MONDAY MUSINGS: WIND TAKEN OUT OF SAILS AT JERSEY SHORE

Have you ever returned to a place which holds good memories and been terrible disappointed? Well, that's what happened at our last car picnic. It wasn't me that kept repeating "it used to be so beautiful" as I had never been there before...

Our car picnics have been a welcomed breathe of fresh air where sometimes we even are able to leave our car. Before we left home Natureman reminded me to wear good shoes not sandals as this was a place we could go walking in a nearby area located in Westby, less than a half hour's drive.

Natureman's 35 year old family memories of this place were of a beautiful park with lake for fishing, hiking and swimming. Arriving to a parking area with just one car should have been a red flag. 

The lake, Jersey Lake had been drained... It was still a serene sight to me with a variety of ducks swimming around but understandably a shock to Natureman.

Let me digress with Google knowledge about Jersey Park upon our return home... 

brochure pic

The once summer attraction of 371 acre Jersey Park was popular for its main feature, its lake for with a great beach, swimming and fishing. For you fishermen it was well stocked with bluegill, crappie, perch, trout and largemouth bass. 

 This man made lake was part of the Land Reform bill with a large flood control dam fork the west for of the Kickapoo River and Peaceful Valley Stream. What we saw on Friday was no longer a 36 ft. deep lake for motorless boating but maybe a kayak???

At the mention of a dam you might be able to surmise that dam is no longer. Remember me talking about continued flooding after the large rains the last couple of years. Well, that dam was washed out and FEMA monies obviously were not enough to cover replacing it along with with other area infrastructure needs. IS this why our flooding downstream has been so much more severe?

Apparently this wasn't the first time the lake had been drained though. One winter a CAFO (" Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation/ agricultural facilities that house and feed a large number of animals in a confined area ) had dumped their sewage on frozen ground which ended up in the lake polluting the pristine water. Yuckola... 

Back to our car picnic time. 

Since there was a large family in the pavillion area we had just sat in our car facing the lake which still held a serene beauty. We discovered the 2014 Eagle Scout project of a concrete sidewalk and accessible fishing decks high now resting high above the remaining water. 

We'll have to return sometime to hike the challenging 3 mile trail encircling the entire lake which runs through the forest with hills included/ the narrow trail which originates(d) where we were along its northern and eastern shoreline. We didn't explore to see how established those intended trails became... Natureman's wind had been taken out of his sails... 

Eureka...

Most people don’t have to worry about ‘getting home’ but here in the End of the Rainbow Valley that is never a given where one dirt road /driveway is bordered by tall grasses and lots of trees which dead end in the bowl we call ‘home.’ My first trip back to the homestead 10 years ago, this road resembled a path more than a road. That path was obliterated after a 14” downpour and flash flood five years ago. The 500-year flood caused 8 mudslides and downed a hundred trees just on that one mile stretch. It took 3 months to rebuild this new driveway/'super highway' and then nine months later another ha ha 500 year flood downpour returned. That damage was minimal in comparison although emotionally draining to say the least. Here's of a pic of Lietke Lane before Coon Creek overflowed and ate all the bridge approaches. When we ask the other if we want to walk to get the paper/ mail that ‘yes’ reply entails a one mile trek to arrive at the mailbox on the black top road called Lietke Lane. There are 3 major inclines to achieve this task – down, up, down and then the return. You can even experience a temperature change as the wind blows down the ridge and through the valley. There’s also a difference in the bug population along different parts. AND I would know. BUT the thing is YOU never know is what you will encounter along the way whether it’s wildlife as in snakes or pond frogs, toads, deer, turkeys, hawks ‘ the resident owl or a limb/tree across the road the latest storm/wind has brought down. It’s never a bad idea to leave some extra time when going into ‘town’ just in case. One night we had to park the car leaving the lights on to be able to see in order to crawl over a humongous felled tree, walk home to change clothing and return equipped with gloves and the chain saw so that we could have a clear path the next day. Our best friend is the Husqvarna chain saw. The only ‘chainsaw massacre’ that happens around here is for firewood /when another tree or one of its appendages bites the dust and ends up on the road. BUT it’s never a bad idea to leave some extra time when going into ‘town’ just in case. Our standard wish for visitors is 'to be careful' coming in and going out the End of the Rainbow Valley … A Greek may have been the first to declare 'Eureka,' but we living in the back of a valley that is not so easy to get to can understand why Californians chose the phrase for their state's motto. Any time we make it in or out, we can exclaim, " Eureka, we made it!"