Day 16

Slept very soundly. The kind where you don't know where you are when you get up. A good sleep.

So humid I can't dry anything. Tried hanging things in the sunlight all morning to get the water weight out, moving then every ten minutes to stay in the light, and still it's all damp.

Just before splitting, my neighbor at this campground shows me something very curious. A big old rock with carved markings in it. He wetted them to make them clearer:

We thought the bottom one said 1843, which was exciting but turns out it's clearly 4843, even more mysterious. Though some of them look like they could be petraglyphs, the numbers and what look like initials make that unlikely. Maybe just a very bored kid at the campground a long time ago...

On the road, the clouds made a muted heat, not bad for biking. Mixed farms, fields and forest all day.

This shack had swallows whirlng around it in a glorious way.
Went through Leroy and stopped in Luther for a rest, both towns of under 300 people. I sat at a park bench in Luther, and an older couple on their porch across the street said hello. We had a half conversation shouting across the street until I walked over and joined them on the porch. The old lady was smoking in her electric wheelchair.

Whenever I tell people where I'm headed that night they always have suggestions on how I should get there. Even though I have my route all planned out I let them go on. I think they enjoy it, so I'm glad to listen, even if I rarely take thier suggestions.

My lunch of hummus and vegetables (a staple for me) was had on the shores of this lake I know forget the name of.

Made it to camp in record time (though today was shorter) just around 5:20pm. Found a shady spot along the Little Manistee River, at a National Forest Campground just north of Wolf Lake. While setting up, the camp host comes by so I could pay. Realized then I only had 9 American dollars left in my wallet. The fare was $16 for the night, so I told him I'd ride into town to get some more cash. I actually really didn't want to do that, tired as I was and wanting to relax by the river, but I saddled up anyway. However, as I got ready to go, I figured I'd give my begging a try and asked the 3 old ladies camped near me if they'd spare 7 dollars. Thank God for for the virtue of charity. They pulled out some ones and collectively there was just 7. A relief. I thanked them, paid the fare, and enjoyed the evening reading in my hammock by the riverside, swatting mosquitos and marveling at the fireflies.