CAMPGROUND REVIEW - Boulder Lake in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest

This is a blog post from camping during the second week of September. It was going to be one of those absolutely beautiful Autumn weeks to go camping, with lower temps and no bugs in the National Forest Campgrounds of Northern Wisconsin.

We hopped in the motor home and hit the road!!

The sky was blue, the roads were clear wide open and away we went. This is my favorite season of the year and it's time to get in some camping.

We headed north west over to the Chequamegon Nicolet National Forest. There are a number of nice campgrounds up in this general vicinity around Mountain, Antigo, Lakewood, Townsend and Wabeno area.  We chose Boulder Lake this time. It's been quite a while since we have been there. It is a very popular and busy lake during the summer time. So we decided we would go there for some fall camping and maybe be lucky enough to score one of the electric sites. 

Not many National Forest Campgrounds have electric sites, this one happens to have electric in two small loops out of the 82 campsites in the park. The rates are $28 for an electric site but after the Interagency Senior Access Pass, it brings it down to $19 a night. That's kind of reasonable, so we thought we would see what we could find. Potable water is available to fill your fresh holding tank at the dump station, but there's no water or sewer hookups at the sites. There are a few fresh water faucets located throughout the park for filling water jugs.

Of course, we are comfortable camping without electricity and relying on our solar and our catalytic heater, but sometimes it's nice to just be able to plug in and not think about solar exposure in the heavily wooded National Forest campsites.

Here is the link to the information about the campground:

Boulder Lake in the Chequamegon Nicolet National Forest

It's located on quite a large lake with a lot of cottages and vacation resort activity in the area. But the campground itself is far away from that, secluded and quiet on National Forest land.

There are two nice new shower buildings with flush toilets, and other pit toilets located throughout the campground. Everything is neat and clean and well kept on blacktop roads.

The campground has basically four different loops of newer campsites with other ones scattered along the waters edge. Those are older sites and shorter and mostly tilted, not good for the big rigs. The only drawback about being back in the loops is that it's quite a walk down to the lakeside to the beach or the boat landing. Since it is quite a ways, my kids never liked camping here when they were little. We would have to pile the swimming gear and kids into the car just to drive down to the beach. 

We drove in to the main parking area by the kiosk and unhooked the towed Saturn. That way we could drive into the campground through the loops and find a site that we liked without driving all the way through each one with the motorhome.

We found a very nice level site number 44 that also happened to have electric hookups. Of all of the sites in this loop with electric 40 through 54, they are all level and even and big enough for our rig.

We backed in, put down our levelers, and we were all set to enjoy three or four or five days of nice comfortable camping.  Ahhhhhh

All of the campsites are spaced far apart with a lot of lush vegetation in between. With all of the leaves still on the trees yet at this time of year, our solar access is somewhat limited. That's why we opted to go for an electric site. We prefer to not run the generator to charge up batteries either.

It was so peaceful and quiet. We took little Binney out for a walk and we went a little further than I think her idea of fun had gone. She said enough is enough and gave out and put herself on a sit-down strike!

(after all, she is 10 years old and has had serious health issues her entire life)

What more could we do but pick her up and take turns carrying her back to the campsite? It was either that or I could sit and wait somewhere with her until Steve could walk back and bring the Saturn to come and get her. She had just decided enough was enough and she wasn't going to walk anymore. Spoiled baby.

Another added benefit of camping with electric hookups is that I can run our electric pressure cooker. I keep a mid-sized one in the motorhome at all times, and I keep a larger one and a smaller one at home. I tossed in a big pork roast for close to an hour with seasonings and onion soup mix. I did a quick release of pressure. Then I added some potatoes and carrots at the halfway point, closed it back up and let the pressure increase again for another 15 minutes.

The smell was amazing and it came out perfect!

It was so fall apart tender, 

it just fell off the fork!

We each ate our fill, and then the leftovers were packaged up and put into the freezer to make some stew on another day. Food always taste better when you cook it while camping. Why is that?

After supper, we settled in with our portable wood pellet fire pit. It's called a Flame Genie. We opted to use this instead of firewood this weekend. Many parks are banning the importation of outside firewood due to the emerald ash borer. This fire pit uses bagged hardwood pellets, and presents no danger of moving invasive insects around from park to park.

Here is a link to a short video clip

 of Steve using the Flame Genie

 that I shot 2 years ago:

We got ours from Amazon:

Fire Genie on Amazon

We put up our awning and our party lights. It's nice to get settled onto our campsite with our "outdoor living room", which really is just the space under our awning. We like sitting outside and watching the squirrels and chipmunks run around --- as long as they stay away from the wires on our Saturn! We put out bags of mothballs to help repel them from under the vehicles.  Read back a couple blogs were the little buggers chewed up the wire harness on the Saturn and we had to replace things!!!

The campground was very quiet and we were relaxing and enjoying our week.

Sometimes I bring along my spinning wheel. I sat back and spun up a couple nice bobbins full of soft creamy white merino. It's a very soothing and relaxing task as the fibers slide through my fingers and onto the spinning bobbin of the wheel. I like to keep busy.

On another day, I brought out my little singer featherweight sewing machine. It's a gorgeous little antique that sews so perfectly and is easy to transport. I am working on a new quilt with some beautiful autumn colors called a pineapple block.

Underneath the motorhome we carry this big folding table in one of our compartments. I like to set it all out along with the little folding tables for my ironing and cutting surfaces. I bring along all of my tools that I need, and keep a duplicate set in the motor home at all times.  

It is a Quilter's Dream to be able to sit out in the relaxed afternoon weather, and creatively work on a quilt in the peace and quiet.

Of course, a sip or two of a favorite beverage helps make the work go along with enjoyment.  I drank a toast in honor of Fred Franzia, the creator of  'Two Buck Chuck,' who has died at 79 (my beloved favorite wine)

fred-franzia-two-buck-chuck-wine-bronco-dies

Here's to you, Fred!

After we were all settled in for a couple days, we looked up to see a Saturn exactly like ours driving slowly through the loop of the campsites.  It looped around again and the people got out and hung a tag on the site.  Looks like we were getting neighbors!   With the same tow behind vehicle as us, same color and almost the same year! 

They left, and then a few minutes later they came back with a beautiful vintage Grand Villa Foretravel motorhome to back into the site next to us!  We could tell it wasn't his "first rodeo" by the skill and finesse that he backed into place and set up all in one swoop. 

We met this delightful couple named Norm and Mary from the middle of the state. They travel in their Foretravel, which is just as beautiful and vintage and well taken care of as we try to do with ours.

The commander of their vehicle is this elegant and noble gentleman named Rocket. He tells them where to go and they obey his commands.  They said the rig belongs to him. They only drive it. 

Steve and Norm found about a million things to discuss and talk about on their motorhomes. Steve went over to help him figure out something on the generator which happened to be just like ours. And it happened to be just the same exact problem we had been having with ours. It was great to lend a hand and know exactly where the wiring snafu is that tends to erode over time. They were able to figure it out and get the generator functioning again. 

Although they didn't need to have the generator running at this particular time, because they had electric hookups, it still was good to repair it. Norm was extremely happy to have Steve help troubleshoot and trace back to the wiring connector that was giving him grief.

We really had an enjoyable time camping at Boulder Lake. But then the weather was going to turn stormy and cooler so we decided we would spend one more night and then pack up and headed on back home. 

~~~~~~~~~

As for projects around the house today, we did a couple different things. One was that I wanted to get all of this rooted coleus planted into fresh new soil in window boxes and move it down to the basement. I have kept these same strain of coleus going since the late 1980s, and it was a gift from my friend Connie Schultz from her home. The plants are too tender to winter over in Wisconsin, so they need to be either cut down and dug up, or new snips rooted in water, to plant indoors over the winter. So that's just what I do. I snipped these a few weeks ago and look at the abundance of roots I have in the bottom of each jar.

Steve helped me fill these two large window boxes with new dirt and carry them down into the basement. Then I got all of the little rootings settled into their winter dirt home. 

These two large windows in the basement face to the South and allow them to grow throughout the winter. I'm able to water the window boxes and let any excess water run out the bottom and it just leaks down onto the basement floor and out through the sump pump.

A few different years I tried wintering them over up inside of the house. But it's so warm in the house that they grow rangy and long and awkward and they make a real mess with dropping leaves as they keep growing taller. It's easier to grow them down in the basement and keep the mess contained to that one area, instead of on my hardwood floors of the upstairs

Now that that is all done, I can comfortably know that the coleus will be preserved again for another year. We have had a couple of harsh frost outside already and some of the outdoor plants are looking worse for the wear. Another strong killing frost and they will all be shriveled up for the season. I'm glad that I was able to rescue these and keep the strain going.

I also took in three hanging ferns from our front porch and two of them from our oldest daughter's house. I transplanted them all into indoor house pots and I hope they will become nice plants indoors, at least till next spring when I can move them back outside again. 

We took a nice ride this afternoon in the convertible, but we kept the top up as it was only 55° outside. 

We cruised out to the Breakwater which is in the harbor right near our home. It is on the shores of the Green Bay which opens up out into Lake Michigan. 

This is the end of the Breakwater, where we can turn around and drive back to the main harbor.

Such a beautiful day with blue sky, but there's clouds coming in on the horizon from the west. They are talking about a turn in the weather by the weekend. So we better enjoy these days while we can

We like to buzz out here and look around a little bit and see what's going on. Lots of fishermen coming and going even for a Monday.

I will go over this now and check for any typos and boo boos and get it posted before supper is ready. Tonight Steve is cooking his favorite casserole,  so I am off the hook for making something.  

I am starting to roll my newest quilt into the frame,  I will post about it tomorrow. 

CAMPING – Boulder Lake in the Nicolet National Forest with Paula and Mel

It almost feels *sacrilegious* to post a happy camping post in light of the news the RVing blogging community was burdened with yesterday about Margie and Bruce.  I have had a heavy heart since hearing of their senseless deaths while walking along near their campground at Pismo Beach.  A young man, intent on suicide in front of his estranged girlfriend’s place of work, mowed then down in his efforts to do in himself.  Margie and Bruce both tragically died, and he only had minor injuries and is now charged with their deaths.

Then this morning, I thought of what better way to go on, blogging about Rving as Margie would want to be doing.  And I really don’t think she would want any of us to limit or avoid blogging now because of their passing.   So here it is….  my blog of the weekend:

 

Ahhhh Steveio arranged to get Friday off work, so we loaded up the rig and left on Thursday as soon as he got home.  Hit the road by 3:30pm as it gets dark so soon, we have to hightail it to a campground to get setup before dark.

Our friends, Mel and Snap Snap Snap Paula (that snapping is Steveio trying to remember her name)  were a couple hours ahead of us, and already had their site and our site staked out.  It was so nice to drive up and into a park, knowing full well that our site was waiting for us. 

Being that they also have a long Safari diesel motorhome, they can accurately judge a site as to it's conditions for us to fit in.   Being 40 feet and not being able to *bend* in the middle like a travel trailer or fifth wheel, it makes backing into a site more complicated.  We need *swing room* on the front end to clear, and if there is a tree or post too near the entrance of the site, you need even more.  

The other thing is level ---  if you are in a travel trailer or fifth wheel, your tires are grouped in the middle of your unit, so you can be on an uneven site and still achieve level easier because you kinda *pivot* on the central tire grouping.   But on a motorhome, your tires are spread out four square, and it's hard to get level on an uneven site, even with driving up on blocks and using our jacks.  Oh heck, here I will draw a picture:

Leveling is important if you don't want all your blood running to your head as you are sleeping, or sliding across the slippery shower stall floor, but mostly because of your refrigerator.  RV fridges are a delicate balance of chemicals in the tubes behind the wall, and if left out of level too long, they can pool up, crystallize and create *hot spots* in the metal tubing which can burn through and leak.  Then it's shot and time for an expensive rebuild or replacement.  OUCH....  so the more level you can operate your fridge, the better.  And you don’t risk damaging your expensive refrigerator unit.

Anyhow... back to camping.  We pulled in about 5pm and loved the site Mel and Paula picked out for us!   Here are our rigs….  right across from each other.

We have a 1996 Safari Serengeti and they have a 1996 Safari Sahara… cousins!

 

There were only a couple other campers in our loop, and things were pretty quiet.  We got all backed in, set up and time to visit and enjoy our company.  Supper was some quickly heated leftovers and a pizza, and then it was time to get the campfire going!  What can be more fun than sitting around the campfire in the darkening woods, with crisp fall air, and laughter of friends?  We sat out till after 10pm, and then toddled off to bed.  Steve and I had been up since 4:30 am so it was a looongg day for us. 

We are camping WITH electrical hookups at this park ($20 a night for 50 amp) so it was a real treat to crawl into a cozy warm bed... because we have an electric mattress pad heater on our bed!  I cranked up each side to the highest setting about an hour before bedtime.  Wheeeee coming from the cold autumn air into the warm camper and crawling between fresh cotton sheets, prewarmed.  Life just don't get any better, does it?

Saturday morning was sunshine and fall colors, though it's past it's PEAK for Leaf Peeping Tourists.  The colors are still nice, even if most of the leaves are already on the ground.  Steve took the doggers out for a walk as I perked coffee and we feasted on some more of our North Carolina Apple Cake... recipe from RVer Janet Goerne    We had shared some with Mel and Paula too the night before, so they could have it with their coffee in the morning. Here is a link to the recipe:   North Carolina Apple Cake    Yummmmmm

 

We sat around the morning, exchanging ideas and motorhome modifications.  Oh my my, when Steveio gets home we are gonna be buuuusssssyyyyyy!   Mel is a wealth of ideas and creative stuff for updating our matching Safari motorhomes.

Just look at them, solving the world’s problems and figuring out new things to try.

Paula brought her piecing of quilt squares for a project is hand-working with embroidered centers and quilted edges, making holiday coasters.  I had out my spinning wheel, and then later brought out the sockknitting machine.  It was a great day with sunshine and nice weather.  Paula brought out snacks to tide us over till suppertime. 

 

Mel and Paula had explored the area a little before we had gotten there.  So they said let’s hop in the car and check out some area campsites... so we did.  Someone has to tell Mel that his little white Saturn Ion car is NOT a four-wheel-drive rugged monster truck for all terrain and backroads.  

 

He tootleybopped us up and down and around and back as we checked out some interesting rustic remote sites... possibly able to get our motorhomes into one of them, but not the others... No way--- No how.  But he would probably try????  They are called the Barrier Free Access sites for handicapped folks to fish at, plus back in further are camping sites for a small fee of $5.  They are located on the one and the same Oconto River that flows right by our house.  If you put in there and floated down about 85 miles, you would come to our house!  

After that, we drove around the Chute Pond county park... it's a twisty turney park sectioned off into 2 pieces.. one section seems to be more suited to tents and weekenders, and the other portion seems to be seasonal sites with trailers set up all over willy nilly and have decks, storage sheds and even big household refrigerators setting behind some of the trailers.  It's all located on the shores of the same river, just backed up by a dam to create a flowage area.   In the summers, it is high resort population and cottage folks with heavy boat and jetski traffic on the pond.  Not our kind of place, no thank you.

 

Back to the campground on Boulder Lake.   It was time to get the campfire going and get started on supper.  Tonight was our entree and Paula’s “go withs”  and then Saturday would be her entree and our “go withs”   Fun way to plan our meals, totally Paula’s idea!

Steveio was the chef and Mel was the Supervisor….

Yummmm tenderloin steaks, taters, salads, veggies and dips… and a bottle of wine!

(aren’t those steaks done yet?)

 

Sitting around the campfire, sharing stories, ideas, places to explore and just general BS.  We gabbed till the flames went down and it was time to crawl back into bed.  Amazing how tired someone gets when not doing much of nothing?

 

Saturday morning again we lucked out with sunshine and blue skies… what a treat!  So many days of wonderful weather in Wisconsin in October is almost unheard of.  We got up early and Steve and I took the doggers for a walk around the campground.  Quite a few rigs has pulled in Friday night and the campground was about 3/4 of the way full. 

Ironically, the forest service workers had closed the bathrooms, showers, water spigots and dump station on Thursday.  Now they had a very populated campground and no access to water.  Some folks in a travel trailer arrived with empty water tank, intending to fill once they arrived at the dump station before setting up.  They ended up leaving the park, going to another place to water up, and then come back to back into their site in the darkness. Felt bad for all the popup folks too with no access to bathrooms, and long walk to the outhouses.

We saw two interesting things as we walked around.. one was a huge tent, shaped similarly to an old Lumberjack or Hunting tent like in the old time photos of logging camps.  Complete with a shiny silver metal smokestack coming out of the roof!   The interesting part was it was a NEW tent, of nylon ripstop fabric and very large and roomy, I would say 25-30 feet long and not sure how wide.  (of course I forgot the camera to snap a pic)  I never knew they still make big tents like this anymore. 

The second thing we saw was a pickup truck with a camper on the back, running it’s engine with the hood up.  Our first thought was they ran their heater all night and now had to run the engine with battery cables attached to their camping battery to charge it up.  But no…. as we got closer, we could see, sitting on the radiator was an electric coffee maker!!!!  and it was plugged into a portable inverter that was clamped to the truck’s battery!  LOL LOL   Talk about inventive?  When someone wants their drip coffee, they want their drip coffee!   hahahahha

Saturday was a lazy day, while the guys discussed this and that, thinking up ideas and projects to do….  Paula worked on more of her quilt projects and I did some sockknitting and then hauled out my spinning wheel too.  Spinning in the woods in the sunshine is a real treat.  It’s very relaxing and comforting and keeps the hands busy.

Saturday evening, Mel and Paula had some friends stop by, Peter and Jeannie.. with their grandson Alden.  We put the firebug antics to rest by making him also gather and carry wood, letting him saw some branches and had to really really work to have that fire!   LOL

We enjoyed Paula’s meal of Italian sausages, with grilled peppers, onions, mushrooms and the spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese on top!   YUMMMMMMM  I had a pot of calico beans and a bowl of potato salad as my “go withs"

Alden insisted on heating up his cheese curds in a pan on the fire???

After supper, and some walking around the campground with the dogs and Alden (trying to wear him out)  we sat around the fire till late… stories, jokes and laughter were heard late into the night… and a cozy warm bed once we turned in.

 

Sunday morning was sunny AGAIN!  I bet you are bored reading that, but it is VERY unusual to have such a prolonged Indian Summer in our neck of the woods.  70 degree days, day after day, are pretty much unheard of around here.  So we planned to enjoy it!

Paula whipped up waffles and bacon for breakfast…  good thing that Safari puts these outside electrical outlets on their rigs, otherwise we are sure Mel and Steve would be installing them by the end of the weekend!

 

Can you just see the sunshine on the fallen leaves?  Can you feel it on your face? Can you hear them rustling?  Can you smell the earthy richness of the woods?  We did!

But all good things must come to an end when you are still in the work-a-day world.  Sigh.

Paula dubbed this our “Last Lunch” 

As we packed up our rigs and got road-worthy… I heard a shout from Steveio…. GET THE CAMEREA!   So I grabbed it and flew out the door, not sure what I was going to find. 

Here was Mel’s cord in his power pedestal.  He reached in to grab his handle to unplug, but felt something warm and mushy and soft!  EEEEKKK!!!

 

Do you know what those are???

 

They are MUSHROOMS!!!  Some little forest critter decided to gather and pile them up under the lid of the power pedestal.  Wonder if he wanted them sautéed, grilled or just heated up?