Friday, August 15, 2014. Camping at Point Beach State Forest (Wisconsin)

Day 2 of camping with Kyle started off oddly. While Chris was out walking, Kyle came in the camper and reminded me that we needed to get down to the office since we were on the "transfer" list for another site and the new sites were assigned beginning at 9 AM. It was already after that!

I hurriedly got ready and we headed for the office. When we arrived the campground staff person told us we were a little early, since it was still about twenty minutes until 9 AM! It seems that sometimes cell phones (the clocks/watches of today) in this area read a tower from Michigan and that State is actually on Eastern Daylight Time! It was a good thing that we were early though, because we were told that the people on the transfer list got first dibs if they were there, then others were able to request any leftover campsites. If someone on the transfer list is not there when others come, they lose their spot and have to become a first come/first served customer.

Since we still had time, we were given the available site numbers and Kyle and I went to check them out before the time arrived. At 9 we were the second camp on the transfer list, so we got to pick our new site. Check out time was at 3 PM and then we would move from Site 115 to Site 113.

Kyle and I checked out the beach on the way back to the site. Then Kyle, Chris, and I went down to see the lighthouse in the park and the beach near it. Chris and Kyle then began hiking the section of the Ice Age Trail that runs from the park towards the town of Two Rivers, Wisconsin. I waved them off, returned to the campsite to do the first entry on this blog, then drove to Two Rivers to pick them up.

Kyle has been hiking a number of trails in the U.S. the last few years and figured they'd finish in about an hour and a half. I couldn't find the end of the trail in Two Rivers, so parked in the shade at the City Park where I figured they may come by. And then I waited and waited... I texted them both and received some updates that it might be longer than they expected. As time went on I realized that 3 PM was nearing and we needed to vacate our first campsite by then so that the next campers could move in. After texting them about my plans, I headed back to the campsite right before 3.


I parked Kyle's car at the new site, walked down the road (two sites away), packed up the chairs, wood, etc., unhooked the camper, and drove it to the new site. I walked back and took off the weather cover (whatever the official name is unknow to me!) and walked it to the new site. Once more, trekked back, took out the stakes, and walked the still-up tent back to the site. I just staked it in the first available spot, likewise the camper was parked temporarily, and then returned Two Rivers (about 4 miles) to find the two hikers at the convenience store have some refreshments.

Chris and Kyle seemed to enjoy their hike through both woods and beach areas, even though it ended up being longer than they had planned.

We spent some time reading and resting, then Kyle and I went down to the beach to sit and read. It was cooler than we thought, so we didn't stay long. Some kids had made a really cool trench from the lake (Lake Michigan, by the way) inland about 12 feet to a VERY large hole in the sand. Of course it was filled with water. It reminded me of things my kids would enjoy doing when we were on family vacations.

 Another night of a campfire, reading, and conversing...