Wisconsin, I mean my first thought was that it is just Wisconsin. Only three months of summer and about nine of what seems like winter. When the sky is gray everything is bland with the fields and cows. But Wisconsin is my home, it was where I was born and when I am being asked to write this, I realize how many good times I have had that really don’t compare to my first thoughts. I am now thinking of the time that I had that had an emphasis on the label Wisconsin. Phelps, Wisconsin. 

For a couple of years just as a baby, my family would go up to Afterglow. It’s a small lake resort with little cabins that families reserve to stay in.  All of the same people and families would reserve it that same week. It never changes, which is my favorite part about it. Nothing looks brand new, with no fresh paint or upgrades.  

When I was 15 my family decided to go back after about 10 years. We took a nice road trip up to Phelps. Driving up there I can never recognize anything, there is always a new field to gaze at.

As soon as I stepped out of that car and looked around, the memories came flooding back all at once. The metal slide over by the woods is still lonely, the firepit is still standing strong and I was standing on that grass as if I was a little girl again wanting to play games with the older kids.  The sand by the lake with the large diving board far out into the lake, when I was a child, was as tall as a skyscraper. I could just remember the exact smell of the lobby. Of course, everything felt a lot bigger when I was a kid but that didn't matter I just knew I was about to have the best week I have had in a long time now that I was back. 

The up-north feeling makes living in Wisconsin worth it. All there was around is trees and a lake. No busy roads, just nature. If you drove down the path to nowhere you would see the little town of Eagle River. If you keep walking down the sidewalk you would see the small boutiques my favorite was Cotton + Birch Collective. I could look around and imagine what I would want my future home to be. Every time I go into that town I would get a sweet smell through my nose and I would instantly know there is Tremblay's Sweet Shop right around the corner. You can never pass it without buying fudge to take with you. 

By the time the day is over, it is time for the big bonfire where all the families are gathered around. And we can't forget the late night walk on the path around the lake with nothing but your phone flashlight and the final of the day before you get in the cabin bunk bed with the bear covers is to lay on the pier and stare up at the stars with no city lights shining at them. Yes, in the winter it can be kind of dreadful with the pile of snow that needs to be shoveled off the driveway every week, but in the summertime, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.