Camp 5, in Laona, is a nice little gem of undiscovered history here in northern Wisconsin.  In addition to a really nice 1916 2-6-2 Prairie style Vulcan locomotive, they have three restored wooden cabooses, and two restored clerestory roofed coaches.  The ride itself is only about 2 miles long, but departs an original Soo Line depot, winds through the woods, past a pond and arrives at the Camp 5 Museum. 

Camp 5 refers to an old logging camp, which has been turned into a logging museum.  As such, visitors will find a fascinating look at the life of the northern Wisconsin logging industry.  I have to tell you, it was a hard life, with a low life expectancy.  There are plenty of artifacts, original camp buildings, and interesting multimedia stories to be found here.  Things range from two man chainsaws, to stump pullers, sled carriers for logs, and cookhouse gear.  The amount of food these men ate was incredible.  But then, they were burning off a lot of calories, as they worked from “can see to can’t see.”  Some of the artifacts are quite rare, including an ice rutter, which made groves in the ice for the logging sleds.  Visitors will find pointer boats, used for river log raft work, and all sorts of the various tools used in the industry.  This is a nice visit.  While it is off the tourist track of "up north" Wisconsin, it's definitely worth a stop.

We got some nice run bys, and the bright red cars and yellow cabooses contrast quite nicely with the green forest.  It’s a sort of symphony of color!  We should be able to finish this tomorrow, and head home.

We had a somewhat late start today, as the train really doesn't start to run until 11 AM.  There was a pretty good crowd, so we reshot some of the material of the Camp 5 grounds, as it look better with people milling about.  After shooting several passes and a ride along, we attached the small camera to the engine for some footage of an unusual angle.  This camera is pretty amazing.  It's the kind of thing that you would use if you were sky diving, or skiing.  It's about as large as your hand, produced 1080i images, and only costs about $300.  Technology is amazing.