Trip Report #2: The Madeline

As we headed west we were pretty bummed, but we were still having a good time on our first official family road trip! We learned that SuperCenter Walmarts are actually quite nice (sorry Target friends), and very conducive to camping on a budget! We were in one town where a box of Triscuits was $4.50, and at the friendly (and very clean) WM store, they were $2 (EDLP for those of us in the grocery world). We also learned that traveling on two lane highways, while romantic, is not all that fun if you want to drive more than 55 mph. With the wind, the rain, the camper, the rocket box, and the constant up and down hill climbing I believe we achieved 20 GPM, instead of 20 MPG.

Amazingly as we started pulling into Ashland, WI the sun started to break through! We had planned on just parking it in Duluth and playing tourist for a few days, but we had to take advantage of our at-the-time spontaneous nature! So we hooked right and headed to one of the cooler places on earth: Bayfield and La Pointe, WI. We felt like we were in heaven as the clouds parted, the birds started appearing, and the 18 wheelers all pulled over (ok, not really). What luck as we got into downtown Bayfield! The ferry was just about to leave---perfect timing! (note to self: next time purchase your own barge....it will be cheaper) We also met a very friendly and cool family from LaCrosse, WI on the barge who we proceeded to chum it up with for the next few days (they camped a hundred feet away from us that night). It seemed luck had turned our way as I snatched up the last camping site on the island too! I'll tell you, setting up the camper in dry weather is so much more fun than in the rain. Although I have not YET packed up the camper in dry weather. We had a great time on the island though as always-- it's a magnificent place (but don't tell your friends). We'll post a much bigger photo slide show of the past few weeks in a few days---stay tuned.