Little Girl’s Point CP

This was a longer drive than it would have been if we’d made it to our intended stop at Au Train Lake. We knew that was part of the package for stopping earlier because of weather, and it was worth it overall. But it was still a long driving day.

We passed through a town named Christmas, and it was better decorated than Christmas Circle in Borrego Springs, so they get points for that. We also passed through the town of Ironwood and scoped out their amenities. We thought about coming back into town after getting unhitched in order to use their laundromat, but I ended up being too burned out for any more driving. The town is about 17 miles inland from the shore, which is where this county park is located. It’s a nice drive and hilly enough for Richard to appreciate, so he ended up riding in the next day.

When we were in view of the water, we saw signs that we were entering Little Girl’s Point County Park. The campsites are spread around, either right along the shore, or on the other side of the road and in deep shade. The shoreline sites have driveways that come right off the road, so it was confusing figuring out how exactly to get in. There are also narrow dirt paths that parallel the road, just wide enough for a car. I used that to back in so that I wouldn’t be going backwards on the main road. Even though it’s low traffic, that just seemed crazy. It was a little tricky to maneuver and not go into a ditch, but I got us in and with a nice view.

The power pole is one that is shared between two sites, and we happened to be on the wrong side of things if we wanted our 25’ cord to reach. This is now the second time we could have used our super long 30amp cord. Noted for future trips: bring the damn long cord. We knew our batteries were fine though, and it was neither too hot, nor too humid, so we didn’t need to run the AC. Thus, we were fine with no hookups. However, Richard was curious about whether running the 15amp extension cord to the 30amp, using an adaptor between them, would work. It did not because the breaker at the pole tripped. We didn’t need it, so we didn’t worry too much, but this did make us ponder on our next stop…

We had gained an hour during our westward journeys! I chilled for a bit, and then got the grill out for a delicious dinner of pork chops, marinated in sesame oil and Gochujang, and topped with soy glaze and sour cherry spread. That paired with grilled asparagus and mushrooms, with toasted bread to sop up the juices. YUM

We walked around on the pebbly beach, again marveling at how much Lake Superior seems like an ocean. It was also remarkable that, though we had traveled over three hundred miles that day, we began and ended the day STILL on Lake Superior. There was a beautiful mist that hung over the lake, and the temperature could not have been more perfect.

The next day we got a rest. It was a major treat to open the curtains in the morning to such a spectacular view. We took it all in and leisurely stared out at all the beachy activities. Eventually, we got moving and put our previous plan into action. I headed into Ironwood while Richard biked it. I got to hang out in a very nice, clean, modern laundromat. There was excellent cell service so I not only got caught up on the blog, but also reconfigured camping reservations for the remainder of our summer trip. That is a bittersweet endeavor, but at least I know we can cover the miles home and make it in time for the start of the school year.

Richard found me and let me know there was a well reviewed bakery in town that sold “pasties.” This is a Michigan UP thing that we had heard of before, so that seemed the thing to do. He rode over to Rigoni’s Bakery and brought back two piping hot beef and potato pasties, along with a cinnamon roll. He had been instructed that ketchup is an appropriate condiment for these, so two little containers were included. These were so incredibly good. Richard wanted to split one, but I was super hungry and growled him away. MINE. For the record, one pasty is more than ample, and according to my calorie app, provided enough sustenance for just about the entire day. So good. Don’t care.

Before heading back to Dory, we felt we had to go look at the giant statue of Hiawatha. I guess this is a tourist attraction? I mean, it worked at luring us over to see it. I think if he had an equally giant pasty in his hand, it might work better. At least, it would work on me.

Since I’d blown my calorie budget for the day, we had an improvised light meal of shredded carrot and radish salad, paired with a roasted red pepper grilled cheese sandwich split in two. We did a little walk over to the dumpsters, which is actually .3 miles each way, and then walked along the beach again. I told Strava I was doing this, so that I’d get exercise points and balance the daily budget.

This park gets rave reviews and I can see why. If you get a waterfront site, you have endless views of the lake. It’s a quiet area, besides the people frolicking on the beach or in the water. You should come prepared with your own water, and there is no dump, but we saw big rigs pulled in across the street, somehow cramming themselves into slots among the trees. Along the water there were mostly small trailers, like us, or vans. Super nice place!

Total miles from Brimley: 311.2, 16.7 mpg, 8 hours 16 min. Site 21. Electric hookups, but cord couldn’t reach. Tried 15amp extension cord to 15-30 adaptor and that tripped the breaker at the pole. Went without. 1 bar LTE sometimes for both, sometimes SOS only. Worked better at night. Tiny bit of solar. No dump, no water spigots. Trash .3 mile walk.