August 3, 2023 to August 4, 2023
Day 48 and 49: Good Bye, Michigan
Bay City, Michigan to Lakeport, Michigan
Day 48, Thursday, August 3:
Today was another uneventful day. Slightly windy, but not too bad. We spent most of the day on back country roads through agricultural areas: lots of corn and potatoes. We did have a small amount of bike path from the state park called the Bike City Loop Trail. We also rode a bit of State Highway 25 North. We are near the tip of the thumb and will be traveling down the east side tomorrow. We have about a day and a half left in Michigan and then we head into Canada. We are slightly worried about weather and accommodations. We are trying to plan for a few days of rain with one really heavy day. I planned for us to stay at Provincial Parks while in Canada, but we will most likely stay at a hotel in Port Stanley as Sunday it is expected to be especially rainy, so ending the day at a hotel while wet and not having to set up the tent in rain makes for a good reason to get lodging accommodations. Our one problem is using our phones for cell service in Canada if we can’t make online reservations, so we will figure that out over the next couple of days.
There is always some kind of something a bike tourist needs to figure out and deal with. Right now it is dealing with a severe thunder storm that is headed our way while we are at Port Crescent State Park Campsite. There is no where to hide. So, we drank a beer, went for a swim in Lake Huron - if it’s going to be wet, you might as well swim, and have just set up the tent in order to hide inside if need be. Last night’s state park had a large day-use area, and we could have hid under one of the covered shelters; that is not an option today. We will start dinner and then cover it up if it starts to rain. I got this! I learned that from Tamarac Resort’s storm.
Not much to report. The winds were slightly with us today, people were nice, and ending the day with a swim in a Great Lake is a wonderful end to a bike tourist’s day.
…So…you thought that was the end of the story for Day 48, and so did we; however, while we were eating dinner, we got a few visitors. The visitors happened to be our neighbors, and I first met one of them when she was unplugging one her electrical cords from our site; we where in what was called an Auxiliary Site; and those are the site earmarked for bike tourists or hikers in Michigan if the campground if full. It is like the one we had at Straits State Park, but that one was in the day-use area; this one was an actual site. Anyway, I told Paulina, now I know her name, that she didn’t have to unplug. So, we met earlier and she asked about our trip. Then she brought a friend over with her friend’s son because they needed to hear from us that we were actually riding across the country. Well, the conversation led to being invited for fresh fish soup that Elena’s husband had cooked. They could see that we were eating dinner, but they would not take no for an answer. Hence, dinner # 2 of freshly caught fish from off shore of the camp ground and vodka…Yes, vodka. They insisted that the soup had to be served with vodka; they were Ukrainian and Russian, so they knew what they were talking about. It turned out to be an amazing evening. We did talk some politics, and got some interesting insights on the Russian War with Ukraine. Paulina and Elena are from each country and they are very good friends. We didn’t really get too much backstory, but we do know that Elena moved to the US to fence, and now she is an instructor. Vlad, Elena’s husband, caught the Lake Huron catfish and cooked it up for us. It was truly a special night. I could go on and tell you more about our conversations that evening, but if you are interested, you can ask me another time.
Day 49, Friday, August 4:
So, here I sit in the tent, after a longish day, listening to a family softball game happening and hoping the ball doesn’t fly into our tent. We are in an auxiliary site at Lakeport State Park Campground, and this site happens to be in the recreational area, not the day-use; the day-use would have been a lot better.
We left Port Crescent State Park early, 7:45 am because we had an eightyish mile day and we needed to find some cell reception in one of the many small towns we passed through to make reservations in Canada. Well, good thing we left early because there was some confusion about the auxiliary sites at this campground. It would appear that the places we have traveled know of the policy but haven’t actually really had to use it very much, and I was shocked by this because Port Crescent had three auxiliary sites. Anyway, I will make a long story short and just say we payed at the campground after convincing the newbie kid that he could actually reserve the auxiliary spot; I walked him through it as he had never done it before, and this is why he sent us down the road to the day-use area because that is where he thought it was. When we got to the day-use area, we were told that the auxiliary was back at the campground which was a mile away. However, they asked us to wait for an actual ranger to talk to us. Then there was some miscommunication and they cancelled our site because the newbie kid told the ranger who had yet to see us that we were on motorcycles. Yeah, the day was getting longer.
After the ranger showed up, he understood what was going on and then had us go back to the campground and led us to the auxiliary site, here at the rec field. Hey, it was twenty-one bucks the first time and only twenty the second for our inconvenience and we only have to walk a quarter of a mile to the bathroom and water…We are not complaining. What is the alternative on a Friday night? Right.
Again, things you deal with as a tourist. It is part of the adventure. Tomorrow we take a ferry into Canada. That will be a new adventure. And, can I say one more thing that I observed? Someone said that some Scandinavian county had the happiest residents in the world, but I think it’s Michigan. Granted, we are at campgrounds and people are typically happy while on vacation, but it’s also the people we meet at the grocery, or convenient store or wherever. They seem happy. What is it? I am going to be on the observation for this happiness meter in the rest of the states we visit and I will get back to you.
Okay, really, lastly, the riding was pleasant today. We were mostly on Highway 25 South, but also some country back roads. We had views of the lake, farms and small tourist towns. Drivers were considerate and the shoulders were wide. I think a trip around the thumb for a few days or so would be a good bike tourist destination. Lots of state parks, sights and amenities.
Good night,
Team Bean
Stats
- Cribbage Game Wins: Mike 11, Dawn 8
- Tortillas Eaten: Mike 138, Dawn 54
- Jars of Peanut Butter: 5
- Flats: Dawn 2, Mike 1
- Bike Haters: 4 (We had our first one in Montana yesterday.) None in North Dakota that we know of.
- Bags of Salad Consumed: 21
- Dog Encounters: 2
- Beers, too many to count
- Bags of M&M’s: 5 of various sizes
- Fritos: 10 of various sizes
- Bear Encounters
Today's ride: 149 miles (240 km)
Total: 3,263 miles (5,251 km)
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