Spoiledbabygirl Supporting Our Troops's blog: "RIP JOHN"

MY SON SENT ME THIS PIC I THOUGHT I WAS FUNNY, BUT CUTTERBUM SAID IT WAS ACTUALLY NEAR HIM AND SENT ME THE INFORMATION AOBUT THE AREA, THAT WAS VERY NICE TO KNOW IT REALLY HAD SOME HISTORY BEHIND THE SIGN!! Richard Bong State Recreation Area * Fun for All Seasons * How to Get There Once designated to be a jet fighter base, Richard Bong State Recreation Area is fittingly named after Major Richard I. Bong, a Poplar, Wisconsin, native who was America's leading air ace during World War II. The project was abandoned three days before concrete was to be poured for a 12,500-foot runway. Local citizens had the foresight to protect this open space for future generations. In 1974 the state bought the land and it became the state's first recreation area. Silhouetted trees around lake Vern Wolf Lake provides scenic beauty as well as fishing, canoeing, rowing, and swimming opportunities. DNR Photo by Jason Suleski A recreation area differs from a state park or forest in that it offers additional activities not traditionally found in state parks. Appropriate to its name, Richard Bong SRA offers an area where visitors may fly fly model airplanes, rockets, hang gliders, and hot air ballons. Richard Bong also has space to train both hunting and sled dogs, train falcons, ride all-terrain vehicles (ATVs and horses on trails, and hunt in season. All such activities take place in the special use zone or managed hunt areas. The recreation area encompasses 4,515 acres of rolling grassland, savanna, wetlands and scattered woodland. Richard Bong State Recreation Area is open year-round and has 41.1 miles of trails for hiking, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, snowshoeing, and dirt bike riding. There are two family (regular) campgrounds with a total of 217 campsites, 54 of them with electric hookups. Six group campsites can accommodate 225 campers. A permanent naturalist is on duty at Richard Bong Recreation Area, and a variety of nature education programs are offered year round. The Molinaro Visitor Center has displays and exhibits about the history of Richard Bong and plant and animal life. The cheerful solarium showcases seasonal exhibits including butterfly rearing. The recreation area has a boat launch (electric motors only), an accessible fishing pier, and shore locations for fishing. There is a 200-foot beach with a bath house, new play equipment, volleyball nets, a ball field and horseshoe pits. Other accessible facilities include an urban fishing pond, three hunting blinds, an observation platform at the wildlife refuge and five campsites. All picnic areas have accessible picnic tables. Buildings and most shelters are accessible as well. Fun for all seasons Spring is a transition time at the recreation area. Spring is the premier birding time. The earliest migrants—red-winged blackbirds—show up the end of February, but new winged visitors arrive throughout the spring: grackles, cowbirds, meadowlarks, killdeer, snipe, bluebirds, ducks, and swallows each one in progression. Ducks and geese begin to nest in the area's wetlands in March and April, and warblers pass through in May. Yellow-headed blackbirds, bobolink, and upland plovers are among the uncommon species seen here. Spring is also the time when the air is filled with song -- chorus frogs, coyotes, song sparrows, cardinals, snipe and others. The first green appears as the new leaves of spring wildflower show themselves. It’s a great time to bring the binoculars and hike the trails in search of the first signs of spring. It's often windy, so it is a great place to bring a kite, with plenty of open space to fly it. In the summer, the recreation area offers swimming at a sand beach, fishing, and picnicking at four different picnic areas. There are horseshoe and volleyball courts and a ball diamond. Skiing, sledding and ice fishing are favorite winter sports. How to Get There Richard Bong State Recreation Area is 8 miles southeast of Burlington, Wisconsin, on State Highway 142. The entrance is a little less than a mile west of State Highway 75. It's about 47 miles from Milwaukee, 71 miles from Chicago, and 362 miles from Minneapolis. The recreation area is open daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Office hours vary with the season; see our current conditions page. More Information Bong Naturalist Association [exit DNR] For more information, ask Richard Bong State Recreation Area 26313 Burlington Rd. Kansasville WI 53139 (262) 878-5600 (262) 878-5615 Fax Last Revised: Wednesday November 07 2007