Winding Down

September 1st is this coming Tuesday. In Wisconsin that means school is back in session. For the first time this summer, our park is only half full this weekend. A nice break for us!

We have had the busiest summer in our five years working at Derge Park. We have been basically full every weekend since mid May. Part of that is due to the storm that went through one of our sister parks in mid-July. They have been closed ever since, but will partially reopen next weekend. They really worked hard to be open for Labor Day as they were almost fully booked for that weekend at the time of the storm, and the other Dodge County campgrounds were also booked. Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends are almost always full at all four of the Dodge County campgrounds.

Our park only has 24 sites. Every site in the park is visible from our site. The sites are not small, but they are also not huge. We have a reputation as being a quiet and peaceful place to camp, and that’s how we like it. The park that was closed half of the summer due to the storm damage is a little different. They have 75 sites and some of them are in secluded areas with lots of trees and no hook-ups. Those sites tend to attract the campers who are out for a partying type of weekend.

Some of those people were relocated to our park this summer. We had a few run-ins with people regarding the amount of people on a site, dogs off leash, too many cars, noise and the types of problems you would associate with people whose main purpose is to party the weekend away. Our park is not the place for that type of behavior because it interferes with the enjoyment of the rest of the campers.

Across the street is a boat launch that is also part of the park. Kevin was out mowing and noticed the damage to a small tree in the parking area of the boat launch. I wonder what the car or boat looked like after taking off the bark of half of the small tree at the front of the picture. You can see how far off the pavement they were. I wonder if alcohol was a factor.

I had an interesting visitor to the bird feeder the other day. Maybe this was a juvenile cardinal. His coloring was very mottled; not the bright red I’m used to seeing. He also looked like he needed to brush his hair, although it was rather windy.

Last weekend we enjoyed golfing with friends Art and Dawn. Tomorrow my family and our son Eric are coming for a picnic. The weather was quite cold, windy and dreary this past week. I even had to turn on the heat pump a few nights when lows got into the high 40s. Starting tomorrow its going to warm up again. Highs next week are expected to reach near 90, just in time for the kids to be back in school.

The forecast for next weekend which is Labor Day is expected to be warm and sunny. We have four couples coming to camp at our campground that we’ve known for many years. Should be a fun weekend.

We won’t be leaving until mid-October, but I’m starting to get that hitch itch feeling. September in Wisconsin can be a very beautiful time of year, so I’ll enjoy that before we leave. Hopefully, the campground will be less busy after next weekend.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!