Terri and Peter's RV Adventures

Posted July 16 due to balky Star Link in the Woods

When I was planning this trip, I didn’t realize that our next campground, Point Beach State Forest was south of Door County. I just liked the location on Lake Michigan. I guess it doesn’t matter much. While I’d like to have seen Sturgeon Bay (it’s not too far from here), I’m ready to head south and into more nature before we surrender to civilization. The drive was only 85 miles but took two hours with the two lane roads. We weren’t in any hurry as we had to be out of our campground by noon and couldn’t get into the current one until three. Perfect opportunity to stop for lunch.

The challenge of finding a lunch spot on a two lane road (vs. an interstate that’s geared for long vehicles and has large parking lots) with the trailer is finding a place quickly with time to stop that has a parking option that won’t lead us down a dead end with no turn around options. You have to think it through before committing to any turns.

But hunger was impeding my good judgement and we entered Algoma (claiming to be the “Sport Fishing Capital of the Great Lakes”). A typical rural Wisconsin town, there’s a bar on every corner, often signified by a Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer sign (the iconic red white a blue ones) over the door. We opted for a place called Off the Hook. Of course, my image was fresh fish. Hah! Try all you can eat tacos at a steam table taco bar, a tacky laminated blond wood table with dinette chairs and a waitress who, when asked if the taco bowl shell was flour or corn tortilla said, “It’s white. Is that bad?” I ordered a salad. It seemed safe.

Either my standards have dropped so low I can’t even tell good from meh, it wasn’t half bad. Of course, it was iceberg lettuce, shredded Mexican blend cheese and standard salad vegetables from a Sysco kit, I’m guessing. But, it was definitely a local and authentic place, as witnessed by the posters you pass when going from the darkened sports bar to the restaurant.

There are definitely parts of this rural Wisconsin that feels like it hasn’t changed in 50 years. (Door County is an exception as its tourism forces it to up its game while retaining its roots and charm.) I won’t go into detail, but I lived in Sheboygan, WI for a year when I was 20. My life was so small and I was a mess. I had no idea that I was a mere 45 minutes away from Door County. I never ventured out of that little town except to finally escape to Dallas where I thought that if it was sunny all the time, I’d be happy all the time. That was the beginning of the end of that desperate part of my life, thankfully. I’m sad when I get back in touch with that very young, struggling part of me. Fortunately, I was able to find my way out of that morass and start my life.

But back to today. We arrived at Point Beach State Forest campground and had the most difficult campsite to navigate into we’ve ever had to tackle. There were multiple three foot stone walls, trees leaning into the gravel campspot, a narrow paved road and picnic tables, all aiming to ding us one way or the other. Peter took on the challenge and was masterful. It took an hour but we finally did it. I succeeded in not letting us bang into anything and he visualized the trajectory and executed it. And, we are still talking to each other! It was an overall success.

I had to drive the dogs to the “dog friendly” beach but it was worth it, certainly for Lily. You’ve heard me talk about what a maniac she is with the ball. I was literally throwing balls for 50 minutes nonstop into the lake. The final third of her energy ramps up to a frenetic pace and it’s like the grande finale of a fireworks show. It’s rapid fire throw, retrieve, throw retrieve until she starts to wobble a bit. She won’t stop but I know I’ve got her in my sights and she’ll sleep well if I stop.

We returned to camp, grilled BBQ chicken and made rice and broccoli. I used a new Door County BBQ sauce and it was delicious. Our campsite is incredibly private. We have no immediate neighbors, with one site next to us empty and the other sides are woods with trails leading everywhere.

It should be really nice exploring the woods and more of the beach tomorrow. We’re here two nights before driving a whopping three miles to a private campground that will have more amenities but probably less privacy. We’ll enjoy this immersion in nature while we can.