The Story of 126 Nights

I know I sort of interrupted the continuing story of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun when I posted Art Meets Humor. 

So, to continue …Mike and Dawn were only going to stay for a week, but while the girls were out having fun, Mike was making a deal with Lost Falls Campground. They needed a video showcasing the park and, as luck would have it, Mike makes videos. In exchange for an additional two weeks of camping, Mike made this awesome video!

While Mike slaved away at the computer, Dawn and I continued having fun. One of our day trips took us to Praire Moon Sculpture Garden. As we walked among  the sculptures we couldn’t help but notice some of them seemed out of place. What do bears and dinosaurs have to do with the other beautiful sculptures?

Praire Moon Sculpture Garen-2748Praire Moon Sculpture Garen-2753Praire Moon Sculpture Garen-2749Praire Moon Sculpture Garen-2764Praire Moon Sculpture Garen-2783Praire Moon Sculpture Garen-2761

Ya, we didn’t get it either, but it was still a great day out.

Dawn and I took several more kayak trips…

IMG_7662

And the time for them to leave came far too soon. With hugs and maybe a tear or two, we bid them “Safe travels until we meet again.”

IMG_1876
Actually, we took this picture when they arrived. But our smiles tell the whole story!

That was in early July. So what does any of this have to do with 126 nights you ask? Well that is how long we were at Lost Falls.

When Steve and I weren’t working…

IMG_7901

We took day trips to some really neat places. We visited one of the 4 corners of the world, the spot where the 45°N Latitude intersects with -90°W Longitude…

IMG_7745IMG_7746

We spent time fishing (I caught my first small mouth bass!)

IMG_7827IMG_7799

We worked some more…

IMG_7830
I had just picked up every one of those sticks and removed them from the beach!
Reunion-2981
We cleaned up after family reunions
IMG_7695
We dealt with flooded campsites
IMG_7763
And flooded roads.

We had lots of rain this summer. The lower part of the campground (next to the river) flooded 7 times. Perhaps that’s why I drank several of these…

IMG_7787
Have you ever had a Bloody Mary with a cheese wedge in it? It was TASTY!

When the rain gave us a break, guests had fun on the river…

IMG_7894
Yes, that is a floating picnic table!

Steve and I finally managed to get out on the river together. He isn’t into kayaking as much as I am, but we had a great time…

IMG_7908IMG_7913

Since we had been in Black River Falls since May, we were having to go farther and farther to find new adventures. One day, we drove 3 hours to get to Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. I was worth the drive! We got to see a bear…

Chequamegon Nicolet NF-2841

And something worthy of inclusion at Atlas Obscura…

Chequamegon Nicolet NF-2830

It was getting close to the end of our summer contract, but I had promised Barbara I would do some portraits of their Australian Shepherd, Reba…

Reba-3328

And Emily’s pup Rosie…

Rosie-3458

Unfortunately, not every dog I had contact with this summer wanted to be my friend.  And not every guest follows the rules about leashes. Resulting in this…

IMG_7914
Yep, I got bit by a red healer

Labor Day came and went. With it our time at Lost Falls came to an end. The night before we left, Aaron and Shannon hosted a BBQ for this year’s workampers. Before we gorged ourselves on amazing smoked ribs, cheesy potato casserole and homemade ice cream, we posed for a picture…

IMG_7926

It was a wonderful way to end our summer. I loved Wisconsin and Lost Falls Campground. With plenty of adventures and stories to share we said of goodbyes. After 126 nights, I decided…

IMG_7806

Up next, the North Shore of Lake Superior!