Back from Boulder Lake

We are back from our weekend camping and rafting trip. My sincerest apologies if you've been looking for updates during the weekend. Despite my best efforts, the blogs that I thought I sent did not come through. Regardless of that, we had a wonderful time! We camped at Boulder Lake Campground  for two nights. We were concerned about finding a campsite as we traveled northward, however, when we got there we discovered that there were plenty of vacant sites, and found one with a fairly level tent pad and plenty of space for our screen tent in a somewhat secluded circle near the back of the park. There are a lot of trees (duh! that might be 

Our Campsite

why they call it a National FOREST!) which made the site feel more private. After we arrived on Friday and got our camp set-up, we took a ride over to the river and walked along it for a ways just to get a feel for what we would be up against on Saturday. We also spoke to a person at the desk about the rafting trips, and she informed us that the top part of the 6 hour trip was closed due to low water. We were also told that if we wanted to go out for longer, we could redo the 3 hour trip just by paying the difference in the cost between the 3 hour and the 6 hour trip. We thought that was a good idea, but about half way through the trip we decided that once was enough. The water was pretty low, and at least one person in the raft had to get out fairly often to move the raft around the many boulders we encountered. Some day we hope to raft it again when the water is higher.



White water on the Wolf River - with LOTS' of boulders in evidence

More white water on the Wolf River - June 2012

Wild Wolf Inn and Herbs Rafts - with the rafts

Flora and Fauna

Norm and I are always on the look-out for interesting things that we don't often see in the city when we go camping. This time we saw a couple of very unusual looking trees that were growing over some huge boulders. The formations were quite intriguing. There were also some pretty wild irises in bloom along the river bank, but we were moving too fast for me to get pictures as we went by. We did some fishing on Friday evening, and then again early in the morning on Saturday and Sunday. We did manage to catch a few, but they were mostly too small to keep. There were schools of small blue gills around the dock that we were able to watch swim about because the water was so clear. On Saturday morning we were visited by a momma mallard and her six little ducklings. I couldn't resist the photo op. We also heard bullfrogs every morning when we were by the lake, and a small woodpecker that we didn't see so I couldn't positively identify. At the campsite I briefly saw a yellow-bellied sapsucker, but he was in such a hurry to leave that again - no photo op. We also heard but didn't see a pileated woodpecker. You can always tell them by the deep timbre of their tapping.





A tree growing over a rock



Momma duck and her ducklings



Sometimes It's the Little Things that Make Me Happy

I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I have several reasons for feeling that way, right now, but the most immediate is that Norm and I are getting ready for a camping/rafting weekend that includes a couple of my favorite nephews, Hunter and Max. In preparation, I did some shopping this morning for a few items to add to our camping gear. Nothing big, mind you, but things I've wanted and now finally have - like that cool red and white checked tablecloth that makes a campsite look so homey, and the clips to hold it onto the picnic table if it happens to be windy. Since we're planning to go rafting, I also picked up a few small items that I thought would make that more enjoyable, like a waterproof box to put my camera in - that is IF I don't chicken out and decide not to take it rafting, and a 5 gallon waterproof bag to pack our lunch in. Soggy sandwiches just don't sound very appealing to me! Norm took a group of men to Boulder Lake - the campground we are headed to - last year, and I'm trying to learn from their experience of losing items that were not attached when they went rafting, so I also picked up a package of caribiners so we can attach anything we take to the raft. The cats meow will be getting to do some fishing - I love to fish, but haven't been for several years. I fully intend to remedy that this year. I'll be happy if we catch a few pan fish. Will report back - you know there always must be a "fish" story! Well, have tons of packing yet to do, so better get to it. Oh - and you might be hearing a bit more from me this weekend, as I'm planning to try my hand at some "on location" blogging. Signing off.