It's so muggy here...

All of my stuff is damp on the outside, like I have been riding in a light rain.

Monday, 28 July: My plan of stopping early yesterday and starting late today in lieu of a day off seems to have worked. I made some decent progress today, despite starting late and having an occasional headwind.

When I had gotten almost as far as I wanted to go today, I passed a campground that was a mile off the road and cost $12. My Garmin gives me addresses and phone numbers, so I called ahead. I wasn't ready to stop yet, and didn't want to go a mile off the road, so I decided to push on to the state park that was about seven miles further. It was brutally hilly, but manageable, and I made it there by 8PM. Unfortunately, in addition to costing $17 instead of the $14 I had expected, (yes, I know it's only $3, but that's a V8 and a Powerade!) the campground was another three hilly miles from the park entrance. I was so beat I had to walk part of the way. I got to my campsite just before dark, made dinner, set up the tent, and had a shower. A cold shower. In a dirty, poorly designed bathroom. There was no soap by the sinks, which have those handles you have to hold down to get water, and there is no hang time, so you can only rinse one hand at a time. And the taps are so close to the side of the sink, you are pretty much rubbing your hand against the dirty sink while attempting to rinse it off. I hate that. I'm not trying to be a princess here, but I've been really disappointed by the Wisconsin State Park and trail system. It seems like they overcharge for everything, and what you get is not that great. They do charge more for camping for out-of-staters, but not much more, and there is no in-state price break for the trails. Maybe they are squandering their money on other things, or perhaps their legislature is not giving them enough tax money to get by.

I did my standard lazy thing wth my bag of food, which is to put the whole bag outside of my tent, under the rain fly. Since everywhere I camp is so populated, I don't worry about big animals, just small ones. I figure if a rodent wants to chew through the bag to get at the food, that's okay, because he probably won't eat it all, and at least he hasn't chewed through my tent. Tonight, however, a large animal came sniffing around, then stole the ENTIRE BAG of food. This is a grocery bag, people! I'm bad at estimating weights, but it is definitely more than five pounds. It must have been one of those enormous racoons I've seen around. I yelled and made chase, and it abandoned the bag in the bushes a few feet away, just behind several thickets of trees and bushes. I crawled in and retrieved it-- thank goodness there were no thorns or poison ivy! It was completely dark by this time (at least I can see the stars!) and I didn't see any good trees to tie it up in, so I left it in the bathroom with a note taped to it explaing what it was and why it was there, so here's hoping it will still be there in the morning.

I can't wait to get out of here.