Campgrounds in the Midwest

As we travel around the country, we usually stay in campgrounds that cater to short-term stays.  That is, until we come into the Midwest or some areas of eastern Canada.  In Colorado and Arizona, and probably in other areas where there are mountains somewhere nearby, many people own summer cabins where they go to get away from the heat. 
Folks like us who want to go camping take their trailer with them each time they go out.  They may go to the same campground most weekends.  When we volunteered at Lathrop State Park in Walsenburg, CO, and at two state parks in Texas, most of the campers lived within maybe 50 miles or less of the park, but each time they left the campground, they took their RV back home.
Not so, here.  Many people rent seasonal sites and really make their campsite comfortable.  Many of the sites are fairly large. They cover or fold up the lawn furniture each time they leave the campground.  But often, they build decks and plant gardens or have flowering baskets.




For some reason that we don’t yet understand, most RV parks in this part of the country (we are in Wisconsin right now) don’t have full-hookup sites.  They offer only water and electric, no sewer hookup.  The parks do have sanitary dump stations, but obviously most of their season trailers are not pulled to the dump station every few days.  Instead, the parks offer pump-out service—for a price.  Here is the young man who performed this job at Tranquil Timbers in Sturgeon Bay.

When his tank was full, he emptied it into the dump station.  Periodically, a large tanker truck came to the park to pump out the dump station holding tank.  Obviously, the park wasn’t connected to the city sewer and they didn’t have a septic system.
The seasonal trailers have a large black tank, either located right under the RV or half-buried in the yard next to the RV.

We usually stay in campsites with full hookups.  In Arbor Vitae, WI, the full hookup section of the campground, which was mainly for short-term campers, was fairly open.  That has several advantages, especially making it possible to get a TV signal through our satellite antenna.

There are good reasons for having a seasonal site, however.  You are able to make the site your own and it is much more personal.  These campgrounds also provide docks on the adjacent lakes, so people can bring bring their boats in for the summer.  They also often have boats for rent.



It dawned on us that we spend half our year in a seasonal site—during our winters at Valle del Oro in Mesa, AZ.  If we were willing to rent the site year-round, we could make the area our own, too.  So, I guess seasonal campgrounds aren’t that unusual.  Plus, here in the Midwest, they have the added advantage for us that most people are here only on the weekend, so the campgrounds are very quiet during the week.

Painters and Boats

Does this look like an artist's studio? We didn't think so. And, since earlier in the day we had seen someone sitting along Lake Michigan painting a sailboat in the shallow water, while we searched out lighthouses, we decided to ask this artist what he was doing. Tom Maakestad explained that he was one of the featured artists in the 2014 Door County Plein Air Festival. I knew that meant painting outdoors, but that was all. From the festival website I learned that in the mid 19th century, some artists began painting subjects from life and from nature, instead just painting scenes from antiquity and Biblical scenes.

Each day of the Door Country Festival, 40 artists were given a subject or location to paint. At the end of the week, the paintings are for sale. One day it was gardens, another fields. It was the bay the day we saw the painters. Other subjects were sunsets and farms.

This was the scene Tom was painting.



While walking further along the ship canal in Sturgeon Bay, we also saw two women painting this tug boat. Unfortunately, I didn't get their names.









These are two of this woman's paintings from earlier.



Across the water, there is a boat builder. Look at this custom luxury yacht that is having the interior work completed.



We also watched this draw-bridge across the ship canal open for the fire boat tour boat.

Another Boat Ride

Friday, we moved from Chatfield State Park in Littleton to Cherry Creek State Park in Aurora.  Fourteen days out of 45 is the limit we can stay in any individual park. Before we packed up to move, we had a dramatic sunrise because of the smoky sky.

Saturday, Eric and his family brought their boat to Cherry Creek to check out the lake here.  We met them at the boat launch and spent about 3 hours cruising the lake.  It was a beautiful day.  They have a nice looking pontoon boat.

There was a large flock of pelicans on the lake.

When we came too close, they took flight.

This gull was feasting on a fish.

There were a number of western grebes on the lake.  They kept diving under water, looking for lunch.  This isn’t a great photo, but I did finally catch one above water.

We really enjoyed watching these cormorants drying their wings and warming up in the sun.

There were lots of sailboats on the water.  Since there was a decent wind, it was fun to watch them.

And, of course, we took pictures of our grandchildren.  John posed as a tough guy.

And Kylie showed us some ballet positions.

After they pulled the boat out of the water, everyone came to our RV site for a late taco lunch.

Tuesday we had a good lunch and great visit with old friends, and I do mean old. Yes, we are all getting older, but what I am talking about is that we have been friends since 1966, shortly after both of us married. This week we got together with Dave and Kathy at Panera Bread nearby and we sat and talked for nearly three hours.



In the earliest years, we got together to play bridge. Then we had two boys each, at about the same time. We camped together, traveled together, were in a bridge group together, and talked. It was good to see them again and share stories of travel and grandchildren.

All summer, Colorado and much of the rest of the country has been very hot and very dry, while we spent our time in the cool and often wet north. So, what is this in our campsite at Chatfield State Park in Littleton?





It's rain. Wednesday it started raining sometime around 4 am and kept it up till mid-afternoon. This area received over an inch during that time. We know they desperately need the moisture here, but we are tired of cool and wet weather.

After it stopped raining, the sun came out for a while. But after dinner the sky again looked threatening. The storm must have gone somewhere else, however.



During an evening walk we saw all these sailboats on the park lake. According to Eric, they hold a regatta here on Wednesday evenings. Years ago he was on a friend's boat during a regatta and described it as barrel racing in slow motion. We once saw one on Grand Lake on a day with virtually no wind and it was almost like watching a still-life painting. The sailboats are pretty, though.



I continue to be impressed with our new Canon SX 40HS digital camera. I took this picture of a hot air balloon on the other side of the lake. If you click to enlarge it, you can even see the fire inside as the balloonist went up. The picture of a hummingbird on the balloon is also cool.

Alaska–Day 99

No shore time today.  After we left Ketchikan late yesterday afternoon, we picked up a salad (me) and sandwich (John) from the Cafeteria and had dinner in our cabin.  Near 8 pm, the captain announced there was a great sunset.  I went to the forward lounge to take some pictures.  We also saw some porpoise playing in the water.  No pictures of them.

Later, they paged anyone with medical training to come to the Purser’s Desk.  About an hour later, it was announced that the ship would detour to Prince Rupert for a medical evacuation. This morning over coffee, John learned a crew member had a stroke last night.

The M/V (Marine Vessel) Columbia was built in 1974 at the cost of $20 million.  It is 418 feet long, 85 feet wide, with 103 staterooms, a crew of 66 and is authorized to carry up to 499 passengers.  It has a vehicle capacity of 2,680 linear feet or approximately 134 tween foot vehicles.

Again, the water was incredibly smooth in the morning. The fog added to the beauty.

It rained a lot during the day, so viewing the scenery out the windows was often difficult.

We had about and hour and a half of open water during the afternoon, meaning there was no island between us and the open ocean.  That meant more swells and rolling of the boat.  An hour before we reached this area, they suggested we take Dramaine and use care when moving around the ferry. The water wasn’t so smooth during that time.

The clouds did clear and we could see some more, including a rainbow.

Tomorrow, we finish this part of the journey and arrive in Bellingham, WA.

Alaska–Day 98

We had a long stop at Ketchikan today, from noon to 5 pm.  But first there was a morning at sea.  We saw whales and eagles.

It has not been sunny, but the weather has been good and the water unbelievably smooth much of the time.  I had no idea the water of the Inside Passage could be so smooth, with great reflections.  However, if I was in a sailboat with no motor, this might not be as favorable conditions.

We are again thankful we have a cabin on the ferry.  This is the Solarium on the Bridge Deck.  A number of 20- and 30-somethings are camped here.  And even whole families and some grandparents.  There are heat lamps in the ceiling, so the temperature is fairly comfortable.  And there are coin-operated lockers to store valuable possessions when the owners leave the area.  But, it is not the way we would like to travel, especially at our age.

Ketchikan is a fairly large town—12,000 residents-- with a big boat service area.  The working part of the town is old and pretty run down. 

After lunch at The Landing across the road from the ferry terminal, we walked east to the Cruise Dock and Creek Street, once the town’s red light district and now the tourist area.  Today two cruise ships, one Princess Line and one Celebrity, were there.  Tomorrow, four cruise ships are supposed to be in town.  It will be crowded. 

We didn’t buy anything and skipped the Logging Show and Totem Pole exhibits.  When we were here before, we took a charter boat to Misty Fjords National Monument.  What a beautiful trip. Today, we walked nearly eight miles, total.  And, with lots of others, rode the city bus back to the ferry terminal.