47 Wisconsin State Parks in 365 Days

"47 Wisconsin State Parks in 365 days". This is what I proposed to my  husband of 10 years over sushi at one of his favorite lunch spots (yes, why not stack the deck in my favor?) He merely chuckled and held his hand out for the maps, excel spreadsheets and other documents he knew I had brought with me (in a green folder nonetheless, to match our green endeavors). The requirements? At least one hike, a visit to the most notable part of the park, and a selfie. I know, a selfie? But, we wanted to capture each of our visits at each of the 47 "gems" of the state park system.

"Why not?" Why not explore our own backyard, why not "see what we were missing", as the Wisconsin State Parks website urged. Nevermind that we had a rambunctious 2 year old "G", who was the biggest backseat driver I'd encountered in years.

"Go faster Daddy!"
"Go slower Daddy!"
"More trucks!" (yes, we were to conjure up trucks for his viewing pleasure)
"Get out here!" (repeated several times over a very short time frame, while we are speeding down the interstate)

I'm sure those of you with little and big ones can understand. But before our weekends and summers became a blur of litle league games, summer camps, and other miscellaneous activities that come along with growing and older children, I wanted to take the opportunity to appreciate the place we live. Truly appreciate the beauty of every part of the state. One never knows what will happen next week, next month or next year, we could be enjoying another state at that time.  So, we mapped out a plan to Traverse the Dairyland. First stop, Mirror Lake State Park!

B