Trip #2, Boondockers!
Life is a journey to be experienced, not a problem to be solved.
-Winnie the Pooh
This post will be quick and mostly pictures. We took a hastily planned 5-day trip with two stops, less than 50 miles from home, mainly to keep working out the bugs. This time we used another aspect of the Harvest Hosts (HH) platform, called "Boondockers Welcome" (BW). It is similar to HH with one significant distinction; these places are people's homes and private property, not businesses. There are 3100 BW sites nationwide, ranging from driveways in residential neighborhoods for smaller rigs to multi-acre farms like where we stayed. The "stays" are 100% free, but it is not uncommon to leave a gift of some sort, especially if they supply water and electricity, which many do. The hosts are primarily long-time campers who want to meet new and often interesting people- like us!
Our first stop was outside Fremont, Wisconsin, 40 miles east of home. We parked in a quiet field on a beautiful 60-acre farm owned by two of the nicest people who have lived there for over 40 years. Steve and Beth are their names, and you immediately knew Steve could fix anything without expecting anything in return, and Beth could make the pot roast of your dreams on a Sunday evening and finish it with some unforgettable apple pie. Something about this place and the people felt “out of time.” This is the America we seek out and love, a seemingly bygone era but still very much alive. I am happy to say we made friends with these people, and we will be back.
This was our front yard for two days. In the distance, you can see the knee-high corn growing.
On our first night, we went down to the river in the nearby town of Fremont to have dinner and watch the local waterski show, but it turned out to be too windy for them to perform. But that didn’t stop Wanda from having her Blue Moon with a slice of orange.
When we sold our house, we gave up having a yard for living in an apartment. But we didn’t lose much as long as we could travel to places like this and borrow someone else’s yard. Plus, I don’t have to mow it.
George seems to be enjoying his new lifestyle.
Life is good!
Sunset, putting to bed another wonderful day.
When our time in Fremont was over, we traveled 15 miles west to our next stop, a hilltop piece of property outside of the town of Waupaca that was supposed to be all about the sunsets.
The vegetation on this property was thick, and quite healthy. It appears vaguely Amazonian from this perspective.
Wanda relaxing on a warm summer day with nothing within earshot but the rustle of the leaves and the birds singing their song. This is a good shot of our awning, which I can deploy and retract with my phone. Crazy.
The view from our campsite. No sign of man, just the way I like it.
There was no sunset the first night due to thunderstorms, but the second night was not disappointing.
We are starting to learn that the people we meet will be as interesting as the places we visit, maybe more. Our next adventure will be fun, and we are leaving this Friday morning. First, two days at a horse farm, then on to a natural pasture-raised cattle, pig, and goat farm, and then we finish it off with a visit to a (locally) famous BBQ restaurant and bar that also happens to be a Harley Davidson dealership, classic car and Harley museum, art gallery (the owner is a metal-sculptor), and zoo. It should be interesting. Thanks for reading!