Power Up?
~Friday, August 6, 2021~
Day 418
Rained most of the night and into the morning. It’s rare having a morning feel like dusk with our lack of sunlight. It’s one of the shadiest sites we’ve ever had. We’re only generating 1 amp of electricity (a good day would be 10 amps) but surprisingly, we’re managing to stay at 95% power, at least for now. The heaviest electricity use this go around, would be the lights (even though they’re LED bulbs) and the T.V. (watching those Olympic games). Go Alyson Felix!!
It’s hard to believe we’re back into route planning. The months are really flying by and even though we’re booked through the beginning of April 2022, we’re already behind on being ahead. The plan with the trip moving forward, is to keep traveling until we find the most opportune time to buy a home, which we hope will be before the Fall/Winter of 2022. There’s no way we would ever consider buying now, unless someone in Asheville, North Carolina is willing to give us a great deal on a totally move-in ready +/- 1500 square foot home on 1 acre, in the perfect location and at a REALISTIC price. Not too much to ask, right? So, it seems we need to keep forging ahead with booking campgrounds at least through August. Most campgrounds will allow you to book 11 to 12 months out, but we have come across a few that are only 6 months out. If we find a spot we’re really excited about, but can’t yet book, we simply mark our calendars 6 months to the day, 11 months to the day, 12 months to the day, to get on it. It’s nice that everything can be booked online, but there are rare occasions when your only option is calling.
Since we have no electricity at our campsite, it’s been a little challenging keeping my laptop happy and charged. And with the research we had cut out for us today, we needed to find a spot to power up. “What better place than a brewery?” Jeff asked. I would have been fine with an internet cafe. But I lost that toss. We wanted to check out more of the downtown area of Sturgeon Bay anyway, so we chose a brewery right on the marina. Bridge Up Brewing Co. turned out to be the perfect spot. What a funky, but well thought out space.
The outdoor seating looked appealing, but we needed electricity. We asked the girl at the bar if they had a spot we could plug in which turned out to be our own little corner of the place, with a cozy seating area surrounded by walls decorated with old vinyl records and cassette tapes. Pretty nostalgic! And we had views of the marina.
Oh, and they offer free popcorn…...who said anything about making dinner tonight? I tried a strawberry beer (which I didn’t care for), but in the end ordered a lager to go with my popcorn. Jeff of course ordered an IPA which he gave a 4 out 5 score. Not bad! It was the perfect place to spread out the maps, calendar and laptop. Even though we only booked 1 additional campsite, we at least figured out our route into May and booking the remainder of April in Canyonlands (Utah). We tried booking the Canyonlands lodging before, but they weren’t taking reservations at the time, so we had to wait until now to snag our primo spot.
From there, we have plans to go back to Colorado, making up for lost time there. Early on in our trip, we had plans to visit Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park which sadly were closed when we were there last October due to the forest fires. Colorado also happens to work well into our northward direction as we ultimately want to end up in South Dakota. It’s tricky figuring out the timing of Colorado, especially in April with the likelihood of there still being snow/ice to contend with. So we’re thinking about extending our time in Utah until May when we’re guaranteed a “good weather” window. Jeff and I both agree that Utah is our favorite state in the Southwest anyway, so we don’t mind staying longer.
After Colorado, we head to Wyoming to see Devil’s Tower, then ultimately end in South Dakota in either late May or early June. South Dakota destinations will be The Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Wind Cave National Park. We’d also love to see Custer State Park but it may be too far from where we’ll be. We’ll just have to see where our route takes us from S.D. Still more to plan, so stay tuned.
And the perfect ending to our day? Not a gorgeous sunset, or a walk along the beach. A “Breakfast Dinner” and our first of the trip. Aren’t they the best?! Tip: Don’t ever have a margarita while eating pancakes…...not a good combination.