What a busy summer it has been! And lots of changes in my life, it is amazing to me how things can change so quickly!

I just thought I would let everyone know that I will be out and about this week on my only full week off from work, going camping.

We just got back from our favorite family campground, it was really just a relaxing weekend. But, now we are getting ready for some adventure! Will be headed to the bluffs by the Mississippi River, doing some hiking and biking. Then will head up north for a few nights in lakes country, there is a state forest that has an abundance of trails that interconnect one area with another, well-suited for biking around. There is also an awesome state bike trail that I have never ridden, and have always wanted to do that.

I generally don't have access to computers when we are camping, but my awesome android smartphone can give me access. So, I may check in here and there, but will see. Maybe I will just loose myself in the awesome beauty and forget all about modern technology!

Anyway, that is about it for me. If you are looking for some good ideas on how to cook in the Zone when camping, just let me know.

Back from our camping excursion!

John, if you read this post, I have to tell you that I kayaked for the first time in my life! Really enjoyed it! I used to do a lot of canoeing, but had never used a kayak before. I really enjoyed having total control over my kayak without switching sides with the paddle. Now, I think I have to consider investing in some kayaks for me and the family!

We also enjoyed some awesome hiking and biking! It was everything and more than we had anticipated.

How I enve you!! I love kayaking. We used to go to Poland and spend 2 weeks kayaking through the lakes and rivers....

Good for you CC!!! Gosh those few days went quickly! I am happy that you were having fun and didnt have time to write on the Forums! ha ha

We visited 2 areas. The first area was where we went kayaking. We kayaked along the Trempeleau River, which is a small river that runs into the Mississippi. The river was quite fast-moving, and we had to paddle upstream first. The kids, of course, wanted to go downstream, but I had to warn them that if they did that, they would have to paddle very hard to get back up. So we all paddled upstream, it was hard work, but I must say it was easier than paddling upstream in a canoe. I had a double kayak and had my youngest daughter with me, she wasn't much help with the paddling, and I am sure we would have never made it upstream if we had been in a canoe!

The second area was a state forest campground in "lake country". Northern Highland State Forest has a very high concentration of lakes in the area, and most of the county is state forest land. Our campsite was right on the lakeshore of one of those lakes. At that point, I was wishing that we had our own kayaks! Well, maybe next year! But, awesome bike trails up there! They have a system of paved bike trails that weave through the forest and connects from town to town and lake to lake. There is also a "rails to trails" bike trail that I wanted to ride, but we ran out of time (and my kids probably wouldn't have been able to do the distance anyway). Will have to go back up there again!

Hey Cran;
Glad you are now enlightened, and switched from the "dark side" (canoeing) to kayaking!
Seriously though, glad you enjoyed it. We went to Acadia National park, in bar harbor Maine.
80% of the island is the national park! plenty of old "carriage" roads closed to motorized traffic for hiking, bicycling. We brought both of our bikes and kayaks, and rented one of each for our eldest daughter who joined us, before she went back to college in Chicago to finish her degree.
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You know you are ina great outdoor playground when every other car has either kayaks or bicycles on it. And every fifth car or so has both, like ours did. There is also plenty of cliffs for mountain climbing, which we did not have time for, but want to try. Next time.
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So, where is the Park, city, state with all of those wonderful paved bike trails?
(And lakes). My wife really only likes paved trails, and the Acadia National park carriage roads are crushed gravel, but packed enough to be close to paved that she did good with them. Even uphill, and it is a lot of up and down hills, it is Rocky coast of Maine, after all.

John, I love Acadia. Did you walk the Beehive? It's probably the only part of the park that is not so appealing to me. It always looks so hot and dusty so I've never gone up there.

No, but we did walk across the sandbar at low tide to Bar Island and hiked (walked) the two dogs up to the highest point of Bar island. We also did a sunset sail. Though wind did not co-operate so much, and at times the captain had to use "fossil" fuel. We did not do the big commercial one; instead, we went with a young guy who is just starting out, he takes 6 folks, 3 times a day. We saw the big (heavily advertised) sailing ship, and glad we did not go for it. Folks were packed in like cattle. looked like crowded standing room only. Our captain Jake told us that they bought that boat strictly as a numbers profit venture.

John, the sunset sail sounds nice. "Captain Jake"...makes me think of "Captain Ron", that old Kurt Russell movie where a family hires him to take them on vacation. Hopefully you trip was not like that one, lol. Popham Beach State Park is another hidden treasure in Maine. If you havent been there, it's in the mid-coast area, much closer to civilization then Bar Harbor, though you'd never know it. It's in Phippsburg, near the tip of a penninsula just south of Bath. There's an island of sorts there, basically a huge rock with some vegetation on top, which is accessible by foot across a sand bar at low tide. You can watch the seals play in the water from the top of this island/rock. It's a beautiful area, a great day trip for you, definitely worth the trip.

Will have to try it, maybe in the fall.
Bar Harbor, while it is 4-1/2 hours drive, is worth it, as the house we stay at is owned by a (childless) couple in our church, and they charge nothing to stay there. So, it is totally worth it to go to Maine's (NE?) largest playground - Acadia National park.
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It looks like Phippsburg, ME is just under 2.5 miles!
Yes, me thinks a day trip in the near future is warranted!

John, the paved trails were in the Northern Highland/American Legion State Forest in Wisconsin. Way up north, near the state line between WI and the MI UP. The trails run from Boulder Junction to St. Germain, and I think it is about 20-25 miles. The trails intertwine between some of the lakes and picnic areas.

Yes, I think I will be one of those carrying around the kayaks and the bikes. My DH and I generally have to take 2 vehicles when we go camping, as he pulls the pop-up camper (his preference to camp in comfort, although we basically just use it as bed and shelter) and I load the bikes on the rack on my car! I guess the kayaks will have to go on top of the camper, or I could pull a small trailer with my car, too.