Biking - Sangamon Valley Trail

 We had a relaxing morning at the campsite before heading out around 9:00. It’s always much easier to get on the road when we haven’t unhooked the trailer the night before.

On the way, we stopped near Springfield, Illinois to ride the Sangamon Valley Trail and ended up biking 14 miles. It’s a beautiful trail and obviously very popular, as we passed plenty of cyclists, hikers, and moms pushing strollers along the way. The path is mostly tree-lined and nicely shaded, with a few wooden bridges crossing over creeks and roads. It was the perfect break in our travel day.

Back at the trailer, we had spinach dip for lunch. We recently rediscovered spinach dip and are very happy it has made its way back into our lives. So good!

We had another night booked at Pere Marquette, and Ricky and Rae said they would meet us at Aerie’s Winery. It’s always a treat to see one of our kids, but even nicer when we get to see them twice within two weeks.

To get to the winery, we rode a gondola up the hillside, which was a fun experience. Along the way, we spotted several deer below us, and as we climbed higher, beautiful views of the surrounding countryside and the Mississippi River opened up before us.

We enjoyed a lovely dinner outside on the deck, taking in the scenery and savoring the time together. Before long, it was time to ride the gondola back down. We said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways, already looking forward to the next time we can be together, whenever that may be. ❤️

Biking- Weldon Springs

 We got the trailer packed up and ready so we could be at the RV dealer in Sheboygan right at 9:00. Scotty ended up buying a new converter, and it cost about $290 more than we had hoped to spend, but it’s one of those necessary repairs to keep the trailer running properly. At this point, we’re starting to think Wisconsin is an expensive state between the campground fees and now this!

To improve the mood a little, we stopped at Culver’s for lunch. We had sandwiches, I shared some of Scotty’s cheese curds, and the best part was getting ice cream to go. Scotty made me wait until we reached the campsite before eating mine. Too bad the refrigerator was still working!

From there we headed to Weldon Springs State Park in Illinois. It’s a smaller park with a lake nearby and a quieter feel. As soon as we got parked, Scotty immediately started working on the converter and had everything fixed within thirty minutes. He’s pretty amazing when it comes to this stuff.

With daylight still left, we went out for a 10-mile bike ride and stopped at a grocery store for baby wipes. When we’re camping, we don’t always shower if we haven’t gotten too sweaty, and whenever we can, we prefer using the campground showers.

Biking - Sheboygan, Wisconsin

 Today was a lazy morning as I stayed in bed for a while. I had a fantastic night of sleep, which was much needed after a few restless nights. The campers next to us had been up late the night before, and every step they took sounded like it was right outside our trailer. Lucky for Scotty, I stayed awake to guard our home anyway. 😄

Eventually we got on our bikes and rode the trail into Sheboygan. It’s a great trail with space beside the road clearly marked for bikes, so riding with traffic felt very safe. There was very little incline, making it mostly smooth, easy riding. Along the way, we stopped at the James Tellen Woodland Sculpture Garden. It’s a quirky spot with lots of cement statues apparently made by a man possibly around the 1950s. 

We passed through some really beautiful neighborhoods and spent part of the ride alongside Lake Michigan.

We stopped for a late lunch at [blank]. We each ordered cheeseburgers and they were absolutely delicious — big, juicy burgers served on hard rolls. I had a side salad while Scotty ordered cheese curds, which were really, really good: chewy, squeaky, and everything cheese curds should be.

After lunch we rode along the harbor and riverside toward the small lighthouse. It was such a beautiful area, and you could tell a lot of careful planning went into the development. On the way back to camp we stopped at the nature center, which was small but very well designed.

Back at camp, we decided to use the campground showers, and that turned out to be a great decision. The water pressure was amazing and the shower was wonderfully hot. It felt lovely after the day’s ride which totaled 19 miles.

There was still daylight left, so I sat out in the sun while Scotty tinkered with the battery, which has been a little temperamental on this trip. I also rode down to the marsh walk for sunset.

Kayak - Big Eau Pleine Campground

 We couldn’t check into our next campsite until 3:00, and with a late checkout here, we decided to spend the warm afternoon out on the lake. Temperatures were in the upper 70s, pushing close to 80, making it a perfect day for a paddle.

It turned out to be a pretty uneventful 3.3-mile trip, but we did spot a dive team putting in at the boat launch and a group of pelicans floating farther out on the lake. After paddling, we headed back to the trailer for a simple sandwich lunch before moving on to our next stop.

Biking - Big Eau Pleine

 Today is Monday, Memorial Day and it was interesting to watch our campground empty out. When we came in, we took the last site. But now we  are just one of a very few around the campground.

We decided to go for a bike ride and it turned out to be a lovely 12 mile ride. The road just into our campground is 5 miles. We are in a state park and there are many trees as to be expected. What is beautiful are the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of ferns lining the forest floor. It was a lovely ride.

Kayak - Apostle Islands

 After some cold, windy days, we were happy to wake up to a calmer morning — still cold, but much more manageable. Since we didn’t have to check out until three, we decided to head back to Myers Beach for another kayak trip. We arrived around 8:15 and immediately unloaded the kayaks so we could be on the water by 8:40.

The fog was incredibly thick. I was nervous about going too far out onto the lake, so we stayed close to shore — maybe twenty feet away — and even then, the shoreline and trees disappeared into the mist. It had such an eerie feeling to it. The upside was that the water was perfectly calm.

Eventually, through the fog, we could make out the faint outline of a cliff directly ahead of us. But we couldn’t really see it clearly until we were only about twelve feet away. We stopped there in the water, hoping the fog would lift enough for us to see the formations, and slowly it began to clear. As we rounded the point, sunlight started streaming through the fog, and I’m so glad we decided to come back out that morning. The light was simply incredible.

This will easily be one of the paddles I remember most. It’s hard to fully describe how beautiful it was, but the photos tell the story better than words can. I took lots and lots and lots of pictures — and once you see them, I think you’ll understand why.

We paddled farther along the cliffs than we had the first time, weaving into grottos and caves. We even spotted several ice formations clinging to the cliff faces, a reminder of just how cold the water really was. There were plenty of safety warnings posted, and I remember reading that hypothermia could set in after only thirty minutes in the water. I definitely had no interest in testing that.

By the time we turned around, the first guided kayaking group was arriving, and on our way back to the launch we passed several more groups heading out. Back in the parking lot, kayak outfitters were everywhere, but for a little while that morning, we had the cliffs entirely to ourselves.

Once back at camp, we had lunch and packed everything up — something we’ve become pretty efficient at by now.

A four-hour drive brought us to our next campsite at Eau Pleine. Since it was Memorial Day weekend, the campground was completely full, and we pulled into the very last empty site.

Hiking - Meyers Beach Cliff Trail

 Rain rain go away. It finally did seem to lessen about 1 o’clock, so we headed to Myers Beach for a hike. We ended up poking about 5 miles. It’s an out and back path along the cliffs. The majority of the hike is in the woods, so you can’t really see the lake until the very end. The first 3/4 of a mile is a boardwalk, which makes it very easy walking after that. There were some muddy spots which turned out to be slick in some places. The last half mile has about six overlook from where you can see the sea caves down below. It was fun to see the case from above when we had just paddled them a few days before. We were lucky that it never did rain on us. We had a scrumptious dinner of Lake White Fish, and a salad when we got back to the trailer that evening.