I got an early start this morning at 5am, even though my plan was to sleep until 6am. Not wanting to be late, I packed up my tent and car in the dark. There was a 4-legged visitor outside my tent that didn’t seem too bothered by my presence. I walked about 40 yards to the facility area where 50 cents bought me 10 minutes of shower time, of which I only needed 4 because the air temperature was a chilly 46 degrees and the air felt warmer than the shower water. By 6 o’clock, I was driving out of the campground. I didn’t want to wait until 8am to check in so I dropped off my $22 with my name and site number at the foot of the office door and was off to catch the ferry in Ludington, MI.
I stopped at a bakery about a block from the ferry entrance for a cup of coffee, a chocolate eclair and a cinnamon roll. I was first in line (without a reservation) and waited about an hour for the security guard and his dog to check over the vehicle before boarding. I paid my admission and boarded the ferry by foot, leaving an attendant to load the car.
After a slight delay to take care of some mechanical problems we made our way across Lake Michigan, covering 60 miles in 4 hours. For about 3 of the 4 hours on the ship it felt like we could’ve been in the middle of some ocean with only the horizon visible in any direction. Although a little pricey, the ferry ride was a nice break from being behind the wheel of a car and the detour to Ludington, MI kept me from having to drive through Chicago during rush hour. I spent the majority of the cruising time out on the deck of the bow in a lounge chair. Only a handful of people were out on the deck, it was chilly and windy but the warmth from the sun kept the temperature in check. We had blue skies the entire way until the clouds started rolling in just as we were approaching Manitowoc, WI. After docking, we waited on land for the attendants to drive out the cars. As I waited for mine, there was a brand new Corvette sitting there, like a latch-key kid, with keys in the ignition……just asking to be driven. A very tempting “trade” but not that practical for where I was heading.
After taking MY car from the boat dock, it began raining within the first 10 minutes of getting back on the road. My targeted destination for the day was Excelsior, MN just about 20 miles southwest of Minneapolis, to visit with my Uncle Phil and his family. Only 345 miles to go from Manitowoc. The entire drive was pretty uneventful except for the fact that it rained for about 340 of those miles. I headed north on SR-172 into Green Bay and then west on WI-29 for almost 190 miles through Wausau and Eau Claire. Other than the random small town exits advertising their gas, food and cheese, the views consisted mainly of farmland. Wheat fields, soybean fields, corn fields, hay fields, cattle farms, horse farms, you get the point. I think I even saw a donkey farm? Believe it or not, it was a beautiful drive.
Although the Wisconsin economy is driven mainly my manufacturing, it is generally perceived as a farming state. WI is second only to CA for it production of milk and butter, but it leads the nation in the production of cheese. WI is also ranked #1 for it’s production of corn for silage, cranberries, ginseng and snap peas. It is also a leading producer of oats, potatoes, carrots, tart cherries, maple syrup and sweet corn (wiki). Just in case you ever wonder about where some of our food comes from?
After an early start to the morning and having already covered a lot of ground, I was getting tired and considered scrapping the idea of making it all the way to Minneapolis. However, because of the heavy rains and not wanting to set up a tent in a downpour, I decided to take a few breaks along the way to recharge so I could keep on going.
I made it into Minneapolis around 8pm and stopped at a Culver’s, home of the “ButterBurger” for an evening dinner. Got to Phil’s house around 9ish.
Mission complete. Total miles: 1,302
Seems like you're doing pretty well. You've covered a lot of ground so far. Where are you headed to next. Just remember there is always a warm bed and a hot meal here for you too. Take care.
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