July 29

OK, day 1 was the road trip – we actually didn’t get to camp until day 2.  Apologies!

[People have oft wondered, where, exactly, is Camp Brosius?  Good question.  If you look at the map directly above, it’s in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, about half way between Lake Winnebago and Sheboygan.  The town of Elkhart Lake has a population of about 1,000 (pretty much the same size as Reetz’s Nashville, Indiana); Camp Brosius is located on the NE end of the lake named Elkhart Lake, about 300 acres of clear spring fed water (about the same size as our Lake Cowdry).  But on the way there, our first stop was below, the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge.]

[It’s located just SW of Fond du Lac and is a 33,000 acre marsh.  It’s huge!  If it were a lake in Minnesota, it would be the 6th largest, between Vermillion and Kabetogama.  I was surprised I’d never heard of it, or seen it on a map.  For further reference, Lake Winnebago, just a bit north of the wildlife refuge, is 137,700 acres, or slightly larger than our own Mille Lacs at 132,500 acres.  If I’m going to bore you, it will at least be with certifiable actual scientific facts!]

[So, I hear you say, why were we here?  Well, the $10 national park lifetime pass for seniors was about to expire – then I would have had to pay $80!  Horrors!  The Super called around and this was the only place that had them (they’ve been selling nationwide like hotcakes, or cheap senior passes).  And there were plenty of old people here doing just that!]

[Did I mention it is a stunningly beautiful place – worthy of further visits?]

[If you’re into marsh birds, there are plenty here.]

[Likely to become a poster photo.]

[One of surely many walkways through the marsh.]

[Wildflowers Don’t Care Where They Grow ~ Dolly Parton]

[Leaving the refuge, I had a better angle on the sign.]

[On the road again, an entire armada of motorcycles were turning into this ice cream place.]

[Eden: A place of pristine or abundant natural beauty . . . ]

[So why do so few people live here?]

[The future]

[We’re in the Kettle Moraine region of eastern Wisconsin, which means we have some nice . . . TOPOGRAPHY (a word George Carlin once noted you can yell out in a crowded theater.]

[Plymouth is like the big shopping town for Elkhart Lake.  We’re on the way through this time for our over night destination of Sheboygan.]

[Sheboygan, here we are!  A city of 50,000 hard by the western shore of Lake Michigan.  This theater was just a half a block away from our hotel and is apparently quite renowned.  More importantly, it was just across the street from our fine dining destination . . . ]

[And here we are (again)!  From left to right:  Reetz, Katie (whom we’ve noted is Reetz’s granddaughter via a lifelong friendship), and the Super.]

[FB:  As you all know, of course, Sheboygan is about nothing if not fine dining. So, a night at the Black Pig! Katie, a comparative waif, got a pork tenderloin the size of a Buick; Beth and Chris, on high protein diets, got multiple bacons and pork ragout, respectively; “The Biddies” shared a skate (at a pork place?); and I, my first ever pork belly, substantially more petite than Katie’s, though quite tasty with slaw and Asian pickled cucumbers.]

[Not previously having mentioned the rest of our party, Beth is Rita’s daughter and Chris is Beth’s husband, making them our niece and nephew from San Diego.  The six of us would once again share the Rappaport cabin at camp.]

[Destined to be another poster photo?]

[Certainly a poster photo!]

[A beautiful evening in downtown Shebygan – so we went for an after dinner walkabout.]

[Some classically really neat architesture.]

[And again, with a seagull on an eagle wing.]

[A highlight now of any urban landscape.]

[No chimney would be complete without a chimney sweep.]

[And now we’ve made it to the waterfront.]

[Several years ago we were loitering around here – and tied up on the other side was Ivana Trump’s yacht (after the divorce).  Apparently she “cruises” the Great Lakes in summer in support of environmental causes.  Good on her.]

[The family Trump was not home.]

[Always in search of interesting signs – ironically, it may have been on Pennsylvania Avenue.]

[Ken Kesey’s bus?]

[I think it was an ultra-cool bookmobile.]

[Again, a fan of architecture.]

[Kohler Arts Center . . . ]

[We’ll be back here in the morning . . . bet you can hardly wait?]

[These are flowers . . . I believe members of the plant family.]

[I have no idea . . . ]

[Horny peacocks]

[They kept the old library facade as an arched entry – again, cool.]

[I believe a close encounter of the third kind.]

[Architecture of the Wells Fargo bank, first sighted and noted by Chris.]

[And our lodging for the evening.]

Guess it didn’t matter if it was a group home or summer camp, guys and their stomachs didn’t change.  ~  Kelley Armstrong

Up Next:  We arrive at camp . . .

Editor’s note:  Regarding national parks, you may be aware they are getting increasingly difficult to visit and enjoy.  Why, because they are more popular than ever!  To paraphrase Yogi Berra, “Nobody goes to Yosemite anymore because it’s too crowded!”  Fortunately, I have reached back into the archives and started posting retrospectives about visits to national parks 30 – 35 years ago when I was an equally unknown film photographer.  They are posted (you’ll recognize the titles) among the current stuff.