Whether it was the distance from Traverse City or from rush hour (or both) the traffic on US-31 thinned out a bit as the evening went on. At times I even went several minutes at a time without anyone coming up behind me. I’ve found that it helps not to look in the rear view mirror too much. That’s probably a larger life lesson I should pay more attention to, but in this case it just means that sometimes I’m better off not knowing that there’s someone riding my ass. I’ve been torn between my habit of hugging the shoulder for safety (like on my bike) and sticking myself in the middle of the lane so that the only way to pass me is a full-fledged lane change. What annoys me the most are the people who try to push past me as if I were a bike riding in the gutter. It might be in a no-passing zone with oncoming traffic and they still pass me. I had one asshole honk at me as he passed me in a passing lane (in a MackinacShuttle.com van, I might add).
I got to Fisherman’s Island State Park around 7pm. I had forgotten that like last night’s campground it’s also “rustic” camping, so no shower tonight or tomorrow morning. It’s even more… well, rustic than Leelanau, with actual wooded gaps between sites, which is nice. Ironically you have to go past a huge landraping operation known as St Mary’s Concrete to get to it. I set up camp and headed into town (just past the park on US-31) for supper. The scooter looks a little weird without a tent, sleeping bag, etc. strapped on the back. 🙂
I got lucky and saw the return of the ferry to/from Beaver Island. I had hoped to work that into this trip but couldn’t fit it in. Another time. Really. They had to raise the drawbridge to let it into the harbor, which I had crossed back and forth just a few minutes before. I’m having supper at Great Lakes Whitefish & Chips; I’m eating the broiled whitefish sandwich, which is good.