Tuesday June 28th, 2011

Greetings and welcome!

It was a heck of a weekend for the folks around Kosir’s. The rivers were running at historically high levels for this time of year and people that came rafting had a great ride. There were a lot less wipeouts than I had expected, but there was still some carnage. The weekend itself was fantastic for weather too. There are quite a few pictures and a video on the Riversport Digital and Kosir’s Rafting Facebook pages.

Yesterday we had a line of storms come and split around us for a while. It didn’t last though, and an hour or so before sunset we had a line of thunderstorms come through. It featured quite a few lightning cracks and a good steady downpour.

About sunset I was driving east in the forest and could see a big black cloud in the rear view mirror. We really dodged a bullet on that one. The atmosphere was really loaded with ready to evaporate mist in the trees and above the ground. Had the sun been up to stir that up we probably would have seen severe weather out of it. As it stood the sun set just in time and evaporative  cooling cooled the surface air down enough to stop the convection.

The whitewater rafting continues to be great. The river dropped from it’s peak of +28 last Friday night at midnight to about +16 today. My best guess for the weekend is for the Peshtigo to be in the +4-6 range and a good chance of it being above 6. It takes some time to drain enough water to make it run that high, and it should not be too rocky this weekend.

The weather this week and weekend looks clear and seasonal according to the NWS outlook. Friday looks like  hot one, getting close to 90. Saturday looks like mid-80s and Sunday looks a little cooler. Monday looks like more of the same for the 4th.

The GFS was showing the weekend rain staying to our south. The QPF map showed a line at about Hwy 64 where north of that we would see 1/4″ or less for the weekend. The same map quickly ramps up precip amounts as you go south, with parts of the state seeing an inch or so of rain. So far the outlook here is a good one with only a minor chance of showers about Sunday, with the 6 hour QPF in the lowest 0.01-0.1″ band.

I would add Repel to the shopping and packing list for the weekend. The bugs have been hit and miss in my travels. In one spot I can stand untouched and a hundred steps away there is a cloud of gnats and mosquitoes. When you miss it is nice, when you hit it is nice to have Repel.

Also in the bug report.. it is the time of year where we start seeing some of the more spectacular moth species. I have seen a Spinx moth as well as a cecropia already. The luna moths should be along shortly.

I also spotted a black pine sawyer last weekend, and he went with a satisfying crunch.  They are like a giant beetle with big long antennae. They can take as much as 5-8 years in the larval stage before emerging as an adult. Since this occurs in pine trees, they are very destructive.

There are a wide variety of wildflowers this week including hawkeye, white daisy, and the yellow ones that look like tall firm stemmed dandelions. Add in a little purple from clover and it is a good show along road sides.

There have been quite a few deer spotted with fawns this week, and some with twins.

According to the solunar tables, Thursday is a new moon. That puts Friday and Saturday as peak fishing days, and Sunday just past the peak days. It is nice when that lines up on a holiday weekend.

This year the 4th of July lands on a Monday. That essentially gives a lot of people a three day weekend. As a result there are a lot of events to gather up for the weekend.

Friday July 1

Goodman Firemans 4th of July Street Dance music by Cest La Vie (a very good band)

Saturday July 2

Twin Bridge Ski Team Fireworks and ski show at Boat Landing #3 on High Falls Flowage

Wausaukee 4th of July Celebration and Firecraker 5K walk Run. The walk/run starts at 8am. Parade at 1pm on 141, followed by events at the fairgrounds and in the alley behind Bank North. Fireworks at dusk. Live music, crafts , kids games, more.

Mountain Fireworks Celebration- Live bands, fireworks at dark, craft sale, kids trout tank and bounce houses, horse shoes and softball tournament, bucket brigade competition and raffles, starts with a breakfast at 7:30am

Sunday July 3

Curve Inn Resort and Campground– Live music with Brothers & More Band from 9pm to 2am Fireworks at 10:30 PM

Marty Cooper Memorial Celebration at Bear Point Yacht Club– Join Marty’s family and friends as we celebrate Marty’s life.

Crivitz softball tournament and fireworks at the high school at dusk

Crooked Lake Sportsman’s Club Annual Picnic at 11am

Boat Parade On the Townsend Flowage 8:30 P.M.

Monday July 4th

Crivitz parade at 11am followed by a flag raising and a flea market, live music and fireman’s challenge.

Townend Family Fun on the 4th at the fire department garage 10-4pm- Music, food, and raffles, Fireworks Extravaganza at dusk, at the ballpark. Floats, bands and prizes. Parade at noon. Kids games 5:00 P.M. at the ball park (ages 12 and under). Food and refreshments served on the grounds. Arts and Crafts Fair sponsored by the Townsend Festival Committee at Townsend Fire Garage 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Food and beer tents sponsored by the Townsend Fire Department.

Got all of that?

Next weekend we have some big events too..

The last thing on my outline today is to report on the bluster over the forgotten road. Highway C for about 6 miles east of the Forest County line has been under construction and pretty rough for a while. Now there is a petition at the Silver Cliff BP asking them to step it up. Along the road there apparently is a sign too. As seen on Jeff Deebo’s Facebook page..

Well I think that my damage is done here and it is time to move along. Thank you to the people that came rafting last weekend and stopped by to say hello.

Thank you all for visiting and have a good week!

RJB