Weekend of the Fourth

This fourth deserved a four day weekend.  Plus a score of some awesome cabins in the great northwoods of Wisconsin equals a weekend of heaven.  Brace yourself for too many pictures.

First was getting there, of course.  And we stopped in Green Bay just so I could indulge in a Bacon Peanut Butter Burger.

And yes, it was good.  Plus a place that serves a side of cucumber salad with my lunch is a win.  Restaurant was Titletown Brewery.

Located in an old train depot.  Very fun place for lunch.

 

Now our little home away from home for the week.  We were located in the Nicolet National Forest near Lost Lake.  Of course, there was shared bathrooms but the cabins came with bedding, bunk beds, and electric. Oh and the bathrooms that were shared were spectacular.

Plus we had our very own in house exterminator.  No bug standing a chance against this guy.

 

Our neighbors were also very friendly especially when it came to Gardettos and wine laced blueberries.

Our little chipmunk and ground squirrel friends.  Now if there happens to be a chuirrel wandering around the woods in a few months it may or may not have had anything to do with the wine laced blueberries.  You never know what happens back in the bushes there.

 

 One of our days was also spent hiking.   The trail was listed as 3.3 miles and moderately difficult.  We took the magenta trail.  The elevation was fairly high.  Some of the area we passed thru we were contemplating if the hills would be any good for sledding, less the numerous trees we could straddle on our way down.

 Little bro decided to give his pack a test run for our future backpacking excursion.

Creepy old boards that we had to walk across.  It was a complete muddy mess under those.

 Note: Bandanas help keep the bugs out of your hair and irritating you.

 pssstt...super proud of my up close unedited butterfly picture above.

 The woods were beautiful. 

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and of course at one of the trailheads she manages to catch a toad.

 Another little ground squirrel we found on the hike.

And some creepiness...can you say Blair Witch Project.

 

Then of course the 4th is not complete without some fireworks in the evening.

The picture above was taken with the firework setting on the camera while the below was just a normal setting less flash, of course.

For a little town, they definetly put on a great display.  Plus we got to see the most awesome drunk person ever....like stumbling around while music was playing from some device in his pocket.  Later he came back in search of a flip flop or something and was completely confused on how to get into the bathroom.  Little extra comedy for the evening.

 

Our next day was all about getting/spending time in the water.

 We kayaked around the lake.  L chased/stalked/became friendly with a loon (and not the little bro).  Then it was over to the beach for some swimming, chilling and of course, frog catching.

 Now the college kids that were hanging around were super creative and started doing frog races later.

 Baby painter turtle that some of the kids on the beach found.

 Later in the evening we decided to take the kayaks out one more time.  Mother nature did not disappoint either.   The stillness and beauty of the lake cannot be put into words.

 If you look every closely, you will see a bald eagle up in the tree.  We got to watch him swoop down grab a fish and go back to the tree to eat.

 

Finally it was time for the long weekend to end and us to depart on a very very long drive home.

 

With a stop at an old school phone booth for a random picture.  People stared and we don't care jealousy. 

 

And with that we bid goodbye to a wonderful fourth in a beautiful place with our family.  Until we meet again Lost Lake....