Transitions can be challenging and lonely. I miss the companionship of my traveling friends: sharing conversation, experiences, laughs, learning, decision-making. After almost 3 weeks of traveling with CT, I’m on my own now.
I retreated to nearby familiar grounds: William O’Brien State Park, NE of Minneapolis/St. Paul on the beautiful St. Croix River. This is my third time at this park. With miles of easy hiking and somewhat secluded campsites it provided the needed solitude to wrap my head around venturing in to the next segment of this journey, whatever THAT might be.
After three nights and four glorious days I told myself it was time to buck up and move on. Late in the afternoon (MN check-out time of state parks is 4PM!), with my compass pointing North, I traveled along the scenic St. Croix River valley, then merged on to Hwy 35 towards Hinckley, MN with the idea of staying in a nearby county park.
Enroute, enjoying a rare-for-me NPR/MPR radio broadcast, it was suddenly interrupted I.N.T.E.R.R.U.P.T.E.D! with an emergency weather warning. A warning about a line of severe storms and possible tornadoes in areas I wasn’t familiar with, county names I didn’t know! All I knew was that the sky looked strange, it was getting dark, and I didn’t know which way to go to move away from potential weather danger. Yikes!
A phone call to my trusted knowledgable-in-just-about-everything Guru Chris, calmed my nerves. He soon found the NOAA warnings, identified my position and calmly guided me away from any potential danger. It felt comforting that Chris knew where I was, where the tornado watches were, and that I could connect with him by phone.
Note to self: Tornadoes are possible in Minnesota from March through November, but the peak tornado month is June, followed by July, May, and August. The state averages 27 tornadoes per year.
Wanting shelter to duck into if the weather turned frightening, the place of slumber was a casino parking lot in Danbury, WI. It was a ragged night of sleep with pounding rain, thunder, lightning, and winds but I felt safe. Strange, the morning after was as pleasant as could be.
Bass Lake Bliss
Lordy, this is how it goes: where to now? At times, having no particular place to go gets tedious.
The cost of $11.50/night at a Forest Service Campground called to me and I headed to Two Lakes Campground on Bass and Owen Lakes near Drummond, WI. It was golden. After 3 nights, I paid for another 4. Views, good food, a variety of weather, hiking, stand-up-paddle boarding, a day trip, and what I’ve always pined for: a week on a secluded lake listening to loons. At the end of this post is a link to one of my videos (thanks Chris!) to hear what I heard all week.
Lulu is well supplied with fresh and shelf-stable foods. Using a 35 qt. Yeti cooler acts as my fridge and the fridge acts as a pantry.
More exciting weather:
The photo below from ‘the day after’ looks calm and serene. But last evening, Sept. 20th, 8 fellow campers and I huddled in and around this ‘tornado-resistant shelter’ while winds kicked up and the rains came hammering down with inches accumulating in the rain gauge overnight. Luck was with me when I happened to be out for a walk from my secluded campsite. Gazing at an unusual sky, another camper biked up and inquired if I’d seen the forecast: we’re in direct line for a tornado warning and are encouraged to take shelter as soon as possible. While some local campers felt confident shelter wasn’t necessary, relating that the air didn’t feel tornado-ish, the sky didn’t look the part, I was sticking with the conservatives on this one. Able to access NOAA’s radar on my phone connection, we watches the storms’ movement and were alerted when the coast was clear.
Day Trip: The Apostle Islands
Just an hour drive away, thru Washburn and on to charming, historic Bayfield, WI, is the “Gateway to the Apostle Islands”. After parking Lulu a few blocks away, with bike pannier packed, I hop on the only ferry in the islands whose only destination is Madeline Island, home to Big Bay State Park which is today’s biking destination for hiking. A lovely day after last evenings tornado excitement: the skies were blue, the wind was light, and the terrain was flat for riding.
Welcoming town on Madeline Island 
Apostle Islands are popular for kayaking 
Huge stretch of sandy beach on Big Bay 
Gorgeous views all around on Madeline Island
Moving Onward:
Taking advantage of location and weather, I was able to postpone connecting with cousin Monica and take an extra week to explore the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Traveling through familiar towns of Ashland and Hurley (Mom’s hometown) in Wisconsin: onward to Ironwood (pasties!) and further to popular Presque Isle Campground in Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, and even further, thru Houghton and Hancock all the way to Copper Harbor.
Sunrise view from Portage Canal across from Hancock, MI 
Fantastic hiking with gorgeous fall colors at Porqupine Wilderness State Park
Escarpment Trail Porcupine Wilderness 
Fall colors were brilliant. Lake Superior in the distance
In summary, transitions are challenging. ‘What’s next’ and being alone can be unsettling. Taking my time to enjoy and appreciate ‘what is’ usually produces ‘Wows’. Seventeen days provided a multitude of experiences untold. But this time, the week of listening to loons at Bass Lake was the icing on the cake.
What a great story! Almost as good as being there. Thanks for sharing the ups and downs! The photos give you a glimpse of the wonder of all that you are experiencing.