A Potential Quest?

I was exploring the Wisconsin State Park System yesterday and came upon this map that shared the locations of every state park.  I had never heard of many of them and it got me thinking.  It would be pretty cool to say that I had visited each of the different parks at some point.  I wonder how many years it would take to visit them all?  We often think of getting to all of the majestic National Parks, but how often do we really 'appreciate' all the nature that's in our own 'backyards?'  For me, not often enough. I'm hoping that I can get a few get aways this summer to the parks that are located along the lake shore.  There's something wonderfully romantic about being so close to a large body of water.  So, for now, I'll mark off the ones I've been to and start 'dreaming' of future trips.  Here is a cool resource with a brief description of each park's features.

Itchin' for a Road Trip

I'm so ready for our first road trip.  The holiday weekend coming up is the unofficial kick off of summer and I would love to camp one night somewhere.  Most of the sites near by are reserved already. I decided to try my hand at painting the Carpe Diem.  I think it turned out pretty darn good. We might even just camp in the Burleson Recreation Area.  The showers are always hot there for sure!

Thirteen Months Later: 4,925 U.S. Visitors, 1,691 International Visitors, 193 Countries and Every Single Continent on the Planet!

 Those statistics are are overwhelming!  As I’ve said before, when I started this blog/book, I simply wanted a place to record my thoughts, wonderings and travels.

Now, the Todd’s Teardrop Blog has been visited by nearly 7,000 people.  I’m going to say that every single continent has checked in because I know there are a few people in Antarctica that have read the blog, but just don’t ‘show up’ as Antarctica.

I think it might have something to do with how the IP addresses are assigned to the various research facilities there.  Regardless, there have been thousands more visitors and countries then I could have EVER have imagined!

Spring?

It was a rough winter here in Wisconsin.  We had tons of snow.  This photo is actually after one night of snow.  The drifts easily came up to the door of the teardrop at times.  I’m grateful that my wife got me a cover for the teardrop for Christmas.  It protected the finish and I like to hope it helped keep the melting snow from the seams of the teardrop.  Even though it is ‘officially’ spring, we are far from camping weather.

Winter Camping?

Yowza!  Spent my first night in the teardop in winter.  The outside temperature dropped to 4 degrees.  The weather forecast called for snow, and I knew I would be putting the winter cover on soon.  I thought this might be my last chance for a long while.

Brady and I climbed into the teardrop and the first thing I felt was that the memory foam mattress was basically a frozen slab!  The tiny particles that make the mattress were so cold they barely moved.  Thankfully, after our bodies were sitting on them for a few minutes, they began to absorb some of our warmth.  Soon, it was somewhat pliable.

I switched on all the lights and remembered I had forgotten to turn on the battery.  I grabbed a frozen power cable and plugged the teardrop in to charge the battery.  When I turned the lights on it took them a while to warm up too.  I plugged in my 'new' heater and went inside to make a cup of hot cider.  The heater bogged down the circuit, even though it was plugged in.  Even after 30 minutes, the heater had not warmed the inside of the cabin at all.  I'm guessing that it must need a lot more wattage in order to produce the heat it promised.  I decided to turn it off and went and got another blanket.

I had been waiting all week to watch the final episode of The Game of Thrones.  I propped up my iPad, tapped into the wifi, and snuggled with Brady, as I watched the less than gratifying conclusion.

By the time the show was over, it had warmed a tiny bit.

I started the night with Brady laying on top of the blankets near me.  By about midnight, he was under both blankets and snuggling next to me.  I think he would have fine, but I was taking advantage of his body heat.

By the time the sun rose, the temperature was at its lowest.  The windows were frozen over due to our respiration.

True to the forecast, the snow had begun.

I decided to put the cover on and put the teardrop to bed for its long winter nap.

We're already planning our first adventure in the spring!

First Fall Foray

So the family decided to go fall camping.  Our first trip to Kettle Morraine Northern Unit proved to be beautiful. The fall colors did not disappoint.  It was a gray day our first day there.  We still enjoyed being together and tried to absorb nature's colorful display.

The kids decided that rather than pitch a tent that they would try car camping (a blow up mattress in the back of the CRV) more on that later.  

So, after a chilly and drizzle-filled hike, we ate lunch and decided to put everyone in the teardrop for some family game time.  We started with Uno and then moved on to BS. I have a great memory of us noticing the inside/outside thermometer in the cab.  It was a chilly 48 degrees outside, but our collective body heat soon had the temperature inside at a balmy 68 degrees. As a group we tried to warm it up to 70. What fun when we finally did it!

Soon it was time for the camp fire, which because I forgot fuel for the stove, was going to be our heat source for dinner too!  We cooked chicken and rice over the fire and had a delicious meal together. 

Once the fire burned down (we were all huddled around it as it burned into the evening) the men extinguished the flames with our 'natural flame retardant!'

E and I got the kids in their space and then snuggled into the teardrop. 

It wasn't too far into the night that we realized we had forgotten to put our garbage in the car.  Not only that, we also left a can of icing on the ground.  Um, to say we were glad we remembered before every raccoon in the county came to our site would be an understatement!  After a quick check of the camp area, and the kids, we drifted off to sleep. 

A couple of hours later, I heard Grace letting Erica know they were cold and uncomfortable.  So, she climbed in with Grace an sent Jack into the teardrop with me.  I was snuggled under the many layers and enjoying the wonderful mattress when my son quickly drifted off to sleep inside the teardrop. A couple of hours later, she kicked Jack out and sent him back to the car.

As soon as the sun began to show, the kids were up and packing up camp.  At first we weren't sure what all the ruckus was about; after peeking out the window at them, we decided to stay in our snug space and let them do it.  It wasn't too long when we had to get out of our warm and cozy bed to help them break down the pop up shelter.

Thankfully, the sun was out and it was a gorgeous, but chilly morning.  The thermometer said the low was 37 degrees.  You really feel that when you are outside like we were when camping. 

Instead of a nice hearty breakfast around the campsite, it ended up being a quick pack up and head to a breakfast place kind of morning.  Secretly, we were all very excited to head home because that meant that we were closer to the main agenda item of the day:  meeting Brady.  A Yellow Labrador from the Great Lakes Labrador Rescue Group.  His foster home was in the western suburbs of Chicago.

We all got warm showers, a short nap and hit the road ready to meet Brady.

After having an incredible Yellow Labrador named Baxter for 14 years, we knew it would be hard to open our hearts to a dog again.  Baxter passed away about six years ago and its taken all of us this long to feel like we can do it 

It was love at first sight for me!

And now, our family is +1 more. 

Reflecting Back On Summer...Looking Forward to Fall Trips

 

Had some great fun this past summer.  One of my recent explorations has been the Tangled App for the iPhone. I love this particular preset which is called Black and White Etching.  Here is a link to a fantastic review of the software.

 

 

 It really does look like an antique etching.  Here is the Carpe Diem in front of the house getting ready for an adventure.

 

Here we are at Starved Run State Park.

 

Here is the Carpe Diem at the College Green in Athens, Ohio. 

 

 

High Cliff State Park was one of our last summer trips.

 

 Love this portrait!

Now, to the Kettle Moraine Wilderness in a couple of weeks.  Can't wait to see the interesting topography and test our our first cool weather trip!