Thumbing it in Wisconsin

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John's Journal

Day Twentyeight

Mileage- 248

Route- (all around the peninsula) Hwy 57 South, Hwy 54 West, Hwy 21 South, Hwy 22 West

Well, have you checked the weather, yet? Go ahead, check it out. Someone said there was snow up here last night. Way! I know it was cold, but there was only rain where I was. I must admit, I was very happy to not have camped last night. I really did want to go to Washington Island, but it is just too darn cold. Heck, the ferry ride over would be pretty cold.

So, anyway, I mosied (how do you spell this? [spell checker says: moseyed ] ) around most of the whole day, until around 2:30pm. I had a great breakfast at some old inn (White Cove, or something like that) and just headed up to the end of the peninsula to cruise around. The weather was indeed chilly, but I was not, with all the right gear. No rain was around and the skies were still mostly all clouds. I stopped several places for some pictures right next to the water. You can tell it must be chilly, or at least windy from the waves in Green Bay.

As I got around to the Lake Michigan side, things brightened up a bit. Actual blue sky! And I even had to change to the tinted visor on my helmet. There are some really wonderful houses up here. The Bay side tended to be more touristy, but the Lake side is more secluded and residential. Big and small homes right on the water, even some for sale. There was a fair amount of property for sale, too. Maybe when I retire...

I stopped at a great place for a snack (thanks Aunt Kassie). It's a county park right next to Whitefish Dunes State Park. There was hardly anyone there, but the view was superb. Water comes crashing in on the rocky coastline below you sending water up several feet in the air. The rocks are slightly cut out underneath forcing water back out as more water comes in. Kinda hard to explain, but really cool.

Today could be deemed Cloud Day. Man, I have seen some of the most amazing could formations ever as I came down the peninsula and back into the main part of Wisconsin. You know that often I mention the clouds, because I look up at them all the time, and traveling by motorcycle allows me to see them without even trying. I stopped at one point to take some pictures of these beautiful clouds.

There were big puffy white-ish ones, but mixed in with rain clouds, wispy ones, and flat, straight ones. The impending and preceding storms contributed to the splendor. I passed through several pockets of rain, but nothing of any consequence. The road I chose to get across Wisconsin, Highway 54 was actually fast moving in parts, not like some of the small 2-laners I have taken earlier on this trip. I was able to travel pretty quickly.

I decided to stop at the next state park I came upon. It was getting late, 6 or 6:30 p.m., and I really felt no need to ride late. Also, I knew it would still be chilly tonight and I thought a fire would be nice. Remember that all that rain I have been talking about lately? That doesn't make for very good firewood, so my camp fire was a bust. However, I did still have some hot, boiling, I might add, soup, thanks to my trusty Whisper-Lite stove. Plus I had picked up some Guiness nearby which helped.

Only about 4 people in this campground at the Roche A Cri State Park. I assume this is from the French, but I don't know what it means. There is about a half a moon out tonight, but no stars, due to those pesky clouds. The good thing is that there is no wind at all, so perhaps tomorrow it will be warmer. A couple of guys on a campsite nearby gave me some ideas for interesting roads to go west from here. They are here to fish. And they cheated, they have a mobile home, too.

I don't know how I am going to send this e-mail, so it might be a few days unless I can con someone into letting me use their telephone line. We shall see. Later...