I slept OK, although Puck got me up REALLY early--as in, the sun wasn't up and the sky was barely light. So he got put in the kennel, which he didn't like, while I tried to sleep in a bit. We were up and gone by 7:45.
I wanted to go to International Falls and see (at least a bit) of the Minnesota north woods, so we headed northeast. The landscape went from trees and fields to just trees, from a mixed forest to just conifers, as we went north. The road also deteriorated; some of it resembled the infamous Minnesota highway 60 from last year, though it never reached that level of awfulness.
International Falls itself is a nice little northern town, pretty much indistinguishable except for a huge plant of some sort (maybe lumber or mining?). I did stop to look at some bikes, though they were expensive, and I should have stopped at the giant statue of Smokey the bear (with two little bears at his feet looking scared--hell, if I were that close to a giant Smokey, I'd be scared too!). There's something about this area and giant statues; I counted no fewer than three giant statues of fish before I reached Duluth, one of which you could climb on into a convenient saddle for pictures.
I stopped outside of town to get gas (by the aforementioned ridable fish) (and of course later passed lots of stations with cheaper gas) and headed back southeast. I got a Subway sandwich in Cook, and let the cats out for a pit stop while I ate it, then continued.
More woods, four-lane here on out. Through Duluth (the transition from Minnesota to Wisconsin was a bit terrifying, with one-lane bridges and unexpected traffic lights and hills), then along route 2.
It is a really lovely day, although it's definitely warm. Sunny, a very good breeze. I stopped in Ashland at the municipal campground, only to find that my rig wouldn't fit into any of the remaining campsites (and when I tried, it was so tilted I never would have levelled it). Which is a shame, since it was on the lake and would have made a nice stop.
So I'm at the Bad River Casino, in Odanah. There are a dozen or so free RV spots, with electric and water, which is the best deal ever. I'm on the end (after unnecessarily freaking out another guy who thought I was going to ram into him--I wasn't anywhere near him), next to a very nice guy who helped me back into the spots (which makes me feel better about being here). The casino is small by Vegas standards, but is full of machines and a few tables, as well as cigarette smoke (it didn't seem too bad when I was in there, but I can still smell the smoke on my clothes). Plus, free Pepsi! You just walk up, grab a cup, and fill up at the pop fountain.
The cats are actually happy about the heat--at least Nell is. I'm not sure about Puck; he's like me. However, he was chasing flies earlier (he loves to eat some flies!) and now he's on the floor with his head pillowed on the tribble cat toy; he can't be too unhappy. Besides, both of them ate like starving wolves. When it cools down a bit and I feel more confident about closing a window or two (it's too damn easy to break into this thing, since the screens just slide open), I'm going into the cafe for their meatloaf dinner, I think. The cafe closes at 9pm, but I think the casino is open later. I may have to blow some money there as well.
July 9--St. Ignace, MI
Damn, it got hot. That parking lot was like being in a frying pan. I eventually figured it wasn't going to cool down anytime soon (and the breeze began to die!) so I shut everything up and put on the air conditioning full blast. Which was like spitting on a forest fire; my A/C is just not impressive. This worries me, because it's going to be hot this week. Anyway, after 45 minutes or so, the temperature had dropped a whole 4 degrees inside, and I was hungry, so I abandoned the cats and went into the casino and had dinner. A big overcooked chopped steak, some overcooked carrots, a tasty baked potato with roll (trust the starches to be tasty!) and an iceberg-lettuce salad. I've had worse. I then gambled a dollar or so, before heading back to the RV. The sun had gone down, and it was 84 in the rig, so I gave up (it was 79 outside), turned off the A/C, opened all the windows (the breeze had completely died, which was no help), and didn't sleep well.
Puck woke me up early, I put him in the kennel and slept another hour. Then I got up, read a bit, fed the cats, and ate breakfast in the casino--other than overdone (for me) toast, the eggs and ham and potatoes and tea was very yummy, and cheap! I packed up and used the (free!) dump station for my tanks, which was rather disgusting; I think some people didn't use a hose, they just opened their tank in the general vicinity of the dump. Ew. Afterwards, I went back to the casino, washed my hands thoroughly (I wanted to scour my entire body at that point), grabbed a free Pepsi for the road, and headed east.
I got gas in Ironwood, MI, and kept driving. The weather was nice, although the wind began to blow--behind us, yay! I drove and drove and drove, and the scenery was pretty (I remember at one point marveling at the pastures, wondering how they got here in this north woods, then found out that the place had been logged to bare ground 100 years ago--that'll do it), and drove some more. I stopped east of Marquette to put my feet in Lake Superior, and damn did that feel good. The lake didn't seem that cold, and my ankles aren't happy with me; I've been eating too many carbs and not exercising enough and been sitting too long, and my ankles are puffy. I stopped in Munising to get pasties for dinner (and tomorrow's lunch!), then kept driving. I was tired then, and I'm exhausted now. I should have stopped, but I kept going.
I'm in St. Ignace, in the KOA, in the same spot I was in last year (shaded and relatively flat--since the place is mostly empty, I could pick my own spot). I thought about trying a new campground; there are a few that are nearer the lakeshore, but they don't have internet or they aren't flat and I'm too tired to be disappointed. So I came here. Besides, I hope to use the pool, which none of the others have.
I'm here for two nights. I don't plan on doing anything tomorrow--well, I'm going to do laundry, and sweep the rig, but I'm also going to nap and read and let my ankles unpuff and go swimming and pet the cats and drink a lot of water and try not to eat too much. I don't think this coming week, as much fun as it's going to be, is going to be very restful. So, I'm taking tomorrow off. Unless I get really bored, then I'll go to Mackinaw Island, but I was there last year and don't have a burning urge to go back. I can always take the free shuttle bus to downtown St. Ignace, and then just walk around town--that might work.
I think I'm going to not do the pool tonight, just shower and read and go to bed early. I'm so tired I'm dizzy--way too much driving. There are a couple of little kids running around like banshees--I'm tempted to set up a cord to trip the little buggers. They're about 8 or 10; they should know better. Their parents are letting them run wild; tire them out, I guess. Ah well, just call me Dr. Evil!
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