Wagontrail Ho!

The routine of a bicycle nomad is settling in for us now. Each evening we make sure our devices are charged, including our helmets with walkie-talkies and integrated lights. In the morning we get everything packed up on the bikes, fill our water bottles, including one Gatorade each, and re-hydrate a meal if we’re camping that evening. We each have our roles, and by now we move effortlessly (sort of) through the routine.

It sometimes takes two hours to get fully packed and everything loaded!

After getting ready, we rode into town for a delicious breakfast at the Get Real Cafe. We enjoyed good conversation with the hostess. She and her friend have done many hiking and cycling adventures, so we shared stories. We’re always glad to share our story, as anyone who knows us is well aware!

With full bellies we started on our way. It didn’t take long to get out of Sturgeon Bay and into stunning countryside, with the lake to our right, and beautiful woods and homes on either side. Cycling Nirvana (a favorite term for us, as you can tell!). Bruce’s pannier kept coming unhooked from the rack, which caused him to struggle to maintain control of his bike. At a resort along the way, we stopped and fixed it, then enjoyed yet another beautiful vista of the lake. A cyclist detoured to our resting stop to chat with us.

We continued through the countryside to Whitefish Dunes State Park, and then to Cave Point County Park. Here, we hiked down to see the caves in the rocks at the water’s edge. There was a bluff where several young people were jumping into a pool below. It didn’t look that deep, and a comment by a bystander let us know that when they jumped, they touched the sandy bottom. Too scary for us! We hiked back to our bikes and ate our lunch- the rest of the re-hydrated pasta salad.

The day continued on, with beautiful scenery at every turn. We went through Bailey’s Harbor and then on to Sister Bay. We stopped briefly to rest, and to get a beverage for our campsite. While enjoying the bay views a couple on bikes stopped to chat. They were curious (as most are) and peppered us with questions. It turns out they are from Evansville, and their son went to Centre. Small world. They were considering a ride on the Katy Trail in Missouri. We definitely encouraged them to do it, as that was our first adventure, and we have such fond memories of it.

On to the campsite. As usual, it turned out to be a bit further than expected, and the route sheet was unreliable. The internet is also spotty out here, so we had to rely on just the map, without any routing. Finally we made it to Wagontrail Campground. It was a great place! So clean and well-kept. Tons of flowers in the common areas, and the campsite was fantastic. We quickly set up camp and prepared our dinner- Chicken, vegetables and rice, with biscuits.

The next morning as we were eating our breakfast- scrambled eggs with polenta and bacon, a very enthusiastic fella comes trotting up to our campsite. Once again, very curious about our trip and our gear, etc. We chatted for a while, while our breakfast cooled down. He finally left, only to return a few minutes later to take our pictures. Throughout the morning we had a few more visits from him before we left the campsite.

We had to do laundry before we could leave, so we got a fairly late start on our journey to Washington Island. As we were folding our laundry, our pesky new friend came over again and took numerous pictures of our bicycles.

Friday cycling: 50.5 miles

hiking: 3 miles