Roche-a-Cri and Hartman Creek State Park, #6 and #7

I was really excited to visit Roche-a-Cri and Hartman Creek State Parks, as they were new to me, and had some interesting history to accompany them. The intriguing aspect of Roche-a-Cri was the history, people have been coming her for centuries, and you can see evidence of this on the side of the 300 fot high, 480-million year old sandstone mound. This rock outcropping was named Roche-a-Cri by 17th and 18th century French voyaguers, La Rouche means "the rock". Over the years, people have used the rock for a variety of purposes. On the side of the mound, there are petrographs, drawn with a sharp tool or knife, and pictographs, which were drawn with a soft tool, such as a brush. These renderings were used as a way to communicate or send messages.

There is also "historical graffiti", (an amusing term, when does it become historical?) The earliest example is a set of initials from 1845, that seem to be at the appropriate height for someone to have carved them while standing on horseback. I found this particularly impressive, as I have struggled to stay seated on a immobile horse in the past. In 1861, a Civil War Cavalry Sharpshooter Company encamped by the cliff face held marksmanship trials there, and the marks can be seen in the rock they used for their target.

The hike up to the top was tough, (I was carrying 32 pounds of toddler urging me to go faster pretty much the entire time). While this may have been encouraging to some, it seemed to have the opposite effect on me. Again, the views...they were awesome. We could see 10 counties and for 60 miles. The trip back down was only slightly slower, mostly because G insisted on taking all 304 steps on his own. We tried our dardnest to take our obligatory selfie, but G was in no mood, and it seemed unwise to attempt to wrangle a 2 year old at the top of a bluff. :)

Luckily, Pete's Father lives right on the way to Hartman Creek, so we were able to stop for lunch on our way to cool off. It was great, thanks Ira and Karen! Hartman Creek State Park is on the Waupaca Chain O' Lakes and has a 300 foot sandy beach with a decent sized roped off swimming area.There is so much to do at this park, including off road biking, horseback riding trails, boating and kayaking. We hiked the Deer Path Trail, which offers a nice 1 mile loop around Allen Lake. We spent the majority of our time cooling off in the lake and enjoying a beer, the best way to spend a summer afternoon! Next stop, Governor Dodge State Park!