The Corona Diaries Vol. 10: My God, It's Full of Stars!

December 2020

How we socially distance here in Wisconsin.

The other day the Frau and I were lounging around when she mentioned that she had been listening to an old radio drama called Suspense or some such thing starring one Angus Moorehead. "Angus Moorehead?" I asked.

"Yes. Angus Moorehead, the old actress," she replied.

"ANGUS Moorehead?" I asked again.

"Ooops. Did I say 'Angus'? Agnes Moorehead," she corrected herself.

********

Back in October we had some fairly warm, dry weather in the middle of the month so some friends and I availed ourselves of the opportunity to make one last camping trip for the season. Our destination was the Black River State Forest about 120 miles northwest of Madison.

Back in the aughts I worked for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. While running around up north to work on computers at various ranger stations, I collected the Wisconsin Wildcards. They're like baseball cards but for the state's natural resources such as plants, fish, etc.

The card for the Black River State Forest says that it was established in 1957 and covers 67,000 acres that had once been logged and cleared for farming. The area suffered a large forest fire in the spring of '77 and I recall my family driving through it on I-94. It was quite harrowing to be surrounded by flames reaching 80 feet into the sky on both sides.

Before heading to the campsite, I visited the hiking trails in the southeast part of the forest. The Internet had said it was peak fall colors up there in Jackson County and it wasn't lying. I think I walked about 5 miles that morning and the woods were simply gorgeous – full of yellow, orange, and red (Oh, and some green too.) set against a brilliant blue sky.

While there were several cars in the lot at the trailhead, I saw only 1 or 2 people on the trails. Or perhaps they were simply smart enough not to attempt the most difficult trail like I did. It wasn't too bad, really, just a slightly steeper climb up the ridge than the other trails. The path was a bit rougher as well with more furrows so I had to be a extra vigilant about where I was stepping.

As my card notes, some of the forest is former farmland and there were some ruins to visit. For instance, here is an old root cellar.

Plus there was an old well.

The foundations of the buildings were supposedly to be found near the stairs to the root cellar but I never found them. I'm not sure if they had become completely camouflaged with leaves and grass over the years or if I was just incompetent.

At one point I veered off onto a different trail which took me up a ridge. As I ascended, I was treated to a lovely view of the forest in addition to the sight of a couple of hawks circling overhead. Then I saw a sign for a scenic overlook and hastily took this detour.

I really wish I had a better camera outfitted with a wide angle lens to catch scenic vistas but, to paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, you take photographs with the camera you have, not the camera you might want.

(I am looking to upgrade my camera to something with a better contrast ratio and a bayonet connector so, if anyone can recommend one, please do.)

So, while you won't mistake my photo for something by Ansel Adams, you can at least get an idea of the wonderful view of the forest this spot afforded.

At some point in the early afternoon, I received notice that the camping spot was open so I headed north to the east fork of the Black River. Our camp was just across an access road from the river itself. Unsurprisingly, the campground was just about full as many others had the same idea we had.

It had been about 6 months (at minimum) since I'd seen any of these folks so it was a real treat to be in the company of my friends once more. We got a fire going and immediately an argument broke out over the best way to stack wood for a fire with the teepee proponents vociferously defending their preference against a small contingent of adherents to the log cabin/Lincoln log method. The fussin' and feudin' ended in a draw and so we turned our attention to prepping dinner as the beer and whiskey flowed freely.

After night had descended, we walked down the road to the parking lot by the boat launch in search of a more open area. One of my friends, who had consumed a fair amount of whiskey by this point, was leading us on a little stargazing venture. As we were gazing upwards, he went on about the marvels of the night sky in the country and just how much light pollution even a moderately sized city like Madison has. As we spied the Milky Way, he proceeded to discourse on the sheer size of the universe and how insignificant we are here in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the galaxy. I believe that his teenage daughter hurt herself at this point from rolling her eyes too much.

For my part, I was admiring the sky and wishing I had brought my telescope when I started laughing to myself because this came to mind:

The next morning I went down to the boat launch. It was right where the Black River flows into Lake Arbutus. While the sky was full of clouds, it was still a beautiful and colorful sight.

After bidding my friends farewell and safe travels, I took off in the late morning as I had a 50-mile drive up to Eau Claire ahead of me. I was going to meet my Frau and visit my youngest stepson who had moved there back in late August. What could make him leave civilization and move up nort? Cherchez la femme. He followed his girlfriend, a student at the university, up to the land of clear water and Paul Bunyan. The Frau had bought some clothes online for him but, rather than have them shipped directly to the kid, she brought them with her and had him try them on. She misses him quite a bit. I do too.

His apartment was much cleaner than I expected. The empty pizza boxes and beer cans were confined to one corner of one room. While his bedroom was neat and orderly, his girlfriend copped to having cleaned it recently. She is too good to him.

Eau Claire was much like it was when I lived in the area. Some new stores and new apartments, but no drastic changes that I could discern. I look forward to the spring and another visit up north.

The bonus photo this time is a Goethe mosaic I found on one of my last bike rides for the season.