So, Siren isn't a bad place to be stuck for a while, but any place for a while gets a bit dull. It was a bit far from the project area, which made for really long days when we kept hitting sites and finding artifacts. Too much work to do, wasting too much time driving. One of the local property owners told us of a place down the road, and regretfully, it took us a couple weeks to check it out. Now, the Heartwood Conference Center is definitely one of my most favorite places in Wisconsin to stay. It's in the middle of nowhere. It's surrounded by 700 acres of nature and has a private lake/sandy beach with free canoes, kayaks, and rowboats to use. There are trails to bike or hike, athletic fields with all the gear you'd need, a great internet connection, and best of all -- bad cell phone reception! We'll be up here for just about all the rest of the field season, hopefully staying in a cabin where we can cook and actually feel domestic for once. I'm hoping a bear comes strolling through at some point. There are frequently deer on the dirt road in, and I even saw one nibbling on some grass outside of my hotel room's patio door. Only downside = other vacationers. My work time/home life, their "vacation, let the kids loose to scream and run around so their out of the way" time. Yeah, I'm that grumpy chick who's been scowling at your loud children.
Because of an overload of work and a very small crew, I can't recall many shenanigans to write about. We've kayaked, jumped on the water trampoline, cooked and stuffed each other silly, and spent a lot of time just hanging by the lake. There have been a couple outings to Hayward, to remind us what an actual town is like (but not too often). A favorite with the crew is the Angry Minnow brewery and restaurant. I concur, fabulous beer! We strolled around Hayward one day. There are some great shops, but way overpriced and too many people. How much fudge can people eat? Answer - A LOT. I ran out of the candy store as fast as I ran into it, and with no purchases!
Another outing was to the Forts Folle Avione between Webster and Danbury, on the Yellow River. It a nice little museum and a historic fort with FANTASTIC guides!! A Native Mille Lacs man took us through the reconstructed Woodland village, which was mainly reconstructed by him - by hand. So impressive. Then a self-professed "half-breed" aka half Native/half French woman guided us through the French fur trade era trading posts. She was incredibly enthusiastic, which I was really entertained by, although some of my coworkers though she was a bit much. No way man, turn up the enthusiasm whenever possible! And to top it off, we finally saw a black bear there. After 6 or 7 weeks of being told by property owners about all the bears, a little guy was hanging around the park trying to steal food from campers. Not gonna lie, I probably would've fed him (I know, I know!).
And that about sums up a month and a half of "up nort" living. Yeah, the cultural interaction is pretty minimal. Less woods, more people, more serenity. Maybe we'll get a bit more rowdy and explore when the excavations start this fall. Or maybe I'll just keep taking ridiculously beautiful nature photos and stay peaceful.
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