In the North Woods

After days of slogging through the swamps of Wisconsin, I finally feel like I've arrived in the Woods that I'd been expecting for a while now. It's been really muggy and raining nearly every evening this week, but the sun was out today and I was happy to see it (though it was also about 90 degrees out - I probably drank a gallon of water.) Oddly enough, there was also a sudden squall around 6pm - I came out of the shower to find it pouring rain. Oh lucky me: after days of camping in the wet, and riding over 80 miles in the heat, I'd just checked into a motel room...

Then the power went out. I figured it was some problem with the motel and walked down the street to the bustling little vacationy town of Boulder Junction - to find the power was out for the whole town. There was one restaurant open, with a generator running... and just after I ordered some food their generator went out. Slightly desperate & thinking I'd have to have peanut butter sandwiches for dinner (the only provisions I still have) I just hung out in the bar having a beer... but then the lights came back on and they kept cooking.

The power's back on at the motel now too so I guess they got the trees down off the wires... it's sort of funny now but I was pretty unhappy at the thought of not getting dinner...!

Tomorrow I hope to stock up on food and plan to camp in Crystal Falls - Michigan!! It's supposed to storm in the evening but as long as I get set up before the rain starts it's ok. I like sleeping in my tent when it's raining - and the storms here aren't as scary as the ones on the prairie. (Or I guess in St. Paul... that was a big one...) I've actually been finding it really hard to find grocery stores on my route - mostly they're just little "convenience" stores at gas stations, with nary a vegetable or fruit on the premises, or even instant oatmeal... but I'm counting on Conover (it has a population over 1,000 so that seems promising...).

Internet is also harder to find - but I plan to reach Escanaba on Thursday and take a rest day on Friday, so - just like when I was a little kid - that's the Big Town to get things done in.

Things have felt really different in Minnesota and Wisconsin from Wyoming and South Dakota; there are a lot more roads here, and I'm riding the little back ones, so there's hardly any traffic at all. These little roads have great names & odd numbers, which is fun... It's great not to be stressed about trucks whizzing past my shoulder, but sometimes it feels just a little *too* quiet. Sort of alienating, after hours and hours of it. I've always liked having time to myself but it's kind of unsettling to see no people for so much of the day.

It's also a big change from three days and four nights in St. Paul, where I stayed with Jon Duncan in his little attic house... especially since Jon also drove out (along with his dog, Lefty) to camp with me last night in the woods. I got used to all that company so this is a readjustment. Today was a great ride, though, which helped - and tomorrow I get to Michigan - and eastern time!