22 - Herbster

The next day we travelled back towards and through Duluth, passing over into Wisconsin. Once away from the city we drove through long hardwood forests and some farmland before arriving, about 200km later, in a tiny village called Herbster where we found the campsite just across from the lakeshore. The campsite was unmanned, with only electricity hook-ups, a dump station and a notice board with information on cost, forms and a money box. We filled out our form, deposited our cash and hooked up to one of the many empty sites, once again, the only RV around. There was a nice camping area at the back which offered a walking area for us and there was also a few kilometres of sandy beach.

We stayed for two nights during which we enjoyed some beer, wrote some postcards, did a few walks, had a couple of fires and marshmallows, and ate at the local restaurant, Woody's (or Jedi Bar as Fred preferred to call it). The town seem completely deserted but when we entered Woody's we caused one of those uncomfortable head-turning, creaky-door, slow-motion moments as six burly and mostly-drunk locals, who were sat chatting at the bar, stopped, turned and stared. The lady behind the bar welcomed us loudly and kindly which put us at ease as we sat at a small table near the exit. The service and the food were fantastic. I had steak and chips while Fred opted for the most tasty tender pork rib meat I've ever tasted.

On the last night, Fred took Tala out after dark and after he'd been gone for quite a while, I poked my head out of the RV door just in time to see a creature emerge from behind our RV, sniff around the fire we'd just drowned and then head off the way it'd come. At the time, I thought it was a grey fox but I subsequently learned that this behaviour is frequently that of a racoon. Fred couldn't believe he had missed it.

We left the following day which was beautifully sunny and drove north to a place called Russell which comprised another self-service campsite and a small marina which gave views of the neighbouring Apostle Isles. We stopped and found a section of beach which looked like somewhere in the south Pacific, however, the water didn't feel like it! We stayed for a while enjoying the sun and view and messing around with Tala.

From there we followed the coast through many small towns, Bayfield being the prettiest with colourful shops and gorgeous lakeside views.