July 30 - birthday

Tuesday, July 30, 2013....woke up to a wonderful 61deg grey sky day! Perfect for campfire breakfast, a hike, taking it easy and enjoying time with the family away from "civilization".

With the exception of having cell service, we are away from electricity, generators, and "noisy" campers. We have rediscovered the joy of camping where there are none of those things that take away from your surroundings.

Breakfast started as an attempt at a scout meal of bacon & eggs in a bag...a moments in attention relegated us to our usual cereal and oatmeal washed down with coffee....going to try again tomorrow. ;-)

Took a leisurely hike along the river trail then turned up Brady's Bluff trail and climbed up for a spectacular view of the La Crosse River and Upper Mississippi. 

 The wildflowers were gorgeous! The soil is so sandy it takes determination for anything to grow and flourish.

An assortment of side oats and prairie clover.

I failed to take a picture of a clump of Indian Pipes growing in the duff. It has been years since I have seen these growing. But I did manage to for the wild black caps and gooseberries .... Yum!

Wild yarrow and Bergamot (aka Bee Balm or Monarda), mixed in with assorted black eyed susan are the most common at this time of year.

Did I mention that it was steep at times?

And there were hidden gems around corners.

Back at the campsite we were serenaded to the evening sounds cranes calling as they came in to roost for the evening.

Now it's time for some local Brauts and misc sides before turning in.