Ashen Sky

Last week Sunday, July 18, the Land Girl (my soon to be seasoned citizen wife) and I departed for a five night camping trip to northeast Wisconsin.  As we headed north on a cloudless day, the sky became more and more gray, but it was not clouds that gave this dreary color, but rather ash from the western forest fires. It made for a haze, but a rather brilliant moon and sunset that night. I guess an ash colored sky is appropriate when derived from forest fire particulates. It was not humid, so I could not relate the sky to a haze due to water vapor. However, humor or beauty can be found in many things--activities of people, words of the young, the flora and fauna, and in the landscape itself.

Our lakeside campsite

The long range forecast, for the area, on Thursday was mostly sunny for with highs in the low to mid 80's.  The long range forecast changed and by Saturday there were a few days of rain predicted, along with cooler temperatures. We had a few days where the temperature never got above about 72, and one night it was as cold as 45. But, this is not unusual for weather in northern Wisconsin. One night, the wind gusts, off the lake, which was generally to the east, were picking up our screen tent and so I had to stake it to the ground. The next day, following the evening of strong wind, the sky was closer to a  typical sky blue. The beauty of a baby blue sky was  sight to behold after a few days of an ashen gray.

Shrine to St Hubert
northeast of Goodman, WI

What I learned about those who camp there on this trip was that many of the campers are from the area.  One couple next to us was within 20 minutes, and a couple across within about 45 minutes.  It is heavily used by "locals."  I found this out on a prior trip when our favorite campsite was occupied.  There were people in chairs, and a couple vehicles, but no tents or campers, so I asked if they were packing up to move out that day, and they said they were there for the week.  That Sunday night, I kayaked by the site and it was vacant.  I think they "camped" out at the site for day use.  The ranger only comes a couple times a week, and the I doubt the camp host, if he knew what was going on, would get confrontational.  The camp host does not, from what I understand, know who pays what fee and when. This past trip, Thursday morning, about 8:45 am, a couple pulled in a dropped their pop-up at a site and left.  The site is supposed to be occupied the first night, but they did not do that.  Nor do many who reserve a site for a few or more days, and not show up the first day. By rights, that site should be available on first come first serve basis. 

Leaft at Piers Gorge

We found that the rules are enforced in some respects.  An elderly couple, perhaps about my wife's age, since she will be a senior citizen this coming month, grabbed an unused but reservable site on Tuesday.  Wednesday I noticed a placard about the reservation noting it was reserved for Friday to Sunday. The placard was not there earlier in the day Wednesday, or even Tuesday.  I asked the couple how long they planned to stay and they said Sunday.  I noted the placard having a reservation on the site for the weekend.  Long and short, they talked to the camp host, who said they had to move. The funny thing is the placard was dropped off Wednesday by the forest service, and the last day they were there was Saturday. One cannot reserve a site for the first four days. For example I could not reserve a site on July 26 for the next four nights.  Since they arrived Tuesday, the site had to have been reserved on Monday at the latest, and if the placard was placed Tuesday morning they would not have had that problem. Hence, they moved their site Wednesday morning. 

Loon

Of course, not all is exact for rule following as noted earlier. A site is not to be occupied for more than fourteen consecutive days, but a former camp host was on her third week. She must have gotten special permission.  I guess it depends on who you know.

If you could not find the inch worm earlier, here it
is again, with my wife's blue polar fleece just behind it

We found out on this trip that the best sites, lake front sites, are mainly gone by 1:00 pm. Check out time is noon. Which of course some do not follow. Our first trip to this campground, nearly 20 years ago, we arrived on a Thursday, and no lake site was available, so we choose a non lake site.  By noon on Sunday our loop was empty but for the camp host and us.  A few campers moved in later that day, but not many. Times have changed as it is now rather crowded.

Prayer of the Woods at St Hubert Shrine

With crowds come noise, which is not so bad, except for generators.  The big rigs pretty much all use generators, and a few years ago I contacted the Nicolet Forest Service suggesting they place a time frame on generator operation, but I never heard back. Between the rigs the generators can run from mid morning to about 9:00 pm at night. One person had a generator so loud, that even people who had generators did not like all the noise. The couple who had to move, had a rig, slightly larger than ours, and had a generator, but they had a home made sound attenuation cabinet which dampened the noise. I doubt  a decibel level would work, because no one would be around to enforce it. With more people comes more noise and activity. Noise associated with common camping activities makes sense, but to me a generator goes beyond normal. 

People Rafting at Piers Gorge

The beach at the nearby lake is also much more busy. Flooding at a large nearby lake over the past three years or more had driven activity from that beach, which had its beach and parking lot flooded out, to this small beach. I think many still come. Of course the noise and activity produced can also provide some entertainment. I believe it was Monday night when there were two cars from Illinois at the parking lot. The beach was noisy and heavily occupied by many of our Friendly Illinois Brethern (FIB). It was amusing to listen as two female FIB's headed out in kayaks. Once beyond, and I mean just beyond the swim area buoys, one lady immediately started complaining. It was like this adult woman was a preteen but worse.  "My arms are tired, let's go back!"  "How do you do this?" "I keep going in circles."  My arms are tired, this isn't fun." "My arms are tired." She could not have been more than 2 yards from shore. Too bad the four floating females were not on the lake at the same time, I would have really gotten some good laughs. For the record, as I watched her, you could see she was not going in circles, perhaps veering one direction or the other, but not in circles.  The other ;lady simply commented, to dip one side in and then the other.  I decided to not watch the outcome and went back to the campsite. Two nights later our FIB showed up again, but with a a third vehicle. They were about to sit down to eat at 7:30 pm, and as I walked by the car in a parking lot, a lady was getting some stuff out of the back, and the whole back of the Honda minivan was packed with paper products, soda pop and other such accouterments. I think she was getting more paper plates.

Bullfrog

One never knows what they will get at the beach. Later in the week there were some kids, with parents at the beach. A boy, about two, was in the water with his dad and sister. The mom was on shore. The boy started to walk to the shore, but stopped in water perhaps up just above his knees and loudly proclaimed: "I have to go pee."  The mom asked the boy to come out of the water and she would take him to the potty.  He then asked "Can't I pee in the weeds?" Mom: "No." He then demanded, "Can't I pee in the water?" "No," says the mom, "get out and I will show you where you can pee."  My wife, really enjoyed this exchange. Contrast this, with the inch worm slowly making its way up a thin strand to the fir tree. Poor Archer did not wish to interrupt his water time.

Center of photo is inch worm, seemingly suspended 
in mid-air

Even with the ashen sky and tempered sunlight, the trip was still nice, and the lake water clear and refreshing, except when swimming when it is 50 degrees and then it is warmer than the air temperature.  We took a day trip to Piers Gorge, where we rafted three years ago, which you can read about here. The water was much lower, as one rafting party of the three we say got stuck right before the large drop. It was interesting to get a different perspective on the situation. A few days later we went to find a shrine another camper had told us about, and it was quite the adventure. Most of the trip, but for about a 1/3 mile, was on a trail, with large boulders with large cobbles of say four inch and above rocks plentiful on the route. It would not have been possible with anything less than a four wheel drive that has good clearance. Like a Jeep. The shrine was a nice visit, and a testament to a now fleeting faith among the population. The man who told us about the shrine, was the person who had to relocate his site, and he said the back story was about hunters who were lost, and prayed for assistance, and they came across a small stream. This may be a rural legend, as the story at the shrine is that hunter's used to gather and pray for health and safety and after the day to give thanks. These small shrines are scattered in varied places around the state and represent a part of our history and lore. 

About to bloom water lily
We had our own real life version of the Monet painting

One can find enjoyment in the lady from Illinois not liking to kayak (she must be a real urban girl), or in the scenes of nature presented by a landscape sculpted by the power of water (Piers Gorge), and wildlife (loons, eagles and bull frogs).  But is also found in the flora of wildflowers, or fallen tree leaves (yes already) in a deep red or vibrant yellow. There were also the human interactions with the environment as shown by the shrine in a desolate location at least four miles from the nearest paved road. The ashen sky may be a reminder of the power of nature due to its cause by wildfires (which can have a beneficial effect to the landscape over time) well distant from our location, but being out in nature we can see the beauty, elegance, and the resiliency of mother earth. It is our connection to mother earth, a gift freely given by God, and the beauty and wonders it represents, that is foundational to a proper land ethic.  The ashen colored sky tells part of the story of the need to respect nature. 

If we approach nature and the environment without…openness to awe and wonder, if we no longer speak the language of fraternity and beauty in our relationship with the world, our attitude will be that of masters, consumers, ruthless exploiters, unable to set limits on their immediate needs. By contrast, if we feel intimately united with all that exists, then sobriety and care will well up spontaneously.
--Pope Francis, "Laudato Si." 2015