Wilderness Lake Diary

Day 1
Dear Diary,
We got to the cabin after actually leaving almost on time. Words can't describe a trip in a vehicle with a DVD player to minimize the complaining. It could also explain why all the adults drank a case of Blatz upon arrival every year when we were little... Anyway, our first surprise was the new outhouse. Grandpa Terry was the first to enter. Shortly after exiting, he ran past saying something about "checking on the boat oars." But, I knew it was really to hide the tears of joy streaming freely down his happy face. I think I even caught him doing a cartwheel, and I swear I heard him singing Mr. Rogers' "It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood." I haven't seen him this happy since he left FALK! I had to see for myself what this was all about...an outhouse? No! This was a heavenly "Organic Wooded Retreat." Ohh, this vacation was starting off well.
P.S. I managed to pump 6 buckets of water today. Wow, it's easier than I remembered it being...

Day 2
Dear Diary,
Well, only two kids fell out of bed last night. We had a little trouble extracting Buddy from the rafters, but luckily Grandpa pretty much snored right through it all (just kidding, he actually doesn’t snore anymore!)
The day started with a little swimming and fishing. Grandpa caught a 65-lb wet dog in the bay. He admitted that the catch was the most challenging he’d ever made. Apparently, 200 yards of water, weeds, and muck did little to deter Buddy’s obedience when he was “accidentally” called by one “creative” 9-year old Granddaughter who shall remain nameless. We also had some trouble getting Amanda to use the outhouse by herself. How could she NOT love it, we wondered! She constantly wanted to have an escort. When we asked why, she replied, “I’m shy around carnivores.” I suppose everyone loves the outhouse, even carnivores.
P.S. On a personal note. I pumped at least 43 buckets of water today. Funny, I don’t remember all this work back when I was a kid. I also wanted to mention that the entrance to the outhouse is beautifully landscaped and is even lighted! That’s so cool…

Day 3
Dear Diary,
We took a hike to Camp Nine today. There were even some ripe blackberries to pick. Today turned into a sort of “meet and greet” with wildlife. First, we met a tree frog in front of the cabin. He must have communicated to the girls that he was thirsty because they helped him “get a drink” by putting him down the well pump. Seven pumps by Grandpa and “Lumpy” was back and only slightly catatonic. He was gingerly released back into the woods to his freedom after a brief lecture regarding critters being forbidden in the cabin. Later, Dad caught a baby garter snake near the lake. The kids didn’t believe that snakes could swim, so Dad decided to prove it. Although the kids learned that snakes can in fact swim, they also learned that snakes that swim in the wrong direction are quickly devoured by thousands of ravenous blue gills. It was, as Julia put it, “The Circle of Life.” We also discovered a basketball-sized beehive hanging in a tree, saw a few mosquitoes, and were reacquainted with the joy of biting flies. Although, I must admit, they were much worse when I was a kid (these kids have it SO much easier than I did!!!) Hummingbirds, egrets, turkeys, grouse, eagles, loons, deer, and what we think were either wolves or coyotes were also witnessed and/or heard.
P.S. Well, the tally is now up to 175 buckets of water pumped. I’ve only accidentally scalded myself six times doing dishes (apparently, it’s” funny” to watch me do that, so I think I’m being sabotaged). Ohh, and did I mention the outhouse even has a window? It’s a real window, that opens and everything!

Day 4
Dear Diary,
Today was a fishing day. Aside from early broadcast Packer/Badger football games and early tee times, this is the one thing that will get grown men out of bed with zero complaints .Today was a chance to live the Angler’s dream, and to pass on skills to the next set of outdoorspeople-in-training. The girls were awestruck by my ability to touch, dissect, and bait worms on a hook. But, as I found out later, they were instead “just grossed out by it.” Amanda, the oldest, was the one most interested in the whole “fishing extravaganza”. She loved to reel in a fish, big or small. But, she refused to bait the hook or touch any fish she caught. When asked why, she said, “I’m afraid of getting hooked like them. And, they’re slimy.” Still, fun was had. Todd was able to justify his extravagant trip to Bass Pro Shops by catching a total of three miniature blue gills. He also caught several keepers using old reels and nightcrawlers. The girls were confused with the name since, as they correctly pointed out, “Those things crawl in the daytime too!”
Matthew has figured out the cabin and has already perfected several escape routes. If there were an Olympic event involving dashing down hills, dodging stumps and roots, and jumping over pine cones Matthew would win the gold medal. It’s especially memorable when he does this stark naked…
P.S. I’ve now pumped at least 500 buckets of water, but only scalded myself two more times. Allison spit all over me while brushing her teeth tonight (yeah, like that was an accident!) Ohh, and did I mention that cute table in the outhouse with reading material? It’s THAT comfortable…

Day 5
Dear Diary,
Today we actually left the lake and drove to Ladysmith to visit some family. It was fun.
Grandpa, who was ready to enjoy some alone time, got ready for an afternoon of fish hunting. He set off to his destination in the trusty rowboat and cast his line. Eight seconds later, a piercing lamentation (the kind fish especially hate) shattered the tranquility of Wilderness Lake. Was it a bear caught in a trap? Was it wolves fighting? Was it raccoons mating? No. It was Buddy. Since Buddy had demonstrated his lack of aquatic savvy, Grandpa thought it prudent to confine him to the safety of the cabin. Buddy clearly confused “safety” with “abandonment” and let every living thing within a 5-mile radius know it. Dejected, Grandpa was forced to catch several large bass from the raft. We returned to a very excited Buddy and a rejuvenated Grandpa.
P.S. Since we were gone, I only pumped 23 buckets of water today. I think Grandpa may have pumped a bucket or two as well. Ohh, and I showed the kids the “old outhouse”. They cried tears of joy when I told them, “We never have to use THAT one!”

Day 6
Dear Diary,
Grandma Irma drove up to visit today. She’s the Grandma with bats in her house. We learned last year that when you have a bat caught in the house that a tennis racket is an extremely useful thing to have. We told her there were no bats in the cabin (good thing, because there are no tennis rackets either!) We had fun catching frogs and snakes with Grandma. In the afternoon, we all went to Travers Lake to do some “special” fishing. We took fishing poles, but catching fish before the hook even hit the water got annoying really fast. So, we got out the corn and a net and Amanda quickly caught at least 50 fish. “Boy, these fish sure are stupid!” she said (as opposed to the brilliant fish found in other places?)
Speaking of stupid, I learned today that a slightly malfunctioning digital camera quickly turns into a TOTALLY malfunctioning digital camera when dropped into Wilderness Lake. I retrieved the camera and luckily the memory card survived. In my defense, the bee was trying to kill me and the camera was NOT supposed to be on my lap!
We had our fish fry, and it was delicious. The girls all tried it, but didn’t eat much citing their “preference” for frozen fish sticks (and when they have fish sticks they refuse to eat that saying it’s “not fresh enough!”) More for us, I guess!
After dinner, while floating around the lake with the kids, Dad spotted and called to some loons. The loons called back. Almost instantaneously, the boat erupted into an amateur loon-calling contest. They almost did sound like loons, both literally and figuratively. And, as if that were not enough excitement, the kids later invented the game of “pineconing.” It has something to do with piles of pinecones. It’s certainly only a game played at Wilderness Lake.
Before we drifted off to sleep, the kids and Grandma played guessing games. For example, “I’m thinking of something round, yellow, it’s down at the beach and is fun to play with.” Answers ranged from “The sun?” to “A lion?” to “A rabbit?” Quite a funny way to fall asleep…
P.S I pumped a few dozen more buckets, so many I’ve just lost count. Also, I think I caught the Willett’s trying to sneak into the outhouse. I guess they’re jealous because it’s so beautiful.

Day 7
Dear Diary,
I can’t believe it’s the last day. It went really fast. I also realized it was cleaning day. We let the kids run around naked today, partly because they wanted to and partly because they had no clean clothes left to wear. I pumped and boiled several thousand buckets of water and toiled for hours. I will add that it was almost a pleasure to clean the outhouse because it’s so pretty and we didn’t have to worry about it blowing up. We finally finished and did a walkthrough and declared it clean. We dunked the kids in the lake, threw whatever clothes we could find on them, and locked everything up. I think we all had tears in our eyes when we locked the outhouse…
We’ll miss the stargazing and shooting stars, the critters and creatures to play with, the call of the loons, and the tranquility that makes you not care at all about the outside world. When I was a kid, I thought Wilderness Lake was a perfect place to go on vacation (although you’d have had to torture me to get me to admit it then!) There are so few things that remain unchanged, but Wilderness Lake is one of them and hopefully always will be.

Thank you to the Holzman's for making possible a great vacation!!!