The next Pizza Farm on our route was Stoney Acres Farm, not far from Wausau. We were expecting close to 3 hours of driving, but we planned to split it up. First stop – coffee and pastries at a coffee shop in Alma, Wisconsin along the Mississippi. I ate a few leftover pizza slices and skipped breakfast. Not long after, we came into Eau Claire, Wisconsin. We checked out the main strip and then moved along to the Just Local Food Co-op. The cashier seemed to really like our idea of Pizza Farm Camping and she had
something to say about each area of the state we were going to. The mosquitoes in Hayward will be big, she warned, and there was a chance we would get to see some elk newly reintroduced to the area. We were impressed with her knowledge of Wisconsin and Pizza Farms, although surprised that they didn’t sell La Croix. None of the lunch options in Eau Claire jumped out at us, so we continued on to Marieke Gouda, a little farther on our way to Stoney Acres. The cheesey sandwiches and salads as well as the local breads, cheeses, and other grocery items in the market provided us with a great little lunch stop.
Our plan was to go to our campground, set up the tent, and then go to dinner at Stoney Acres. Phone reception was getting a little bit spotty in the woods and our reserved site at Spearhead Point Campsite was part of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. We arrived and all the sites were empty except for one RV and the RV belonging to the campground hosts, Dorothy and Michelle. There had been no reviews of this campsite, so we weren’t really sure what we were getting into, but it seems clear in retrospect that despite the non-electric hook-up sites, it is a much better campground for RVs and not tents. All the sites we saw were covered with gravel and the one we were assigned did not have a single grassy patch. When we approached the hosts and spoke with Dorothy or Michelle, we were told we couldn’t switch sites despite the grounds never filling up and after a quick discussion in the car to keep away the mosquitoes, we decided it would be better to move on from Spearhead Point and Dorothy or Michelle and research a back-up plan.
At this point it was a reasonable dinner hour, so we began our drive to Stoney Acres Farm so that we could make a new plan on a full stomach. I admit that I personally was a little distracted knowing that we still had to find a new place to set up camp, so I did not give my full focus to experience the Pizza Farm.
As we pulled up, it was clear this was a popular night for Stoney Acres. The large lawn was full of chairs and tables and they had parking lot attendants guiding cars to the areas where parking was still available. Three pizza ovens took center stage with rows of picnic tables in front. Employees literally ran back and forth from the kitchen to the ovens to the lawn to deliver finished goods. Pizza farm eaters sat in the sun at the picnic tables or further down the lawn where there was some shade from smaller trees and the 
large barn. We waited in line and looked at one of the printed out menus. I also admired the large sign that outlined where all the ingredients come from and how Stoney Acres makes pizza night happen. It was extremely difficult, but we ordered only one pizza! It featured bleu cheese and oyster mushrooms, half with sausage, half without. Despite the long lines and overflow of people, our dinner was ready in about 30 minutes. We had ordered drinks from the bar and found a shaded place by the chicken coop to set up our chairs. I took a little time to observe the pizza ovens and the process. The staff was really cranking out pizzas. We appreciated that all pizzas came out on a metal tray and if you needed a box, you could get one on the way out. Our group ended up not needing a box. We ate the whole thing!
In the meantime, we were using what little reception we could muster on our phones to research possible camping opportunities. Our best idea consisted of leaving the farm and heading toward Saturday’s destination. There were a few campgrounds about an hour and a half away in the Flambeau River State Forest, so we left Stoney Acres with plenty of daylight left and began our journey to Connors Lake State Campground. We even managed to arrive and set up camp before dark and had time to take the short drive to the Flambeau Forest Inn for firewood. All of the campsites facing the lake were taken or reserved, but one group never showed up for their reservation. In the morning, when I couldn’t sleep, I walked around the to see Connors Lake as some ducks swam out into the morning mist.
This particular post feels a bit more like a camping review rather than a Pizza Farm post, but if you ask Last Night’s Pizza Box, skipping Spearhead Point and leaving Dorothy or Michelle behind turned out to be a great move, because Connors Lake campground was a great discovery and we all agreed we would go there again.
