I wish this post title was referring to our available sites but alas, we never really fill up. Which is good news for all our guests who love this little peaceful property in the middle of almost nowhere...but I digress. The title of this blog refers to the ice. Holy mackerel, the ice has been "going out" for the last week. As of yesterday, we officially have large open water.
Normally, the ice doesn't "go out" until mid to late May, usually right before I open for the season as it's always a rush to get the piers in before guests arrive. It looks like this year I can take my time getting the piers in the water, maybe even have time to add another one...haha, yeah, among all the other things I have planned.
We definitely still have hard freezes at night and will still have them for quite a while. So in that regard, we will still get a thin layer of ice every morning but definitely not enough for ice fishing. This also means the water in the campground will still be off for another couple weeks.
The thawing of the ground has lead to road weight limits going on, again, much earlier than normal. This means no gravel or wood deliveries until the roads dry out. This also means no heavy RV trailers in or out. This is all normal activity as the spring comes in. Here in the Northwoods we let the land wake up and stretch. Frost heave is a very interesting and problematic thing. You'll find items burred generations ago start to swim to the surface of the soil or you could easily get your equipment burred for generations if you're not careful.
This time of year is great for wandering around and picking "antiques" up from the woods. There were a lot of hunting, mining and logging camps spread through the Northwoods and much of their history was left behind. I do spend a lot of my pre-season time picking up artifacts from the campground that have swam to the surface during the frost heave. Some of the items I find are repurposed as décor and the rest of the items, recycled or disposed of properly.
I feel this post is drifting a bit as I could write novels on the frost heave. Maybe I'll write a separate post dedicated to this natural process, unique to mid-northern climates. Or you can ask me more when you visit, specifically about the things I find, the yearly struggles with corduroy roads and almost losing equipment to liquefaction!
I hope everyone is enjoying the early spring like weather & boiling their maple syrup! :)
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