Lake Delton, Wisconsin

We have really been fortunate to find some great campgrounds. Country Roads Campground in Lake Delton, Wisconsin is another one. It is near the tourist area of the Wisconsin Dells, but away from the hustle and bustle. The Dells area reminds me of Gatlinburg, Tennessee with all the T-shirt and souvenir stores, thrill rides, bars, neon lights, etc. There must be a dozen huge water theme parks in the area, most connected to a hotel. These have big water slides that weave inside and outside the hotels. I guess this allows them to be used in cooler weather.

We had a great site at the back of the campground that looked out onto a large field surrounded by trees and shrubs. It was like our own private park. We walked Clay there each day and usually were alone since few others walked in that area. We delighted in seeing a flock of wild turkey walk across the field several evenings.
The scenery was beautiful all around the area. There were rolling hills and valleys. In spite of the serious flooding that had occurred in the spring, the fields in the valleys were full of corn ready for harvest. We enjoyed just riding around the area as we traveled to local towns to shop.

Monique decided to make a new bedspread for the RV. That meant she needed a new sewing machine and then fabric. She found a Janome machine she liked at a little shop in Baraboo. We went back and forth several times as she shopped for the machine and then took sewing lessons. There were a number of things to tour around Baraboo, but we only visited a few. The main thing we did not visit was the circus museum. The Ringling brothers grew up in Baraboo and for many years brought the circus home to Baraboo for the winter. Some day we hope to go back and tour the Circus museum and see some of the circus shows they perform during the summer tourist season. We did enjoy visiting a nearby state park with a lovely deep lake created by an ice age glacier.

We also enjoyed a brief visit to the International Crane Federation. At the ICF, volunteers raise and protect endangered Cranes from all around the world. The largest effort is directed at restoring whooping cranes. The ICF participates in a program to raise and then lead a group of cranes to Florida each year. A group of pilots from Canada lead a small flock from Wisconsin to Florida each year using small ultra-light planes to guide the birds. They believe the birds can become self sustaining if 125 mating pairs can be trained to make the annual migration. We read a sad story in National Geographic about all the effort to lead one group of 19 birds to Florida only to see all but one of the cranes killed in a hurricane later the same year.

Having seen all the different cranes in Wisconsin, we have been delighted to find many Sandhill Cranes living around us in Dade City, Florida. These are also large beautiful birds. They all gather in a large field near the local airport each evening. Then during the day they separate into small groups and fly to different fields around the area. We often see them flying overhead or grazing for insects in the fields next to our RV Park.

While Monique was searching for fabric, we learned that a large quilt show was being held in Madison, Wisconsin about an hour’s drive away. Since we enjoy seeing the handy work of talented crafters - especially quilters, we decided to go. We had a great time. There were quilts being judged from all over the US. What a huge diversity in styles. All looked like prize winners to us.

From 2008 Lake Delton Quilts

(Click on the link above to see other quilts from the show. If you click slide show, all pictures will load and then the slide show will start. This may take a couple of minutes. Once you finish viewing, keep clicking the back arrow until you return to the blog)