Day 3

Wow, now THAT was an exodus. All day I had been seeing all manner of vehicles with things attached to them: towing a boat, towing a camper, towing a jet-ski, carrying some kayaks, carrying bicycles, and so on. My route had taken me northwest, on busy SR 29, so I didn't notice any obvious pattern. But then I reached Bonuel, self-proclaimed "Gateway to Recreation" and turned straight north. That's when I saw them coming. Mile after mile of returning vacationers heading south. There were more than 10 cars coming at me for every car going with me (I counted 240 vs. 19 in one stretch). I didn't even really need to follow directions; it turned out I could just do the opposite of everyone else: if there's a line of cars turning right and then heading towards me, I need to turn left. It was like some enormous concert was ending and all the traffic was being routed back home. Or like there was a hurricane brewing on Lake Superior, and the population was fleeing to safer ground. Or like the Hand of God had tilted up the state of Wisconsin on its lower edge, and all the cars were now tumbling down out of the north, so that I could have the region to myself (thanks, God!)

Oh yeah, I almost forgot how the day started out. The south winds had continued to blow, and perhaps even intensify, all night long. Just as I was about to exit the tent and pack up the bike, it finally started to rain. It let up after half an hour or so, so I was able to get a good start (again, with the rain still pushing me), but then it started again, and really began coming down just as I passed the Greenleaf Fireman's Park, which had some nice buildings where I could wait out the storm for an hour or so. As the day wore on, the clouds slowly broke up, and finally disappeared, although the wind decided it had had enough of making my life easy, and switched around to the northwest.

I ended the night at Bagley Rapids Campground in the Nicolet National Forest. This is one of those places that reminds me "yeah, this is why I do this". After witnessing the exodus, I had visions of the entire National Forest being left trampled, burned, and strewn with beer cans, but luckily that's not the case; I think there are two other campers here. The rapids are about 30 feet away from my tent; I'm not sure if the noise will help me sleep or keep me from sleeping. Guess I'll find out soon.

Epiphany of the day: my green bike with my golden-yellow rain covers make for perfect Green Bay Packers colors. Go Pack!