Day 16 - Saint Charles MN to Au Gres MI



Day 16 - 2 July 2006 - Sunday

--- Starting in Saint Charles, Minnesota ---

We woke up early because we had a lot of ground to cover. Here is one last look from where we stayed, this is the Amish farm across the street:
Amish Farm

We stayed on I-90, crossing the Mississippi river. We had discussed taking a ferry across Lake Michigan, but it was prohibitively expensive and awkwardly timed, so we decided on the through-Chicago route.

We drove on until we got to Wisconsin...

--- Entering Wisconsin ---

We passed near the Deke Slayton Memorial Space and Bicycle Museum near Sparta, Wisconsin. Home to the astronaut, it also is the site of the country's first bicycle rail trail.

Our next stop was the Wisconsin Dells, which Kristina wanted to see. It's a neat series of cliffs with a river running through it; unfortunately you can only really see it by boat. We did brave the tourist-trap part of town and found a walkway, and managed to see at least a little of the Dells:
Wisconsin Dells

We then got back on the highway and kept going. We eventually got to Illinois.

--- Entering Illinois ---

It was decided to drive right through the city, rather than out and around. There was horrible traffic and construction the whole way (though we still made decent time). Here is a view of Chicago:
Chicago

The crazy firework advertisements kept us amused until we got to Indiana (as well as unexplained billboards saying "Clowns Hate Tangelos").

--- Entering Indiana ---

In Indiana we stopped at Michigan City at a Steak n Shake!!! Steak n Shake

We then kept going, entering both Michigan and the Eastern Time Zone, losing an hour.

--- Entering Michigan ---

We drove right through Holland, home of Slashdot.org.

It was starting to get late, and we got sidetracked a bit when MI-61 took an unexpected turn, but eventually we got to Kristina's Mom's friend's lake house on Lake Huron.

We always enjoy visiting here (I think it's Vince's favorite part of every trip), and they fed us well and we had a fun time on the beach at night. We had a campfire and Kristina's sisters set off fireworks:
Fireworks

The sky was clear, and I saw 9 different satellites pass overhead.

--- Ending near Au Gres, Michigan ---


Continue on to Day 17