Wilderness Campground Necedah, Wisconsin - Sand Hill Wildlife Area, Cranberry Bogs, Swans

On Friday we moved from Badger Park in Peshtigo, WI to Wilderness County Park in Necedah, WI, about 3 hours Southwest of where we were.  

This park is very nice with extremely large private campsites - ours, shown below is not even one of the largest.  The park is nearly empty but even if it were full you couldn't see your neighbors.  

View of the park near the office and beach.

The park is located on Petenwell Lake which covers 36 square miles - the second largest lake in Wisconsin.  This is one of the two beaches at the park - the green on the shore is from algae blooms in the lake that are quite bad this year.

Lots of hiking trails along the shore and through the woods

Sunday was in the low 90's and too hot for hiking so we drove to Sand Hill State Wildlife Area which has a 14 mile, one way, gated auto road through it.  On the way there we passed miles of cranberry bogs. The soil in this area of Wisconsin is ideally suited for cranberries.  This picture is of an Ocean Spray bog  and shows the floating berries.

It was midday and hot so we didn't see a lot of wildlife at the wildlife area - they do have a small herd of American bison (American buffalo) but we didn't see them - we are going to go back on  a cooler day this week when we can do some hiking and we hope to see them then.  We did almost hit a deer, or it almost hit us - I was only going about 10 miles an hour and had to slam on my brakes so he wouldn't hit us.

View of one of the many marshes in the wildlife area 

Whistling Swans

Sand Hill Cranes

Whistling Swans

Badger County Park, Peshtigo, WI - Darby's Bad Week

Not a lot to report this time.  On Friday we moved from Gwinn, MI to the Badger County Park in Peshtigo, Wisconsin.  This is a nice clean and quiet county run RV Park/Campground right in the village of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, about 45 minute North of Green Bay.

We didn't get out to do much while we were here as Darby had some health issues we had to deal with.  He was having trouble opening his mouth and was in quite a bit of pain.  We took him to the vet (when we were near Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and they thought he had MMM (masticatory muscle myositis) which is an autoimmune disease that affects the muscles of the head and jaw.  The vet put him on prednisone assuming that was what he had.  The blood test came back about a week later indicating that he tested negative for MMM.  This is when we took him to the animal hospital in Wisconsin where they did x-rays and put him under anesthesia and examined his mouth.  They determined that he had a puncture wound inside his jaw and had developed a very bad infection. Long story short - about two weeks and $1500. later he is finally doing much better - he is on antibiotics and pain pills so he isn't 100% yet but he is getting there.  Unfortunately he is still on prednisone because you have to wean him of this drug gradually and this is impacting his recovery.

We are moving tomorrow from Peshtigo to Wilderness County Park in Necedah, WI, about 3 hours southwest of here.

Our route from Gwinn to Peshtigo

Our campsite at Badger Park in Peshtigo

Gwinn , MI - Da Yoopers Tourist Trap - Guinness Largest Chainsaw and Rifle

On Tuesday we traveled from Kinross, MI to Gwinn, MI and are staying at the Farquar-Metsa Tourist Park for a few days - this is a nice little county park with full hook-ups.  

Our Route

Our Site

Donna wanted a "Yooper" T-Shirt so we were told the best place to get one was "Da Yoopers Tourist Trap" in Ishpeming, MI. So on Wednesday we took a ride up there and found it to be quite an interesting place.

 The tractor in front of the sign runs on wood

Largest operating rifle - holds Guinness World Record - its 33' 4" long

 Largest Operating Chainsaw - Guinness Record Holder - Powered By 305 c.i. V8 - Weighs 3500 Lbs.

Christine - Snow Plowing 1957 Buick

More Interesting Snow Removal Equipment

Donna's Lost A Lot Of Weight Camping!

Lots Of Interesting Displays

And , Yes, Donna Got Her T-Shirt

 Light House At Presque Isle Park in Marquette, MI 

Mackinac Island Michigan

Saturday we took the ferry from St. Ignace on the Upper Peninsula to Mackinac Island.  The island is about 3 miles long and is very picturesque.  Motorized vehicles are not allowed on the island  (except emergency vehicles) and the main modes of transportation are on foot, bicycling or horse drawn carriage.   We enjoyed the island and would recommend it to anyone visiting the area.

Arriving at the ferry terminal in St. Ignace

Departing on the ferry from St. Ignace

The captain made a quick loop under the Mackinac bridge

Arriving at Mackinac Island - The Grand Hotel

Arriving at the docks on Mackinac Island

Our ferry boat

Amazing architecture

Part of the downtown shop area

 Round Island Lighthouse - built in 1895 and in service until 1947

 Carriage To The Grand Hotel

Another view of the downtown area

The Island House - built in 1852

Saint Anne Church - built 1874

Mission Church - built 1830

Arch Rock From Above - about a mile out of town up the coast

Arch Rock From Below

 Fort Mackinac Overlooks The Town

View Of Fort Mackinac From The Village

                                                        View Of Fort Mackinac From The Village

Private Residences

 Beautiful Victorian Cottage and Grand Hotel Carriage Passing By 

Mackinac Bridge - Connects Main Part Of Michigan With Upper Peninsula - dividing point for Lake Michigan and Lake Huron

More Private Residences On The Bluff

All of the buildings were immaculately maintained

One of the main modes of transportation on the island - you can bring your own bike on the ferry for $10.

Large Buoy In The Harbor