Devil's Lake

We camped at the most used state park in WI--Devil's Lake. We've never been there before and were extremely fortunate to have the place almost to ourselves! It was truly a ghost town, which is enjoyable to us. We would not have enjoyed it during it's peak-season. The weather was wonderful--low 70's and sunny during the day and low 50's/upper 40's at night. The evenings were cold, but we had plenty of layers and a warm campfire. We slept well, since between the layers of clothing and the sleeping bags and blankets along with the body heat of three of us snuggled up cozily, kept us pretty comfortable. Going outside to go to the bathroom in the middle of the cold night isn't particularly enjoyable, though.

Mark was feeling daring, so we lived on the wild side by NOT having a practice set up with our new tent. We just set it up for the first time on the site. We had a few problems initially with the screened-in porch and with the rain cover, but everything came out okay. It was our first camping trip without our well-used and well-loved Coleman tent. We missed having the Coleman, as it's part of our camping tradition. It seemed very strange to be in a different tent. Our new tent is very nice and just as roomy. It's also taller, so there is room to completely stand up straight. L. loved the idea of having a screened-in porch. That was just so cool to her!

L. brought two of her Furbies along (with new batteries), so we got to listen to them during the ride there and for most of the trip. They don't bother me too much, but sometimes it can get to be a bit much. M. doesn't have much tolerance for them though, so it was torturous for him. Since it got dark so early and got pretty cold once the sun went down, we were able to snuggle up by the campfire and start reading from our ghost story book earlier than we can during summer trips. That's one of our camping traditions that L. really looks forward to. It was extra creepy, too, as we were so alone on the campgrounds, and there were tons of owl and coyote noises to add to the effect.
Lots more to talk about, but I have to go get L's homeschool work for the week printed out and organized. I'll have to continue tomorrow: highlights include the hike from hell and swimming with leeches.