May VaCay - Highland Ridge COE near Spring Valley Wisconsin

On Monday morning we moved on, heading further west. We didn't go too far because we had another campground on our radar. We've been to this one before, but it was years ago when Steve had something to do at the University nearby. So it was really a work trip and not really a camping trip. 

This is a Corp of Engineer Park In northwestern Wisconsin, near the town of Spring Valley. It is part of the Eau Galle flowage and dam system. The campground itself is called Highland Ridge.

Here is a link to their website for more information:

Highland Ridge Corp of Engineers campground

As we were heading further west, the sky got hazier and hazier. There are Canadian wildfires that are blowing down into Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. Just figures! We leave to go on vacation and now we have to deal with smoke?

And road construction! 

The construction only lasted a little while because we turned off and got back onto country roads. 

We looked up the air quality warnings and it said things will start blowing off around 10:00 a.m. by the time we reached Highland Ridge, it was in pretty good shape and the skies were back to blue. 

We drove around until we found a nice campsite that was still available. Honestly though, almost every site in this park is sloped on an angle in one direction or another. It was quite difficult to get level. And not just this site, we noticed other people having difficulties and trying various sites as they pulled in. Ones that were already settled in had a lot of creative blocking and jacking underneath their tires and frames. I think we ended up with the most level site in the park?? #13 I think we had three blocks under one tire, two under another, and one under a third.

The campsites, which include electric, are $28 a night. With our America the Beautiful senior access pass, we get it for $14 a night. There is water nearby at the dump station to fill your fresh water tank before you park.

We did a little walk around the park and took a few photos for this review. The Corp of Engineer parks are known for their really nice bathrooms, and well kept conditions. Here is the relatively new shower and bathroom building. It is centrally located in the park so everyone can easily reach it. 

The inside is well kept and very clean. We did notice though while using the shower that the water flows outward from the shower stall and out towards the middle of the floor. Someone didn't slope it correctly when they did the tiling? Steve noticed the same thing in the men's shower area as well.  So be sure to not leave anything on the floor in the changing area of each shower stall, because it may get wet. They did have a big fan on the floor trying to dry things up.

The showers had originally been the pay type, but the mechanisms had been removed. Now they are free and the water was hot. Can't ask for more than that, can you?

The other portion of the restrooms were also clean and well kept. There was a bulletin board with local notices and information as well as an electric hand dryer. We noticed that all the hand dryers now are being changed that they only aim downwards. It used to be that you could swivel them upwards and use them to dry your hair! I guess the technology is changing, or they just don't want you wasting public electricity to dry your hair???

Across from the bathrooms, there's an interpretive center that holds programs throughout the summer months. The schedule is not yet set for this spring so there was nothing going on at this time. Next to it was a modern play area for the children with some really nice looking equipment.

On the bulletin board with some information about the area, including hiking trails and information about boating on the reservoir.

We enjoyed a very peaceful evening walking around the very quiet park. The wildfire smoke had cleared, and we had a pretty nice sunset, through the trees.

As we walked around, I snapped a few pictures of interesting things. This log was covered with the most unusual looking mushrooms. They went down the entire length of the log. Some were very large, like this one!

We saw this really strange face in this old tree. 

It reminded me of the scene in the Wizard of Oz...

We decided to only stay one night at this campground. Although it is a really nice place and we could have gotten out to explore some with the bikes, instead we decided to keep on moving west and head into 

MINNESOTA!

76 miles traveled today

272 miles so far

May VaCay 2024 - Brunet Island State Park, Cornell WI

Steve asked me what I would like to do for Mother's Day. 

Of course, I said camping! 

We visited with our children and grandchildren the day before. We would prefer on Mother's Day that our daughters get to spend their days with their own children and not be obligated to run around visiting all the other grandmothers. So it was nice to get together with them the day before. 

Sunday morning came and we loaded up the motorhome. Away we went!!!

We packed a good 2 weeks worth of supplies, so we are hitting the road and heading west. Not quite sure exactly where we are going. 

Our first stop is about 200 miles away. That's about our limit of driving for the day. We don't like to drive much further than that. 

We looked up one of our favorite campsites at Brunet Island State Park which is near Cornell, Wisconsin. It's up in the northwest corner north of Wisconsin, past Eau Claire. We really, really like this campground and especially site 43!!! 

Let me tell you a little bit about the state park:

The campground is located on an island out in the middle of the Chippewa River, just north of the small town Cornell with a dam. 

The main office, as well as the dump station, are located right before the bridge within the park. Be sure to fill up your freshwater tank there because there are no water hookups at the campsites.

Cross the bridge and you're on a hunk of island which contains the boat landing, the picnic grounds, and the campground.

It has two loops of campsites along the Chippewa River. The South Loop has electrical and I believe there are 24 sites with a shower building and flush toilets etc. The sites are a little close together but all in all, located close to the beach and the picnic grounds.

The North Loop is larger with about 48 sites. These are all rustic sites with no hookups. Although there are drinking fountains and water faucets around the loop. This loop has a beautiful series of lagoons and ponds in the middle--- with campsites scattered all the way around the edges. The western edge of this loop also runs along the Chippewa River so there are campsites on each side of the road that are waterfront sites. 

Our favorite site is number 43. It faces out to the little lagoons and right near the tiny bridge that leads out into the river. Right across the road from the campsite is the Chippewa River --- which is much wider and has boat traffic.

Here's their website link for more information and the reservation link:

Brunet Island Wisconsin State Park

We had looked ahead to make sure 43 was available. Yes it was, and once we reached the campground we were able to log on and pay for the site. Wisconsin State Parks have an online reservation system that if you are reserving something days or weeks in advance, there is a reservation fee. But if you are just coming in for that night and the site is vacant, you are able to go online to pay without the additional reservations fee charges. It wasn't always this way, I'm glad they changed it. The office was closed and there are no longer any pay posts or envelopes within the park to pay for a campsite on the same day of arrival. 

The rustic sites are $15 a night, and I think the electric ones are $28. Don't quote me on that, because I didn't look them up. 

We were set up on our site in no time at all. This campsite is pretty level, as are most of the sites in the park. Some of them are big rig friendly size and we have actually put our 38 ft Safari motorhome on this same site in the past. The 25-ft Winnebago with our cargo trailer easily fit on this pull through site.

The sun was starting to go down, and it was time to whip up a little supper. We were thinking about going out for a bike ride, but instead we decided to just relax and take it easy. The temperatures had crept up into the low '80s. Although we did not have air conditioning, there was a nice little breeze blowing through when we opened up all of the windows.

The mosquitoes were getting a little thick, so we took out a couple thermacells. 

These things work fantastically wonderful! Creates an invisible bubble about 20 ft around that the mosquitoes don't bother you. Because there was a slight breeze, we put out two thermacells and hoped it would do the job. They work best on calm days with no wind. The operate with small butane cylinders and a pad infused with a type of chrysanthemum oil. They don't really give off any type of any chemical smell and are safe to use around children and pets. 

We have seen that they have a new version out of thermacell. Now it can operate off a battery that is rechargeable via USB cord. Instead of messing with the little pads, they now have the oil contained with a new cartridge that snaps into place. When you buy the original unit the cartridge is good for 12 hours. The replacement cartridges are good for $38. 

We don't have one yet but we did get one for our oldest daughter for Mother's Day. They sit outside a lot at their cabin and use thermacells all around the campfire. This new version is supposed to have a larger range of coverage as well.

We did take a little walk around the loop for a ways. But Binney pooped out and wanted to go back. It was pretty hot for her. She is still wearing her winter fur coat. She hasn't shed yet this spring

It was so peaceful with out any sounds anywhere. We watched a muskrat, we think it was, or a beaver, swim across the lagoon by our campsite. A couple geese had stopped by. There was a Mr and Mrs Mallard duck also paddling around.

A couple turtles had been on this log when we first got there, but they slipped quietly away into the water when we came close to the edge.

Our camper was all set up and we also hooked up our new Starlink satellite system. 

I made this little YouTube video clip of our campsite: 

After dinner, we curled up with our favorite HGTV shows before bedtime. 

We had warnings of some Canadian wildfire causing smoke problems with haze and poor air quality in Wisconsin this morning. They said it would burn off about 10:00 a.m. they were right. We sat outside in the sunshine with our coffee cups this morning and it was calm and quiet.

Binney was busy finding a relaxing spot underneath my lawn chair. She hides out underneath me and we don't hear a peep out of her.

Nicholas, on the other hand, keeps a watchful eye out on every bird, squirrel, butterfly and bug. He snaps at the flies, and is always on patrol.

We took a bike ride around the park this morning and I made a video of it. Once I get it edited and put together onto YouTube, I will come back here and add a link.

By 11:00 a.m. we packed up all of our gear and headed on out on the road again. Our next stop is going to be Highland Ridge Corps of Engineers Park near Spring Valley, Wisconsin. We were there quite a few years ago, and would like to go back again. From there we might hit six other core of Engineer parks over in Central Minnesota. That's kind of our tentative game plan, we're not sure. We will see. 

No time frame

No constraints 

and

No real plans

CAMPGROUND REVIEW- Lake Emily , Florence County Park, WI and Using Our New Starlink

This is a two-part blog, the first part will be a review of the campground and the second part will be while we were actually camping there for the last 2 days! 

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Lake Emily is a county campground, located in Florence County and the Northern edge of Wisconsin. It borders on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is situated on the Eastern shore of this small Lake Emily. Paved roads lead to the campground, and just gravel from the entrance in to the campsites and boat landing.

We really like this park because it's open year round. It's April and a very rare warm weekend in Wisconsin, so we are here. The sun is shining and we think it's time to camp. Not many campgrounds are open in Wisconsin during the month of April. We are the only people in the campground right now. 

https://www.florencecountyparks.com/parks/camping/lake_emily_campgrounds/

From their website: 

This facility has 18 sites on a quiet lake. Sites are $25.00 per night. There is a boat launch, pit toilets, water, sandy beach, and fishing. Each site has a picnic table, a fire grate, water and electric hook-ups. This park also has a pavillion which can be rented for $25.00. The Lake Emily Park Campground is located in the Town of Commonwealth. 

Camping is allowed year-round at Lake Emily Campground; however, water will typically be shut off from mid-October through Early May depending on weather forecasts. Florence County does not plow snow at parks, campgrounds, or boat landings during the winter months. There is also no other maintenance or cleaning in the parks from November – April.

Check-In Time: 3:00 pm
Check-Out Time: 1:00 pm

Address
4305 Emily Park Ln
Florence, WI 54121
View Camping Map

Location Area
From US 2 in Florence turn South on County Hwy. N, go about three miles to County Hwy D, turn right (West) on County Hwy C, continue two miles to the campground and park.

You can now reserve online through the Florence County website, or use the envelopes and write a check or cash to deposit at the kiosk. No host. No flush toilets or showers, no dump station. Dump station available in nearby town of Florence at the Visitor Center and Forestry building. Boat landing and ramp and extra parking available. Also an extra pier near the campgrounds to keep your boat tied up during your stay. Sandy bottom, nice for wading or swimming. 

Quiet and relaxing. 18 sites here. There are also 29 sites over at the other Florence County Park called West Bass Lake, about 15 mi to the west. Most of the sites are level and many will accommodate a big rig. Camping here in a 25-ft motorhome. 

The town of Florence is only about 5 mi away for necessities. Cell service is not too bad, we are using Starlink which is great. Mostly wooded but some sites have a clear view to the north. Best satellite sites are 9, 10 and 16. Antenna TV stations are remote and fade out during the day. Waking up to the loons on the lake this morning, priceless!

~~~~~~~~

Okay, end of the review and here is now our camping weekend. As I said, Saturday morning turned out to be a lot nicer than what they had originally forecast. It didn't take us long at all to throw some groceries and clothes into the motorhome. The dogs and the dog food are of course necessities. And away we went. 

We took site number 10 because we were looking for a clear view to the northern sky. We had just got a Starlink satellite dish this week, and we wanted to try things out. Site 9 next to us is a little closer to the water, but site 10 was a little more level and easy to drive the motorhome right onto with the cargo trailer still attached.

We are new to this Starlink thing, but we read a lot of things online and did our research before we invested into it. First thing we did was get the satellite set up at home for a trial run, and made sure everything was activated. Then we unhooked it all and packed it up to take with us. We're going to get a nice little flat rubbermaid type tote to put it in for transporting. 

We set it up on the picnic table with a clear view of the northern sky. We ran the obstructions test from the Starlink app and everything looked really good.

We ran our speed test and we're really surprised. Absolutely wonderful speeds, and more than we would ever use. We don't do any gaming or teleconferencing. We do a zoom type call with the grandkids once in awhile. This will be plenty of speed for doing those things. Mainly we stream our favorite HGTV shows in the evening.

So when I posted it to our RVing with Starlink group on Facebook, they said there's another speed test you can do further down in the app. It's called an advanced speed test. It tells I guess a little bit more of how good your connection is. After I posted the second screenshot, they said we had a very very good connection!

We are on the roaming plan, which is perfect for RVing. Although it's a little expensive at $150 a month, our home Spectrum plan is going up to $120. Time to cancel that! We can use this in both places and move it around anytime we want. And added feature with the Roam plan is that you can pause service for any length of time and restart again. Perfect for RVers who may only go part of the year.

One caveat: they do require auto pay from an account for a credit card for a debit card. We do not like auto pay. So in advance we set up just a little separate account for this and only this. That way if we ever want to stop service, all we have to do is close the account. Lot easier than trying to stop the auto pay function as we have found out from friends and relatives can be very difficult to do. I'm not talking about Starlink autopay per se, but any auto pay function where you give them automatic access to your accounts. No thank you. 

So, now that we are set up, we could stream or browse the internet and receive emails and messages without the difficulties of our old cellular plans. When you get way up into the woods like we do, cellular plans just do not work. Even with the wee boost antenna booster that we have, it doesn't work if there's no signal at all. So this is going to be a game changer for us. 

We have two regular Jensen 12 volt TVs in our motorhome, but each one has a Roku stick stuck in their HDMI port. This makes them smart TVs. Smart enough for us anyhow.

Saturday night we curled up with our favorite TV shows in our comfy cozy motorhome. It started to rain outside and as the thunderstorms went over, we had a perfectly clear connection. 

The next morning we woke up to beautiful sunshine and blue skies! I baked up some blueberry muffins in the convection oven. Steve perked the coffee on the stove. 

And some little doggies were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed first thing in the morning and wanted to get outside and go go go!!!

We took a beautiful walk through the heavily wooded forest. The birds were singing from every direction and the sunlight was filtering down through the trees. We were the only ones in the campground and it was absolutely delightful.

We always adhere to leash rules, and the dogs are on long flexi leashes when there's nobody else around. Otherwise they are up short on a 6 ft leash.

On the flexi leashes, they can sniff till their hearts content. There is so much to smell that their heads are down the entire way. I swear Nicholas's nose is going to get ground down from the gravel for how much sniffing he was doing!

Binney chose to read the doggy email, known as "pee-mail", located on the trash cans, scattered throughout the park. These dogs don't sure ask for a lot. All they like to do is get out and sniff.

We heard noisy clamoring and honking overhead is the geese were heading north..... up to Canada! I guess this really means that Spring is here?

We walked down near the boating pier, that is set up specifically for the campers within the park. We found a little treasure that someone had painted as a greeting to the fisherman walking up onto the pier. We left it there, with a smile, knowing somebody wanted to leave a greeting.

As we walked around the campground, we found another rock at their campsite, probably from the fall camping season before the snow fell. Evidently the person who painted it is either an A or a C?

The sunshine that was filtering down through the bare limbed trees was very pleasant and relaxing.  We made sure to make the best of it! My snoozing Steveio knows how to take a nap. 

After nap time was done, we decided to take out the e-bikes and take a little jaunt around the lake. Years ago, on a fishing trip, Steve camped here with his brother one weekend. They walked around the entire lake just to see where the road went.

This is the interior of the cute little cargo trailer we bring along. It now has 320 watts of solar on the roof and a Bluetti Power Station inside. We are all set up now to go camping, and the Bluetti can power up the Starlink without adding any extra drain on our house batteries within the motorhome.

It was almost 4 miles around the lake. There were a couple hills here and there. With the e-bike's pedal assist I could get up them with ease. I know I said this before, but I marvel at my old self. I never thought at 63 that I would be back on a bicycle again!!

We got back just in time for a delivery to our campsite. Yes, for some strange reason the West Iron Country District Library has delivery service of books. Especially by a librarian who rides on the back of a Harley??? 

Heh heh heh ---:actually it was my sister and her husband out for a beautiful ride on a sunny day. She brought me some books from the book sale, and delivered them as we were only about 35 miles from their home in Michigan. Wasn't that sweet?

They hung around chatting for a couple hours, but needed to get home before dark. The winds were starting to kick up and it was not going to be a pleasant evening to sit around a campfire anyhow. Plus the conditions are really dry and they had fire danger warnings out on all of the media and news programs. We decided to go inside and turn on our favorite HGTV and You Tube shows. 

Just as we were ready to go in, I noticed the sun was going down. We were treated to the most spectacular sunset! I guess I say that about every sunset. But each and every single one is a gift.

Ahhhhhhhh

Pictures don't do it justice.

And then it was gone.

Steve popped up some popcorn, and we snuggled in to watch our favorite TV show. Sunday night is Home Town with Erin and Ben Napier.

Monday morning, the winds kicked up again. It really wasn't even that pleasant to sit outside. The temperatures were in the low 50s. We really didn't see any reason to stay longer if it was that windy out. I don't think we would have even enjoyed another bike ride. So we buckled up and packed things away. It doesn't take too long. 

But before we headed home, we swung up to the small town of Florence, Wisconsin. There's a factory there that makes pasties called The Pasty Oven. Their website said they were open from 10:00 till 2:00 for retail customers. Sometimes you can get the misshapen and factory seconds for only $3 each. We called ahead but nobody was there. We even drove by and although the sign said they were open, there was nobody there. We left a message on their voicemail and texted their number. Oh well, we headed over to the little grocery store in town. We know they also carry them, but at a higher price of $4.99. 

That was okay, the little grocery store also had our favorite Klements brand bratwurst on sale. So we stocked up on both and loaded the freezer and the fridge of the motorhome to bring home.

We stopped over at the Forestry Department with the Visitor Center before leaving the town. They have a dump station there as well as a little fenced in dog park. This is a really nice new visitor center with a lot of good information on the area.

Pretty handy to let Fido out to run around while you take care of dumping tanks. The freshwater was not yet turned on for filling tanks, but at least it was a place to dump. Great to keep in mind if you are traveling on US 2 heading either east or west across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This is about in the middle of the state. Good thing to mark down for future travel plans.

As I dictate this blog, we are driving home on a beautiful sunny Monday. The wind is gusting here and there, which is not fun for traveling in an RV. 

We are due for about a half inch of rain tomorrow. I guess it is a good time to head home.

I STILL HAVE TWO MORE BLOG POSTS TO FINISH EDITING AND POST OF THE LAST TWO DAYS OF OUR TRIP TO ARKANSAS AND OKLAHOMA. 

STAY TUNED