Day 4 - Ohio to Michigan

Tuesday Sept 14^th

I left the campsite at around 9 am and proceeded to get back onto Rt. 76 which shortly merged with Rt. 80 heading west through Ohio. I started out the day thinking that I would drive through Indiana and then Illinois with a quick stop in Chicago for some deep dish pizza. I talked to my Uncle Phil midway through Ohio and he suggested that I consider taking a ferry across Lake Michigan. I pulled over at the next rest area and looked at the map and checked out the ferry location and schedules. I programmed the GPS to take me to Ludington, MI to catch the “S.S. Badger” car ferry for a 4-hour crossing of Lake Michigan, 60 miles one-way to Manitowoc, WI, that departs at 9am each day. Having the flexibility of no set destination or timeline is a pretty good feeling. After making a few stops here and there, my estimated arrival in Ludington was around 8pm.

Just about the entire drive across Ohio was flat for the most part. On both sides of the highway were farm fields as far as you could see. I got a taste of the fall foliage beginning to turn. I really enjoyed the drive through Ohio and seeing all of the different varieties of crops being grown. I guess a farmer’s genes really are passed on through the generations? From Rt. 80W I took 223/23N west of Toledo, OH and into Michigan.

The drive through Michigan was another story. Not really too much to see, at least where I was. I drove 23N past Ann Arbor and 96W through Lansing and Grand Rapids. It seemed like most of the way, the crews were busing repaving the roads. Gas is now up to $2.89/gallon compared with the $2.52/gallon when I filled up in NJ. It wasn’t until I reached 31N which runs parallel to the eastern border of Lake Michigan I started to appreciate the views.

My friend Mark, whom I stayed with in Mechanicsburg, has been my co-pilot along the way, even though he’s not technically traveling with me he’s been watching my progress using Google Latitude and suggests places along the way. He researched a really great campground in the town of Ludington, not too far from where I had to catch the ferry the next morning.

I arrived at the Buttersville Park Campground just minutes before 8pm, just like the GPS estimated from 5 hours and several hundred miles away. When I got there no one was around to check in with at the office but there was a sign saying to just pick an empty spot, set up camp and check back when the office reopens at 8am. I surveyed the area and settled on a site which was maybe 20 yards from a cliff overlooking Lake Michigan. I just missed the sunset by about 5 minutes so I had to set up my tent in the dark. Since there was a half moon providing a lot of light, I decided to get out of the tree cover around my tent and head down to the beach to prepare my dinner. After filling a backpack with my cooking gear and food, I walked the approximately 50 steps down to the shoreline. The temperature was about 60 degrees with barely a breeze which made starting the stove a piece of cake. I made a packet of Zatarains rice and beans and had a can of fruit cocktail for dessert.

There was plenty of natural light to cook and eat with and the night was so clear and full of stars that I stayed on the beach until almost 11pm. I used a free program on my phone called Google Sky Map to help me identify the constellations in the sky. I have never really been all that interested in Astronomy but I sat out there looking at the stars until I just about ran the battery out on my phone. Looking out across Lake Michigan is like looking out across the Atlantic Ocean, all you see is the horizon. A perfect evening! Here’s to my co-pilot Mark for picking a great location!

I crawled into my sleeping bag and set my alarm for 6am so I could be first in line, hoping to catch a ride on the once a day ferry, without a pre-paid reservation.

Total miles so far: 945.9