Spring 1997 - Cincinnati to Yukon
Journals - 12 May 1997
Day 42 - Escanaba, MI
12 May 1997 (cold rain [brief snow] all day; mileage = 57.7) We woke up to
the sound of rain. Not hard rain, just annoying rain. Also, it was really
cold -- the lower limit before snow. We later learned there was snow in
areas not far away. We got into town and both needed the restroom, so we
stopped at a Hardee's full of old people. We had some coffee and answered a
few questions. Once we hit the edge of town, there were just trees. That
was annoying because we could have made it that far and camped easily, but
someone Chris had asked said the town went on for a long time. Oh well. We
rescued a pretty turtle getting ready to cross the road. And then we rode a
super long stretch with no stops. I think it was more than 30 miles! Quite
impressive AND we had opposing wind! We were both tired, but we were
looking for a good place to stop and we wanted to have pasties for
lunch.There were bazillions of cafes with "pasties, smoked fish, beef
jerky, wild rice" the whole time since we got into the U.P. Only now we
couldn't find one! We finally did come to a town (Rapid River) where we ate
very tasy, inexpensive food. We each had a lunch plate that included meat,
mashed potatoes (homemade), beans, pasta salad, and an incredibly yummy
onion roll (with lots of butter) for less than $5 each! Then we had more of
the rolls, Chris got a salad and pie and I had a sundae. They seemed amazed
at how much we were eating! And we had a pot of coffee with a pitcher of
cream on the table. Good stuff! While there, we talked to a couple behind
us who were very interested and got an invitation to camp in their yard.
Only they live about 60 miles away -- so that will be tomorrow night
hopefully! We weren't seeing any great places to stay tonight, so we just
pushed on, hoping to find water and then a place to camp beyond Escanaba.
We saw a campground and Chris needed the restroom, so we decided to check
it out (for water also). It looked like they'd want money, but we decided
to see if we could get into the restrooms and water without being accosted.
X - As we came up to the restroom, April said "Hey, look -- bikers," and I
thought "Yea. Just weekenders." But as I saw more of their rig -- tandem,
trailer -- I knew that this was the couple we heard about with the dog.
Robin and Andy and Blane. They were pulling their dog and were headed from
Central Michigan to the northwest territories and other multifarious
adventures. They seemed reasonably prepared (as opposed to my fanaticism of
preparedness). They seem really cool. It's still sleeting and raining and
it's 40 degrees in the tent. We plan to leave with Andy and Robin tomorrow
for our reserved spot in Crystal Falls.
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