The sunsets on this side of Lake Michigan are a bit disappointing, but the sunrises make up for it. 🙂

It was a bit cold last night, but not enough to require putting on All The Clothes. I went to sleep at about 11 Eastern, 10 Central. I’m returning to Eastern Time today, so I’m not adjusting my internal clock. Likewise, I woke up at about 5 Central.

Note: Contemplating one’s bail-out options can be harmful to one’s motivation and morale. But I’d be lying if I said that I hadn’t. Of course I could just turn around right now, and return home with minimal difficulty: rescheduling my Badger ticket would be easy. But I’m not going to do that.

I could make a similar choice at my next stop, VanRiper State Park. It would be a long one-day ride back to Manitowoc from there, but that was actually part of the plan I’d had last year for my route home. But I don’t think I’m going to do that either.

It hasn’t really been a focus so far, but I’ve already seen a bit of wildlife. On this afternoon’s ride I spotted cranes a couple of times. One was a pair of them on someone’s big lawn. The second was in a field I was passing, and I stopped to get some pictures. I’m not sure what the name is: the ones a few feet tall that are light brown with red faces.

I’ve seen a few deer. One was by the side of the road as I was zooming toward the state park after dinner. He barely moved to acknowledge me. I didn’t stop, mostly because I was going too fast to do it safely without passing him by. Which is a good example of the benefits of traveling slowly. I also startled a doe a couple times hiking the trails here at Wells.

There’s a firefly at my site that’s blinking at a rate of once a second. It’s like he’s on caffeine or something.

The other wildlife I’ve seen are campers. The RV lot is like one big outdoor party. And there are a few tweens even here at the rustic sites who seem intent on being obnoxious with their screaming, faux-operatic singing, etc.

This is the “most rustic” of my road trips, spending 5 out of 9 camping nights at sites without electricity and nearby plumbing. Two of those will be on the island, the rest are at state parks. Tonight is one of them.

I’m at J. W. Wells State Park near the mouth of Green Bay. It has a day-use beach, and a fairly large “RV lot”, but also a “rustic” section with a handful of cabins (no electricity) and three campsites. Every time I’ve made reservations here, that’s what I’ve selected.

Yes: “every”. The first time was in 2009, on my first big ride. It was supposed to be my last night of camping, but I was feeling like I’d had enough, and decided to ride on to Manitowoc and catch the ferry a day early. I stopped here and canceled my reservation, and rode on, for one of my longest days on the saddle.

The second time I made a reservation here was last year. Again I canceled on my scheduled arrival day.

I finally made it. And I’m definitely glad I stuck with the rustic sites. Except for one thing.

The rustic sites are kind of a have-it-and-eat-it deal: there are no flush toilets or showers, but you can go to the RV lot and use those. They’re about half a mile apart. I showered last night in Ludington, so this evening as the sun set, I set out for the showers. I then had to wait for a while for one to be free (a lot of people take the same before-bed-shower approach). As u was undressing, I noticed that I’d brought the wrong bag. Instead of the ziplock baggie with my soap. toothbrush, daily meds, and other toiletries, I’d grabbed the ziplock baggie with my ointments, headache pills, etc. they look similar at a glance.

If this had happened last night, a quick walk back to my site would’ve solved it. But there was no way I was going to hike back to the rustic sites at that hour (darkness was already falling) just to get my soap.

So I showered with just hot water, washing away the day’s sweat and sunscreen and bug repellent. And it still feels good.

As I left, the waiter at my lunch stop (who had learned from small talk that I was a tourist) wished me to enjoy my time in Green Bay. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that it was almost over already. It’s just another city, y’know?

I already knew the best route up the west side of Green Bay, so I followed it in reverse of the last time. It involves a combination of roads with poetic names like Riverview Drive and Lakeside Drive, and those with prosaic names such as County Road J, County Road S, and County Road Y.

That last one was closed last time, which resulted in a hellish series of detours from my planned route, including the US highway that was being reconstructed south of Peshtigo WI. Today I avoided it almost entirely.

Because I have time, I added a scenic detour to the route, however. Just across the river that forms the Wisconsin/Michigan border, there’s a winding road called River Drive. It goes roughly north instead of NNE as US 35 would, but it was worth the extra miles.

I did end up having to get on a US highway however. Instead of taking US35 along the bay, I took US41 north to Stephenson, location of the only restaurants near the state park I’m staying at tonight. Not that there’s much to choose from: a crowded “pub” with a grill, or a quiet “family restaurant” with a real kitchen. I went with the latter.

I’ve been making a conscious effort to limit my speed. My route was planned for the old scooter, and going faster just means getting to the day’s destination faster… When the purpose of the trip is supposed to be the journey.

The Badger crossing was smooth sailing. We had hazy sun and a bit of wind, so it was pleasant but cool on deck. It’s a four-hour trip, and they charge for wifi, so I killed most of my time reading. I brought my digital-ink B&N Nook for this purpose, knowing the battery would last for all three ferry rides, so I wouldn’t need a charger for it. (I don’t count the last one, as I intend to sleep through it.)

My one previous ride on the Badger was also an overnight, so I didn’t explore the ship. I had four hours to kill today, so I toured the whole thing repeatedly. There’s a fair amount to do on-board (movies, TV, arcade, gift shop, cafe, nap room) but I still preferred my Nook. The “main lounge” was taken over by bingo and trivia games, so I didn’t settle there much. The aft of the ship was a bit noisy, between the propulsion system and the yip-yip dog in the hold that barked the whole way.

A variety of passengers, including quite a few families with children. There was a group of four Amish people, and also what I’m guessing was a Mennonite family accompanied by an “English” couple.

I didn’t spend any time in Manitowoc, figuring I’ll probably have a little time there on the return trip. I just gassed up and headed into Green Bay (the city, not the body of water) via the rural highway I’d taken five years ago. I stopped there for a late lunch at Titletown Brewing Company downtown (but drank only iced tea).

OK, I’ve definitely gotten farther this time than last, because I’m looking at the loading ramp from on board the Badger.

I had a reasonably restful night, not too cold. (It was 50F when I woke up.) I semi-woke up a few times, which is normal, as I’m a toss-and-turn sleeper. At one point I woke up with my right arm asleep, which woke me up a bit more. Since having spine surgery a few years ago for a pinched nerve affecting my left hand, I’m a bit edgy about that sort of thing. But it was just from sleeping in a bad position (which is easy to do in tees circumstances). The inflatable sleeping pad makes a big difference however; I wish I’d gotten it sooner than a few years ago.

I was up just before dawn, at 6:00. I’d set a couple alarms on the phone, but didn’t need them. I took an hour to eat, take a last look at Lake Hamlin, and break camp.

Last year when I was here there was a long line of vehicles waiting to load, so I was careful to get here early this year, but the line was short when I got to the dock at 7:20 (and I haven’t noticed it getting backed up since). My bike and I loaded with two couples, each on a touring bike. I didn’t have much trouble with the tie-downs. I hope. The back of the bike wobbles a little, but it should be a smooth ride, so I’m not too worried.