Breaking camp in the morning . . . we were all out of camp by 7:15am and on the road for another 70+ mile day this time  to Appleton.

. . . emJay checking the map for today. She will ride to the end and then bike back to meet us. Nice!!!

Fly fishing is big in this area of the state and it was fun to see fisherman as we rode by landing and over bridges . . .

. . . hey, what’s that on that bridge, half way across on the left . . .

. . .  a‘dry hydrant’ that WDNR championed with funding several years ago for rural fire departments. Having enough water to fight forest fires or residential fires in rural areas is a big problem. Tankers are used to haul water to the fire site. Rather than returning to town or finding a landing, backing down to it, using suction hoses to pull water from the source, tankers just pull up to these convenient ’hydrants hook up, fill and they are on their way. They are called ‘dry hydrants’ because unlike hydrants in cities that are always charged with water, these are just a suction tube with the appropriate fittings that extent down into the source. No freezing problems in the winter and always assessable!!!

. . emJay met the gang in Leeman today at the general store . . .

. . . a great little crossroads where many of us tied for a break  . . .

. . . father and daughter team John and Olivia. We met them in Fargo on our layover day.  From Seattle, they are biking to Boston and have raised over $10,000 to help save Orca whales.  Support member, wife and mother, Rebecca is following in an RV and providing support.

. . . we thought it was a great occasion for a group photo!!!

. . . on the road again we passed many WDDNR Wildlife Management areas today. Although the properties are managed for wildlife populations, forestry practices can easily be integrated into the property management plan and improve the WM cover. Looks like the forestry gang had a timber sale here on the Navarino Wildlife Area several years ago, leaving ‘seed trees’ for producing the next generation of forest cover.

. . . here was a GREAT old cemetery we passed along the way.  Nice setting!!!

. . . most of the farms we have passed in WI have been very neat . . . and here is a good example.

. . . we passed over Interstate 43 as we neared Appleton. Remember . . . only  you!!!

. . . LaCrosse, located on exactly the other side of the state, is REALLY reaching out for visitors!!!!

. . . as we approached the other side there was this sight of tragedy. Hard to tell what happened but it looks liker there were several victims involved . . . sad . . .

. . tonight we are staying t the home of David and Margarets’ nice ‘Warm Showers’ home. VERY comfy grass . . . didn’t need to use the stake hammer!!!! Corvin was cooking and used their kitchen to make a nice curry and we ate out on their deck.

The house has it’s own well and septic system. We sort of overwhelmed the well with all the showers that were being taken. Allen and Denise were taking showers when the water suddenly stopped flowing. Still lathered up, and with shampoo in their hair, they stepped out to see hat had happened!!!! (oh yeah, they were in SEPERATE showers)

Morning came too soon . . . (in fact Corvin, our morning chef today overslept) but soon we were packed up and on the road to Manitowoc and our last night in WI!!!

As we road though the Fox Valley it was an interesting mix of ag, rural, urban and everything in between. Farmers are still installing ‘tile’ to dewater wet fields to be farmed. In the past, actual clay tiles were used to produce the drainage. As WNDR would buy the retired fields to return them to Wildlife Management areas, the tiles would be physically cracked and broken, while in the ground, to allow the fields to flood again. What goes around . . . comes around.

. . . today the ‘tile’ is perforated plastic tubing.

. . .  we have been looking for an  alternative to our usual lunch of sandwiches and Oreo cookies . . .wonder if Mr Taco delivers ‘on the road’ and what his range is????

. . . some ag land is being lost to the continued  ‘suburban’ surge.

. . . nice riding on this cool, sunny Sunday morning.

. . . now this farmer has made good use of recycled beer cans . . . John Deere would be proud!!!

. . . we are in a BIG dairyland area and a lot of the milk is sold to Sartori to make cheese. They have a large ‘family’ of farms that supply the milk. ALL very neat and CLEAN!!!!

emJay and I stopped at the Neustadter Nature Center to have a little lunchy . . .

. . . it wasn’t;t open but we snooped around anyway. Nice joint effort and partnership with WDNR . . .

. . . back on the road we met Ruth and Jack, who started biking from New York City. They are on their way to Minneapolis where they are planning to fly back to New York.

. . . tonight the gang is camping at the Manitowoc County Fair grounds. Sporadic rain in in he forecast for tonight so they will probably camp under this pavilion . . .

. . . while emJay and I will be staying in the lovely home of Todd,  Wisconsin TNC’s Director of Government Relations.

Kirill, Todd, Misha and Andrea. Andrea made a GREAT BBQ chicken dinner with all the fixin’s. emJay FINALLY paid off Todd with the four 6 packs of beer she lost in a bet they had made … I feel a headache coming on tomorrow morning!!!! 

. . . I didn’t have a headache and woke up in their guest room with this LOVELY view of Lake Michigan. Should be smooth sailing today!!

We had a a very nice night with Andrea and Todd’s family last night and a lazy morning today as we are boarding the Badger Ferry at 1:00pm . . .

Connie was a little apprehensive about being on such a big ferry. She has been on 6 car ferries before so this is a new experience for her . . .

. . .  it takes a LONG time to ‘decar’ a ferry this size.

. . . especially when some of the cars needed to be pushed off!!!!!

. . . someone left their electric system running and needed a jump!!!!

. . . at the ferry we met Matt who is traveling from Nebraska to point east . . . destination undetermined at this time!!! Nice!!!

Mark’s wife Laurel brought him back to the ride today along with three homemade rhubarb pies . . . Allison was the first to jump in for a piece . . .

. . . and emJay and I shared. (but only the plate though, we each had our own piece on it!!!)

. . . emJay had a road find for Rod from Hwy J yesterday. . . a large bolt with the start of a nice patina . . .

. . . he was VERY grateful!!!!!

. . . he also had a present for Denise, the ‘key’ to MI.

. . . and last but not least, Wade had a pair of Packer glasses for Rod, obtained at Lambeau Field during Doc Mike and his visit.

. . . it was time to board, but there was time for a final group shot in WI at the SS Badger Ferry dock.

. . .the bikes are sort of ‘shmushed’ in wherever there is room.

. . . Connie found refuge on the starboard side in this little stable!

. . .at precisely 2:00pm the horn was blown,the gangplank lifted and away we went!!!!

. . . Todd told us there is great viewing of the ship from the end of the breakwater, so emJay took a hike down it to wave good bye . . .

. . . goodbye to my Smoochie and thanks you so much for being part of our ride and of my life . . .

. . . see you in one months time. No more 3 month tours!!!!! I love you and miss you.

We say goodbye to WI . . . as we head for MI.

The poop deck below the bridge. It is a four hour ride to MI. The ship has movies, bingo, a bar, food, trivia contests and lots of activities to help make the time pass . . . and the weather is beautiful with calm seas.

. . . however, the ship is a coal burner and puts out quite a plume of smoke. The EPA has evidently tried to shut the ship down several times but has not been successful. It is too expensive to switch to natural gas propulsion, so twice a day the coal driven ferry motors on!!!

We had a great time in MN and WI. Both states did a great job of showing themselves off and the riders loved them both. We had our first forecasted tailwind of the whole trip when we entered WI, at St Croix Falls. We also had the strongest tailwind of the trip four days later, a constant 15-20 miles hour, ALL DAY. I thought we had the most beautiful day of riding since leaving the mountains, Hwy K out of Boulder Junction and Military Rd on the national forest. But . . . we also had the first day long rain of the trip, and in 50 degree weather, as well as the most rude encounter of the trip in Boulder Junction.

Just like life in general, there is good and bad thrown at you everyday. It’s just a fact of life. Try to minimize the bad, move on, and enjoy the good when it comes along. This trip has been amazing and we still have a month ahead of us!!!!

MI here we come . . .

The ferry ride was smooooooooth and after a four hour ride we landed in Ludington at 7:00EST. A new time zone!!! We moteled it in Ludington and went out to eat at the ‘House of Flavors’!!!!

The following morning as we were getting ready to leave Wade noticed a bulge in hiss back tire. He has Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires just line Denise and many of the rest of us. Denise has had two side wall blow outs and now it looks like Wade is the next in line. He bought a new tire today.

Mark, our resident engineer, thinks low inflation may be causing too much pressure on the sidewall and causing them to weaken. We rarely check our tire pressure!!!!!

. . . oh it looks like there are pipeline issues in MI too!!!

. . . this sign will get your attention, it got mine. I had seen LOTS of groups of deer crossing the roads between corn fields, especially early in the morning. The fawns are so cute as they scamper behind and between their mothers.

The ACA Northern Tier route is part of the nationwide bicycle trail system. Two of the trails go through MI. We will be following Route 20 and it is WELL signed. Almost every intersection!!!

. . . saw this grasshoppa’ only 10 miles into the MI heartland.

. . .’more Midwest nice’ filling in of rumbles strips. I am beginning to think maybe stop sign rumble strips have fallen out of vogue!!!

. . .Smoochie . . . if I can find about 20 more of these there might be a nice waist length jacket in the making for you!!!

Right outside of Free Soil there was this memorial to a fallen State Trooper . . .

Ron told me Trooper Butterfield was shot during a routine cars top by a ‘young punk’. They authorities eventually caught up with him up around Dudley, there was a shoot out, he was wounded and arrested. Sentenced to life in prison, he hanged himself in prison,  a year later . . .

. . . what a name????

. . .Ron, the local historian, (Kim the C-store owner not shown by choice) told me his mother appeared on Channel 9 about 10 years ago and stated the town is named after a defunct political party named Free Soil. Going to need to look that one up!!!!

. . .the MIchiganders are looking out for you . . .

. . . living the good life in MI!!!

LOTS of gun and no trespassing signs in MI … more so far than we have seen in any other state . . . why???

Pabst . . .my old time favorite brew . . .not sure I would stop in here though unless I was specifically invited . . .Second Amendment Security!!!!!

. . .this is funny . . if you look close enough where the arrows are pointing you can see two guy wires holding the barn from falling over!!!!

. . .this must be the latest ‘get rich quick’ scheme because we have seen signs like this all over north WI and now MI. You can only get so much bandwitdh through a twisted copper cables that most folks in rural areas have coming into their house, their phone line. Must be talking satellite!!!!

They say it taste like chicken . . .should have bought some.

We are staying in a State Forest Campground out in the middle of nowhere, pit toilets a pump for a water source, no showers and the nearest two ‘convenience stores’ are 2 miles away, each way. Bernie and I are on chef duty tonight and for breakfast and lunch tomorrow. It was slim pickens with the pasta sausage dish we whipped up.

But three of Denise’s work buddies came to visit and brought beer, wine and ice cream!!! FUN !!!

With the time change breakfast is now 6:30am until 7:15am. We were gone by 8:00am!!!!

. . .nice of these folk’s to make mention of Allen’s 70th B-day he celebrated with us on the road . . .

. . . nice use of an old watering can. Snaren, you should make one of these!!!

. . lots of nice view sheds today . . .here was a great pasture type setting . . .

. . . just waiting to be developed!!!!

There are Amish in the area as noted by the horse and buggy DOT roadside signs. Here the Yoders had their ‘fleet’ line up and ready to go to town!!!

. . . more and more no trespassing signs. Not sure if this is unique to this part of the state or all around MI.Must be some property rights issue  . . .but stay away!!!!

65 mile ride today and here was our halfway point . . .to Claire, MI our home for the night was the Party Store!!! Stop NOW  . . and we did . . .

Six of us sampled the ‘Pizza Ball’. Moist crusty outer shell filled with a variety of pizza fixins’.

.99 cents each. On a busy weekend they will sell over a thousand of these little morsels!!!

. . .we turned onto a side road that had been recently seal coated.In a car you would never notice the smell. On a bike, on a hot, no wind day the odor was VERY overpowering and almost made one gag . . . went on for 5 miles!!!

Right outside of Claire was what I think is a ‘Biker Resort’ DON”T come a calling unless you are invited!!!

Tonight we are staying in the City Park in Claire, pop 2,500. Rod and Hugh are our chefs. They have several; supermarkets to choose from. Looking forward to it!!!

They whipped up a nice pesto angel hair pasta with rotisserie chicken. We even had fresh veggies tonight for a salad. YUM!!!

The whole gang sitting down to eat . . . David is sick and is staying in a motel tonight.

After dinner we decided to walk down to the local 50’s drivin/ice cream parlor. Behind our campsite is a car wash wish this HUGE blower system to dry off cars and trucks as they drive out . . .we are ALL hoping it is not a 24 hour operation . . .get out the earplugs!!!!

Mark decided on a Nutella malt . . .

 . . . oh, they deliver . . .

 . . . and Allen had a Strawberry Sundae.

Only 40 miles tomorrow to Bay City, MI. We are hoping to sleep in until oh, maybe.  . . 7:00am!!!!

The campground really quieted down last night and everyone slept GREAT!!!

. . . I woke up about 5:30am to make a nature call and when I looked out my tent I thought the mothership had landed . . .

Rod and Hugh were up and getting breakfast and lunch laid out . . . BRIGHT LIGHTS!!!!

. . . lots of goo fixin’s . . .

. . . with a ‘special’ delivery by Doc Mike . . .

. . . Cops Doughnuts . . .

. . . to big for one person to each . . .

. . . we cut them into thirds or halves!!!!

Soon we were out of camp and on the Pere Marquette Trail we would ride for the first 25 miles today . . .I hate trail riding, BORING. . . but at least this one was paved and had a little town about every 10 miles

. . . didn’t stop pedaling for 25 miles!!!!

. . . but nice facilities

. . . someone had even left some goodies . . . but I think I’ll pass!

The town of Coleman had a layout along the trail for 5.8 miles of the planets in our solar system, similar to the trail in Madison.  Here was the sun.

The planets are spaced in relationship to how they are spaced in the comsos and in relation to size.The ‘sun’ pictured above is 63 inches in diameter. Pluto, which I’m not sure is considered a planet anymore, is about 1/2 inch in diameter.

. . . here was the Saturn monument along the trail . . .

. . . the final stop with Pluto in the back ground . . .

. . . must be lonely that far out into space!!!

. . .

Stopped at the Averill Preserve which is a monument to one of the largest banking grounds in the world . . .

. . . during the great logging boom they would ‘bank’ the cut timber here until the spring when it would be floated down river . . .  how would you like to be one of the kids growing up in that town!!!

. . . it was a mess until things started floating!!!!

Along the way I met Joanie. Originally from Detroit, she now lives in Midland and handles the reservations and back systems for a local resort. She can do most of her work from home which allows her to skate almost everyday. She usually does tens miles. She can REALLY move!!!!

Along the way 5 miles of the trail had recently been asphalted and it stunk to high heaven, just like the road yesterday!!!

Along the trail was an access point to the home of Herbert H. Dow, the originator of Dow Chemical . . .

. . . nice layout but everything was closed . . .

. . . except for the smithy shop where the local boy scouts were learning how to work an anvil and make horseshoes . . . nice!!!!

. . . as we neared Midland here was a nicely restored bridge. Cost $7,500 when it was new!!!

The last 12 miles to the State Campground were on Wheeler Rd. Mark had read on several journals, months ago, to avoid this road al all costs . . .so of course we rode it.

. . . terrible surface, cracks every 10 feet, like rumble strips, no shoulder, high traffic . . . all the makings for a disaster. Couldn’t wait to get off it. I think this is the worst stretch of road we have been on the whole trip!!!.

. . .YIPPEE . . .soon the Party Store appeared and it is right near the campground . . .

. . . which is VERY nice. Good grass, no pay showers and multiple bathrooms . . . all the creature comforts old people need. Wade and Doc Mike are cooking tonight. We’ll see what they come up with!!!

Before we turned in last night we had to visit the local ice cream parlor right outside the park . . . as you can imagine they do quite a business during the summer . . .

. . . then a walk down to the lake . . .

. . . the sky and horizon were starting to fuse as the light became dimmer and dimmer . . . nice!!!

Today we were on the road and after a few moments getting lost in Bay City, soon we were n the country where soybeans are king and the land is FLAT. The plants were about 2 1/2 feet tall!!! Healthy!!!

This is the most elaborate wood vendor I have seen on the trip. Had whatever you wanted . . . wonder if he sold an ‘assortment pack’???

. . . right next store was Johnson’s, Home of the Giant Pumpkin . . .

. . . this was sort of interesting named town we passed through . . . didn’t see one Native American!!!

. . . someone was putting up quite the barn/house . . .

. . . sort of matches their house next door but only BIGGER!!! Lots of crosses in peoples front yard today like the one pictured above,

We rode for about 10 miles on Hanger Line Road which took us into the half way point for today, Frankenmuth.

. . . as we entered the burbs there was this very content pup that was happy just to watch the world go by. No bark or chase . . . NICE!!!!

. . . recycling day today. It is always interesting when biking by to see what folks are throwing out. Some Michiganders’ REALLLY drink a lot!!!!

Frankenmuth is a sister city with Guzenhausten, Germany. The town is know as Michigan’s Bavaria!!!

. . . a very prosperous and tidy tourist town. The first thing I notice when I looked up were the number of antennas they have mounted on their water tower. Must be quite the revenue source. Dave, from Dave’s Bunkhouse, got $800/month rent for just having one cell phone tower on his property!!!

. . .as I rolled down main street and looked down I saw the biggest spider of the trip so far. Lifted my feet up off the pedals!!!!

The architecture certainly fits the sister city venue . . . but sort of Disneylandish . . .

. . . the river has a Core of Engineer approved water control structure to prevent erosion . . .

. . . the town also has a covered bridge. Authentic . . . built in 1979????

. . . and of course the Bavarian Inn and Lodge. I walked around downtown for a while and a lot of the shops looked like the type you have in any tourist town like this. People on vacation LOVE to recreationally shop and buy things they probably have no use for at home . . . but it’s fun!!! They were lined up at the cash registers . . .

A stop in Frankenmuth would not be complete without stopping at Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland. Check out the Bronners Trivia

. . .funny to see the parking lot full of outdoor Christmas decorations and nativity scenes in the middle of summer . . .

. . . right inside the door . . .

. . and it is nice for Bronner’s to set the record straight!!!!

. . . four aisles of just ornaments for pets . . .

. . . including cute colliesk types . . .

Diana said there are over 50,000 different items stocked in the store . . . they are open 361 days a year!!!!

. . .Bill and Roger were loading packages into Santa’s gift bag in this old Chevy . . .

. . .I wonder what their eclectic bill is a month!!!! Pictures don’t really do the size of this operation justice. If you like Christmas stuff . . .  put a visit to this place on your bucket list.

. . .

. . . lots and lots of celebrities have!!!!!

. . . and like many places, make it a full weekend excursion and stay overnight next door. Water slide too!!!!

. . . and when you get to tired to shop, tour around town in this buggy. Connie ‘The Clydesdale’ Cannondale was REALLY checking out this handsome guy . . . (the one pulling the wagon)

. . .finally it was time to head east to Otter Creek our home for the night. Storms in the forecast for this afternoon and night. Could be interesting!!!!

We all slept well last night and it didn’t rain!!!! Yippee!!!!

. . . Rod ended up swinging a different deal with the campground management so we ended up close to the bathrooms. Really works when he plays the ‘we are a bunch of old folks that need to go to the bathroom several times during the night’ story. Unfortunately, it is not a ruse but TRUE!!!!!

. . .  a few photos from our big dinner the night before. Mark and Jim were cooking. Mark first thought chicken pasta and in fact bought 4 pounds of frozen chicken. While it was thawing, our head carnivore Allen, who is from Fort Worth TX and knows his steak, found a full loin of rib eyes at the local meat market. Mark went shopping again, bought the whole loin and return to camp with 16 pounds of rib eye  . . .

. . . Jim served as grill meister while Allen supervised the operation!!!!

. . . medium rare, PLEASE!!!

. . . the steaks were ‘held at temp’ while the parmesan zucchini and mushrooms were grilled along with the cauliflower, broccoli, tomato veggie packets!!!!

Unbeknownst to me, back in MSN, neighbor JohnnyG was going to the market, bumped into emJay and asked her is she needed anything. ‘How about a nice steak’ she said . . .

. . . before prep

. . . after prep. Nice!!! We both had steak but 1,300 miles apart!!!!

. . . we advised Ally Gator that if she wanted to come back to the ‘dark side’, and start eating meat again, tonight was the night!!!! She settle for beans and the veggies. Strong willed woman!!!!

. . . considering Wade, Doc Mike, Bernie and David missed dinner there were only 1 1/2 steaks left . . . so obviously there was still time, and room, to make a visit to the Kit Kat Ice Cream Corner parlor in town . . .

. . . I had the double scoop chocolate fudge sundae, WITH a cherry of course!!!  Soon it was  . . . zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!

We woke to the threat of rain starting after 10:00am but it never materialized AND we had a great tailwind!!! Things went well early on with just enough shoulder and low traffic for our 65 mile ride to Port Huron, our home for the night . . .

I stopped at the half way point of Brown City. Supposedly the home of the motor home, I found no historical marker of display!!!

. . . I don’t think with was it!!!!!

. . . as I had a little ‘pick me up’, Shawna rolled in with her 11 axle milk truck. She rides her route daily.

The maximum allowable gross vehicle weight on the heaviest “Michigan-weight-law MDOT Intermodal Policy Division Policy/trucking/Truck Weights Michigan_1_6_17.doc Page 2 truck” is 164,000 pounds, which can only be achieved by use of eleven properly-spaced axles.  At 8.6 pounds a gallon, if I did my math right, their are over 4,700 quarts of potential chocolate milk in there!!!!

Like most diesel tractor drivers they do not turn off the engine when they so and my moment of piece while enjoying my ‘pick me up’ was disturbed for about 15 minutes. I went around the corner to the other side of the store.  After she left the noticed the town was crawling with motorcycles. They looked like ants crawling all over town. Ends up there is a ‘charity ride for hospice’ starting at noon and over 500 riders are expected. About 50 of them were already in town running up and down main street each trying to be louder than the last . . . I got out of town!!!

. . back out in the country it was peaceful. One thing I have notice in MI is you would not want to veer too far off the ACA prescribed route unless you REALLY knew where you were going. A LOT of unpaved, sand/gravel roads!!!!!

. . .  soon the village of Yale appeared on the horizon. Sorry we missed their special festival . . . sounds like fun !

. . . but it was easy to review, in these murals, EVERYTHING of any importance that has happened in Yale since 1850!!!!

A turn onto Hwy 19 brought an end to the great ride . . . two lanes, high traffic volume, very narrow shoulder and hundreds of motorcycles. They were all heading north to Brown City for the charity ride. Riding north in groups of 15-20, two abreast, they took up the hole lane, not allowing anyone to pass. The bad thing for a south bound cyclist was the noise and the fact they were blocking any south bound cars from pulling into the other lane to give a bicyclist a wide berth. VERY LOUD and SCARY ride for 20 miles . . . at Brockway I turned of the highway to take a trail the last 12 miles to Port Huron.

In Brockway was the ‘Eddie Munster’ House!!! Looked for the ‘Thing’,  but it was nowhere to be found!!!

. . . hey is it Leine time yet????  . . .Connies is thirsty!!!!

. . . on the 6 mile ride on Hwy 139, to the start of the trail, is where I almost met my maker. Near Brown Road, I could see a large tractor ahead coming out of a corn field, that would cross in front of me. I thought the woman driving saw me, but no.  Sitting high up in the enclosed cab, she had on earmuffs, like the kind you can buy at Farm & Fleet, with the little antenna sticking out the side meaning she was listening to the radio. At her height I ‘m sure she had scanned the road both ways looking for approaching cars, but never saw me. I skidded to a stop as she passed right in front of me. If I had not stopped it would have been the ‘Perfect Storm for me, as I probably would have been skewered by the hay bale forks she had on the front of the tractor.  As she vanished into the adjacent corn field, I let a few ‘suggestions’ fly. But she never heard them . . . and she never saw me . . .

. . . so it was with GREAT, GREAT pleasure when I got on the Wadhams to Avoca Trail. Not a great admirer of trail riding. the peace, quiet and lack of other riders . . .

. . .. made for a nice approach into the greater Port Huron area. One of my worst bicycling days  . . . ever!!!!!

Yippee . . .  a layover day in Port Huron .  About half of the group opted for a motel stay downtown and the other half is camping at a HUGE campground Over 400 spaces available for everything from tent camping to RV parking with full hookups. There was a $6, all you can eat breakfast, that Corvin and Ally Gator checked out . . .

  . . . but many of us went to the  Country Kitchen. They opened at 7:00am and Mark and I were there at 7:02 am. Soon . . . many of the others filtered in for breakfast. Friendly staff and Ann did a great job taking care of us!!!!

Most will enjoy the beautiful weather today riding round town, doing laundry, bike maintenance, swimming and recuperating. David caught a virus, and after being visiting the emergency room in Bay City, was transported to Port Huron. He is continuing to recover in a motel. Hopefully he will be ready to ride tomorrow!!!

I headed over to my ‘remote office’, McDonalds to work on some business.  As I walked up to the place, there were two semi trucks parked alongside that were loaded with pigs . . .

. . . it reminded me of the truck full of little squealing piglets we saw back in MT. These were full grown though and their howls were frightening. Not happy to be where they were. I wonder if some of these may come full circle back to McDonalds as a McPork Sandwich?????. This cramped transport method seems inhumane, but if we are going to continue to eat meat, it has to get from Point A to Point B.

Our campground is quite the place, Over 400 units holding everything from tents like ours to the largest RV’s. Probably a square city block in size, it is subdivided into street with block of sites that with all services available  . . .  three pools, activity center, batting cages, miniature railroad, air cushioned jumping bags . . . lots for the kids to do. They all seem to be having a great time and the lines at the onsite ice cream parlor are never ending. BUT . . . by 9:00pm last night you could hear a pin drop in the place. Just like puppies . . .  give the kids a workout during the day and they sleep well at night!!!

. . . big RV’s are nothing new and it looks like the new craze for ‘keeping up with the Jone’s’ may be the customized golf car. Of course, one needs to keep it covered so it doesn’t get wet . . .

. . . saw this one at the onsite laundry earlier in the morning and later saw it at it’s site, about 300 feet from the laundry. 

We Americans are a funny group and ALWAYS seem to want to take things to the next level. ‘Camping’ is a good example. Towards the end of the day there was a steady stream of these ‘portable fully-equipped homes’ returning  to there larger ‘permanent fully-equipped homes’.

I keep thinking about the question Corvin asked me early on during the trip, “Do Americans have too much money????” We have a great country, and most of us have a great life . . . but the excesses . . . ????

As Pope Frank says, “Who am I to judge”!!!

Tomorrow it’s into Canada for our band of gypsies, as roll on down the highway!!!!

Our camp area behind the managers house was grassy and shady, BUT VERY NOISY, both nights, due to the  traffic on a major road located just to the east of us.

We have been getting out water out of a spigot on the back of this machine we have been looking at for the last two days. I finally checked it out and found out it was a ‘Dog Wash ‘ machine. This campground has EVERYTHING!!!! including the hydrant area on the right for the dogs to ‘do their business’!!

you load Fido in the pen and close the door . . .

. . . choose the options you want and insert your credit card. Not sure is the TV screen is for the dog to watch or has an instructional video for the owner!!!!

We finally got on the road and it was hell on wheels again for about 15 miles riding down the river. Rush hour, narrow shoulder and traffic going in both directions. No one could move over to give us a break . . . GET ME OUT OF MICHIGAN!!!!!

I did have time to take a few sign photos along the way, including this lawyer . . .

. . .who also handles dog bites. Surprisingly we have very little problem with dogs on this trip. Hope our luck continues . . . I did get one of Bryan’s  cards!!!!

. . . hey Smoochie, ‘Smooch your Pooch’ . . . give her one for me too!

. . . hey Snaren, this one is for you!!!

. . . this one is for me I guess. Those Michigander’s really knowhow to hurt a guy . . . ‘puttygut’ !!!!!

. . . OK, but where is my Smoochie!!!!

. . . we paralleled the river between the US and Canada for about 20 miles until we entered St Clair, where we would ferry to Canada. Here was the last Bicycle Route 20 sign we would see. These signs have been a great asset as we have traveled across the state of Michigan, especially through the metro areas. Thank you very much!!!!

The ferry loading and unloading zone on the US side  . . . not much to look at. 15 cars coming over from Canada and only two heading over. Both had Ontario plates!!!!

The ferry reminded me of the ColSac II that prowls the Wisconsin River near Madison . . .

. . .might be built by the same company. I should have checked!

Hello Canada . . .

Happy to be in Canada and Happy to be out of MI!!!!

. . . we immediately went to the local C-store for beverages and to hit the ATM. Only a $1.95 CND transaction fee . . . nice!!!

. . . so  why is this young German man wearing a gallon of milk around his neck . . . must not be that unusual because the custom agent on the Canadian side did not even blink!!!!

Corvin gets a ‘monthly allowance’ deposited into his debit card account and has run out of money twice now before the end of the month. We have offered him a ‘short loan’ but he will hear none of it. He never eats breakfast or makes a lunch and eats out along the way. He also carries an ‘emergency ration; of chips and Gatorade. This morning he was up early and eating breakfast and making lunch because he was out of money. Not wanting to throw out the milk . . . he brought it along, by wearing it . . . FUNNY!!!!

Canada seems to have a bike trail system too, that we took advantage of right away . . .

. . . the Canadian Coast guard was ready to do rescue on the river. Interesting that the river is only about 1/2 mile wide and lined with cottages on the US and Canadian side. Talk about a porous border . . .

. . . I believe these folks were picking cucumbers for pickles . . .

. . . part of the contraptions they lay on as the tractor crawls ahead . . .

. . . we saw several of these today. Single solar panel out in the middle of a field. Not sure what it is all about . . .

Great advertising . . .

This is the first sign in Canada spotted regarding any political issue . . . saw hundreds of these in the next 15 miles . . .

. . . the ‘old smoke barn . .

. . . not sure what they smoke in there but the timbers are well coated!!!!

. . oh, and it looks like they have pipelines in ON, too. Wonder if they cause the controversy they do south of the border. In fact this line may be feeding into the US of A!

In Dresden. . . we stopped to shop but Mark thought the merchandise was crappy!!!!

. . . they did have a nice looking winery with a tree on the roof made of empty wine bottles!!!!

. . . however we settled on the local FoodLand, a Canadian chain. Watered and Gatoraded up for the final 18 mile push to Ridgetown!!!!

Along the way we saw this HUGEEEEEEE produce company that grew its products  . . .

. . .  in these HUGEEEEEEEEEE greenhouse. Got to looks this one up!!!

. . . and they are trying to do it the right way!!!!

. . . Mark and I had been talking so much as we biked along we thought we had made a wrong turn somewhere!!!

After 70 miles, 20 of it on crappy road and the rest of it with a headwind, we arrived in Ridgewood, our home for the night. We are staying at St Michael’s Catholic Church, with some camping outside and some sleeping inside.

Denise is one who is inside. She said for the last two nights it was a 4 minute walk to the bathrooms!!!!

Corvin and Allison have kitchen duty tonight . . . no cooking over the MSR stoves tonight . . .

Pasta with bolognas sauce, green salad and pie for dessert. Nice way to end a long day! Tomorrow is 73 miles!!!!!!