T1 Day 51 (Kayla)

 Day 51 -

July 27th: Algonac, MI to Dutton, ON

Okay so I know I’m long overdue to write up our review of Michigan. So sorry about that for our loyal readers out there! Before I give you our review though I have to tell you about our last night in Michigan, because it was not one that will easily be forgotten, at least for me. So as you heard from Liz, we had had quite the day getting to our campsite the day before, and so we figured the worst was behind us, but of course it didn’t end there. Michigan really wanted to give us a kick in the backside on our way out, and it was in the form of mosquitos. So many mosquitos. I mean SWARMs. I think I counted at least 70 on my tent a one point. So obviously we were all hiding in our tents for the night to avoid the mosquitos, and also the continuous rain, and that probably would have been okay if it wasn’t for the fact that 1 hour after getting in my tent and killing all the mosquitos that had snuck in I had to go pee… I tried to run as fast as I could to the woods and be as efficient as possible, but I was immediately met with a swarm, it was as if they had been waiting for me. I jumped back in my tent and zipped it closed behind me, then began killing the intruders as fast as possible. Clapping them in the air was my primary approach and I was able to take care of them pretty quick. Unfortunately 2 hours later I awoke. I had to pee again. SHIT. This never happens to me, why was this happening now on all nights. I turned my headlight to the door. It was COVERED in mosquitos. I think they had been gathering as I slept. I wanted to cry, I considered the alternate options, but I just couldn’t quite manage the idea of peeing into my water bottle. I took a deep breath and unzipped the door. Immediately I felt the mosquitos cover my face, then my neck, my legs, my back, my butt, they were everywhere. I couldn’t get back in my tent fast enough. This time about 30 must have made it in with me. Then came the killing, here are some techniques I recommend: 

1. clapping them out of the air: pro - get multiple at once ; con - less successful, also if you are lying on your back while doing this the dead mosquitos will rain down on your chest and it’s less than ideal. 

2. Slapping them while they’re biting you - pro: better success rates ; con - you are just slapping yourself 

3. Pinching: pro - good for mosquitos that have landed on the tent, and very satisfying emotionally ; con - not very efficient 

If you have any other strategies for killing mosquitos please leave in the comments below, I’d love to up my game. 

It took me about 45 minutes to get them all. That’s when it started raining harder and I realized that in the frenzy of everything I haven’t properly put back my rain fly. In order to fix it I would have to unzip my tent again. I tried to just stick my one arm out and fix it with one hand. No luck. Then I put on my rain coat and tried again. Still no luck. I checked the radar, only 30 minutes of rain left. I just decided to give up and leave it. 5 hours later my alarm went off. I’m getting out of here ASAP, I tell Liz and keelin, and that just what we did. We packed our stuff up quicker than ever and biked out of the trees and to the mowed lawn by the river where there were no mosquitos. We were reminded of a piece of advice we had been given back in North Dakota : in the Midwest if you have the option of staying in the woods or on the manicured lawn, stay on the lawn. Damn it, why hadn’t we listened. 

So anyways, here’s our review of Michigan, all 11 days of it! 

Scenery: 

Liz: 8.5

Kayla: 8

Keelin: 7.5 

There were parts that we loved (mainly the parts near Lake Michigan) but also some really boring stretches (farmland in central Michigan). 

Bikeability:

Kayla: 5

Liz: 5

Keelin: 4.5

Basically it seems like Michigan needs better funding for their DOT, also maybe someone needs to give them a lesson on how to pave a road. 

Weather:

Keelin: 5

Liz: 6

Kayla: 5

Lots of rain, like basically every single afternoon, but it wasn’t too bad until the second to last day. 

Lodging:

Liz: 9 (she got to stay with family)

Keelin: 8.5 

Kayla: 8 (would have rated it higher if it wasn’t for last night, my worst night of the trip by far)

Favorite meal:

Liz: her aunts whitefish dinner 

Keelin: Cinnamon streusel bread breakfast at Liz’s aunt and uncles 

Kayla: Liz’s aunts whitefish dinner (the setting, the company, the food, everything was fantastic)

Favorite thing you’re carrying: 

Kayla: Garmin (its been essential for getting us where we need to go smoothly and also for sharing our location with friends and fam!)

Keelin: her book (the princess bride - kindly gifted to her by a warm showers host)

Liz: sleeping bag 

Least favorite thing you’re carrying:

Liz: trowel (haven’t had to use)

Kayla: Speaker (stopped working in Michigan, along with 3 of my charging cords.. ) 

Keelin: the water bladder that she hasn’t had to touch this whole trip because she also has 4 water bottles which she has never even finished. 

Favorite town: 

All: charlevoix  (there was a Venetian fair happening and it was so fun!)

Advice for Michigan:

Keelin: bike the tunnel of trees and stop at legs Inn (not sure why but that is everyone’s advice)

Liz: stop at legs inn (because that everyone’s advice)

Kayla: If you have the option of sleeping in the woods or sleeping on the manicured lawn, sleep on the lawn. 

Least favorite campground: 

Kayla: Algonac state park (mosquito swarms)

Liz: sunrise lake in Leroy (loud neighbors)

Keelin: Algonac state park 

Favorite energy goo flavor:

Liz: clif Razz 

Kayla: Pineapple gu roctane 

Keelin: gu birthday cake 

After 3 miles of biking we reached the end of Michigan, a dock for a small ferry that would take us across the river to Walpole island in Ontario, Canada! We walked our bikes on to the small flat ferry, which ended up being a private shuttle since we were the only passengers. It took us about 12 minutes to cross and we were greeted in the other side by a single border patrol officer standing in the middle of the road. After a few questions about  what we were up to we were on our way. Based on the scenery it would have been impossible to tell we had crossed into a different country. It was the same rivers and farmland we had been biking along for the past few days. The main difference was the roads, which seemed to be largely gravel all of the sudden, and the signs in kilometers. We stopped in Wallace burg for groceries, then a country market in the small town of Kent bridge for lunch. The market was a cute place with lots of Amish goods, including baked goods, ice cream and sandwiches. The owner stopped to ask us where we were headed and once he heard he asked if he could take our picture for the stores Facebook page!

After lunch we continued on, hoping for views of Lake Erie but finding none through the haze. Between the road and the lake were 1.5 miles of corn fields, and fields of other crops that we made guesses trying to identify. 

The towns were few and far between so finding a bathroom for business that would have required pulling out a trowel for the first time on the trip was a little tricky. But we were determined not to use the trowel now. The first building we saw was a restaurant called take a bite. The bathroom was for customers only, so we bought a water, then we sat down in the parking lot and leaned against the building for a good while to charge our devices, since we wouldn’t be at a place with facilities that night. In hindsight we should have also bought more water there, but we didn’t think of that at the time. 

That night we had our first experience with stealth camping. We found a provincial park (the Canadian equivalent of a state park it seems) which was located next to a historical homestead turned museum. It didn’t say you could camp but it also didn’t say you couldn’t. We waited until dusk to set up our tents, not wanting to raise any alarms and hoped that no one would mind. We were also pleased to find that there were toilets and electricity for us to use. But there was no water… and we had used all that we had left to cook dinner. We’d have to get 15 mi to the next town in the morning to get more. At least it meant I wouldn’t be getting up in the night to go pee.