Christmas in October

Since we won’t be with our children for Christmas in December this year, we are celebrating the holidays early. We haven’t been together as a family since last December, so these times are very precious to me.

Eric arrived in Lincoln, Nebraska late Friday afternoon. Eric has not been to Lincoln, so we went over to Korey and Cathryn’s apartment so he could see where they live. Then we went to Red Lobster for a delicious meal of endless shrimp. After dinner we went back to the apartment and watched some playoff baseball.

Saturday was a full day. We picked up Korey and Cathryn and headed to Martin’s Apple Orchard. It was a beautiful fall day, and we had a good time picking lots of apples. Here are a few pictures of our adventure.

These four mean the world to me!!

Love my kids!

Eric is the tallest, so he gave Cathryn a boost to get some of those prize apples near the top.

Our 2015 family Christmas picture.

After the orchard, we had lunch at Runza. You’ve probably never heard of this restaurant. They are a chain mainly in the Omaha/Lincoln areas of Nebraska. A runza is a pastry dough pocket stuffed with a ground beef and cabbage filling. There are several different varieties to choose from.

My mother makes a dish she calls galushken, and the runza filling reminded Korey of her dish, so we had to try it. The recipe came from German Russians who immigrated to this area. They were quite tasty.

Once our tummies were full, we headed to the Strategic Air and Space Museum in Ashland, NE.  We’ve talked about going to this museum on previous trips to Lincoln. Since Eric is a big space buff, we decided this was the perfect time to check it out.

The museum has a beautiful main atrium building with two large hangers attached. We saw lots of aircraft, both inside and out.

Below is a SR-71 Strategic Reconnaissance plane. It could fly over 2,000 mph at heights over 85,000 feet. Wow! It holds the speed record from New York to London in 1 hour 55 minutes. It is constructed mainly of titanium and has gold engine parts to help retard the 1,100 degree F skin temperature of sustained supersonic flight. This plane was mounted at this site, and then the atrium was built around it.

One of the hangers.

This small plane was named The Goblin. It was one of two built in 1948 for the parasite fighter program. The Goblin was supposed to attach by the large hook to a parent bomber plane. It would be deployed from the bomber bay when needed. It worked fine when it was released from the parent plane. The problem came when trying to hook it back to the main plane. Wind turbulence caused lots of problems, and the program was shelved in 1949. Sometimes good ideas just don’t work out.

This B-29 Bomber was the type of plane the nuclear bombs dropped on Japan were released from.

After the terrorist attack on the twin towers on September 11, 2001, President Bush was flown to Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Nebraska to a bunker for safety. This is the desk he led the country from in the hours after the attacks.

Artist Greg Laakso created this sculpture as a memorial to the 1,452 lives lost in the North Tower. The neckties are hung from two 28 foot tall steel frames.

We spent about three hours at the museum. If you are interested in airplanes, I’m sure you would enjoy a visit. The admission was $12 for adults.

 

Our last stop for the day was a tour of Carol Joy Holling Camp where Korey is a program director. Eric and Korey both attended Pine Lake Camp in Wisconsin as children for many years, so we thought Eric would enjoy seeing the camp where Korey works. Its an awesome facility with three different ropes courses, conference and retreat centers, horse stables, a pool, a pond, and several areas where kids attend summer camp in either cabins or tents.

We went back to Korey and Cathryn’s apartment for supper. I had made lasagna the day before, so we heated it up and enjoyed our Christmas dinner together. After dinner it was time for some presents and then a game of Small World.

I made this quilted wall hanging for Korey and Cathryn. It has tiny lights that have several settings so it can twinkle, fade in and out, etc. I think they liked it.

Eric left Sunday morning, but before he did Korey joined us at the RV for breakfast casserole. Cathryn had to work on Sunday. We watched football at the apartment, and had dinner when Cathryn got home from work.

Today Korey is working a half day, so we are going golfing this afternoon. Cathryn has to work again. It is supposed to be 83 degrees, but rather windy. We can’t resist a round of golf though on such a warm mid-October day. Dinner will be at Granite City, one of Kevin’s favorite places, and then maybe another game before our visit comes to an end.

We’re leaving tomorrow morning and making our way towards Denver.

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

Enjoyed a few days in Iowa

We left Beaver Dam on Monday morning. We had been in one spot for six months, so it took a while to get everything ready to go. After sitting in one spot for so long, we are careful to make sure we don’t forget any of the steps to get back on the road.

We had an uneventful drive to Waterloo, Iowa. It sure was windy, though. We were driving directly into the wind, which was not good for our fuel economy. At least the wind wasn’t coming from the side; that would not have been a good thing.

We’ve been staying at George Wyth State Park in Waterloo the last few years when we visit Kevin’s brother and family in Iowa. The fall rate is only $11 per night which includes a large back in 50 amp site. Water and a dump station are available. For just a few nights, it is a great place with lots of hiking and biking trails.

We spent some time with Kevin’s brother Josef and his wife Julie. Their son Robert and his girlfriend Brittany joined us at Texas Roadhouse for dinner on Tuesday night. It was great to catch up with family.

The weather has been gorgeous all over the Midwest this fall. Here’s just one of many beautiful trees we saw.

On Thursday we drove to Lincoln, Nebraska. Another uneventful travel day. I am always so grateful to arrive at the next destination without any problems. We did come upon an accident scene on Hwy. 20 in Iowa. It appeared a semi carrying pigs turned over in the medium. There was a large crane lifting dead pigs into a dump truck. Pretty gross.

Last night our son Korey and his wife Cathryn came over for dinner. We played the game of Wizard and enjoyed some time together. Today our son Eric is coming from Wisconsin for the weekend. I am VERY excited to have the whole family together again. The last time we were all together was for Christmas in December of 2014. We have some fun events planned for the weekend including some meals, a trip to an orchard and a visit to the Air and Space Museum.

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

Packing Up

Tomorrow is the big day. We will be hitting the road again after six months of working at Derge County Park in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. We are ready to go!!!

Last week I attended an end of season meeting with our boss and some of the other park attendants in the Dodge County Parks Department. We learned that this summer was a record breaking year for the campgrounds. I already knew that for our park. We were busier than ever.

I was hoping for a bit of a slow down in fall, but no such luck. The weather has been fantastic, and the campers keep coming. This weekend we were 3/4 full. That’s just unheard of for this late in the season. Normally, by the time we leave it has been below freezing for a few nights. This year the lowest temps have gotten is in the high 30s. Today is supposed to be in the high 70s. Amazing for October!

Yesterday we worked hard all day getting everything ready to leave. We have some close up duties for the park, but the water remains on until the end of the month, so Kevin doesn’t have to shut that all down.

We are surrounded by farm fields. They rotate the crops, and this year it was soybeans. Last week they began the harvest which is very dusty. We always hope for a wind blowing away from us, but the first day the wind came right at us. It wasn’t too bad, but there was definitely quite a cloud of dust that drifted over us. Luckily, Yuma has mobile RV washing companies that wash your RV, awning and truck for very reasonable prices. We’ll be having that done as soon as we arrive.

The machinery the farmers use is amazing. Somehow, it separates the beans from the plants and puts them in the hopper on top. The rest of the plant is chopped up and comes out the back, creating the dust. A few days later they tilled it all under, which I’m sure makes for good fertilizer.

Today we’re going to our son Eric’s house to watch the Packer game and celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas with him. We’re bringing him some Halloween treats, I made him his favorite soup, and baked Christmas cookies to take to him. Then we’re all going out to dinner with my mom and bringing her Christmas gifts as well. In the six years we’ve been on the road, this will only be the second one where we’re not with family for Christmas. We come home every other year.

The carp harvest in the lake continues. They bring large, long flat boats full of fish to the launch. A semi is waiting to take the fish away. A large scoop is attached to a front end loader and the fish are scooped out of the boats into containers in the semi. We’ve heard they’ve harvested millions of pounds of carp over the last four years out of Beaver Dam Lake. The fish is shipped to New York where it is sold in Chinatown. Wow.

Last night there was a beautiful sunset as a send off for one of our last nights in Wisconsin. That’s a silo in the distance.

We’ve been invited to return next year to work at this park, and we will be back. It’s such a quiet, peaceful and beautiful location. Reservations are coming in for next season, so I think it will be another busy summer.

Our travel plans are to spend three nights in Iowa visiting with Kevin’s brother and his family. Then on to Lincoln, Nebraska for four or five nights to celebrate the holidays with our son and his wife. Then a few nights in the Denver area to visit Kevin’s cousin and friends. That should have us arriving in Yuma the last week in October.

Yuma has been experiencing above average temperatures as well. It was 100 last week. Hopefully, it will be cooler by the time we arrive.

We’re going back to Fortuna de Oro RV Resort. We enjoyed it there so much last year, we’re going back for another year. Some friends will be joining us there for a few months, so it should be a great winter.

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

A Beautiful September

This month has been one of the most beautiful Septembers I can remember in Wisconsin. All but four days so far have been above normal temperatures. Right now, it is the 8th warmest September on record, and there is a week left.

Labor Day weekend was actually too hot and humid for my liking. It was near 90 and extremely humid the entire weekend. The park was full, and we had four couples camping here that are friends of ours. We had a great time.

Since then, we have been full or near full each weekend this month. Last weekend, friends came and camped here again. More fun was had. We sure enjoy having friends come and camp in our park.

Tomorrow we are going to our son Eric’s house to help him with a little landscaping project. Then we are going to the wake for Kevin’s aunt. She passed away last week at the age of 84. Always sad to lose a loved one.

A few weeks ago, I saw motion outside the window in the morning. I was sure surprised to see this female pheasant. It’s the first time I’ve seen a pheasant at this park. She ran along the edge of the soybean field and disappeared. The picture isn’t the greatest, but you get the idea. Love those long pheasant tail feathers.

Not much else to report. We’ve been busy this entire season, so are looking forward to the end and some down time. We plan to leave Oct. 12th. We’ll spend a few nights in Iowa visiting Kevin’s brother and family, a few nights in Nebraska visiting our son Korey and his wife Cathryn, and then a possible stop in the Denver area to visit more family and friends. Denver will be dependent on weather.

Our plan is to be in Yuma near the end of October. We’re going back to Fortuna de Oro for the winter. We enjoyed it there so much last year, we decided to do it again.

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

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!

Fun Times

I can’t believe its been over two weeks since my last blog post. I guess time flies when you’re busy and having fun.

The campground continues to be very busy, and much of our time is taken up with our jobs and helping campers. Overall, it has been a good summer. Of course, there are always a few people that feel rules don’t apply to them. But, that’s part of the reason why we are here; to ensure everyone can enjoy their camping experience.

On August 1st our Quonset shelter was rented by the Wisconsin Falconers Association for their annual summer picnic meeting. I had never heard of this organization. It turns out there are national and international chapters. Their members enjoy owning, training and hunting with these raptors.

Some of the members brought birds with them and gave demonstrations. I didn’t realize hunting with these birds was such a big sport. These two are Harris’ hawks.

This one is a female red-tailed hawk. It was cool to see one of these birds up close. We’ve had a family of them living in the park the last two years, but they don’t let us get this close. What a beautiful bird.

This one is a Gyrfalcon. At one point the handler had some type of headdress on it that made it look just like the bird that used to be on the show Falcon Crest that was on in the 1980s. Too bad I didn’t get a picture of that. Another amazing looking bird. I really enjoyed having this group in the park. They were kind enough to let me take pictures and answer my questions.

On August 2nd, we went to a Milwaukee Brewers baseball game with a group of friends. We enjoyed tailgating before the game and then went in to watch the game. It was the hottest day of the year with temps around 90 degrees. I saw several people being treated by EMTs for heat related problems. Luckily, our seats were in the shade for the most part, and there was a nice strong breeze all day.

The team has not been doing well at all this year. In fact, they traded away quite a few players to begin the rebuilding process. They lost the game, but we still had a good time with friends.

On August 4th, we went to another Brewers game with our son Eric. BP gas stations have a promotion each summer where you can earn free tickets with gas purchases. So, we had free tickets for this game.

Before the game we went to a new attraction at the stadium called The Selig Experience. It’s a video presentation of the life of Bud Selig who brought baseball back to Milwaukee after the Braves left in the 1960s. He was instrumental in getting Miller Park built to keep the Brewers in Milwaukee, and he was the commissioner of baseball for many years. It was a great presentation.

Bob Uecker has been a Brewers broadcaster for many years, and still announces games. Years ago he did some Miller beer commercials in which he was escorted to his seat at the very top of the stadium. Miller Park has some Uecker seats available for $1 at every game.

We had a great time with Eric and our team even won.

We’ve played some golf, enjoyed some nice summer weather, and are working. That’s about all there is. Can’t complain!

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

Storm Damage

As I mentioned in a previous post, we had some severe storms come through Wisconsin in the early morning hours of July 13th. I was awake from 2:30 am on because our weather radio kept going off. The worst of it went south of us, and we only had some small branches and leaves down here. One of the campers lost a canopy, but we were lucky that the worst of it passed us by.

Another Dodge County Park was not so lucky. Astico Park is about 20 miles south of us. We were camp hosts there our first full time summer in 2010. The park has been closed since the storm, and will most likely remain closed until at least the middle of August.

Last Monday we drove over to take a look at the damage. The public is not allowed in, but we got permission since we are park employees. The damage was unbelievable. There are over 300 trees down. They were either snapped off or pulled right out of the ground. These are huge oak and other hard wood trees. It was not a tornado, but rather 100 mph straight line winds. The entire community of Columbus had major damage and was declared a state of emergency the day after the storm.

The following are just a few pictures of what we saw. This was a full week after the storm hit. Pictures do not do justice to the devastation we witnessed. This is the road that goes up to the campsites on top of the hill. Both sides of this road were completely wooded before the storm. The morning after the storm the road was completely impassable. All of the debris has been pushed into the ditches along the side.

Campsites 1 through 4 were heavily wooded. Luckily, the storm hit early on Monday morning, so there were only five campers in the park. If anyone had been on these sites, they would most likely have died or been severely injured. Below is site 3. Hard to believe there was even a site there.

Here’s another site.

Site 2.

Here’s an example of one of the many, many trees that were snapped off. There are lots of these huge snapped off sections dangling in the branches of surrounding trees. If another strong wind comes, these could be deadly to someone below.

Here’s the vault toilet in the tent area.

This is one of the main roads going to another camping section called the Danville area. They haven’t even gotten to this area yet. They’re still trying to get the main area open.

Because that park is closed, we’ve been busier than ever. Normally, we have just a handful of campers here during the week. This week we had quite a few. Our weekends have been completely booked even before the storm, and the trend continues.

In my spare time, I continue to work on quilting projects. I made two of these placemats for our table recently. I like decorating with a north woods bear and moose theme. I have two other bear placemats I made earlier.

Last Monday morning, a thunderstorm came through right at sunrise. Here’s a beautiful picture of the sun peaking out through the storm clouds. That was the actual color of the sky.

I planted sunflower seeds at the back of our RV this year. They have grown very well, and I have some gorgeous sunflowers.

One of them has petals growing on the front and back. I’ve never seen a flower like that before.

Three couples that are friends of ours are coming to camp at our park this weekend. This is a group of friends where the guys play cards once a month. Our son Eric is part of the card playing group, so he’s coming tomorrow and staying until Sunday. I’m looking forward to some fun times. It’s pretty hot out, so try to stay cool everyone.

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