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Ahhhh. What a refreshing night. Dana made coffee and we enjoyed the view while eating Tracey’s homemade Yogurt and Granola. Ahhhh and Mmmmm. To top off the morning, when we went to thank and say good-bye to Tracey, she had freshly made cookies ready for us. Not enough superlatives to describe how well she treated us.
Bikes loaded, cookies stowed, and thanks and good-byes said, we started our 68 mile ride to Warren Dunes State Park. One day before the Labor Day weekend started, we were pretty sure of getting a spot, but also knowing there will always be some spot at a Michigan SP for self-powered arrivals. Our biggest concern was staying ahead of the looming thunderstorms that were predicted to hit Douglas around noon. Radar said we would be OK as long as we kept moving south.
Good ride today, too, if a bit longer and up than we’ve been averaging. We made it as far as Lake Michigan Beach before it started raining on us. Not a downpour or anything, but enough to make us look for cover. We found some at DiMaggio’s Pizza and Burgers and made the best of it with a beer and grilled cheese comfort food. The waitress was extremely helpful and asked if we needed our water bottles filled and also replenished our ice (we carry Yeti-like mugs for a guaranteed cool one at the end of a hot day). The rain didn’t last long and dried up quickly. Dana got a text from Tracey asking if we got caught in the storms. We heard the thunder and saw the dark clouds north of us, but other than the short shower, we missed the worst of it. One time the weather folks were almost 100% correct (we weren’t supposed to get anything according to the radar! 😉).
We got to the park and picked a site — after a discussion about rustic vs. modern — I wanted more than a vault toilet and charging our stuff in a restroom a mile away, so the compromise was that I cover the extra $. Fine with me — money well spent. Our site was a short walk to the showers/toilets and was fairly isolated from the other campsites. We took a pre-shower ride to the dunes area to get a hike in before sunset. They were even more challenging than the dunes at Pyramid Point — steeper with deeper sand. We got a good workout, then went to the beach to wash off and cool our feet.
Back at the campsite, we went and got showers and started dinner. At one point when I was at the restroom, Dana texted that we had a racoon problem. I missed the text, but heard all about the varmint trying to get to our food and more importantly, steal Tracey’s cookies! So, after dinner, I emptied a pannier, gathered up all the food into it, and hung it up out of the critter’s reach. What a way to spend our last camping (and last touring) night.
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