Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Devil's Lake, Wisconsin: The West Bluff Trail

Hello!  No paper crafting post today.  As most of my readers already know, I post mostly pics about paper crafting, but I also have many other hobbies and interests, and one of them is traveling, so today's post is about my very first camping experience in a tent.  Quite the adventure it was!

Devil's Lake is located in the middle of the State of Wisconsin.  We live about 3 hours North of there, so we could have just went for the day and came home at night, but it was only $15.00 to spend the night in a tent there, so we decided to try it.  I wasn't sure I would like to 'tent camp'.  Although I love nature, I prefer to spend my days in it, and my nights in a cozy hotel room with a hot shower.  But other than the fact that I had to go the whole weekend without makeup and a blow dryer, I found I really enjoyed myself! Our tent was quite roomy, we comfortably fit five people inside a four person tent and it did not feel cramped.  We had an air mattresses, so I was comfortable that way, but I did wake up often in the night because I was cold.  Note to self:  even if it's in the eighties during the day, it's cold sleeping at night:  BRING MORE BLANKETS! 

Here is a picture of our tent and campsite with my daughter and husband in the foreground.  We found the campsite to be quite well accommodating.  Although there are people nearby, like most campsites, the grounds were well maintained and we liked the surrounding 'woods'.  We nestled our tent underneath some trees, but there was plenty of room for another tent on the other side of the fire pit.  They also had outhouses about a city block's walking distance from our site.  We had hot dogs and marshmallows cooked on our grill with wood collected from the site.  Those hot dogs tasted mighty good after a long day of hiking and swimming, but another note to self:  BRING MORE FOOD NEXT TIME!  I didn't foresee how hungry we would all be and only brought 8 hot dogs, a can of beans, and some chips to eat for dinner.  Now normally, that's about all we'd ever eat as a family of five, but after hiking all day we all wanted more to eat.  They do have a nice restaurant on the grounds (where I got my coffee early the following morning), but no one was that hungry to leave their cozy site and go eat over there.  Next time I'll bring some potatoes to make baked potatoes for the evening meal, and hash browns for breakfast the next morning.  We made lots of mental notes of what to bring for our next trip!


If you don't know much about Devil's Lake they are primarily known for their beautiful lake and beach and fabulous hiking trails.  We took 3 separate hiking trails during our two day stay, today I will talk only about about The West Bluff Trail.  It's considered a 'A Medium Trail with asphalt and stone steps.  It is a steep climb on the South End of the bluff with a less steep but still enormous climb on the North End'.  It has very scenic views of the lake.  Now, I'm going to be 50 years old this November, and although I'm thin and I walk a lot at work, I don't exercise.  So this hike was slightly hard for me.  I was a little out of breath climbing the steep steps and I could definitely feel the strain in my buttocks climbing up and in my calves climbing down.  I also needed help from my dear hubby finding my footing coming down, but other than that, it was quite the enjoyable hike.  Here are some pics I took a long the Way

 I have no idea why this picture turned itself sideways after I turned it right side up.  Sorry.  But we thought this tree was so interesting with all the Wood Pecker holes.  That is my daughter Ashley in the picture.
 This is me (with NO Makeup!) and my husband overlooking the lake.

 And here is a shot of my son Jordan looking at the view.  Devil's Lake is known for their Glaciers, falling Rock, Bluffs, and perfect swimming conditions.

After our morning hike, we ate a picnic lunch at the beach (sorry, I never took pictures of the beach) and spent the afternoon in the balmy waters and basking in the sun on the sun.  The water was so warm...almost like bath water, and crystal clear too!  Not filled with seaweed like a lot of lakes are this time of year.  It's the perfect beach to go to if you have young children or can't swim a stroke like me.  The water is shallow for quite a ways!

I'll have two more separate posts about the other trails we walked in later posts.

Have a great day! Amy

7 comments:

  1. What a beautiful place to camp! The water really does look amazing. Thanks for sharing, Amy!

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  2. Gorgeous scenic view you had, looks idyllic for camping, glad you had fun even if you were a little hungry:O)
    hugs
    glenda

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  3. it sounds like so much fun Amy!! Our family does a lot of camping. We use to really rough it like you, however, now we have a trailer. I love camping even more!! Still don't have all the luxuries of home (or I don't take them all) but being one with nature is quite an experience. Thanks for sharing all the photos. You all look great...even without the hair dryer or curling iron.
    hugs,
    Chris

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  4. WOW...gorgeous in pictures, must have been breathtaking in real life. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Ahhhh, we love camping....and your trip looks beautiful! Love that gorgeous lake. Thanks for sharing these awesome photos. :)

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  6. Hi Amy! Sandie here, from Daydream Designs DT. Looking forward to getting to know you a bit...already checked out some of your card creations and I really like your style! I grew up in Wisc (Fontana...way SE) but now call Michigan home. Wow, your pix sure bring back wonderful memories for me! Thanks for that! Beautiful scenery and a beautiful family.

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  7. These are great photos Amy. Such an amazing view! We were there in June, but only stayed at the lake for a couple of hours, as we had other things planned in the area. I really want to go back there too! Not sure if I would be brave enough to go camping. Can't wait to see more of your photos.

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