Leaving Michigan and headed to Minnesota

Casual start

I was feeling more excited to get home, but definitely still wanted to savor the time and the trip, so I decided to take it easy today.  My ride would be fairly straightforward, just on the U.S. 2 out of Michigan, across Wisconsin, and into Minnesota.  I was headed to the campground my BFB had found for me, though I knew nothing about it.  I made my coffee and intended to relax and enjoy the beautiful sunrise, but the bugs were fierce!  Not just mozzies, but biting flies and little tiny things that bit.  I ended up walking around the campground while drinking my coffee and eating my tofu scramble.  The bites were vicious.

   

This was the Michigan sunrise from my campsite.  Well, taken while I was walking around the site to avoid the bugs.

Road Construction

The end of Michigan and Wisconsin were really pretty.  Not Maine or Vermont, take your breath away pretty, but definitely really nice.  The road construction through Wisconsin though was nuts!  I felt like I stopped and shut off Lucille every 5 miles!  Truthfully, it was further than that, because the construction I drove through was each about 5 miles long!  It was hot, just sitting on Lucille in the sun.  I was always grateful to start her up and get some air moving around us.

Made it to Wisconsin.  Do you notice I’m going the speed limit?

Wildlife

I saw a mother deer and her fawn trying to cross the highway, one on each side.  Though I slowed to a crawl, we frightened them and they went in opposite directions.  I hope they find each other.  Those were the only live animals I saw, but I did see a variety of roadkill.  Two beavers, a LOT of turtles, skunks, and some unidentified animals.  Unfortunately, all of the turtles were squished beyond my ability to identify while racing by them, but some were really big and a lot of them had long tails.  I would guess they were snapping turtles, but like I said, they were mostly really squished.

Minnesota!  STILL not speeding.

Campground

Although I knew nothing about the campground to which I was headed, I had the name and address written on my leg.  I found, when staying in all those hotels, I often forgot to where I was headed in the evening.  I’ve a clear pocket on the left leg of my pants, so I write the name and address on a piece of paper in the pocket.  The name sounded cool, Pokegama!

I rolled up and it was a Corps of Engineers campground!  My experience with these campgrounds was great, so I was excited.  I asked the ranger if my spot was flat, and he said, it’s FAIRLY flat.  That means something very different to me versus what it means to people that don’t ride giant motorcycles.  I rode to the spot, and FAIRLY flat is what it was….  The dirt driveway was on an upslope.  By now though, this concerned me far less than it once did.  I flipped Lucille into a u-turn that made me proud!  I parked her at the bottom of the driveway, as I didn’t want to back her down the dirt and gravel drive.

Lucille at the campsite.

Home

I got the spot all set up and took to looking around.

My site all set up with my sleeping bag airing out in the sun.

In the spot next to mine was the only other tent in the campground full of RVs.  And, the guy in it was riding his bike from Grand Rapids, MI to Seattle, WA!  Now that’s ambition!  We chatted a bit after I showed him where to get water.  He was a truck driver that was let go due to his blood pressure.  After that, he decided to bike across the country.  That’s a great way to see the country.  I was a bit jealous, but fighting the wind and the hills was much easier on Lucille.

After chatting to him, I relaxed at my site and made dinner.  Now that the new tent was keeping the rain away, this camping life was pretty good.  The campground was really pretty with the Mississippi running through.  It wasn’t the same Mississippi with which I was familiar though.  There was a fair bit of traffic noise at the campground, but it had free showers, the people were quiet, and it was gorgeous.

 

The Mississippi at the campground.  It’s a fair bit smaller than it was in Vicksburg!

Bunk a Biker

I got in touch with the bunk a biker in Billings, MT, where I figured to be in a couple of days.  He was currently in Alaska, but told me I was welcome to camp in his yard.  I’d not yet heard back from the one in Idaho Falls, so I booked a room.  One of the most stressful, yet interesting things about this trip, is not knowing where I’ll be from night to night.  Booking the room in Idaho Falls, even though it wasn’t in the plan, made me feel a lot better.  I was taken care of for North Dakota, and now I was good through Idaho Falls.  The next 4 nights were taken care of.  I would need a place in Nevada, but I wasn’t sure how far I’d be able to ride, so I would wait a day or two to see how I felt.

I crawled into bed that night, happy and enjoying life.  Tomorrow I would hit my 49th state!