Here is a link to the park website: http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/name/highcliff/ 50 amp electric sites for $28 a night. Non electric sites are $18 a night.
I drove the motorhome out to the park on Thursday at noon while Steve was already at work. He came on his lunch break to help back into the site and I got us set up for the weekend. I took the afternoon to walk around with the dogs, and then a nice long nap was in order! It was quiet yet in the park on a Thursday with only about 30 rvs or so scattered around. Once Friday starts, all 112 sites fill up as well as the 8 large group sites with multiple units and tents and families.
We got a favorite site to get all set up on... and enjoy the canopy of trees overhead to help with the horrible heat and humidity we have been having for a few weeks in Wisconsin. So many trees do not appeal to the rvs with satellite dishes, but we sure appreciate the cool green of the heavily forested hickory, ash and ironwood trees!
At four pm, Steve was done with his shift and came directly to the campsite.
Only a 1 mile commute to the campsite from his shop.
And of course, he had to relax a bit after a long day!
Thursday night we drove up in the car as far as DePere, WI to meet up with our son-in-law Waylen to pick up some precious cargo. Seems the Day Care is closed on Friday for a deep cleaning after the main summer programs are over and before the school year begins. These poor little waifs had NO WHERE to go! We picked them up at 8:30 pm and drove away with them into the darkness of the backseat of the car. They did not know we were going camping, and they kept telling us we were going the wrong way and had to turn around. They do know the way to our house, even in the dark! As Clayton saw Grandpas shop come into view, he knew we were at High Cliff!
We had the air mattress and sleeping bags ready, as well as two doggers to cuddle with. Since we removed the second couch in our motorhome, there is plenty of floor room to put down a queen size air mattress for sleepovers.
They gladly hopped into bed with no muss or fuss after brushing their teeth. They were SO happy to be camping! Clayton says this is their Bay-Kay-Shun before school starts!
Promptly at 6 am they awoke and hopped into OUR bed for some morning cuddles!
It was still pretty dark out!
Grandpa still had to go to work on Friday, so it was just me and kiddos. Time to put them to work!!! We got them some garbage pick-up grabber sticks, and a couple of safety vests. Time to give back to the park with some volunteer work.
Along with people, there is always GARBAGE! The kids eagerly scour the paths and woods for pieces of trash and litter... sputtering the words GAR-BICH ....GAR-BICH .... GAR-BICH as we collect the trash and dispose of it properly.
Here is a closeup of the campgrounds....
we walked all six roads and collected trash that
the raccoons hauled off into the woods.
It just warms my heart to hear my granddaughter Chelsea say that we are *HELPING THE EARTH BY PICKING UP GAR-BICH* At only six years old, she understands. Yes!
After a nice lunch and a bit of a nap, I took the kids and the dogs down to the beach. There is a designated swimming beach where dogs are not allowed, but there are also two dog friendly beach areas on each side of the marina. We had to drive down the cliff to park below, because there was no way that I was going to drag back two kids and two dogs and picnic blanket back up to the campground when we were done.
The kids were busy on the natural shoreline, throwing in sticks, picking up shells, and even discovering dead fish bones. *yuck* It was a hazy hot humid day, but they were totally in their own element of discovering nature and burning off energy. I shot this little video clip of them on the shoreline. They were not *supposed* to get wet----
On our way back to the car,
little Clayton could NOT RESIST doing this
(if I was a bit younger, I think I would have joined him!)
Remember how I said they were not supposed to get wet?
Yup.... someone was. So we stripped off his shorts
and wrapped him in the picnic blanket
for the ride up the cliff back to the campground.
Grandpa was done with work at four, and had a short commute back to the motorhome for a kid style supper at the campsite. Yes, they voted for PIZZA! I know its not a very camper-ish meal, but we did eat it outdoors on the picnic table. That counts for something, right?
After supper, these kids wanted to do MORE picking of GAR-BICH so they donned their vests and we went out with Grandpa in tow. Yes, after a full day of maintaining the park, he now had to go out and walk around and help pick up litter? Oh well, it is good for the park, right?
Along the south edge of the park is a large alfalfa field that was only knee high for the kids. The dogs were on long leashes, they were not loose. They towed the dogs along through the clover plants, and each dog followed dutifully, but reluctantly, kinda of like little boats floating along. You could not see their feet, but their tails streamed behind like a rudder.
I was presented with a lovely bouquet of wildflowers
Grandpa started up a campfire....
Good Camping Hint: use tiki torch fuel to start a campfire,
less stinky than lighter fluid
and better than damp newspaper and matches
on a humid dew filled evening.
Out came the roasters, the marshmallows and makings for Smores. What a pleasant evening it was with cooling off temps and a campfire to enjoy. This is what camping memories are made of.
We are fortunate enough to have a bath tub in our motorhome. So while I was scrubbing up the grubby four year old Clayton, darling Chelsea was spending some quality time with Grandpa by the fire while she waited for her turn. I overheard them talking about school, about toys, and about silly stuff that grandkids only talk about with Grandfathers when camping. I think she was also angling for another marshmallow?
We watched the weather reports and knew the rains were moving in overnight. Steve put away all of the lawn chairs and outside stuff while I got the last grandkid into and out of the bathtub. Both kids fell asleep right away without a peep... and Steve and I got to sit and relax and watch the Packer pre-season game that started at 9pm. Well, we both dozed off during the game, but I woke up about midnight during the last two minutes to watch the WIN! YAY!
The next morning was all wet and rainy as expected. Bummer for two camping kids. Instead we hauled out some of the fun stuff from my stash in the motorhome. I keep games, puzzles, crayons, books etc. in the motorhome for days like this.
A favorite of the grandkids are these old nature books, where they can identify trees, birds, bugs, etc. and I have a nice collection of them from my friend Linda. I was always fascinated by these little hardcovered books as a child myself, and I remember checking them out from the library on Fridays so I could take them along camping on the weekends. Here are Chelsea and Grandpa looking up different kinds of Birds.
Breakfast was easy to make,
and the grandkids learned the recipe of our Breakfast Bake dish.
They both worked on it, doing all the steps and anxiously watching it bake in the oven.
(they also made rice krispie bars with sprinkles)
Its an easy breakfast with everything in one pan to make it easy to serve for a group.
Here is the recipe. but take note:
we skip the milk...
it makes the center too mushy and takes too long to bake it out
and the biscuits get overdone while the middle is still runny!
By 9 am the kids were getting bored. It kept pouring outside. Hmmmm what to do? We grabbed our umbrella out of the closet and tossed them (and the dogs) into the car. We drove to our house, only 14 miles away. There we played games, played with toys, tossed in a load of laundry and relaxed for the rest of the morning. I found some more craft projects to work on, and they got Grandpa to help make beaded necklaces.
They helped clean the house with me. Any jobs that I do, they are both eager and willing to join in. We kept them occupied for the rest of the morning, but we wanted to get back to the campground for some lunch. All of the food was out there in the motorhome, with not much to eat left at the house. LOL
We went back to to campground in time for a a nice lunch, and then their parents came to pick them up. What did we do then? Us grandparents took a LONG LONG NAP in the afternoon rain. What a peaceful thing to do, sleeping with the rain hitting the roof on the motorhome. Ahhhhhhh
Sunday it was still humid and hot, but the rain stopped. Our friend Vicky came out with her sheltie Tara and her new darling little puppy Stuart! Finney and Binney checked him out from head to toe!
We went out and walked on the trails with the dogs...
yes, High Cliff has dog friendly trails, and even horse trails.
That little puppy (12 weeks old) just chugged right along to keep up with the big dogs. His little legs had to go three times as fast as theirs to keep up! I shot this little video clip of him prancing along... so funny----
That little tyke walked almost all the while that the big dogs did! We walked about three miles on the trails, between the deep woods in the shade, the open areas of prairie and across the lime kiln quarry flat stone ledges. We were tuckered out and hot and sweaty by the time we got back to the campsite. Dog dishes of cool water to cool off, and sitting in the shady campsite in our lawn chairs. What a great Sunday.
It was so nice to snuggle a little pup...
Be well, Little Stuart, you will grow up happy
and healthy in your new home with great peoples.
As the day wore on, the heat and humidity were uncomfortable again. It was time to load up and get road worthy. Steve stowed the outside gear while I did the inside stuff. Soon it was time to hit the road. He stopped at the dump station for taking care of the tanks... while I drove ahead with the car to get back to Chilton. The dogs were happy to be back home, and ran around the house barking like little nutcases. Steve called from the corner where he was waiting with the motorhome. I went out and stood on our four lane road to block traffic while he backed in the rig to our yard.
Another fine weekend of camping at High Cliff State Park was in the books!
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