Governor Thompson State Park #17 and Copper Culture State Park #18

Governor Thompson State Park was a new park for us and a part of the state we honestly haven't traveled much, so were were looking forward to visiting. The park is one of the newer ones in the system, just established in 2000, and has 2800 acres of land, with a family campground, skiing and hiking trails, and 6 miles of shoreline on the Caldron Falls Flowage.

On this particular day, we decided a more substantial hike was in order (when I say "we" I mean Pete). Not to say we haven't enjoyed longer hikes in the past, but with a 2 year old who refuses to ride, and insists on walking, (at the pace of a small dog, not to disparage small dogs), it was not doable to date. However, on the recommendation of the state park ranger in the office, we decided to take the Flowage Trail to the Sunset Trail to see a reportedly amazing view of Huber Lake.

Off we went, the bugs were out for blood, luckily, they liked Pete better than me. The hike was pretty, established forests, and traversing over large, pink granite. The lake view wasn't necessarily "amazing", but it was a lake view...

Halfway back, the topic of bears comes up (always good to be prepared for everything, right?). We hashed out a plan, on the off chance that we did encounter one, and unfortunately, it may have tentatively ended with Pete possibly having to fight said bear. Luckily, we made it back safely, possibly due to my louder than usual conversational tone. Unfortunately, time didn't allow for us to visit the beach, hopefully next time. Along the way, G fell asleep, vacation is tough!

Next stop was Copper Culture State Park, a little park outside of Oconto and all of 42 acres, quite a difference from the vast area of Governor Thompson. Copper Culture was really interesting though, it is the site of a prehistoric cemetary for the Old Copper Complex people, used between 4000 and 3000 BC. Copper tools and other ornaments were placed in the graves and the site was archaeologically excavated in 1952. There is a little brick building that houses a small museum showing some items from the excavation and a few picnic shelters, but this park is only for day use. There aren't really any hiking trails, just a short walk to the site of the ancient cemetary. Next stop Lakeshore State Park!