dei for paurt too

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:)
an american

American kestrel greeted me when i got back on the road. I headed towards the end of the island which was relatively uneventful I reched the end of my access





so i headed back and it briefly started to rain. I decided to take cover under the awnings of one of the churches i had passed on the way out figuring that since there were no buisnesses i remember seeing they would be the least likely to kick me out into the rain.






the rain was actually somewhat heavy, yet it lasted less than a minute. Determining it was safe to leave, I did.



FYI


I walked out to the end of the light-housed pier/jutting out deal because the bridge was up. the east one had hardly any tourists on it which was preferable to me.







since there was a number of ships passing under the bridge I decided to watch.




you cant really see, but there was a guy on the other side of the bow with a black garbage bag tied to s stick he was waving at the crowd. it looked like a black flag at first and the idea of a black-flagged ship was awesome, but alas, it was not to be.

i got tired of watching fishing boats go in and out so I decided to join the queue for the bridge but then remembered that bikes are not allowed. a sign for "St. Louis Bay Dry Goods" caught my eye. it was a delightful store which I will be visiting next time i'm in town, but they were about to close and I diddnt want to keep them on a saturday night. we exchanged formalities and I was on my way

i was only halfway surprised at how many people diddnt heed the "stay the hell back away from the tons of moving steel" signs the bridge had all over it. i was tickled when the guy in the yellow/orange shirt was cursed out by the bridge operator for jumping on the walking area before cleared to do so.
"PLEASE GET OFF ThE BRIDGE UNTIL IT IS SAFE TO DO SO... ThIS MEANS YOU GUY IN ORANGE ShIRT"

:)



I made my way down the lake walk dodging rental pedal cars and people. it was rather dreary so there werent too many people out.




the time was coming. the big night. saturday night. I would be surrounded by people going to clubs, paying for expensive drinks, eating expensive food, dancing and chatting and getting dressed up. none of these things were even remotely resembling my agenda.
i knew it was too early to set up camp. besides, it would only take a few minutes... ideally.


this dude passed by. some tourist train. I am interested in riding it next time. i like trains.



I decided instead to kill some time taking in the view, perhaps read a book. I sat in the grassy amphitheater for a little while but had to vacate into what looked like a battlement; one of two on either side of the stage area, to get some shelter. I was delighted to discover a used diaper and be greeted by the smell of stale urine and talcum powder. I really hoped this wouldnt be my free-of-charge lakefront suite like i was damned and determined to have.
I repacked my belongings to be more suitable to my needs for the night, condensing and reorganizing, eating a can of black beans and a can of collard greens for dinner. first-class dining.



It got later and later and darker and darker...sometimes time drags on at an agonizingly slow pace, sometimes it does, but it doesnt really matter. tonight was one of those nights. the park lights went on but it was still pretty light out. I sat there in the window and thought about everything and nothing both at once and never. it was awesome.
finally the light inside the battlement went on. this was my cue. I hopped on my bike and headed up the path to my designated spot. Originally, my plan was to copy the tent campers I had seen earlier that morning and camp on the very shore of the lake itself. the problem with this was that I couldnt bring my bike with me due to the fact that in order to reach it, one had to climb a small hill by way of a muddy (and by that I mean very slippery) path, and down a steeper one off the hill down to the shore. forget about bringing my bike, I wasnt even sure I could make it.
i guess this means i will be sleeping atop a hill overlooking lake superior not exactly in downtown proper, but pretty damn near it. you know what? i'm alright with that.
I made sure nobody was around and I proceded to remove my basket and pannier from my bike. I brought the pannier up the hill first since it's bright orange and attracts most attention. best to get that out of the way. next came the basket. as I tried to make it up the hill i slipped a few times and got decently dirty. it's to be expected under the circumstances.
lastly came the bike which I expected to be the most difficult, but surprisingly was the easiest. I have no explanation for this.
once everything was out of the way I made sure once again nobody had seen me and I proceded to set up camp. by setting up camp I don't mean i set up a tent. tonight, setting up camp would consist of covering my basket with my rain shell, putting my bike and pannier off to one side and me sleeping on the tent floor liner using my backpack with its waterproof cover as a pillow, covered by the poncho.
at first, it really wasnt too bad. my poncho was big enough to cover my whole self (i'm 6'3 but i was in fetal position) and my backpack. it was steadily drizzling.
i slept well for a while. every so often it would get really hot inside this contraption of mine, and when the rain stopped, i would peel back the poncho and breathe nice air. refreshing.
sometime around midnight,however, the rain got hard.
"here we go, bring it on" i remember saying/thinking to myself. i'm here now and it's too late to change my mind. I crept in and out of consciousness for some time. eventually, it got way too uncomfortable and i needed to do something. my solution ended up being snapping off a twig from a nearby shrubbery and using it to prop up the hood of the pncho to allow some air circultaion. it worked beautifully. what ended up being the end of my sleep for the night was the fact that i could only sleep on my rigt side due to the topography of my campsite. I was not able to shift and pivot and whatnot as i normally do for a good nights sleep. luckily, at this point i could see the begginings of something vaguely resembling sunlight from beyond the clouds that ocasionally allowed a peek behind them.
this clue, as well as the complete lack of motor vehicle sounds of the nearby highway told me that at the very least it was after 2AM, when bars close. luckily for me, though, im pretty sure it was well past that. which makes me think. time to skip to day 5 :)