Stop 55: Keuka SP

Thursday, July 26. We had a full day of driving ahead of us, so we woke at 6, and were on the road by 6:15. Our first stop was a couple hours in, to refuel Ernie, and our first MacD breakfast in Parry Sound, home to the Bobby Orr Museum.

Alas, we didn't spend the day reviewing the greatest Bruin's memorabilia, but continued on highways through Toronto and Hamilton and finally Niagara Falls Canada, where we drove into a pure tourism city, paid $15 for a parking spot at an amusement park, and then walked down to see the falls. The Canadian side is definitely the best side to see the falls. The crowds were substantial, but we were on a mission, we waited to see the falls from several points, and satisfied with being fully awestruck, we returned to Ernie to continue our trek without venturing on to the ferris wheel or other attractions.

At US customs the wait was less than a minute, but he wanted to look at Ernie's innards, and wanted to know about our prescription and non-prescription drugs, as well as firearms. He finally let us back into the country, and then we were on New York interstates, where the road surfaces are well worn and failing. Based on road quality, New York is a backwater third world country compared to Ontario Canada. To be fair, I expect there is far more corruption and kickbacks in NY than in Ontario, which makes everything costlier.

Once on the secondary highways Google directed us to an Aldi, a local grocery that charges a quarter for the use of a cart! We didn't have a quarter, so we filled the REI and W-D bags we brought with us, then emptied them at checkout and refilled them after the scan. Good prices, but a lame selection (just one size and brand of chunky peanut butter? Really?). Never more, Aldi!

Finally we got to Keuka Lake SP and our reserved site. They spray paint the site numbers on the dirt, and the sites are grass that may or may not be level. Our site had lots of tread marks of previous tenants, but we were able to find a level spot diagonally across the site. But the bathroom has flush toilets, and showers! We are easily appeased.

We rode our bikes down to the lake, and then back up. Our site being at the top of the hill, we got a good climb in. Sharon was actually disappointed the climb wasn't steeper, she has become such a strong climber on this trip. If she'd known, we'd have ridden longer, bless the heart of my climbing honey!

Five nights in remote provincial parks in Ontario, we had great cell service with internet. Back in the states, we are back to minimal or no internet cell service. The US carriers really need to be held accountable for such subpar coverage, though clearly not by the current administration, because it might impact corporate profits.

Day 2, Friday, July 27.

We started the day with the important stuff. We drove to Penn Yan to find a tourism place so Sharon could use their wifi to update her bank access. Then fuel for Ernie and fuel for us. Yesterday's Aldi experience was unsatisfactory, so we avoided the one in Penn Yan for their Tops, which was exceptional by comparison.

We decided to try out the trail system at the park. It's short, just 3 miles total, through the woods (we didn't need to slather so much sunscreen on), but the bugs were bearable, the trail not too muddy, with a couple ravines alongside to appreciate. We were surprised at one point by the neat alignment of pines that means a tree farm in FL. Perhaps the area was replanted after a fire or something, but it definitely wasn't natural. Sharon was happy to find some ripe blackberries and ate a bunch.

After lunch Sharon went for a bike ride and planned to swim, but the wind picked up, a lifeguard came out to limit people to a small enclosed space. So she came back and did streches instead.

The campground wasn't half full Thursday, but the campers streamed in Friday as the afternoon progressed. What seemed like generously sized campsites were crammed with boats and cars and tents. Others brought campers that need two doors on the side, at each end of the quarter acre awning.

New York pictures are at https://photos.app.goo.gl/LwFYLi2DjvGCygS29

Aside: Ontario

The first time I left the United States was in 1969 for a rock festival, fashioned after 1968's Woodstock. The festival was in Ontario's Algonquin Provincial Park, and I fell in love with Canada. The festival was pretty much a bust, but I had the best time camping and listening to the music with my friend Ron and his girlfriend and everyone else who attended.

In 1976 I took a job teaching Math and Computer Science at the St. Johnsbury Academy. There I usually hung out with Trottier and Burley. We looked for music we enjoyed, which meant more rock-'n'-roll than country. More often than not it led us across the border into Quebec. The rumor at the time was that the fine for staying open past closing time was $30, less than the cost of the extra set by the band. The hard part was walking into Customs afterwards, and waking up the official to request entry back to the US. We spent a fair amount of time across the border.

Earlier than both, while I didn't actually get to Canada, happened in 4th grade, when my Grandmother lived with us for her last year and babysat me after I rode home from school. I started to tell a joke I heard at school, "What did the Newfie...", and Grandmother proceeded with a Diatribe. It seems that she and her husband my Grandfather (who died long before I was born) were born and raised in Newfoundland, and that is where We Are From. Not Ireland, Newfoundland. And so on. Now, I actually wish I paid more attention to the details, and asked questions. As it is, I've never told a Newfie joke since.

(Last year on our Canadian Maritimes trip, Sharon became so enamored that we're heading back next year! More Quebec, more Newfoundland.)

We just spent 5 days in Ontario, and it was wonderful. We entered at Grand Portage MN and got a campsite in Rainbow Falls PP. Then we walked up and got two nights at Pancake Bay PP, and then another two at Killarney PP. Each provincial park was awesome. Nice relatively private sites, clean bathrooms with flush toilets and showers and laundry, and spectacular locations, they were all five star. And they each dealt with volume surprisingly effectively. They're huge but you don't really notice unless you bike around.

Killarney is supposed to be a paddling mecca, and I can understand that. We were likely snubbed for being daytrippers, but I'm not ready to do a multi-night kayak trip anymore. Regardless, paddling Georgian Bay is cool. The rock is cool, the plants etching a life in the cracks are cool, the birds living in these little havens are cool. And the water is clear and clean and blue and ever changing. And cool.

Ontario is pretty awesome, it has excellent provincial parks, and even the construction areas are efficient. The people are so nice and helpful, I'm embarrassed by where I'm from. But the bottom line is, I don't want to need snow tires anymore. Even though I'd love to see how Ernie would behave with a full set of Blizaks (the best snow tires I've ever driven).

Stop 54: Killarney Provincial Park

Tuesday, July 24. The good news was that the predicted overnight rain was minimal. The bad news was that we drove through the heaviest downpour of the trip, I could barely see the taillights of the vehicle I was following. Again, inside Ernie we stayed dry, and he was due for a good wash, but shortly after the worst cell, the Trans Canada Highway went to dirt long enough to let new dirt adhere to the bottom quarter of his flanks. Sigh.

After checking into Killarney, we continued on to the only town nearby for groceries and ice (solar isn't efficient in heavy rain). A restaurant claimed the best fish and chips, so we splurged. It wasn't the best but awfully good. They only served fish and chips, so they had the oil temperature perfect, the batter was light, and everything was hot out of the fryer. (A couple places in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia had incredibly flaky fish I remember as even better.)

On the way back to the campground we stop at Killarney Outfitters to reserve kayaks for tomorrow. We even got to confirm I could fit in their kayak. I think I'm going to love this high volume 16' Necky.

Finally pulling into our site for two days, after testing several placements, the driver's side is always lower, so out with the chocks, and voila!, a level sleeping field is attained. Of course, tomorrow morning we'll have to come off the chocks and stow them, and repeat the process when we return from kayaking. Fortunately it's a quick process, maybe 30 seconds. (Last year we left our chocks at the site while on a day trip in West Virginia, only to return to find them stolen along with our firewood.)

Settled in, we went for a bike ride around the campground. We rode to one end, and then followed a trail to where we expect we'll put our rental yaks in tomorrow, and looked at some x-ski trails, but we didn't have helmets and things quickly got grown over and buggier than a easy ride. Heading in the other direction, we explored the rest of the campground. It has an impressive number of lovely, private sites. We thought our site would suck, but it really doesn't! People bike past, but the motored traffic is pretty minimal.

Have I mentioned this week that Sharon is a great cook? Tonight was Mexican, and a near sunset walk after. When sunset isn't until 9:30, it's kinda weird. We talked about how we can improve our rolling home in the screen room til almost 10. There's a fire ban in effect, so no campfires, so things are quiet as dusk looks, which is also nice. Ontario has great parks, with nice sized sites spaced well. They also have spacious group sites that are pretty awesome.

Day 2. Wednesday, July 25.

We left shortly after 8 to pick up two PFDs, pumps, tow ropes and sponges, then back towards the park for the put in point.  We found our boats by process of elimination.

Killarney Outfitters dropped off a lot of kayaks, but they were organized, I presumed by reservation. Three here, four here, two tandems here, one tandem alone, ... All the groups of two included a one tandem except one, and one of its boats was a High Volume boat similar to the boat I tried out yesterday to confirm it would fit. The guy showed up while we were getting ready with another batch of boats, and confirmed that these were our boats for the day.

The paddle out Chikanishing Creek was pleasant, and then there was Lake Huron's Georgian Bay. The deep blue waters are broken up by rocky outcroppings. We crossed some open water, turned left and paddled the coastline, checking out the topography and wildlife. We immediately saw a couple of sandhill cranes strutting around, and I regretted not bringing my big camera. But they walked into the brush pretty quickly, so maybe I wouldn't have gotten a better picture with it. In any case, it primed us both to enjoy the spectacle before us.

As we wandered in and out, the wind gradually increased. We'd only notice as we came out onto the lake to feel the full brunt of wind. I finally suggested to Sharon that we head back to explore the lee side of the island. As we headed back the wind was strong enough to create whitecaps on an increasing number of the waves. We were paddling maybe 20° off the headwind, with our boats cresting waves and then slapping the trough. When we finally got to the end of the island we turned for the protected waters on the other shore. We minimized our time crossways to the current, and they we were paddling furiously to keep ahead of the waves. Once again I remembered Lys Burden's advice from years ago, that to control your boat you have to be going at a different speed than the water.

Once in calm water, we realized that the wind was blowing pretty much up this channel between the island and the mainland, so we cut across to the mainland side, and got into a quieter cove. We found a landing spot, had lunch on the rocks, checked our maps, and then headed back into the maelstrom to the next cove, Chikanishing Creek. It was a surprisingly difficult paddle, as the wind was even stronger (Sharon checked the weather after that said 20+ mph winds). I was afraid of getting crossways to waves and paddled across the cove mouth until I was in the lee side of an island. Sharon did the same. The paddle up the river was far calmer.

After leaving the kayaks by the put in, we returned the other gear and returned to our campsite. Time for a hike! Sharon was set on the Lake Cloche Silhouette Trail, until I pointed out it is a 79 km trail, maybe 5 days of hiking. So we started it anyway, but turned around after a mile or so. I was hurting before the hike, and wasn't interested in any more activity, so Sharon went off for a swim while I didn't move.

After a delicious Asian dish Sharon cooked up, we chatted for a bit before our nightly tasks, the dishes for her and the chairs and screenroom and bikes for me. But the sun had set, and the mosquitoes arrived to feast on an overtall piece of prime flesh. I would work for 10-30 seconds, then swipe the electric tennis racket around my head and legs for an equal amount of time. Not surprisiny, it took more than twice as long to complete my tasks.

Since we have an 8+ hour drive tomorrow (factoring in Customo), we hope to be on the road by 6:30 am. We shall see.

Ontario pictures are at https://photos.app.goo.gl/zv6SmV1TrSMNJKAT7

Aside: Pain

Pain is all in the brain. A nerve cell (axion?) somewhere triggers an impulse that wends it's way to the brain, which then interprets the data and passes the information to the conscious.

Generally, the information is correct and you can act based on it. If you feel pain in your ankle, you adjust your stride to minimize the pain signal from there. You can believe your brain, you don't wrap your wrist if you have a toothache.

Alas, as I understand it, nerve impulses from the hips and legs and lower back all travel to the brain via the spinal cord, which runs inside the spine. The spine is a remarkably flexible set of bones called vertebrae. Sometimes problems can occur with one or more vertebrae. Doctors count them, the ones up from the legs L1, L2, ..., and the ones down from the cranium C1, C2, .... They also have mapped which nerves get into the spinal cord at which vertebra.

Let's say a vertebra is damaged in some way (the lack of the membrane keeping bone from rubbing on bone, for example). The nerves passing through that damage can be affected. Moving a vertebra or two may pinch a nerve that reports you've been kicked in the hip, or that hip doesn't work and other muscles need to deal with it. The effect is a trivial movement in the spine causes a nerve to trigger an impulse that is only supposed to be triggered at the far end of that nerve. So the spine moves, and the left hip suddenly feels a monster was pretty bite for a second or two. Or a hip suddenly loses all feeling, which causes you to fall to that side, which sucks if you happen to be on a SUP, and fall in the water.

Working out regularly, there is a lot of pain that actually feels good, muscles that have been exercised fully and reporting such. But these random pains don't feel like that. It's weird how we live for some pains, and do whatever it takes to not feel other pains. And a lot of pain can be ignored for a while, but as the day goes on it's harder to ignore.

All in all, most pain is best avoided.

Stop 53: Pancake Bay PP

Sunday, July 22. Wind. Lots of Wind. We backed Ernie amongst a little grove of white birch and fir trees, but we were still rocking when we awoke. The lake had a few whitecaps, and it was cool enough that long pants and sweatshirts were needed.

We left our Rossport CG for the larger and reserved Whitesands Lake CG a few clicks down the road to hike the Rainbow Falls Trail. Last night's camping paper got us b nb v   d,c
in for free. It's a big lake, and the f,d .alls
start directly from the lake,  the water tu bmbling down over a sequence of 10 - 30' falls separated by fairly steep chutes in between. The trail was a wooden walkway with a ton of steps separated by short straight sections.  There were a few openings on the walkway to walk right up to the river, before we crossed it on a nice bridge. Another hiker told us about an overlook a bit farther, so we climbed up lol mm to it. A nice view, but not overwhelming. We are so jaded.
.
On the road, we drove 220 miles down the road, listening to an early Ken Follett audiobook and enjoying lake views and forest views, and very little traffic, which was also nice for all the touring cyclists. We followed a semi for a while and it was heartening how he signaled and moved over for each one. I love Ontario!

Sharon found us a wonderful site for two nights, right across from Lake Superior. Plenty of room for Ernie and our screenroom, hiking trails, and across the road from the beach. And we're here for two nights! And we made reservations at Killarney SP for the following two nights. And then two more nights at Keuka Lake SP in New York, where we learned several years ago is surrounded by wineries. With the 4 nights with Josh & Jeanette in Watkins Glen, we are booked through the month!

Sharon needed Loonies for the laundry, Ernie needed diesel,  ARB needed solar, so after a quick run for the first two ending at the campground parking lot by the "facilities", Sharon started the laundry, we put on bathing suits and jumped into Lake Superior (it's cold, but not as cold as you'd expect for a deep lake in Canada), then showered and waited in Ernie while the laundry finished and (hopefully) the Sun replenished the house battery. It helped, but not enough.

ARB has been hungry for electron juice for several days now. It's been raining or overcast the whole time, and we haven't had a 100% charge on the house battery the whole time. Last night we dropped to 40% charge (11.2v), which isn't good for the lifespan of the battery. I would like to upgrade from one gel battery to two or even three lithium batteries, but they're pricey. Seeing how we're limping along with just one gel is good data, but it also means we can't use the SUPs tomorrow, we need the battery for ARB.

We went for a nice bike ride after dinner. This is a big campground. Pancake Bay is several miles across, and the campground is a good portion. The water is calm, the sunset a deepening red from the forest fire, it's feels like a Caribbean evening.

As we got ready for bed, the mosquitoes started their attack. And Sharon transformed into the Flying Teeth Terrorist, wielding her electric swatter deftly, killing every mosquito who ventured into Ernie's sanctum. We thought we would leave the back doors open, the netting keeping us bug free. But they were finding ways in, in little gaps around the edges. I finally went out and closed the doors, but that just trapped all the mosquitoes sitting on the netting inside. Sharon spent two hours swatting and waving and searching for the last mo, and there was always one more. She persevered, even after I turned over for sleep. It was after 11pm that she was finally free of the high pitched whining that sent her into paroxysms.

Day 2. Monday, July 23.

A short drive within the park to a trailhead, where Ernie could collect some solar power, and we headed out to the Edmund Fitzgerald Lookout Trail. Two miles later we had a fabulous view of Pancake Bay and the point where the Edmund Fitzgerald sank back in 1975. Two miles back, and our house battery was still undercharged, so we bought a bag of ice and parked Ernie in a parking lot close to our campsite with full sun. Of course, the Sun hid behind clouds, generating only a fraction of the power we hoped for.

My afternoon was calmer than Sharon's. She took off for a beach hike, and later a swim, while I chilled. We did do a half bike ride, half hike to the western tip of the bay, but the next bay wasn't worth continuing the hike so we found a different route back to the bikes.

Over a bit of wine with our chairs on the sand watching the lake, we listened to Gordon Lightfoot's The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Realizing it all happened offshore in far worse weather than the calm flat seas we were enjoying the story was still so much more relevant than any of the 400,000 times I've heard that song.

The mosquitoes weren't as numerous our second night, perhaps because their numbers were depleted by Sharon's previous killing spree.  Tomorrow we have a 5+ hour drive, though the Parry Sound 33 forest fire may be a monkey wrench in our drive, hopefully not.

Ontario pictures are at https://photos.app.goo.gl/zv6SmV1TrSMNJKAT7

Stop 52: Rainbow Falls PP ON

Saturday, July 21. One week to see Josh & Jeanette. Two weeks to see Sarah & Greg. Three weeks to see Frank & Joy, and then home. I'm ready. Days on end of driving expansion joints is getting old. I need to just relax for a bit and recover. Maybe a vegetative afternoon or three by our pool catching up with friends...

Overcast with a threat of rain, we drove back to the highway and headed North along the Lake Superior coast, stopping a few times, including Grand Portage National Monument.

Grand Portage commemorates the native people and the early trappers and traders who made this a major site. The monument has an volunteers showing how people lived, and built their homes and boats. They also had a wooden fort that reminded me of F Troop, but nicer.

Crossing into Canada took a while, as only one lane was open for a while. Once through, Sharon found a provincial park a few hours in that seemed promising. Fortunately they had two sites available, one with electricity, one without but on the water. With three days of overcast and rainy, we haven't fully charged the house battery, and blowing up the SUPs was an extra hit the battery didn't want. But a view is a view.

Rain dampened the ground, but not our spirits. Cocktails on the beach before the weather degraded was delicious, and swirling winds under spitting skies made walking around the campground and beach/rocky shore after dinner a charging experience. If only our battery could get a charging experience like that.

Ontario pictures are at https://photos.app.goo.gl/zv6SmV1TrSMNJKAT7

Stop 51: Ninemile Lake CG

Friday, July 20. It's an overcast day, it was raining lightly overnight, and Ernie's wipers take a swipe when the drops reach a critical mass.

We stopped at the National Forest Headquarters in Duluth for ideas of where to spend the weekend, and then hit a nearby Super 1 grocery store. Like the WinCo grocery we hit in Idaho, the bagging area beyond the checkout clerk is split in two. While she was scanning our groceries, the previous customer is still packing her groceries as ours are heading to the other side. But at least Super 1 accepts credit cards.

The drive on I-35 through metropolitan Duluth was delightful, especially considering it's a Friday morning. Traffic is light as the highway weaves between Lake Superior and Old Industry on one side, and the aging city on the other.

I-35 ends, turning into Minnesota 61, as it follows the lake north to Grand Portage and the Canadian border. We quickly took a scenic byway with less people heading to their favorite camping spot for the weekend. We stopped at a state park with a full campground but with day use parking to see the waterfall overrun with kids and adults taking selfies. Sharon saw a sign for smoked fish and had to stop. We also got some cheese curds, which I may enjoy more. I'm not a big fan of picking bones out of the food in my mouth, and the smoked trout definitely had enough bones to be wary of.

We had our choice of sites at this Superior National Forest Campground, and coughed up $7.50 for our choice. We chose #1, since all the lakefront sites had paper on their poles.

But then we went for a walk. To the boat launch area, and then the path along the lake, when we ran into some fishermen and a rainbow trout. And they showed us all of the crawdads (12) that the trout had eaten before being caught. There is now no doubt in my mind that trout do a yeoman's job of keeping the crawdad population in check. What was really amazing was one of the crawdads was still alive, and started swimming away while we chatted. I think the crawdad's name is Jonas.

One of the guys (who'd been here a few days already) also told us that a site we wanted but had a "1" slip on its pole had been like that for days, do we moved to #18, with a lake access on site! Yippee! (After dinner we stopped by their site, and got good advice about our camping options for tomorrow.)

Time for SUP action, we pumped them up (well, Ernie's house battery provided the energy), and wandered off around our lake. It's not 9 miles long (the name of the campground is from the railroad stop that was once here, perhaps rnamed because the next water tower was 9 miles away), but it does have a trio of islands. The gaps between islands and mainland are shallow with big rocks just below the surface. I hit a few with my fin before Sharon hit one hard, and lost her balance. Fortunately she broke her fall with water and not rock. The rest of the paddle was less eventful, but a nice way to unwind.

The weather forces us to put away the screenroom and chairs earlier than we'd like, but Ernie is comfortable and dry, and homey.

We're only here one night. Sharon is confident we will find another site somewhere else tomorrow, maybe in Minnesota, maybe in Canada.

Minnesota pictures are at https://photos.app.goo.gl/NVTFbUfwkT6ZprAp8

Stop 50: Jay Cooke SP MN

Thursday, July 19. It started raining around 1:30 in the morning and continued through the morning. It fell hard enough that I drove Sharon to the bathroom to cut the 50 yard walk to just 3. We chose not to take the SUPs on the lake. But the good news is that the inside of Ernie is dry!

We drove in heavy rain and gusty winds. For a while it was a strong headwind, other times a persistent crosswind, with the occasional slap of a gust. But we also had Armand Gamache investigating and solving another mystery.

As the book wrapped up and the Sun began to break through the clouds, Sharon saw a Jay Clooke State Park sign, so we turned off the highway to see what they had. And they had a site for one night, so we took it.

Then we went for a bike ride on a paved trail that we noticed had dirt paths off the side for mountain bikes and x-country skiers. Our plan was to ride to a point, and ride back, and try the dirt on the return. But the rain returned just enough to give us the impetus to take the fastest route. The rain backed off so we took off on a hike that starts with a swinging bridge over the St. Louis River. But pain intruded, so I returned to Ernie to relax.

Sharon stopped to talk to the rangers looking for recommended camping possibilities, and came back with lots of ideas. So tomorrow may be an adventure.

The evening teased with a sprinkle, but a quiet and cooler evening ensued. The park has no water because of a main break, but fortunately we had a good amount of privacy at our site.
Minnesota pictures are at https://photos.app.goo.gl/NVTFbUfwkT6ZprAp8

Stop 49: Big Stone Lake SP, MN

Wednesday, July 18. The plan was to have a reasonably short drive to a campground on the Missouri River. We got there, and Sharon figured it was 1) boring, and 2) too early in the day. So we started driving East.

Lake Mina was next on the list, another hour or two away. But there we discovered that South Dakota has serious issues with gouging tourists. A campsite is $17. But you also have to pay the Daily Use fee of $6. And if you are not a resident, another $8. And, just because, the applicable South Dakota sales taxes must be added in for the final price. We couldn't see any justification to spend that much for a parking spot for 12 hours, so we went back on the road.

This time, Sharon drove and I looked for destinations. We wanted to be out of South Dakota and in Minnesota. The closest State Park I found was Big Stone Lake SP, 7 miles from our entry into the state. And we got a lakefront site!

There are enough flying critters that we broke out the screen room with the chairs. Then we tried to figure out what to do next. Last night's plan is dead. Tomorrow is Thursday, we would like to find a site through Saturday. Sharon thinks our best bet is a National Forest, and I don't disagree. Minnesota State Parks reservations online show we only have a few options, so NF it is. If we're successful, we'll likely then go up into Canada over Lake Superior.

Minnesota pictures are at https://photos.app.goo.gl/NVTFbUfwkT6ZprAp8

Stop 48: Badlands NP SD

Tuesday, July 17. We got on the line to get tickets for the cave tour at 7:30, knowing the doors open at 8am, and we're already #6 and 7. At 8:01 from the head of the snaking line for tickets inside the Visitor Center, the line extended through the Center, out the door, across the lawn to the sidewalk. They push 32 people every 20 minutes through a tour of the third longest known cave in the US. Based on the air it pushes, they estimate that the 450 miles mapped so far is only 10% of its extent.

The tour was excellent. Our guide was Puerto Rican, and did an excellent job of managing the tour, providing an ecological and historical and geologic perspective on our trek 200' underground. We emerged geologically stimulated, and proceeded to Jewel Cave posthaste.

Alas, Jewel Cave is like Wind Cave, you have to be in line at 8am to do a tour that day. Hmmm. So we went back to Custer State Part, paid our $20 entrance fee, and drove off to see Bison! But the herd was elsewhere. We drove the Wildlife Loop, but there weren't any. The Visitor Center said the 13,000 head were in the woods, away from any road. Well, that sucks!

When we paid our $20, the woman said our best hope without reservations was another hour or so West. Custer had nice hills but no bison, we got Burned! So we headed East to the Badlands.

Google directed us to a Dispersed Camping site on the western side of the park, over 30+ miles of washboard. But the temperature was over 90, horseflies were ravenous, and shade was non-existent. So Sharon suggested we continue on to the other campground, that has power!

So we continue on the washboard double track through the Badlands for way too long, and then finally hitting pavement again. My goal was a campsite; unfortunately Sharon's goal was photographing the Badlands and the Bighorn Sheep that seemed to be everywhere. Sharon got more pictures than she needs, and I drove around the melange of vehicles stopping randomly and stupidly.

(There aughta be a Tourist License, required of anyone who wants to drive 200? miles from their home, to ensure they know how to navigate cyclists on the road, passing lanes, and lanes that you should keep in, even if the road turns and dips and rises. The Dumbing Down of America is far too well along. One couple simply parked their SUV in the middle of the lane so they could walk 50 yards to take pictures of themselves, so we sat for several minutes before we could get around their vehicle. I'm glad I don't have a big front bumper, or I would have been tempted to push their car out of the way.)

We arrived at the"Real" campground in the Badlands around 5, and it's Full. Argh! So we hit the Visitor Center where Sharon can get Local info on Dispersed Camping. As we see where we can look, John (the Awesome Sweep of our Wind Caves tour group) appears out of the Ether, and says, "You can have our site."

We knew the weather was calling for really bad T-storms. But we're in Ernie, so I'm thinking a Hurricane Party at worst. But Tom has kids, and a tent, and it's impressive how he explains to the kids how cool it is to not deal with flash floods and the like. Smart decision on his part, and we are overjoyed to have a tent site!

We get level without chocks, and the weather sends us cooler temps in anticipation of monster storms, and they hold off as we eat dinner outside bedside Ernie.

South Dakota pictures are at https://photos.app.goo.gl/6Zym5bhyQ6k5XoZ39

Stop 47: Wind Caves NP

Monday, July 16. The day started with a bike ride, not quite 7 miles of lovely singletrack around the reservoir. Most of it was the two flowing green trails around the reservoir, and then there was Granite Ridge. It started as easy as the greens, and we even wondered at one point why it was labeled Blue. And then we found out. It got steep. And a lot twistier with tight switchbacks made more rideable on the uphill by the naturally unweighted front wheel. Funny though, my heavily weighted front wheel sucked on the counterparts coming back down from the ridge.

And then there was the Ridge. Getting there required climbing out of the saddle, adjusting my weight to maintain traction on both wheels, which is and was fun when you get it right, and you ascend. I couldn't do it all, but maybe tomorrow.

But the Ridge. It was Granite. The trail couldn't be better named without using a second adjective starting with the letter 'F'. It wasn't friendly. The trail designer made the most of the impressive (granite) formations, with the narrow trail winding around huge boulder-like chunks of rock that are actually also under dirt and rocks you're riding on. We walked a bunch. Cool features that with experience I could learn how to set my pedals and front wheel to wheedle through, and others I have no idea how I will ever clear cleanly. One chunk of granite I couldn't even walk my bike over, and ended up twisting my rear wheel and my handlebars, but nothing permanent. All in all, a great ride, especially when we encountered a trail maintenance crew! And Steve Miller Band playing! A perfect end of a challenging and glorious ride.

Then we drove. Twenty miles back to I-25, then after another 10, we got on US 85 heading North. We stopped in Torrington for the wine we didn't get at Applejack on Sunday. (I need to keep a separate page for the BBI, Black Box Index. It's what we drink, and the price is all over, from $14.50 in Montana to $26.98 in Colorado.)

Google Maps led us to Wind Caves NP (only the 7th park created), where we found a campsite and after checking out the Visitor Center (reservations for tomorrow's cave tours go on sale at 8am for the 8:45 tour and the rest of the day), we found a nice hike that offered good views of the hilly prairie terrain. Storm clouds grew, and the approaching peals of thunder along with decreasing temperature and increasing wind gave us impetus to get back to Ernie, and then enjoy the spectacle with a cocktail!

Alas, the rain mostly fell to the North, so no flash floods for us, just a tasty dinner after looking at maps and talking options for the next week and a half. From here, Custer and then Badlands, before up the Missouri River into North Dakota to US 2, and take it East. Between WikiCamp and AllStays and paper maps from Visitor Centers, we should be able to find our way.

We are also in a no wifi, no cell service area of the country. Our phones come alive as we travel near bigger towns, and Sharon does her best in these windows to check messages/email/fb, but we are off the grid in many ways.

South Dakota Pictures are at https://photos.app.goo.gl/6Zym5bhyQ6k5XoZ39

Stop 46: Curt Gowdy SP

Sunday, July 15. We left Winter Park, heading over the pass and down towards Denver. We stopped first in Golden and a Safeway across the street from where I worked when I first moved to Colorado in '81. It was interesting to see the changes in the town. Foss Drug was always a fixture, and the Foss family owned almost as much of the town as the School of Mines and Coors. But their drugstore was gone, the building now some sports store.

We then headed for the Ship Rock Grille at the Red Rocks Amphitheater to meet up with Vickie and Bill & Marilyn. Sharon and Vickie met back in the 70s in WP, while we met Bill and Marilyn on an MS 150 ride in Daytona when they were still living in Jacksonville. We caught up on life over great food, and afterwards we got to show off Ernie.

Bidding dear friends goodbye, it was only fitting that the sky started crying as we left Red Rocks and got on the interstate, I-70 to I-76 to I-25. Sunday afternoon traffic in Denver was medium, but the downpour slowed most everything down as visibility and traction diminished. Heading North we shared the road with half the cars returning to Denver on I-25, and we never had a significant slowdown, Hallelujah!

I-80 Westbound was closed when we got to the exit in Wyoming, but I was happy to take the old Happy Jack Road to Curt Gowdy SP. The rain was transitioning lighter and lighter, and stopped as we turned into the park. We found a lovely site by one of the three reservoirs, and miracle of miracles, we found level without pulling out the chocks.

It's funny, when we found the site a guy was walking around the shoreline before walking back to his fifth wheel monster trailer. We parked while we discussed the site, and then we watched him leave the site he was in up the hill and take the site next to our choice. He backed it expertly right in front of Ernie. We figured he would also have a generator for something that big, so we drove away to find a quieter site. But as we watched from afar he seemed unhappy with his trailer on such unlevel and soft ground, and left the loop entirely for better options. So we drove back to take our site again, and stayed, hopeful our evening would be rumble free.

We got our rain-washed bikes out and rode a green trail around one end of the reservoir, and scoped out some other trails. The temperature was around 50 after the rain, with wind and humidity, so we headed back to the warmth of Ernie for a nice dinner of stuffed portibello mushrooms.

Bunnies and Canada Geese were our only neighbors, and that was fine. We took a walk as dusk settled, avoiding the goose poop, and checked out the vault toilet for our loop. What kind of people trash toilets? The last campground we were at had a poop smeared women's toilet, and here it's the men's. I can't imagine what prompts someone to do this.

Pictures from Red Rocks are at https://photos.app.goo.gl/mwTtaEQkyWM7zhGK9

Pictures from Curt Gowdy are at https://photos.app.goo.gl/uL32ZD4GY4Zgey6V8

Stop 45: Winter Park CO

Thursday, July 12. Winter Park is where Sharon has lived the longest, after St. Pete Beach and Atlantic/Neptune , but Ernie is coming on with a strong #4. It was a short drive to WP from our campground on Rabbit Ears Pass, made longer by driving down the pass and then back up to find a hiking trail, and it wasn't even for the one we wanted. And the hike was abbreviated when we came upon a dude in t-shirt and shorts who got lost yesterday and spent the night in the woods. He was thirsty and hungry and lost. So we gave him water and a fig bar and led him back to a trail. He didn't want to go back the way we were, so he continued on a trail that should have ended up back at the trailhead, but he wasn't there when we returned. And there were police officers looking for him at the parking lot, so we passed on what we could to them.

US-40 to Winter Park is a beautiful drive, following the Colorado River when it's still small.  Driving through Kremmling and Hot Springs and Granby and then Tabernash before coming into Fraser and lunch at Azteca, a favorite Mexican restaurant. Our lunch wasn't quite up to our expectations, but it was still good, and it will stay on our favorites list.

Well fed, it was off to St. Louis Campground for parking and unleashing our bikes for a romp. Creekside is a lot rockier in Summer on mountain bikes than in Winter on x-skis. But we persevered, and then took Flume and Chainsaw back, faster, smoother, and more downhill, all the while listening to thunder and ever darkening skies. We got back to Ernie and packed the bike gear quickly.

A dear friend is building a new house in Fraser, and we took the opportunity to stop by Greg's new construction to see what he's up to. His plans are inspiring, as well as his work ethic. We got a tour, then agreed to meet up at Deno's later.

Peter and Sandra have a beautiful townhome in Winter Park. Peter sent me the garage code, and we parked Ernie in front of the garage.

We caught up with Greg at Deno's, then relaxed in the luxury of the townhome before another sublime rest in Ernie.

Day 2, Friday July 13.

We drove to the top of Berthoud Pass, then hiked to the top, from 11,300' to 12,500' in a little over 2 miles.  Beautiful views, but it got us huffing and puffing.

Returning to the lower altitude of Winter Park (9950'), we rode to the grocery store with my panniers. One, it was good exercise, and two, Ernie would have been a problem to park.

We broke out our computers for the first time since Port Townsend, and I was able to update the Reality spreadsheet of where we've been and where we might go. Sharon tried to do some work related stuff, but had an issue.

Peter and Sandra and Quentin and Poppy arrived, and we enjoyed catching up on everyone's lives over dinner, and Peter and I got in a little bike ride with Poppy at sunset.

Day 3, Saturday, July 14.

After a flavorful breakfast we all took to the trails. Winter Park has a bajillion miles of mountain bike trails and forest roads, and we got quite the workout both climbing and descending. I'd like to say some of the vistas took my breath away, but the climbs immediately before were more likely the cause.

Jennifer came up for the evening, and all is good.

Pictures are at https://photos.app.goo.gl/hwHtwMLdU1XEEvnV9

Stop 40: Wild Goose CG, Idaho

Saturday, July 7. We left Norman in the capable hands of Brian & Katy and nanny Julie and took US 12 out of Missoula and followed the road as it weaved up a canyon and then down alongside an expanding river as it absorbed the many tributaries. We stopped at the last campground in the national forests we drove through. We're sure it was the last, since we drove out of the forest for 10+ miles before turning around.

With only 7 sites, the campground is small, close by the road, but close by the river also. The lure of the river's gentle flow won out easily to our ears. We set up our chairs on the beach, but eventually relocated under the pines to keep us out of the relentless sun.

Sharon thought about putting her SUP in the water, but felt the downside of getting caught in the current outweighed the pleasure of paddling in the more quiet sidepools. Once in the shade, we watched other (younger) campers paddling up a sidepool and then moving into the edge of the current back to the other end of the pool. It did look fun.

Idaho Pictures are at
https://photos.app.goo.gl/xuUcHQ6QC223skGfA