On one of my recent Sunday meanderings with AJ Page, we opted to set aside the cell phones, rather than map out a set destination. It was too time consuming, and you couldn't really enjoy the scenery along the way out the car window when your nose was buried in your scrolling. We had at least two goals in mind: to get lost, and to cook up the supplies outdoors that we had purchased. After changing directions a few times and missing the first Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive, AJ stated, "I have no idea where we are. Just so you know." This was repeated a few times thereafter, which I concurred to.
After making our way through several small burgs, including the charmingly quaint Dundee – locals were lined up out to the street at the Hamburger Haus and the sizzling charbroiled patty smell made us nearly stop in our tracks and join them– we eventually made our way to Mauthe Lake. This is a part of the Northern Unit of Kettle Moraine State Forest. We scouted out a good grill and bench on the periphery of the picnic area, mostly in the shade. You could still view the shimmer of the lake through the trees, and hear the faraway squeals and shouts of water babies at play, and imagine what they were getting up to. We grilled up some jerk chicken patties and bicolor sweet corn, priding ourselves in resisting burger temptation. The breeze and temperature were just right, and I pushed to go for a stroll on the paved path along the lake.
So we strolled, watching the fisherman, a few kayakers and sailboaters, tots with noodles three times as long as they were. "Let's go check out the campsites," said AJ.
We wandered a ways and noticed a steep incline to our right, where there were just two sites set apart from the rest of the campground. Up we went. The first was a great overlook of the lake, the approaching sunset, and other small dots of campfires through clusters of sturdy oaks. AJ said he felt like an Ewok, and commenced singing their song from "Return of the Jedi."
We debated on going to get firewood and just hanging out for a few hours for the night. It certainly seemed a better option than going home to camp out on the couch. We had our camp chairs. We had cooked out and went on a walk. The only thing we wouldn't be doing is hauling out the sleeping bags, which we had neglected to bring. So we high-tailed it to a nearby store for a few provisions, bug spray among them.
The overlook site proved to be the ideal spot, and the shouts and voices from below sounded even further away. Stoking the fire, we enjoyed the sunset and our libations purchased at the General Store. As darkness fell, we admired the festive japanese lanterns and white Christmas lights strewn outside of various RVs. You could now make out a new fingernail moon and the dazzlingly bright stars overhead, as the sky was perfectly clear out here. There was some debate over playing hooky the next day, but we reluctantly packed up at about 10:00 p.m. On the way back though, we both agreed that this little respite was the perfect anecdote for the Sunday blues.
