Category: Uncategorized

This morning I made all the reservations including museum reservations. Before going on to museums I’ll first spend a couple of nights camped about twenty minutes from the Mackinac Bridge. From there I’ll visit Walloon Lake where Hemingway’s family had a cottage when he was young and where he married his first wife. I’ll be going to Lake Michigan beaches looking for Petosky Stones and Charlevoix Stones. I’m going to that area to look for the stones and Walloon Lake happens to be in the area. I wouldn’t drive very far to go to Walloon Lake. Then I’ll be visiting the; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Football Hall of Fame, Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan. I’ll be heading out next Saturday the 19th of June.

I’m still considering a Baseball Hall of Fame trip. My drive to Cooperstown would take me close to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton. Manhattan and its art museums are not far from Cooperstown. We shall see.

Sunday around noon I’ll be heading back to The Driftless Area for four days of camping at a Vernon County campground. It will be hot, close to a high of 90 all four days.

This Sunday, May 16 will be the beginning of a 19 day Driftless Area camping/fishing trip. The only people who look at my little site are friends and family so I will give names of campgrounds I camp at and streams I fish. Again, I do this site for me. It’s my digital scrapbook.

For the first two weeks I’ll be camping at the US Army Corps of Engineers Blackhawk Campground on the Mississippi River just north of DeSoto Wisconsin. After the Blackhawk Campground I’ll be staying at Esofea Campground, a Vernon County campground not far west of Viroqua, Wisconsin. After that I’ll be camping at Wyalusing State Park on the Wisconsin River which is as far south as the Driftless Area goes.

Last year’s camping ended with a water leak in my trailer’s kitchen. I’m ready with spare tubing and assorted hose clamps. It will be difficult to get at but the repair will be simple.

This year I have a decent drone so I might be able to post some videos of the areas I’ll be visiting and fishing. The problem may be getting a strong enough internet connection to upload the video files.

“the grass is always greener”.

I have reservations for western trout fishing trips in June, July, August, and September. Trout fishermen from out west and other parts of the country travel to “The Driftless Area” in southwest Wisconsin for the trout fishing and for the beautiful country.

This morning I made campground reservations for the Driftless Area for three weeks in May. I will probably cancel my June, July, and August western reservations and instead spend three weeks each of those months camping and fishing the Driftless Area which is roughly three hours from home. Better to discover good fishing opportunities close to home. Also I will save a couple of thousand dollars in gasoline. This morning I found two inexpensive campgrounds in the Driftless Area, one a US Army Corp of Engineer Campground on the Mississippi River and the other a state park on the Wisconsin River. Because I have the Lifetime Interagency Senior’s Pass camping at the Corp of Engineers campground is half price, $13 a night, and that includes an electricity hookup. Best deal I’ve ever had.

In September I have two weeks reserved at a campground near the San Juan River in northwest New Mexico. As of now I plan on going on that trip. My time fishing the San Juan almost three years ago is a fond memory.

In the middle of June I’ll be heading to the Big Horn Mountains for a month of camping and fishing. I’ll go home for a week.

Then to northwest New Mexico to fish the San Juan River for two weeks. I’ll be staying at Cottonwood Campground in Navajo Lake State Park.

After the San Juan River I’ll be heading to Cimarron Canyon State Park close to Taos New Mexico. It’s a beautiful spot with a beautiful small river. I’ll be camped at the state park for 3 days and nights.

Then I’ll be spending two weeks camped at Aspen Glade Campground, a National Forest campground near Antonito Colorado. The plan is to do some day hikes into some trout streams that feed into the Conejos River. I’ll then go home for a couple of weeks.

In the middle of September I’ll be back in northwest New Mexico fishing the SanJuan River for another 10 days.

The dates for the 2020 Sturgis Rally were changed to August 7th through August 16th. My reservations had me camping within 30 miles of Sturgis, South Dakota on August 14th and 15th. Sure don’t need that. A couple of days ago I canceled those reservations and changed my route. My original route went straight west from Milwaukee through Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wyoming to the Big Horn Mountains. Now I’ll go mostly west and a little south through Wisconsin to Iowa City, Iowa, then west through Iowa and Nebraska to North Sterling State Park in the Northeast corner of Colorado. My first night will be at a campground just west of Omaha, Nebraska. My second night will be at North Sterling State Park. This will be my 4th night at North Sterling State Park. Then I’ll head north across Wyoming to the Big Horns which will take me through Cheyenne, Laramie, and Casper. This route adds a half-day of driving but that’s ok. It’s one of the best things about retirement. Doesn’t matter if I need to add a day or even a week to a trip.

‘s

On Friday, August 14th I’ll be heading back to the Big Horn Mountains in north-central Wyoming. Sunday the 16th I’ll begin 5 days of camping at Tie Flume campground followed by 5 days camping at Prune Creek campground. The South Tongue Rivers flows through both campgrounds. Probably about the worst time to trout fish. Rivers are lower, slower, and clearer at the end of the summer. I’ll be at 8000 feet so it is cold at night. Hopefully, the cold nights keep the water from getting too warm.

For several years before I retired I was planning different retirement trips in either a converted cargo van or a trailer. One trip I planned is a trip north to south through the heart of the Great Plains. I’ve been kinda curious as to how traveling through the Great Plains for a long period must feel, the never-ending wide-open spaces. I’m sure this trip will seem strange to most people. The plan was always to start in the center of the Great Plains near the Canadian border, head south to Texas, and if I get too bored take a right and head towards the mountains. This morning I reserved a campsite at Sully Creek State Park, North Dakota for July 13th through July 17th. Sully Creek State Park is close to Medora, North Dakota. Sully Creek State Park is across the road from Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Theodore Roosevelt National Park is open for day-use but the campground is closed. Then I’ll head south to The Black Hills, then to southeast Wyoming, western Nebraska, and northeast Colorado. If things are going well I’ll continue down to northeast New Mexico, and down into Texas. I suppose it will be hot.

Fished Tuesday morning on the Timber-Coulee without much luck. Had a couple on but they escaped. Started raining about 2:30 yesterday afternoon and didn’t stop until 10 pm. A stream runs through my campground at Sidie Hollow County Park. Around 8 pm a policeman drove through and stopped at every camper to warn about the possibility of flash flooding. The stream is about 50 feet behind my trailer. It was rising which was a concern but it never overflowed it’s banks.