Evan's Travels

To Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Points In Between

Life on the road has been very good so far.  I left Cincinnati on schedule Saturday, July 24 and meandered my way up to Schoolcraft, MI which is just south of Kalamazoo and the home of my Peace Corp friend Jeremia Johnson.  The journey was easy, uneventful and not especially interesting – farmland, most of it.  It was good to catch up with JJ and get a look at Kalamazoo, which is new territory for me. The city of Kalamazoo struck me as a typical, small midwestern town with the benefit of being the home to a number of colleges and the various shops, restaurants and bars that usually accompany them.  The park near the center had an interesting and used wading pool and there was a “Taste of …” event going on that attracted quite a crowd.

From Kalamazoo I make my way to Milwaukee via the Lake Express ferry which crosses Lake Michigan from Muskegon, MI in about 2 1/2 hours.  It is a ferry, but a nice one.  There were a number of other folks with motorcycles making the crossing.  Some of whom were just out riding but also some folks on their way to the Experimental Aircraft Association’s famous annual airshow in Oshkosh, WI.  It was a lovely day and the ride was fun.  It’s greatest benefit, however, was that it allowed me to bypass Chicago and the Dan Ryan Expressway!

Also, at the dock in Muskegon was the old S.S. Milwaukee Clipper that I rode across the lake when I was a kid.  It was built in 1904 and did ferry service from Milwaukee to Muskegon from 1941 until 1970.  Since that time it has been in a number of locations and operated as a floating museum.  Unfortunately, at the current time tours have been temporarily suspended.

My visit in Milwaukee was planned to include spending time with friends from years past, visiting with Peace Corps Vanuatu friends and their new baby and taking in a Red/Brewers baseball game at the now-no-so-new Miller Field which displaced the ballpark of my youth – Milwaukee County Stadium where I attended many Braves’ games in the “good old days.”  All my goals were accomplished — however, the Reds lost in spite of the Brewers only getting 3 hits [grump].  Just a side note here – this is Aya, the baby’s, 5th Brewers game in her 5 months of life and the Brewers have won every one of them.  That’s one way to get dad on your side.

From Milwaukee my destination was northern Wisconsin in the neighborhood of the Apostle Islands via the Janos family’s homesteads in Hustisford, WI – Willow Bank and, as I was reminded, Billow Wank.  I was successful in finding Willow Bank but got lost on the way to Billow Wank.  I suspect the latter was was moved in the dark of night to the other side of the Rock River, so I missed it.  As it was a two-day ride to Lake Superior, I stopped in Minocqua, WI at a nice mom-and-pop motel before arriving in Washburn, WI’s West End campground.

Northern Wisconsin is a very nice area, for those of you who have not been there, and the shore of Lake Superior can be quite spectacular.  Unfortunately, the time I was there it was overcast so the potential beauty of the place was somewhat muted.  I did, however, ride around the Red Cliff area, take a walk through the woods to view the Bayfield Sea Caves and take a boat trip to the Raspberry Island lighthouse where the U.S. Park Service has done a significant amount of restoration and runs tours.

My second night in the area there was significant rain, but it abated by morning so I departed under cloudy, but dry, conditions for Minneapolis to visit friends from years past and a Peace Corps friend from Vanuatu.  On the way, in Hayward, Wisconsin, the bike rolled 10,000 miles.  Since I picked it up March 20 with 9 miles on the odometer, it certainly can’t be argued that I haven’t used it!