Wandering Day

Every once and a while, Zachary and I will jump the car and start driving with no destination in mind. After a few miles, we'll break out our trusty Wisconsin atlas and look for areas colored in green. A lot of our favorite excursions have been "planned" like this. Today we found a nice green patch on the map labeled, George W. Mead Wildlife Area. It is a large preserve between Wausau and Stevens Point.
Before we left the car, I asked if the mosquito spray was still in the car. We looked and it wasn't. Oh well we thought, they are probably not that bad...
A few minutes into the woods, we had a cloud of mosquitoes chasing us. We kept asking one another, "Should we turn around?", as we are swatting, speed walking, and trying not to swallow any of the blood suckers. After about 20 minutes in and at our wits end, we came into a clearing. A gentle breeze reached us. The mosquitoes dropped off.
We came upon a large marsh area with levees dividing it into large parcels.
We hiked along the levees, enjoying the sights and sounds. Saw a few snakes, frogs, lots of birds, deer, and squirrels. We saw a couple riding bikes with their dogs on the trails. They were the only other people we saw on our hike. I think we might come back one day with the bikes.
We entered into another wooded area, but the mosquitoes were mild. We made a zig-zag of a loop and we were back on the trail where the mosquitoes were thick and thirsty. Hiking quickly, and then on the last couple hundred feet, jogging, we made it back to the car, sweaty and itchy. We agreed it was worth it, and fun, just the first mile and the last mile was just a bit too "bitey". In all, I think we covered between 8-10 miles. Seeing the upside, at least we didn't have to smell like bug spray...