When I woke up, I realized I was in a pretty decent camp site. The river next to my truck (the East Nishnabotna River) was way bigger than I had imagined. It was still surrounded by corn fields, but at least the tiny postage stamp of the park was nice. I left early in the morning to find some hiking, but there’s just not a whole lot in the area. I settle for the town of Ackney, which has a rails to trails park. If you haven’t heard of this, it’s basically where they just turn non-used railroad lines into paved hiking and biking trails. The trail didn’t offer too much scenery, but it was nice to stretch the legs and be outside in perfect 70 degree temps. Two fun things I came across were a delicious apple tree, and multiple weed plants growing right next to the trail. Note, I did not take any weed, although it looked to be ready for harvest.
After hiking 5ish miles and getting bored of the flat concrete, I decided to find my next camping area. There are a few cool breweries in this town, but I just don’t feel like going. I know, it’s weird. Just kind of want to be alone I suppose. I find a free county owned campground in Swan, IA so I decide to drive that way. The campsite was tight, but let’s be honest. Iowa is boring. It’s corn, soy, maybe some canola, and that’s it. I’ve been in Iowa for 2 days and I already hate it.
Camping was fine. I got a chance to clean out the truck a bit, have a fire, and just chill. The next morning, I was hell bent on finding a hike in a real natural area. Not very easy to find, but I found something of the sorts. The Jacob Krumm Nature Preserve. It was a cute little preserve with a lake and a trail around the perimeter. Nice wide mowed trail with some viewing platforms. Nothing too crazy but at least I got an idea of what Iowa maybe would have looked like if big agriculture didn’t completely destroy it. And I’m not blaming the farmers, we’re all at fault for the destruction of the heartland.
After my hike, I drove into the town of Cedar Rapids which turned out to be pretty damn cute. My new favorite venue to write blogs and do internet things are these coffee/bar places. One area has coffee being brewed, the other has beer taps. I have never seen these types of places before coming through Denver, but they are very popular out here. I love it. I can start with coffee and switch to beer, or just grab a beer and sit in the coffee shop-ish place with no odd looks. I happened to pick a spot overlooking the busy town square. It was a pleasant two hours.
I’m heading into Chicago tomorrow to see my cousin and his wife, so I decide to pick up some wine so I don’t come to their house empty handed. If my Yia Yia taught me anything, it’s that you always try to come to someone’s house with a gift. I haven’t been great about this as I’ve been out in the woods, but now I actually have the chance to pick up something to give my cousin. I find a cute little wine shop and sniff out my favorite Cabernet. It’s called Educated Guess, and I guess I should say it used to be my favorite until I recently tried a red wine blend from Cooper & Thief. Seriously, if you like reds, pick up a bottle.
So, after my pleasant evening on the town I head to a highly rated campsite from freecampsites.net. Well, this was basically a crappy grass parking lot surrounded by barbed wire. It was all around creepy, and even though I was close to a small town I did not have cell phone service. Oh, and it started pouring as soon as I got there.
After a shitty night, I head to Chicago. But not before getting lost while trying to leave this campsite. There are oddly large groups of Amish or Mennonites staring at my truck as I pass on the tiny back roads. I know they are just people that have a belief system that differs from mine, but they still look creepy as shit. All wearing the same thing. Same haircuts, same beards…. I suppose you could say the same thing about hipsters. Or soccer moms….
I get to Chicago around noon, and holy hell traffic is miserable. There are just so many damn people in this town. My cousin has a garage, and sounds confident that my truck will fit so that I don’t have to find street parking. When I pull up and find his house, he directs me towards a minuscule alleyway that’s filled with trashcans and other cars. His garage is absolutely not tall enough, which means I need to find street parking. After exiting the tiny alley with a 10 point turn, I find street parking that appears to not require a permit. Honestly, even if I got a ticket for one night, it would probably cost the same as a parking garage in this area. I’ll be good as long as they don’t tow my truck.
Once parked, I walk to my cousin’s house and meet the animals. I love animals, and they have an adorable golden retriever puppy and a fat cat name Hobie. They both love attention so I could probably sit on the floor and play with them all day. But that would be weird.
My cousin John is on my mom’s side of the family. My mom was the oldest of 5 kids, and she was the only girl. My mother used to tell me that her parents didn’t want a girl, they only wanted boys. And that was pretty obvious, as they didn’t show her much support or affection. The boys played baseball and were doted on for athletics. My mom ended up raising her littlest brother, Mark, for most of her time at home. Regardless, her favorite brother was Andy. He was a sweet human apparently, and always treated my mom fairly and with respect. We all like Uncle Andy, and John is Andy’s kid. Andy did an awesome job raising two lovable, hard working guys, whom I love very much. So, the only reason I’m willing to drive into Chicago is to hang out with my cousin and his wife for a day.
Once I’ve been acquainted with the new puppy and fat cat, Jordan (my cousin’s wife) comes home from a long weekend trip to be with family. She’s tired, so John and I walk to a nearby brewery to grab a drink while Jordan rests for a bit. I learn all about John’s job as a corporate lawyer, and realize that I could never do such a high stress job. He’s having to deal with clients internationally, answering emails and phone calls at all hours of the night if a big deal is moving through. I could never handle the crap that he has on his plate. Or live in a big city. People that enjoy the hustle and bustle of big cities… I don’t get it.
Jordan eventually meets up with us, and we head back to the house to make dinner arrangements. When John asked what I wanted to do for dinner, I said, “anything that embodies Chicago best.” That meant deep dish pizza. I have to say, this decision makes me happy as I love pizza. We get dressed and take an uber to the downtown location of Pizzeria Due. Supposedly the Chicago Uno Pizza is the true original, and Due was the second? I don’t know, something like that. We get there, and there’s an hour wait. Fine, we’ll go grab a beer somewhere and waste some time.
As soon as we order a beer, we get a text saying our table is ready. It has only been 20 minutes… I mean I’m not mad, but now I have to chug a freezing cold IPA. It’s ok, college trained me for this exact moment. We chug our drinks, then waddle over to the pizza shop.
It’s dark in there, and you pretty much have to order as soon as your ass hits the seat. The pizza takes 45 minutes to cook, so you either order quick or end up sitting all night. We order a classic pizza, some apps, another beer, and wait for the food. I have to say, I had a lot of fun sitting a chatting with John and Jordan. I mean, I know my cousin pretty well, but this is only the second time meeting his wife. So, you know, all and all an awesome night out.
When we get back to the house John opens another bottle of wine, we chat for a bit more, then go to bed. I was hoping the fat cat would snuggle with me, but no such luck.
In the morning I leave somewhat early to drive to Wisconsin. I hear lots of people talking about Door County, WI so I decide to make that my next stop. If you don’t know Door, just think of a wannabe Martha’s Vinyard in Wisconsin. Winerys, high end shops, oh and tons of cheese shops. I search around for a cool hike and for the first time in about a month, there are super cool hikes available! Within Potawatomi State Park, there was a section of the Ice Age Trail, and a few other local park trails that were pretty awesome. I found some water views, but mostly just woods and solitude. I had been missing both in the past few weeks.
After my hike, I head towards the other side of the peninsula to Army Corps property to camp. I don’t know if camping is technically allowed here, but it looks like some other folks have had good success so I’m going to try it out. It’s directly on a dredged canal, so boats are passing by on the regular. I find a quiet spot away from the fisherman and settle in for the night.
Around 2AM, a crazy intense storm decides to overtake the entire state of Wisconsin. I’m watching the radar on my phone as a storm slowly pushes from west to east, soaking the entire region. This would all be fine and dandy except my truck is still leaking. I have finally figured out that the light above the camper top is the new culprit. Even though I silicone that bad boy in before I left, it has apparently broken down and letting massive amounts of water in again. I stuff some dry socks up under the light and attempt to go back to sleep. The water onslaught continues until 6am. I’m wet, the mosquitoes are shit, and I’m ready to get out of Door County.
Around 9am, I get my tired butt to a coffee shop on the water in the town of Sturgeon Bay. The establishment is full of retired rich people talking about how many cars and boats and motorcycles they have. Wearing cardigan sweaters tied around their shoulders. The coffee wasn’t even that great. I get some research done on where I’m headed next, pack up my shit and leave. This town is cute, but boring as hell. Another tiny, rich town on the water in the Great Lakes. I couldn’t handle the cold.
Up next is more driving north. Will I stay in Wisconsin? Get to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan? I don’t know yet. All I know is that I don’t belong in this section of Wisconsin….
