Wisconsin

Monday morning was a long day of driving with a few stops along the way. My first hurdle was getting through Chicago during rush hour. Jack ended up taking me into the streets since the highway was so backed up. It actually wasn't too terrible.

I made a scenic detour up into Door County, WI and stopped in Sturgeon Bay. There is a coast guard station there with a lighthouse and breakwater pier.  The water was really pretty here and crystal clear.

 

 

It had a nice little beach but it was kind of intimidating because the access road was very clearly delineated:

  

 Next I headed over to Potawatomi State Park. This is the terminus of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. Throughout the trip I had come across portions of the North Country trail so it was nice to check out another trail (Especially a terminus!). 

  

There is an observation tower that gives you a great bird’s eye view.

  

 I also did a short walk along the water’s edge just to say I’d been on the Ice Age trail. The trail is currently only 600 miles but it planned to be 1,200 miles when complete. The trail roughly follows the location of the terminal moraine from the last Ice Age. It was actually pretty cool because of the unique rocks along the edge. The Great Lakes aren’t known for having a lot of sandy beaches.  

My resting spot for the night was Governor Thompson State Park. It’s a very new park and the bathroom facilities were awesome. I made dinner and relaxed as thunder rumbled overhead. I wasn’t too worried as I figured the storm would pass. Wrong! The thunder rumbled and lightning flashed and the rains poured down until I left the next morning. I had never experienced a storm lasting that long. Because of all the lightning I ended up sleeping with my pillow over my head to block it out. When I awoke in the middle of the night to see what time it was I realized that my tent had blown in on itself and the floor was sopping wet. I gave up at that point and headed into Captiva to sleep the rest of the night away. The car was actually very comfortable to sleep in. I got up first thing Tuesday morning and bundled up my sodden tent and left.