A day that starts miserable turns into one of the most enjoyable of the trip.

Changing from my warm, dry sleeping clothes back into my wet riding clothes was a loathsome task. I set out at 7 AM into light rain, cold, whipping wind out of the North. Zipped S to Butternut, where I couldn’t resist coming in out of the cold for BF. Waitress had the first real Scandinavian accent I’ve encountered yet, but w/ curly brown hair & big glasses she didn’t look the part.

The day just slowly improved. First, beautiful roads. Then the rain lets up & I can remove my rain gear. Then the roads just become impossibly pretty – windy, forested, wild-looking, often deserted. I’m provided with a wonderful spot to read & eat lunch. Boulder Junction offers a bike trail apart from the busy section of road. From there on I’m stunned by the natural vistas. It’s hard to believe this was all cut bare 90 years ago. I’ll come back to this place if I can. It seems to go on and on.

In Phelps I have a nice lakeside table to eat dinner at, and a readily available hot-fudge sundae. Oh, it goes down well.

The bike is still tempting me, so I ride on to Nelma. Now the sun is out, going down behind me and I fly over the hills, downhills now longer than ups. Finally , tuck myself in near the edge of Nicolet National Forest for a free night’s rest.