Girl Meets World on FZ-07 Motorcycle: Chapter 2, Part 16

I had no idea what to expect of the Midwest, but I have to say, I've been pleasantly surprised. I feel like the Yamaha FZ-07 and I have made huge progress in my list of states now, and there's never really been a dull moment!

As Hollywood and I were looking over a map while camping along the river in Wisconsin, I determined it would make the most sense to hit Iowa and Illinois now, in case it was too cold by the time I got back to this side of the country. We ended up following the Mississippi river all the way down to the North Eastern tip of Iowa, where we camped alongside a creek off of a dirt road. We found the site on freecampsites.net, which has become my regular go-to, especially now that camping was getting more sparse the further east we went. The camp spot ended up being just off a dirt trail called Rainbow Road which, sadly, was not nearly as exciting as the one in Mario Kart. But the fall trees were doing the best they could to add some color. We lazily packed up camp to another beautiful fall morning, and headed along IA-3 to Dubuque. Having heard little good about driving through much of the Midwest, it was actually quite a treat to find the roads were sweeping and smooth as we toured through some beautiful hills and forest. I was having so much fun, I was almost disappointed when it came time to stop for gas.

Illinois ended up being not quite as impressive to me though (I was actively avoiding Chicago, as I don’t have a ton of interest in large, traffic-filled cities after a lifetime in Los Angeles, so maybe I missed the good part). The Illinois border within Dubuque felt like crossing into a bad neighborhood within an otherwise decent town, and we passed through on an uneventful ride toward Milwaukee to meet up with some more racer friends. Not that Milwaukee isn’t also a big city, but you know- any excuse to hang out with racers is always a good excuse. Plus, Marshall and Nicole just so happened to own Hollywood’s old Ninja 250 from when he used to race it, so it was like a mini-reunion.

We parted ways after a couple days of motorbike maintenance and bench racing, and continued north through Green Bay, stopping for obligatory fried cheese curds (I’m glad I don’t live in Wisconsin after that, because I would never keep my race weight down if I had the option to eat those all the time). That evening we camped in a state park that was apparently closed for the season, but no one seemed to care if people stayed there. The area was rife with duck hunters, and gun shots rang out in the not too far distance most of the evening and early morning, but a long day of riding always makes it fairly easy to sleep anyways.

It was getting colder and colder as we traveled toward the upper peninsula of Michigan. After another day’s ride, we finally reached Hiawatha National Forest where we planned to camp along Lake Michigan. Once again the campgrounds were closed for the season, but this time they had gates. Dammit. Do people in this part of the country not camp in October at all?

We scrambled to find a spot to sleep for the night, first along some challenging deep sandy roads (that were definitely NOT going to end well if we continued) until we finally found a spot near the beach of the lake. The wind made the waves almost look like the ocean. If it wasn’t so cold, it may have felt a little bit like home.

Another cold, cold night. We continued riding along Lake Michigan, until we made it to Mackinac Bridge. I had been told by just about every Michigander I had come across that Mackinac was a must-see. If I’m being honest, I’m not really sure what the big deal was. The view was alright, but it was plagued by construction, and it was really just another toll bridge. Maybe Alaska spoiled me a bit. The camping on the other side was another story. The dirt roads outside town were easy to navigate, and the forest was rich with all sorts of different colorful mushrooms and more bright red and yellow leaves. I’m about 90% certain at least ONE of those mushrooms was sure to turn you into Super Mario. Or at least make you think you were, but I’m not that picky.

Next was the Tunnel of Trees. I’ve been looking forward for this since I got back to the states, and I can’t imagine a better time of year to see it! The roads getting to the so-called tunnel were torn up and rough, but the tunnel road itself was smooth as butter. The trees really did create a tunnel effect as we rode along the lakeside, although it turned out I was still a bit early for the full fall experience. On one hand, that’s a good thing because it means winter is holding off a bit longer, and I still have to make it all the way to Maine. On the other hand, I really wanted to ride through a proper autumn rainbow! We stopped at the iconic red bench, apparently built by a native so many years ago for people to enjoy the beautiful view, then made our way to the other side.

We shot down through Michigan, stopping in Grand Rapids to wait out a bit of a rainstorm. A local chef who was also a rider happened upon us as we were looking for a spot to stay, and ended up inviting us to his restaurant. He owned a little 50’s diner called Cheshire Grill, and offered to feed us for the night. I can’t think of a lot of better excuses to be a wimp and not keep riding in the rain. We got an AirBnB for our last night in Michigan and propped up all our gear against the heaters to dry out before morning. It’s one thing to get drenched on the road, but it’s a whole ‘nother misery to start the day wet and cold. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll finally get out of Michigan!