I decided as this weekend approached that I was going to make time for a hike....One way or another.

Not to go too far off topic,  but I'm in a bit of a pickle in terms of getting hikes in during the week right now.

At my job I work 2 months of early shifts (6-2:30) and then a month of late shifts (8-4:30). This is a late shift month.

By the time I get home,  get my house chores done and prepare to head out for a hike, I don't have enough daylight left to do anything substantial.

While it might make sense to do the hike first and the house chores later-- my discipline level isn't good enough for that. It's always been work first, play after......Always.

I decided when I got up this morning,  I was going to do a hike.

My original plan was to buzz about my errands, eat a bit of lunch early-- go on a little hike-- and then head to the barn for some horse time this evening.

What really happened was me staying up too late last night and not sleeping well. I only got about half the things done this morning that I wanted to. After eating lunch, I craved a nap.....and because I could,  I took one. I never made it to the barn. 

Nope, no discipline there.....

It was after 2 pm by the time I awoke from the nap, but dang nammit-- I was going to get my hike in!!

My hike of choice for the day turned out to be the flat, Fern Dell Trail at Mirror Lake State Park.

This is a 3 mile loop trail that begins off of a seperate, trailhead outside of the park. I have never hiked this trail,  but it carries an "easy" rating, so I wasn't concerned about anything.

Since its been awhile since I did a decent hike with my canine partner, Jerseydog,  I decided to swing by my parents' house to pick her up so she could tag along. 

Our camping trips so far this year have been disappointing in terms of doing good hikes (in which J-dog often comes along), so I'm sure she has been feeling overdue for a good trek as well!!

Jersey is about 10 years old now, and while she isn't a spring chicken anymore-- she still has a lot more "GO ambition" than living with a couple of retired folks allows her to make use of.

Here we are at the start of the trail and Jersey can't get going soon enough. This is certainly the highlight of HER week!

Jersey has 2 very interesting quirks about her (aside from the fact that she's a purebred, German Wire Haired Pointer and most people unknowingly think she's some strange, mutt cross).

Her first one is that she LOVES water.

....and not like a Labrador that enjoys pursuing a stick tossed in a lake.

Jersey will quite literally DRAG her human to any body of water in the hopes that she will be able to take a dip.

She will also play in puddles that other dogs will avoid.

.....and the J-dog is ALWAYS certain she can convince you to love walking in the rain as much as she does.

Her other, (very strange indeed) quirk is that she HATES having her picture taken. If you point ANYTHING that even remotely resembles a camera or a phone in her direction, she will go hide behind something or someone. If that's not an option, she will refuse to look at you.

We have never been able to figure this out as she's never had a bad experience with having photos taken.....

I have my speculations about what her issues might truly be (she failed as a hunting dog before being given to my father), but it would take too long to go into details at the moment. She has a shy (but very sweet) personality,  even though she has come a LONG way in being more courageous since living with my family. 

At any rate, the blurry photo above is usually what I end up with when I try to get a picture of her. All of the good photos my family has where taken "by surprise" when she didnt expect them.For the most part, there weren't any stunning views on this trail. 

...but I did get a photo of some of these pretty little, yellow wildflowers.  I'm still trying to learn more about the plants and the things I see on the trails, so I don't know what they are, but they are pretty!

....and of course there are ALWAYS interesting mushrooms to look at...

....mostly,  Jersey and I just trucked along.

To say that this trail was easy was a vast understatement.  Except for a handful of tiny hills, this hike was flat, Flat, FLAT.

The only challenging thing about this hike were the mosquitos. I got very few bites (because I DIDN'T forget the bug spray this time), but they annoyingly buzzed around my head quite a bit.

A short trail lover might be slightly daunted by the 3 mile loop, but seriously...I think just about anyone could handle this trail.

....and that's not a bad thing.

For folks who are complete novices to hiking, biking, or cross country skiing, this trail would be a PERFECT starter trail. 

I'm tempted to try a winter hike on this trail come winter.

For the most part, Jerseydog and I had the hike to ourselves. We only encountered a couple of other users. There were two gals that biked past us near one of the tiny hills. One of the ladies had a toddler in one of those bike carts behind her bike.

He was cute.

....and they seemed to be enjoying their ride.

I wanted to take a distant (unidentifiable) photo of them as they rode away from us, but I was too busy doing this when they passed.

This is Jersey 's  collapsible water bowel that I carry in my waist pack. I was busy giving her water when the bike riders came by us. J had been drinking and was momentarily looking up at the bikes when I snapped this.

While I can easily do a 3 mile hike with minimal to no water (except on the very hottest of days), Jersey cannot.

If I'm doing 3 miles, it's a sure bet that she's doing 6. Sniffing,  scenting, and backtracking are what she does because she's a dog.

....and I let her BE A dog. Heeling is fine in an obedience class, but on the trail--I feel it deprives a dog of enjoying their time out there.

As long as they stay leashed and come stand next to you when other users pass, I think it's totally acceptable to let them be a dog and explore (keeping watch for toxic foliage of course).

There was almost no humidity today and temps just broke around the 80's mark.

....and Jersey still drank a decent size water bottle of water. I think we did about 3 stops for her to drink her fill.

My waist pack holds 2 water bottles,  Jersey ' s portable dish, my phone, keys, bug spray, a small flashlight,  wet wipes, a small first aid kit, and other seasonal things I might choose to add such as gloves and a fleece ear band or a rain poncho depending on the weather.

 I didn't take a photo of it, but I will try to include one in a future post.

I'm not always thrilled to wear it, but I've been glad to have it on longer hikes and to carry necessities when J is with me.

There were a few pretty spots on the trail.  I think this is one of my favorite photos from today. The pines here were beautiful and the sunlight coming through lent a magical feel.

This photo isn't real easy to decipher,  but there is a little canal-like looking ditch on the right side of the photo. It expanded alongside a short section of the trail. It made me wonder if it created a small stream during heavy rains. I have no doubt sections of this trail could be very muddy in wet weather....

Living with retirees doesn't afford Jersey a good way to stay in shape. At this point, we were 3/4 of the way through the loop. J slowed to a stroll and only perked up if she found a scent or spotted movement trail side (in which case, she leapt towards the bushes with renewed energy and enthusiasm).

The final section of trail brought us up alongside the road (which is to the right in this photo). 

At least it wasn't ON the road...

but a bit boring nonetheless....

As I mentioned before, I might try this trail as a winter hike, but I'm not sure it will ever top my list of favorites.

...but Jerseydog enjoyed herself.  The only reason I got this close of a photo of her is because she is a bit tired.

Make no mistake, however, with an hour or two of rest, she'd happily go out for another few miles eagerly without complaint.

 

Jersey is one of my best hiking companions for sure!! ♡♡

A day not exactly as planned....but with an enjoyable ending!

My day today didn't exactly turn out as I had hoped.

With my mom and dad attending a car show, I was hoping that I could take Jerseydog and do a nice hike at Mirror Lake State Park (which is nearest to my parents' place).

My back seems to definitely be on the mend and it would have been nice to do something fun.

....but I had told my parents that I would mow their lawn for them.

Last week.

My intention was to do it on Thursday, but hurting my back spoiled that.  It also rained.  (OH Puddlesticks)!!

So, unfortunately, the lawn got put off until today.  My parents own just under 5 acres (although not all of it is mowed).  With that said, however, it is not a 20 minute job.  The first 2 photos below illustrate just a partial bit of my handiwork.

With the lawn work job done, I had every intention of relaxing a little bit in front of an actual computer (my parents have 2) and reading some blogs and writing on THIS blog (I don't own a computer.  Most of my blogging is done on my cell phone).

That didn't happen either, as the wireless router at my folk's place decided that IT was going to go haywire as well....hence, NO wifi, NO internet. **sigh**  Since I was unaware of how to fix it, I watched a little TV instead.  I tuned in to a few episodes of Forensic Files and an episode of  Hoarders: Buried Alive.  I don't watch regular TV at home, so it was a nice treat to watch a few programs I enjoy.  Every time I watch  Hoarders, it makes me glad that I am a Minimalist.  I will never have such a problem with my chosen lifestyle.  While I can't say I understand what causes people to hoard things, I do understand that it is a serious, psychological condition and I feel badly for those (and their family members) that struggle with it.

My mom and dad walked in the door around 5pm, which surprised me as I didn't think they would be home until at least 7.  My mom was still restless from her busy day (selling T-shirts at the car show) and she wanted to know if I wanted to take Jerseydog to the dog park with her.

We didn't get the hike I had hoped for earlier, so why not?  (Well sort of, anyway.  I DID take J for a little stroll up to the nearby cemetery when I first arrived at the house, but since that only takes about 20 minutes, it wasn't much of a hike).

Upon arriving at the dog park, we encountered a pleasant surprise.  My sister, Gayle, was there with  her dog, Winston, and little Fiona!!!!  (Seeing my little niece is ALWAYS a treat to me).

I got a lot of great photos (also below) of the dogs playing and little Fiona at the dog park.  It certainly was a busy place tonight as there were around 5-7 dogs total playing (it's late, and the count is fuzzy in my head).  Everyone got along beautifully (which is sometimes a concern at busy dog parks) and had  a lot of fun.

Jerseydog came home happily worn out.

I came home with some fun doggie park (and Fiona) photos!!!

What is my camping style?...

In short, the answer to that question would be to have my horse along...

Since that is not possible with Griffin anymore, and I lack suitable, reliable transportation for Tex, that will have to wait.

.....and I am waiting rather patiently for that  dice to roll in my favor so-to-speak.

In the meantime,  I do non - horse camping with my family (and sometimes even go solo). I enjoy being outdoors immensly. I love nature and there are other activities I like to do that fit nicely with camping.

Reading, hiking,  cooking, and swimming are just a few. I also would like to try Geocaching one of these days.

At the moment, because I have my cats at home (and my mom has my handicapped father to care for) neither of us venture very far.

It helps a great deal that there are half a dozen, nice state parks within reasonable driving distance to where we both live. Even when you are close to home, it doesn't feel that way when you are out in the woods!

Since I've had a bit of a boring past few days, I thought I'd just touch on the type of camping I enjoy.

I am a tent camper, plain and simple. I did have an old Pop-up camper for a number of years which I enjoyed, but it eventually needed repairs that I wasn't skilled enough to do. It also costed more in terms of gas and maintenence to use. The most obvious drawback, however, is that if I ever hoped to horse camp in the future, it wouldn't be practical (I can only pull one trailer).

In addition to all of that, the Pop-up didn't really have much that I couldn't make work with a good, quality tent, so the camper found a new home with a co - worker's son a few years ago.

Shortly thereafter,  I returned to camping with a tent.

I am a bare bones, primitive camper in that I rarely need or use electric. I cook everything over a campfire, and I don't hang out "inside" unless I'm sleeping.

There is one item, though, that I don't do "basic" with.
.....and that is sleep comfort. I currently use an old, twin, air mattress (which I hope to upgrade to a taller model next year), a memory foam topper, sheets, fuzzy blankets, and good pillows from home. I like to be comfortable when I sleep. .....

I am just as comfortable in my tent bed as I ever was in my camper....perhaps even more so because I can stretch out (I am quite tall and my camper beds were small because my camper was an old model).

My tent is a Kodiak Canvas Flex Bow.

I. Love. This .Tent.

Next year will be my 3rd season camping with it. I purchased it as an investment to last many years and to be compatible for future horse campouts when I am able to do them.

It is the sturdiest tent I have ever set foot in and it's very well made. I won't lie and say that it was cheap. It certainly wasnt....but like I said, I see it as a good investment.

The only other drawback (other than price) is that it is heavy. Very heavy. I don't mind the weight since I only car camp as opposed to back packing, but it can be a work out to move around (especially if it's wet). The trade off for me in this area is that I have a tent that will withstand (very) high winds and heavy downpours. When you enjoy being outside as much as I do, there is just no putting a price on that kind of security. The effort to move and set it up is worth it.

The picture below is my tent. I also attached one of my dad's dog, Jersey, who is my constant hiking & camping companion.  ♡♡

Thoughts on Camping

Camping permeated my thoughts this morning. These photos were from my most recent outing to nearby Mirror Lake State Park with my family. I am always recharged emotionally after camping. My camping partner, Jerseydog agrees. Must.Go. More.