Just had an update from John & Mary
about their camp worker experience in Wisconsin.
The weather sounds delightful to someone who has experienced not much rain in what...nine months or so!!!
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Greetings from Warrens, Wisconsin,
the Cranberry Capital of Wisconsin.
Jelly Stone Park in Warrens is a huge family oriented play ground. Surrounded by wooded areas, hiking trails, tent sites, pull through/ back- ins for trailers and motor homes, camping cabins, bare bone cabins as well as luxury villas. As if this is not enough the park offers a variety of activities for the young and not so young at heart; put-put golf, sand volleyball, baseball, train rides and about 8 different water pools for ones enjoyment.
Then they offer movie nights, arts and crafts, visits with Yogi Bear, Bobo, Cindy and Ranger Rick, and many other activities for children.
On one of our days off we visited the Cranberry Discovery Center. Did you know the cranberry is one of three North American fruits; the other two are blueberries and concord grapes? Cranberries are grown in peat swamps or marshes where the soil has an acidic nature and there is an abundant supply of water and sand.
Cranberries mature in the fall when the crimson berries are floated to the surface and then dislodge by a mechanical harvester………….thanks to modern technology.
A bit of trivia, the cranberry was once known as “crane berry” because the plant’s tiny stem and pink blossoms resembled the neck, head and beak of cranes. Over time the word was changed to “cranberry”. Warrens produces an average 40,000,000 lbs of cranberries annually. Only a small percentage is kept for fresh cranberries that we see for the holidays while the rest is used in juices, snacks, jams, wine, cereal, candles, soaps and many more. So when you see the commercial for cranberries please note the guys are really standing in a cranberry bog. These bogs are visible from the road throughout the Warrens/Tomah area.
We travelled on many scenic pastoral dairy farm lands. It was rather unusual to come upon a gift shop. One such shop called “Down a Country Road” appeared well tucked away from civilization. We decided to stop and took in the pristine lawns, beautiful assortment of blossoms surrounded by brightly colored cabins enticing shoppers to browse in the Amish shop, Little Red Shed…..etc.
Our next stop was also off the beaten path, a quilt shop housed in a cabin with a loft. The owner opened the shop for us a she was not expecting any customers that day. Her small quilt shop had a limited supply of fabric and quilting supplies. Her loft was designed to offer classes. Since I am so used to the city and shops mostly on main roads I decided to ask her if folks have a hard time finding her shop. Her response was no not at all: so much for my misconception of the rural life.
We are working 3 days a week, site-seeing on our days off and socializing at camp fires with fellow camp workers. We had some 90 degree days and then back to the 40’s at night with cool days.
Stay tuned for more updates!
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