Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Picture Perfect Day
July 22, 2024
Leroy left this morning and headed south. I was a little sad that we didn't get to ride together this trip, but he is considering going to Alaska/Yukon on an annual basis. He might haul his bike on his truck instead of riding the entire length of America. He said if I wanted he'd bring my bike as well and I could fly out there to see him. I think it’ll depend on how badly I want to ruin my career.
After Leroy left I started packing up and then I had the idea to repack everything. My top duffel bag is the heaviest piece of luggage and because it sits at the very top, it's been hard to maneuver the bike at slow speeds and also to lift it from the side stand. I took everything out, stared at everything for a long time, decided that I didn't need to change how I was packing stuff, put some stuff back in their respective places, had a moment of pivot, took out whatever I put in, stared at everything again, and then repacked in a way that I now feel is better. This exercise took a very long time but my top duffel bag is significantly lighter. I also don't think I sacrificed any easy of access for things I need frequently, but we'll see how things work out over the next few days.
With the bike packed and ready to go, I checked out of the hotel, got lunch and rode the Mackinac Bridge to cross over to the Upper Peninsula.
I've only been the UP once before and for reasons I don't fully understand, I've been wanting to come back ever since. It was a short ride to get to my campground for the day, so I took my time and enjoyed the sights. I stopped for coffee at a converted Airstream, walked around a gift store and also went to a general store to pick up supplies for dinner.
My campground for the night is Twelve Mile Beach campground in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. This is one of the two places that I have reservations for because it gets booked so quickly. In fact, when I first looked, it was fully reserved, but someone must have canceled and I got to take their place. I was using Google Maps to navigate to the campground and it had me turn on a dirt road. I didn't think much of it, because it's the UP after all, and the dirt road was well graded and I enjoyed it quite a bit. There were a few times when the bike for squirrelly when I hit small patches of sand. I had been wanting to hit a dirt road so this was working out great.
After a while on the dirt road, Google Maps wanted me to make a turn that didn't exist. It may have existed before, but it didn't look like it existed for years. I kept going on the dirt road and eventually found a paved road that put me back on track. For a few minutes I was very confused and thought I had gone way off track, but having a second set of offline maps helped out.
When I got to the campsite, I realized that I didn't know my site number. There was no service, so I couldn't pull it up on my phone either. I did a loop around the campground and there wasn't an "office" type place where I'd have to check in. Thankfully I found the campground host and she let me know my site number. She said she was about to leave, and if she had left, I'd have to ride out about 30 minutes to where I could get cell service. I'm glad I didn't have to do that!
The campsite is probably the best one I’ve ever stayed at. It overlooks the beach, has a lot of tree shade and has amazing views of Lake Superior. It's also a very well maintained campground. I have been wanting to stay at a beachside campground for a very long time, so I'm pumped to be here!
I set up my tent and sleeping arrangements. And because I brought my hammock on this three month trip even though I've only used it once in my life, I put up my hammock to rationalize my choices. I went to the lake and the water was surprisingly chilly. I eventually got in, but I'm not a strong swimmer so I didn't go very far. Then I laid on the beach for some time. I am not a beach person by any means, but I was having a great time on the beach by the lake! Then something flying bit me, so I sprung up and left for my hammock.
It's challenging cooking for one person because it's hard to get the correct amount of supplies and it inevitably results in waste. I made pasta for dinner and it came out great, but it was too much for one person. I ate a huge portion and sadly, I had to bin the rest.
Today really was a perfect day. It's remarkably gorgeous out here. The weather couldn't have been better. Well, may be it could be a little warmer, but that's okay. The amount of riding I did was just right. I got to go on a nice dirt road, too! I've felt a sense of relaxation the whole day and while I am sure there are many things I could worry about, today was simply the type of day where worries don't get to you. It's a rare one for sure! I feel humbled and deeply appreciative of the nature around me and my ability and privilege to be on this trip. The day has been so perfect that a tiny part of me feels like something catastrophic might just be about to happen.
Thankfully it's not bear country.