To the Bog and Back

When a day is beautiful, you grab it and wring out every moment of it. That was the way it was today. The sun came out, the temperatures were moderate, and at least until afternoon, the mosquitoes gave up and let us be.

We sat in our lawn chairs to read and allowed the chipmunks to amuse us. We fed them peanuts. We fed them again. And again. At one point one of them was sitting next to me on the table expecting to be waited on. There are four of the little rascals, coming from four directions. When two of them arrive at the same time, chipmunk wars erupt with squeaking and chasing. Then we start all over.

At mid-morning, Gary and I got in the canoe. Throwing caution to the wind, Gary drove the canoe at 4 mph using the electric trolling motor. He says if he tinkered a bit he might get another 2 mph and then we might actually have a wake. As it is, it is the quietest way to travel, even quieter than paddling.

A juvenile eagle flew overhead, harassed by a crow.

Our destination was the far shore and the brief walk through the forest to Bog Lake.

The mountain bikers told me that when they first starting coming to Laura Lake campground 31 years ago, Bog Lake was really a bog. There is no outlet so snow and rain over the years caused it to rise up and fill in the valley. The shores are still sphagnum moss, a spongy mass Gary walks across.  I haven't the nerve. 

There we found pitcher plants blooming. The bog laurel was in flower.

.

When rain threatened in the afternoon, there was only one thing to do, drive to Crandon. I wanted to see the downtown which I knew had been spruced up since last I was there. While I was on the city council, I attended a workshop on improving small town business districts and the Crandon improvements were featured. Crandon got a grant to paint the buildings with the help of a designer. It was attractive compared to other places I'd seen.

Crandon also has an ice cream parlor with 25 flavors. That was worth stopping for.

When I took my final walk around this campground, I ran across the Bartelt family who had just arrived. Gary worked for Dan when he was at Menards. They were fighting mosquitoes same as us. Tonight we sit inside this camper enjoying screened in comfort.

Tomorrow should bring another fine day. We'll see.