One of my rules of thumb is to avoid letter-number roads, such as M-37 or US-2. But my choices for the last leg today bent that rule. First there was M-311, which I figured was a large enough number to be safe. It was, taking me for miles in a mostly straight line with minimal traffic. It was here that the wind started to be noticeable, as the landscape opened up with fewer trees. Still not too bad. There were places where the road stretched as far as you could see in both directions, but not quite Kansaslike.
The second exception was Old US-27. That word “old” there is a clue that this would be a great road to take, because it tells you that it’s been replaced by an expressway. In fact Old US-27 up near Roscommon was one of my favorites on that journey: well built but disused. Same here.
At one point I saw nearly a dozen raptors circling overhead, and stopped to try to get pictures. But they cycled out of sight before I got the camera out. Then I saw a fawn come out of the woods a little further down the road. I snapped one picture just as it stepped into the road, as a car was approaching. The car stopped, the deer crossed and disappeared into the trees on the other side. (I’ll add the photo here when I get home; I can only post iPhone pictures from here.)
My first clue that I had entered Indiana was wen I saw a sign with a different county name. My second was the huge fireworks store, catering to Michigander pros who can’t get their fix legally in Michigan.
The campsite I reserved was not really a great choice. The photo on the web site didn’t show how very close to the adjacent road it is, nor how there isn’t a level area of any size in it. I found a spot close enough and pitched the tent. A little different from putting up the old one, but easy enough.
