After leaving Ludington on a morning the weather channel was posting the temperature for Ludington to be 47 degrees, we are now in Shawano, Wisconsin waiting for the heat to abate.  The heat indexes for the next few days are ranging between 105-112 degrees. So today we will probably go tubing on the Wolf river.
We had the smoothest ride possible on the SS Badger.  We met some interesting people on the Badger, among them was Conner Clock, a play producer, a graduate of Western Michigan.  He had just  completed a run in Ludington.  From his passion, I would say if you see his name on the play bill, don't miss his production.
After landing in Manitowoc around noon and as a result of conversations, we headed north to Point Beach State Forest for camping. When we arrived there were 5 sites available, so you know we did not get the choicest site, but it was perfect!  There is not a bad site in the park. We decided to take the Sabbath off.  Good planning, we woke up to thunder storms and some pretty heavy rain.  We did minor maintenance on the bikes to discover Janie's brakes were rubbing,  the back wheel was barely turning.  She had been working really hard!  On a trip to the bike shop the next day we learned that both front and back brakes were dragging and the front derailer was loose.  Big cudoos and many thanks to Heavy Pedal Bicycles for great service and help.
On the road again, we landed at Calumet County Park for the night, upon the recommendation of two local cyclists, Carolyn and Paul Kees.  The ride into the park was fun but the ride out in the a.m. was a b-----h!  But according to Carolyn and Paul much easier than the State Park.  The rest of the day was relatively flat and took us to the village of Black Creek, where we met the best that America offers.
This town was supposed to have a B&B.  How to find it?  The first person we saw was a young lady, we later learned was Kendal.  We asked her help in finding lodging.  She called everywhere, no lodging within 30 miles.  Yikes!  I asked if there was a city park in town.  A man standing nearby, and by this time was trying to help said , "yes two blocks away.  I know the chief of police and the village president.  I'll talk  to them." The end result was we camped in the lovely village park with a lake.  Upon returning from a walk to dinner, we were greeted by Mary, who had heard about our ride from her daughter, Kendal.  She had brought us food and water.  We enjoyed the strawberry short cake.  Thank you Mary.
As we left Black Creek and headed north, we are noticing that the landscape is changing from farmlands to more wooded.  That brings us to Shawano where we are currently experiencing thunderstorms sitting in a motel.  I have new technology  since the last ride and I don't know how to post pictures.  That sounds like a good rainy day project.