Day 14

I'd been saving a packet of Tina fish for a while, but I think I saved it for a little too long. Blew chunks throughout the night, and after a few times in the firepit, stomach was only feeling marginally better, but I was so tired I passed out anyway. I woke up feeling better, but very tired. Had a slow morning getting things together, and the clouds overhead made me think I might have the first rain of a while. It didn't, but I still felr cloudy most of the morning. Split camp around 10:30. Nice to be out of the sun a little. Flat, straight roads are very conducive to spacing out, so before I knew it, I had arrived in Millington, Michigan.

I liked that they don't really care if you kniw who they are. They just want you to be happy (at least that's what I took from the water tower).
Soon after I rolled into Vassar.

Anothet cutie with a tempting cafe on the corner, but I've got miles to go and a budget to keep, so I sat in the park and ate some nuts. After Vassar the clouds began to wear off and by the time I got to Frankenmuth, it was getting hot again. I knew I was getting into German country, but I wasn't prepared for this.

After I passed throught that covered bridge, I was transported to a strange 1950's version of Bavaria where all everyone does is eat. I'm talking sausages, potatoes, cheeses, fudge, pasties, and all the rest. It was even more intense than Leavenworth. Resisting these treats was even more taxing, but I did do some grocery shopping at the dausage and cheese store.
After Frankenmuth it was another long trek without any towns through the fields. I believe I saw my first corn of the trip, still very small. I bad-mouthed bicycle highway 20 before, but I take some of it back. It put me on some real fine roads and trails through that country and into the industrial corridor of Bay City, right along a Saginaw river. One can almost feel the transition when approaching a big city. But perhaps that's just the smell. In the evening hours I rolled through an urban bike trail along the Waterfront, and then along some railroad tracks to the western part of the city and out to a state park along the shores of Lake Huron. I avoided downtown, because I was really here for the lake. The third Great Lake of the trip, and my first time seeing Lake Huron. A nice Shoreline with lots of screaming seagulls and kids, murky water, but a nice breeze. Made camp in the campground after sitting on the shore for a while you cooked up some couscous. Then it was time to enter that alter to the ritual medicine we call sleep.