Not even the double shades could keep out the bright morning sun, but that’s o.k. since we had to get moving early.
Doing our workout, the cool air was a relief and the deserted country road along the campground was perfect for running. We’re getting used to running through farm country. What a nice change from jumping curbs and watching for traffic in the city.
We quickly cleaned up and got on the road before 9:00 AM. Our destination is near the small town of Maribel, Wisconsin, which is just south of Green Bay. The drive was long (about 250 miles) and mostly uneventful through endless cornfields in northern Illinois and rolling hills in Wisconsin. The air was crystal clear and it seems that you can see forever. Except for a stretch right over the Wisconsin state line, the roads were mercifully smooth.
The fuel gauge on the coach was one of the things on the Monaco fix-it list and it was a relief to have a reliable fuel reading. However, just in case, I tested it. Sure enough, it is right on.
We were road weary when we finally got to the campground. We were pleasantly surprised to find the campground a really nice family-run place. The campsite is in a small valley cut by a bend in the river. There are several well groomed campsites, most of which look like seasonal rigs. Getting into the site took a few minutes, but we were soon set up for our stay.
Folks here are really friendly and one-by-one they stopped by to welcome us and check out the coach. I think we’ll like it here.
Contemporary note: The campground was split into two sections. One section around the top of a knoll was reserved for short-term camping — tents, trailers, kids, swing sets, barking dogs, smoking campfires, boom-boxes — you get the idea.
The second section was at the bottom of the knoll beside a small stream. This was reserved for seasonal campers — families that installed park-model trailers on larger campsites. These trailers were really small summer homes of a sort and the occupants had been camping at this same location for several years, some as long as 25 years or more. In effect, it was a small, close knit village.
Since we planned an extended stay and were too big for the short-term camping, the owners plunked us down in the middle of this community. Even with a California license plate, we were immediately accepted and invited to share space around the community campfire. We very much enjoyed the friendship and hospitality.