I was hoping to snag a first come, first served campsite at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, but no luck there. The ranger told me that all federal and state parks in the area were filled, and directed me to a local campground/ RV park.
When I dumped the tent out of it storage bag, I realized that I had grabbed the wrong one. Mine is a Eureka - Sam told me where the tent was stored - and I grabbed the Eureka. Unfortunately, this Eureka was Sam's old tent that probably hasn't been used in the 6 years we have been together.
The walls were mildewed, it smelled like wet dog and mildew (if you can even image what THAT smells like), the mesh was ripped, and a patch that was holding the side together was coming off. Major ick.
Hotel space was limited in the area, and what rooms were left were really expensive. It was getting to be dusk, so I didn't want to ride to the nearest town (we all know what happened the last time I tried that...), and I'd already paid for the campground - so I grumpily made the best of it.
I dosed myself up with every prescription allergy medicine I had, and took a couple Benadryl for good measure. I only put my sleeping pad and bag in the tent, because I wanted to limit what was exposed to the stench. I survived the night, and tossed the tent in the dumpster in the AM.
My first task for the morning was to get the BMW up on the center stand to check the oil. When I arrived at the campground the night before, I noticed a spot of oil on my right boot. Yeah, uh oh.
I checked it out, and there was a little leak. I looked up how to check the oil in the manual - the digital readout said the oil level was OK.
I called Ken, who assured me that the leak was not new, and that the oil level doesn't change much. He told me to check it on the center stand, using the sight glass. I've never owned a bike with a center stand, and I knew the odds of me getting it on and off the center stand without tipping it were slim. *Very* slim.
I stopped at a local auto parts store, fortunately one of the staff rides and was willing to help me get it onto and off of the center stand. Oil was where it should be, so I will just keep monitoring it. I have bikers in rooms on either side of me now, so I am lying in wait to see if one of them will help me this AM.
After I checked the oil, I was off to have some fun! The Dunes park had a tour of Pinhook Bog listed for that morning. I wanted to do it, but decided to check with the rangers. Good thing, because there was a misprint, the the bog tour was actually the day before. The ranger suggested that I walk the trail that runs next to the bog, so that is what I did.
(NOTE: I apologize for the poor picture layout, I can't seem to figure out how to make them appear side by side.)
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| Yes, that *is* a spine in the tree. |
After my little hike, I saddled up and headed for the Iowa border. Once I got past the Chicago congestion, I got off the Interstate and worked my way west. I hit some pretty bad crosswinds in western Illinois, but other than that, the ride was unremarkable.
Once I got to the Missippi River, I headed north. Someone who heard about my itinerary advised me that Iowa was boring, that there was nothing to see. The eastern edge of it is beautiful - it actually reminded me a lot of Vermont, with farms built into rolling hills. It was interesting looking at house built along the Missippi, some were on stilts, others were just normal houses. Beautiful area!
