Overview - Blog Post #2 Camping at Bewabic

        The morning of July 11, Hubby, Dino and I headed out on our first week-long trip in Carlton the camper. As mentioned in my previous blog post, things didn’t get off to a smooth start. The rodent infestation put all our preparations behind. But I have finally learned that vacations shouldn’t be planned around any particular schedule; that there shouldn’t be any set times for anything. I thought I had realized that on my first camping trip to Bewabic with my sister Pat way back in 1980. I’m glad I am finally coming back around to what it means to be on vacation.

Anyway, it’s late on Thursday night and I should get to bed. I promise that next week I’ll write all about what we did and what we saw while camping in the UP that week. For now, you get to just see a few random pictures to hold your interest until then. 

Wow! We do manage to cover a lot of ground; so much for vacation being relaxing. 

 

Camping with Uninvited Guests - Blog Post 1

Hard to believe that it has been just over six weeks since we left home for our annual camping trip to Michigan’s UP. It does seem to have become a tradition, a week at one of my favorite state parks. This year we were back at Bewabic, which is between Crystal Falls and Iron River, eight miles or so north of the Wisconsin border (as the crow flies).

Funny how last year’s camping trip was cut short by a day due to a certain kidney stone. This year’s trip was delayed by a different sort of invasion. 

You may remember (or you can click this link to refresh your memory) that before we set off on our first camping trip in the new camper this spring, that I found a dead mouse while cleaning. It caused my gentle lick-and-a-promise cleaning to turn into a full-blown scrub to the rafters. After which, since no one else showed up in the mouse traps, I was confident in success.

The Friday before we left for the UP in July, I once again hadn’t planned on cleaning top to bottom. I thought an airing out and a sweeping would suffice. Well, when I went in that morning to start packing the food, I discovered mouse droppings in one of the cupboards. Ripping apart all the cubby holes, I found more poo and freaked out! No mouse or mouse beds though, so I don’t know where they were or if they were coming and going.

So, we gathered some steel wool, duct tape and electrician’s tape and I crawled under the darn camper, crammed steel wool into every hole and crack I could find, and then covered them with tape.  

Then I vacuumed, swept, and wiped down every surface with bleach. Last we set four mousetraps in the hidey-holes, as well as in the cupboard where I found the droppings.  

Several hours later, before going to bed, I had to check them and sure enough, found a rodent squished in one of them. Set that one and was like – argh – I don’t have time for this.

Saturday morning, at 7, we left for Lifest for the day and pulled back in the driveway just about 9 at night. Of course, I had to check the traps.

Darn it if there weren’t two more victims. Argh!!!

Perhaps, at that point, I should not have chosen to name them – Mickey that first guy back in May. Followed by Minnie, Tom and Jerry. And then Mighty the morning we left to go camping.

During the week we were camping, there was only one – Martha. But the week we got home, I continued checking and setting traps, killing Michael J. Mouse and Marvin Gray. One night the first part of August, we had torrential rains, practically a monsoon. As soon as it dried up enough, I checked the camper and discovered dead Mouse-soon.

Last week, we went camping for just a few days, trapping Maurice just before we left home and Melvin the day after we got home.

And, yes, we have tried everything – moth balls all around the outside of the camper, dryer sheets wherever I’ve seen mouse evidence inside. This week we put out some poison traps six to ten feet away from the camper, but I just wonder if the whole nest of the beasts is still hiding somewhere inside. So frustrating.

At least, Hubby has been a champ through it all, disposing of their little bodies and rebaiting and resetting the traps. All I’ve done is pull them out of whatever cubby they were in and replacing them.

  But now that I got all of that off my chest, come back on Friday and read about our actual trip to the UP. Hubby, Dino and I still had a great time, even with our uninvited guests in our home on wheels.

Place our Trust in Him

  The Lord has hidden himself from his people, but I trust him and place my hope in him. (Isaiah 8:17, Good News Translation)

For the last several years, I’ve chosen a “word of the year,” and if you read my Sunday blog posts in January, you may remember that my word for this year is “Trust.”

I chose that word (or God chose it for me) because we all need to work harder at placing our trust in God. 2021 has been another crazy year, and I don’t think anyone sees an end in sight.

It may seem that God has turned His back on us, that He is hiding from us, that He has given up on us. In reality, He is still waiting for us with open arms. Waiting for us to turn our backs on the things of this world and return to Him. Trust in Him. 

Lord, God, Heavenly Father, send Your Holy Spirit to us so that our faith is renewed and we can place all of our trust in You. Amen.  

Stand Firm to the End

I’m sorry that I didn’t write a post on Sunday. I always hate skipping Sundays, as that’s when I try to write something inspirational.

This Sunday, though, we had a picnic for Hubby’s side of the family. It was a beautiful day and we were all blessed to be able to see each other and relax in each other’s company. And of course, eat too much good food. (This wasn’t quite all the cars we had in the yard.)

When my mother-in-law died last October, even though we had a funeral, it wasn’t the same. COVID was really ramping up then and only the immediate family stayed for the service. Everyone was spread out throughout the church and there was very little mingling or visiting before or after.

And yes, COVID numbers have been going up again in the last few weeks. Most of us feel pretty okay being out and about without masks because we’ve been vaccinated. But that’s no guarantee. I know people who are fully vaccinated who have gotten sick and tested positive for the virus. I’ve heard of people who have ended up hospitalized, on ventilators, who have been immunized. 

Now, don’t get me wrong. I still believe that everyone needs to get their shots. We all need to do everything we can to slow down this pandemic. If the vaccine prevents the spread in any way, then it’s worth getting.

The sad thing is that this pandemic is only the tip of the iceberg. Wildfires are still raging, hurricanes are still threatening the Southeast, an earthquake devastated Haiti. And then there is Afghanistan. Oh, what horrors for those poor people. I fear for them, as well as for so many others around the world.

   As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:3-14, New International Version

Stand firm to the end. 

Heading Home – Blog Post #6 Weekend in Viroqua

 Sunday morning, June 6, we – Hubby, his brother, his sister-in-law and I – woke up knowing we had to pack up and leave the cabin at Sidie Hollow. It had been a fun weekend, filled with laughter, treats, hikes and sunshine. And for me – way too many pictures, but you already knew that.

My morning walk down Sidie Hollow Road. 

A drive through Sidie Hollow County Park. 

One last side trip to Esofea Memorial County Park, before heading home until the next adventure. 

For more information, click on these links:

            Esofea/Rentz Memorial Park –  https://www.vernoncounty.org/departments/land_and_water_conservation/parks_and_forests/esofea_rentz.php

            Sidie Hollow County Park – https://www.vernoncounty.org/departments/land_and_water_conservation/parks_and_forests/sidie_hollow.php

 

FAST and Fascinating - Blog Post #5 Weekend in Viroqua

     That Saturday afternoon in Southwest Wisconsin back in early June, we made one last stop before heading back to the Airbnb. And this was one of the most remarkable places I’ve been to.

I read about it on the “Only in Wisconsin” blog site several months ago and immediately know that this was a place I needed to visit some time. 

It’s the graveyard of the fiberglass molds used by Fiberglass Animals, Shapes, and Trademarks (FAST) on the east of Sparta. 

What an absolutely fun place to wander around, even though the temperatures outside were pushing ninety. 

And let the imagination wander as well. 

Found this pirate doing the plank (after maybe walking the plank), so I had to join him. Argh. 

While Hubby was looking for a fly ball. 

We decided to work on the Christmas card picture. 

As I was pounding Santa's drum, and Hubby was picking the poor pony's nose. Argh, again. 

For more information, click these links:

            The “Only in Wisconsin” site where I first read about FAST (oh, and by the way, counting FAST,  I’ve been to six of these oddball attractions) - https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/wisconsin/roadside-wi/

            The company’s website - https://www.fastfiberglass.com/Site-pages/About-Us

            One Fiberglass mold site – https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/fast-fiberglass-mold-graveyard

            Another one – https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2253

Separation

  By the rivers of Babylon we sat down;

    there we wept when we remembered Zion.

 On the willows near by 

    we hung up our harps.

 Those who captured us told us to sing;

    they told us to entertain them:

    “Sing us a song about Zion.”

 How can we sing a song to the Lord

    in a foreign land?

 May I never be able to play the harp again

    if I forget you, Jerusalem!

 May I never be able to sing again

    if I do not remember you,

    if I do not think of you as my greatest joy!

(Psalm 137:1-6, Good News Translation)

   Way back in April, I started sharing some of the songs from the musical “Godspell.” This is one of the most moving songs in the movie, but I’ve been putting off writing about it. There is a long story behind these verses from Psalms, and I thought you’d need to know the whole history of the Israel people, their capture and exile in Babylon, and I didn’t want to write that much.

I did run across one explanation of these verses, though, which put it in perspective for me.

Psalm 137 is a song the Israelites sang when they were separated from God. They’d been taken away, physically, from their homes, their temple, and the rest of their people. They didn’t know how to pray anymore, and they didn’t know how they could sing to God when they were so far from home.

In the movie “Godspell,” when these verses are put to haunting music, Jesus is saying goodbye to His followers. They aren’t sure what this means, why Jesus is so somber, but they begin to feel His sorrow.

The true meaning in both of these cases, for me at least, is that there is nothing as horrible, as gut-wrenchingly sad as being separated from God. The Good News is that we don’t have to be. No matter what situation we might find ourselves in, no matter how much despair we might feel, we need to remember that God will never leave us or forsake us. We need only turn to our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Thank You, Lord Jesus

Here are the links to find out more about this song and the movie:

            The easiest to understand explanation I found for Psalm 137 – https://brothersofthebook.com/2017/07/10/on-the-willows-there-2/

            The entire chapter of Psalm 137 (the last line was too gruesome for me to post) –

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+137&version=GNT

            Sources for all the songs from the movie – https://www.godspell.com/godspell-lyric-sources/

            About the movie – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godspell_(film)

Nor-Walking and Biking - Blog Post #4 Weekend in Viroqua

   I was talking to a woman yesterday who was planning a big trip which was going to involve long hikes every day. She was debating whether or not she wanted to carry her bulky camera with the long zoom lens.

I was like – what? If I had a bulky camera with a zoom lens, I would take it EVERYWHERE, no matter how much it weighed or how far I had to carry it. Which is why I only have my little Nikon CoolPix. I loved my Yashica 35mm, but as many pictures as I take and as many miles as I seem to cover, I think I need convenience over the spectacular shots.  

Which brings me to the tiny village of Norwalk, 35 miles north of the cabin where we stayed in Viroqua and 18 miles southeast of Sparta, which is known as the Bicycling Capital of America. Norwalk is one of several stops along the Elroy-Sparta State Trail.

I’d never heard of Norwalk when we stopped there for lunch during our drive around the area back in June. Being my usual somewhat rude self, as soon as I’d eaten my lunch-box lunch, I abandoned Hubby and the others to explore the little park and take way too many pictures. 

And then I imagined how awesome it would be to bike the 32-mile Bike Trail. Sure, Chris, that will happen, camera in hand or not - not. 

For more information, click these links:

            The Elroy-Sparta Trail – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elroy-Sparta_State_Trail

            The city of Sparta – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparta,_Wisconsin

            Sparta and the bicycle – https://dekeslaytonmuseum.org/exhibits/evolution-of-the-bicycle/

            The Village of Norwalk –  https://villageofnorwalk.com/

            If you never click on another link, you have to click on this one for a map of the Norwalk Park – https://villageofnorwalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/park-campground-map-1.pdf