A nice game of fetch
I woke up as the sun burned through the clouds, got up, read while I waited for the sun to dry off my tent, when all of a sudden I was sitting in a dense fog. I swore, fearing that rain was moving in, and packed up my tent and gear. But it was just a pea soup fog out of nowhere. It lasted a few miles down the road, and then burned off to a hot humid day.
I was definitely dragging again today. I can tell I’m mentally preparing for my next destination, Minneapolis, rather than living in the moment. Of course, the scenery along State Highway 35 was pretty bland. Trees, an occasional house for sale, a tavern at every crossing of roads. My rear end is noticeably sore.
I changed my mind about three dozen times as to where I should camp. The original plan was to head back into Minnesota to the St Croix State Park. But when I realized it was at least fifteen miles further, and that I was going to have to backtrack the entire way the next morning to return to Wisconsin to hit one last great Wisconsin Cafe, I looked for something closer. On the Wisconsin side of the St Croix was Governor Knowles State Forest, which apparently had a camping ground fifteen miles away, but which would require no backtracking in the morning. And then on the way to that, I saw a sign for Hap’s Landing — Camping, and decided I should aim for it.
It was closer, it was on a lake, it was full of mobile homes and RVs, and there were two huge chocolate labs who wanted to play fetch. But they knew how to play fetch well. Well, one of them did. One of the other camp residents mentioned how I should have kept going and camped at Norway Point, right on the St Croix. It would have been nice. But I suspect there weren’t any showers, and it would have been further away from breakfast in the morning. That’s how I’m consoling myself. Plus, there was an awesome sunset over the lake, and who knows how visible it would have been over the sharply bluffed river. That’s my story and I’m sticking by it.