A New Discovery

As we drive to and from Beaver Dam, we’ve noticed a sign for the Wild Goose State Trail along Hwy. 33. We are camphosts for the Dodge County Parks System. The section of the Wild Goose State Trail that runs through Dodge County is maintained by the Parks Department. We’ve seen information about the trail on some of the brochures at our park. So, we’ve been curious about the trail.

It is free of charge and is accessible for hiking, biking and horseback riding. During the winter months, ATVs and snowmobiles are allowed.  On Sunday, we were finally able to ride our bikes on the trail. Spring was cool and wet, summer has been very hot and humid. Sunday was finally a perfect bike riding day. Highs were in the 70s and the humidity was low.

The trail runs along an abandoned railroad corridor, so it is pretty flat. It’s not paved, but most of it has crushed stone to ride on. Much of the trail has a separate trail alongside the main trail for the horses. It was so nice not to have to dodge horse droppings as we were riding. We rode about 11 miles, and really enjoyed ourselves. We’ll definitely do it again. I’m thinking it will be very beautiful once the leaves start changing color.

We have a 3 mile route we walk a few days a week. There are several cornfields along the way. It’s been fun watching the corn grow since we first got here in April. My guess is it’s now about 10 feet tall. I’m 5’ 4”, and it looks like the corn is almost twice as tall as I am. I’m thinking it was a good year for the farmers.

 

 

There’s some kind of tall weed growing behind us. Birds just love to sit on it. I’m thinking there are seeds attracting the birds. Sometimes, there are 4 or 5 of these small birds sitting all along the plant.

 

 

 

Today was overcast and a bit cool. It’s actually raining right now. There is definitely a touch of fall in the air. However, Thursday and Friday is predicted to be in the 90s with high humidity. Maybe it will be summer’s last hoorah! School starts for most districts in Wisconsin on Thursday. Won’t those kids be happy to be back in school with such hot temperatures.

Yesterday I spent the day working at Eric’s house. I was able to finish applying the texture paint to the walls in both bathrooms. So, next week I’ll actually be painting the final color coat on the walls. Yippee, the job is almost done.

Our park is almost booked solid for the weekend. We have 5 families from our camping club coming to camp with us. And, our son, Korey, will be home for 5 days. So, we should have some fun and busy days coming up. I’m looking forward to it!

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

A Bit of a Milestone

I originally started this blog about a year and a half ago for three reasons. The first was to let our family and friends know what we were up to. The second was to share our experiences in pursuing the fulltime RV lifestyle. And, the third was to have a journal record of our travels.

I did a lot of research as we were contemplating and dreaming of this new life. I learned so much from other blogs and RV forums. I wanted to possibly help others who were thinking about going fulltime by sharing our experiences.

Today my page view counter hit 20,000 and I have 60 followers. Most of the followers are not family members. I am blown away by that. I know there are blogs out there with hundreds of followers and many more page views, but I never expected so many people to be interested in what I had to say. It is a humbling and exciting feeling for me!

Another unexpected bonus from blogging has been the “virtual” friends we have made. We’ve actually met three couples in person who started out as blogger friends. And, we’ll be working at Amazon this fall with one of those couples. It truly is a small world.

So, thank you to all of you who have signed up as followers or who just stop in once in a while to see what we’re up to.

The weather has been nice enough lately to sleep with some of our windows open. This morning was a sure sign that the fall season is close. About 6 am a large flock of Canadian Geese flew over the campground, honking like crazy. Soon after that, two large birds, some type of crane, were in the field behind us making an incredible racket. I had no idea cranes were so loud!

So, it looks like the birds are on the move. That means we will also be on our way pretty soon. Only six weeks until we are back on the road. It doesn’t seem that long ago that we arrived here to find snow on the ground!

Today two of my friends came out for a visit. I used to work with these two ladies about ten years ago. It was great to see them. Thanks, Sue and Judy, for making the drive out to see me!

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

Trifecta, Hat Trick, or Turkey?

Call it whatever you want, but Kevin had three pars in a row during our golf round today! And, on the first three holes, no less. Usually the first hole or two aren’t that great until you get into the groove. He also had his best score of the season, a 46!! He thinks it might be the best score he’s had on the front nine at Kestrel Ridge Golf Course, which is where we played today.

I had some great shots and some lousy shots, so what else is new. I did have some very good holes and then two really bad holes. Overall, I can see that I’m improving. It’s amazing how the more you play, the better you get. I guess it’s true that practice makes perfect.

It was a beautiful day. Columbus High School is near the golf course, and I could hear the marching band practicing on the football field. It brought back some very fond memories of when our boys were in the high school marching band.

Last week was the Dodge County Fair, and we had several sites occupied by people who told us they were going to the fair. Yesterday was Demo Derby day at the fair. Late in the afternoon, this vehicle came into the park. I didn’t ask how they placed, but it sure looks like they were involved in the demolition part of the derby!

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

A Fabulous Weekend

We had a very enjoyable weekend. First of all, the humidity has finally dropped, and we had beautiful, sunny days which allowed us to take some comfortable walks again.

On Friday Kevin went to the pre-season Green Bay Packers football game in Green Bay with a friend.  They had a great time, and the Packers won.

This was the weekend the camping club we belong to had their August outing. They were only about 40 minutes from us, so I drove to the campground and visited with everyone yesterday.

Kevin stayed behind to man the campground. Only about half of the sites were occupied this weekend. However, the Quonset hut was rented on Saturday for a family reunion, so Kevin stayed in case those people needed anything.

Today, we took out one of the rental paddle boats we have here at the campground. It’s been so hot this summer, we hadn’t wanted to take one out on the lake until now. We paddled around for a little less than an hour, and it was great. I definitely want to go again. Here we are before we pushed off from shore.

 

 

It was interesting to see the lake houses from the lake side. We’ve been walking past many of the houses on the road for months now. Most of them are nicer looking on the lake side.  Here’s our home as seen from the lake.

Here’s part of the campground as seen from the lake. If you look closely, you can see a few of the campers that were still here. We sure have a beautiful location.

Much of the lake has homes along it. Here’s a view of the north side of the lake. For some reason, there is no development on that end.

As you can see, the water is not very clear. We’ve been told that’s because it’s a very shallow lake. Three different times I saw a fish jump up out of the water. Cool! Kevin said they were carp. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a jumping fish before.

Near the pier was a cluster of lily pads. They are so pretty.

That’s the end of a wonderful weekend. We feel so fortunate to be living this life!

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

A Birthday Win!

Yesterday was my 54th birthday. Only one year to go before I can start collecting my pension :)

Kevin worked for a few hours while I spent some time on the phone with my mom and a few other birthday well wishers. We left around 3:00 pm to go to Dairy Queen and have a birthday Blizzard. Yum!!

We ran a few errands and arrived at Eric’s house at about 5:00 to head over to Miller Park for a Milwaukee Brewer’s baseball game. For quite a few years, Kevin and Eric used to have a 20 game season ticket package. I’d usually go to about 3 or 4 games a year.  This year we are about 1-1/2 hours away from the stadium, so this was our first game. We’ve been in a bit of baseball withdrawal.

The Brewer’s are in first place in their division, and have been playing very well. Brewer Fever is rampant. They were nice enough to win for my birthday visit. 

We had gotten four free tickets through a BP gas promotion. I guess all that gas we’ve been buying paid off! Eric invited his friend, Adam, to go with us. You may remember that Adam is the friend that did the drywall skim coat on Eric’s bathroom walls. Eric is also godfather to Adam and Kristen’s baby boy. I enjoyed spending my birthday at the game with these three wonderful guys.

Too bad Korey couldn’t join us. I think every mother would agree that the best birthday present would be to have her entire family with her. But, Korey is coming to spend a week with us around Labor Day. So, only 2 more weeks until I have my family together again :)

Today I went into Beaver Dam to do some laundry. I haven’t had to do laundry at the laundromat since May. Eric and Adam haven’t finished sanding the bathroom walls, so no work for me at Eric’s house this week. Eric has been kind enough to let me do my laundry at his house while I work on the bathrooms.  The nice thing about the laundromat is that you’re done in no time.

After that job was done, I stopped at Nancy’s Notions Quilt Shop. They are a drop-off site to donate quilts for the Linus Project. I had made 4 baby quilts over the winter with scrap fabric I kept when we got rid of all of our stuff. The Linus Project distributes blankets to children in need all across the country. Since 1995, over 3 million blankets have been distributed. Wow!

I refrained from buying anything, although I spent some time just browsing. Fun! I have a couple of projects I want to finish before I buy any more. Also, I’m signed up to volunteer at the Quilt Expo in Madison in September. I know I’ll find some projects there that I won’t be able to resist.

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

Busy Week

This past week was quite busy for me. On Monday I worked at Eric’s house and went to his softball game, Tuesday volunteered at the daycare, Thursday went to lunch and Jersey Boys with two of my friends, and Friday I ran some errands. Whew!

Jersey Boys was a wonderful show, and we had a great time. I didn’t recognize all of the songs, as The Four Seasons were a little before my time, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the show. I did a little research on Frankie Valli.  He’s 77 years old and is still performing a full schedule of shows all across the country. Wow!

We had another full weekend in the park. About half of the sites were occupied by members of a family reunion that had our Quonset hut shelter rented on Saturday.  Although we didn’t have any real problems, the group seemed a bit “rougher” than the clientele we normally have.  There seemed to be quite a bit of drinking going on.

The only real issues we had revolved around the bathrooms. Someone stole two rolls of toilet paper from the men’s bathroom. And, an adult female thought it was an okay idea to let five little girls play in the women’s shower and get the floor all wet.

That really annoyed me. If I would have seen it earlier, I would have said something. But, I came upon it when it was all done. I went into the women’s bathroom to check on supplies. I walked in as a woman with five little girls between the ages of about four and seven were coming out. The girls were fully dressed, soaking wet and complaining how cold they were. The woman said, “Well, you wanted to get wet.”  I found a plastic cup in one of the shower stalls. They must have been playing in there for quite a while because the floor of both showers and both toilet stalls were soaking wet which caused the entire floor of the women’s bathroom to be slippery. 

The weather on Saturday was drizzly and cloudy with a high of about 71 degrees. Absolutely no reason for anyone to need to get wet. And, in what world did this woman think it was okay to let kids play in the showers of a public restroom. I am just amazed by the unthinking, rude, inconsiderate, disrespectful behavior of some adults. And, what a lesson to be teaching those kids. Do whatever you want, no matter how it inconveniences everyone else who uses the PUBLIC restroom. Okay, enough of my rant. But, come on now, really??

Otherwise, the rest of the weekend was fine. Just a bit more activity than normal.  I think we’ve just become spoiled by how quiet and peaceful this park is, even when there are lots of people camping here.

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

Another Family Visit

Last Saturday it was my turn to have a family visit.  My mom and her friend, Richard, along with my brother, Ron, and his wife, Laura all came for an afternoon visit.

We had a nice day. It was still a bit hot and humid, but not as bad as it had been. We sat outside and chatted for a few hours. This was the first time my family had visited us at our site in Beaver Dam. They really liked our “backyard” and were amazed at how few bugs there are.

Kevin grilled some brats and burgers. I had made beans and tortellini salad, and my mom brought a carrot cake for desert. Plenty of good food! We ate inside our screen tent, just in case a few flies wanted to bother us. Kevin was happy to take the picture and sacrifice being photographed :)

On Sunday evening, we went to the Must-Skies Waterski Club’s show on Beaver Dam Lake. They put on a very nice show. Next week they’ll be competing at the National Competition in Janesville, Wisconsin.

We’ve never been to an amateur waterski show. The lady behind us was telling me that Wisconsin has more teams than any other state, and the national competition is almost always in Wisconsin. I had no idea.  Here are some pictures from the show.

The jumpers were pretty awesome!

This doubles pair won at Nationals last year in their category. Hopefully, they’ll win again this year!

Yesterday I spent another day working at Eric’s house. I painted the ceilings in both bathrooms and put a primer coat on the door trim of both outside doors.  Eric and his friend, Adam, put a coat of mud on the walls last week, but they still have to sand it before I can paint the walls. The end is in sight!

I went to watch Eric’s softball game before I headed back home. I must be good luck since Eric had three hits and three RBIs.  I forgot my camera so here’s a picture of him playing in the outfield using my cell phone camera. He’s the guy in the back. Great game, Eric!

Today the heat and humidity have finally left town. It was the first day in many weeks we didn’t have to run the air all day!!! The windows are open, and there’s a nice refreshing breeze out of the northeast. Ah, what a beautiful day. I went for a nice long walk this morning.

In my last blog, I posted a picture of a strange mud patch on the side of our shower building. Blog reader, heyduke50, sent a comment letting us know it was a mud dauber wasp nest. I did a little research to find out how to remove it. Turns out it is a nest built by one female wasp. She stings spiders and grubs and paralyzes them and encases them in the nest for her babies.

Kevin took a screwdriver and pried it off. We thought it would come off in one piece, but he had to scrape it off in chunks. There were all kinds of grubs inside of it. We’ve never seen or heard of this before. Very interesting. I didn’t take a picture, because I thought it would come off in one piece. It really was amazing seeing all of those grubs inside of the nest. Cool!

The summer sure is flying by. In two months we’ll be leaving for Kansas to work at Amazon. I hope we have some nice weather in the meantime!

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

More Golf

The weather was a bit cooler today so Kevin and I went out and played nine holes at Fox Lake Golf Club. Our tee time was 9:00 a.m. and they sent us out on the back nine. We had a nice relaxed game with no one in front of or behind us the entire round.

It’s still pretty warm, but not unbearable. I think I had my best round of the summer. I had two bad holes, but the rest were pretty good. If I could only figure out why my drives keep going to the right, I’d be quite happy with how I’m playing. Kevin did not have such a good round. We spent a lot of time looking for his balls in the long grass :(

On Monday, the farmer finished harvesting the wheat field behind our camper. I was a little concerned that he would create a lot of dust when he got right behind us. But, the wind was blowing away, and there was very little dust.

Here he is out our back window. The edge of the field is only about 25 feet from us.

Something unusual has appeared on the side of our bath building. I think it’s some kind of hornet or wasp nest. It’s hard as a rock.

And, this moth was also on the bath building. It’s the biggest moth I’ve ever seen. It was just a little smaller than the size of my hand. Wow!

I’ll end today with the beautiful sunset we had a few days ago.

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