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Apostle Islands National Lake Shore, August 2026
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Apostle Islands National Lake Shore, August 2026

Enjoying some family time this weekend, then off to cruise around the Apostle Islands Read more
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  • Trip start
    August 21, 2026
    C-TravelerApostle Islands National Lake Shore, August 2026Traveler
    That little bolt circled in red had backed out some.
    That little bolt circled in red had backed out some.And it was a PITA to get to!

    Preview of the weekend and week to come

    August 20 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    Tomorrow, Rosanne and I will travel up to Island Lake near Bloomer, WI, to enjoy some family time at her brother and sister-in-law's lake cottage. Then Sunday, I'll take off solo for Bayfield and Little Sand Bay to launch C-Traveler and explore and fish around the Apostle Islands. Due to the lake level at Island Lake, I won't even try to launch C-Traveler with it's full fuel tank on the very shallow ramp there... Leading up to this trip, I had some main outboard issues with shifting into reverse. Replacing shift and throttle cables didn't alleviate the issue, but I did find the shift rod bracket lose, and hoping tightening it up resolved the issue. I'll find out in the Apostles! (This is what I shared on FB in regards to tightening that bracket up: Well that was a PITA! I had been having some issues shifting the main outboard in to reverse on C-Traveler. Replacement of the throttle and shift cables helped some but not completely. I found the shift rod bracket, hidden in the bottom pan beneath the powerhead, was lose. The single bolt that holds it had backed out some. Taking the air intake manifold and silencer off, removing the top flywheel shield, removing the outboard fuel filter and loosening the main electrical panel allowed a little more access to tighten that bolt. But smaller hands and a bent wrench would have also helped! You can see the bolt holding the bracket down in these photos.)Read more

  • C-TravelerApostle Islands National Lake Shore, August 2026Traveler
    One view of the tire.
    One view of the tire.Wow! This tire really blew out on this end!1Meeting up with Bill This fender was bent up quite a bit in the middle. This is after I worked on it some.Just getting the campfire going.Sun setting on Island Lake.

    Drive up to Island Lake

    August 21 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    Somewhat of an eventful drive. Hit a serious downpour of rain going thru Madison slowing traffic to 35-40mph. Fortunately it didn’t last much past Madison! Rosanne drove separately as she would meet me at the Deforest Park and Ride as that is near the sister she will catch a ride back with tomorrow. I left about half an hour before she did as I was stopping at the Costco fuel station in Sun Prairie to gas up the truck and top off the boat. Then just before the Wisconsin Dells the right front tire on the boat trailer blew out. These are the Carlisle’s that I’ve ran on my trailers for quite sone time and have been very happy with! I guess my good luck with them is catching up to me as this is the second blowout I’ve had within the month! I carry two spares but stopped at the Farm and Fleet in Eau Claire to purchase two new tires. I just replaced two on the back axle last month, F&F didn’t have time to mount them right away. So a nephew in the area that works at a car dealership will mount them for me and I’ll put them on the trailers front axle tomorrow. Got up to Chuck and Deone’s lake cottage and Deone fixed us a very nice lasagne dinner. I worked on straightening out the trailer fender that was slightly damaged by the blowout. After supper I started a campfire and enjoyed some s’mores! Oh, stopped at the Black River Falls rest stop for lunch and met up with my cruising buddy, Bill with Mystery Girl, from South Carolina. He’s on his way up to Isle Royale. Then a few miles farther stopped in Black River Falls at a restaurant for a few minutes to visit with Rosanne’s best friend, Kelly, and her family, who were headed to the Dells for the weekend.Read more

  • C-TravelerApostle Islands National Lake Shore, August 2026Traveler
    1Some of the family at one table for lunch.
    1Some of the family at one table for lunch.1Another lunch table.1And some ate outside.The girls (siblings) getting their picture taken.The girls. Rosanne, Rita, Madonna and MaryAnnAll the Kouba siblings. I think they are lined up by age, Rosanne the baby!Just enjoying conversation and the lake view.Me enjoying my kayak.This is my floating chair. Nobody took my picture in it. 😢Mary trying out my kayakI knocked out two layers of large wood chunks from this trailer!Me hard at work splitting logs.And split them into smaller campfire logs and stacked in the shed!Sunset behind the campfire.

    Island Lake Family Day

    August 22 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    It was a nice breezy day, great for a family get together at Rosanne’s brother Chuck and wife Deone’s lake cottage! Plenty of good food and conversation. Rosanne’s sister-in- law, Mary, tried out my Hobie peddle kayak and later Chuck took a lot of the family out for a pontoon ride. I went out on my kayak for a short ride then relaxed in my floating chair. I enjoy the campfire and felt obligated to split some more wood! (That and getting into some of Deone’s chocolate candy! lol) And of course I made more s’mores! Rosanne left with her sister, Madonna, around 6:30p as Madonna was giving her a ride back to the Deforest Park in Ride where Rosanne’s car is at. ( I’ll head up to Bayfield and the Apostle Islands tomorrow.) Rita brought my new tires with her today that her son, Cody, mounted for me. I put them on the boat trailer this afternoon,Read more

  • C-TravelerApostle Islands National Lake Shore, August 2026Traveler
    NPS construction is using this part of the parking lot for staging.
    NPS construction is using this part of the parking lot for staging.Leaving just this space for public parking. I got the last spot when I pulled in this afternoon.A fishing boat display near the visitor's center.C-Traveler after launching. You can see the breakwater construction.North breakwater is extended out quite a ways.View of the construction cranes on the outside of the harbor.Yeah, NO! I think I better keep my bear spray with me.C-Traveler tied up to the Oak Island dock.Drive up to Little Sand Bay today. (Inreach track.)This screen capture of my Apple Maps shows the back country roads.Once I came around Point Detour, it was a pretty straight shot to Oak Island dock.Sunset from Oak Island

    Launched Boat at Little Sand Bay

    August 23 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F

    After having some cereal for breakfast, I had some of Deone’s good Carmel Rolls. Streamed my home church (Christ Lutheran Church) and then said my goodbyes and headed for Bayfield and Little Sand Bay. Uneventful drive over some back roads until reaching Hwy 63. Some scenic Wisconsin country. I arrived at Little Sand Bay around 2p, and took the only trailer parking spot left to get C-Traveler ready to launch. I kind of expected to see two spots, since I passed two trailer rigs heading out about a mile or two before LSB. Launched C-Traveler, and then fortunately that last car & trailer parking spot was still open. The NPS is staging out of LSB and has half the parking area fenced off, leaving only about ten spots for public trailer parking. The construction is going on seven days a week, and they were working on the breakwater today. They have extended it out somewhat, and using metal plates now instead of just rock and wood. The harbor is open to the north, and gets some storm damage annually and the wave action brings in a lot of sand. LSB (Little Sand Bay) is shared space with the Town of Russel and the National Park Service. The town has a campground and the boat launch, while the NPS has the parking lot and a small visitor’s center, along with a historic fisheries building. The visitor’s center is currently closed while construction is ongoing. I decided to cruise over to Oak Island first and am tied up to the dock here. Just a light breeze and the water was mostly calm. I used the new dock fee system, by scanning the QR code on the payment dropbox post, bringing up a page to enter my credit card and boat information in. It’s at Recreation.gov and works pretty well. As long as you have enough cell service… I plan to hike one of the trails here tomorrow. While there are warning signs about a bear in the area, I talked to the park volunteers stationed here and they said they have not seen any bears or signs of bears, recently. I’m still taking my bear spray with me when hiking! Oh, tightening the shift rod bracket up was the issue. Shifts into reverse just fine now.Read more

  • C-TravelerApostle Islands National Lake Shore, August 2026Traveler
    First overlook on Oak Island
    First overlook on Oak IslandSecond overlook on Oak Island. Looking to the northeast of Oak.Fence line at overlook. Long drop down!Wide angle view from the overlook.1Interesting tree wart along overlook trail on Oak Island.Tree mushroom.1I think the wood peckers have destroyed this tree.My eight mile round trip hike on Oak Island. Where the path bends is the highest point on the islandWater view of the overlook. I was at the top of the treeless face.I think this was a land bridge or arch some time ago. Northeast side of Oak.C-Traveler at the Outer Island Lighthouse dock. You can see the lighthouse and stairs also.Looking through a window into the lighthouse quarters.Foghorn building. Oil tank.Looks like an old generator inside the foghorn building.Backside of generator?Trolly car at top of stairs, next to Foghorn building.Looking down at the dock and C-Traveler from the top step. Water pretty calm.Sun going down behind C-Traveler.

    Oak and Outer Islands

    August 24 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    It was another beautiful day out with a scenic sunset. After breakfast, I hiked the Oak Island Overlook trail. Took my bear spray, but didn’t see any bears or signs of bears. This trail is eight miles round trip. Oak Island has the highest elevation in the Apostle Islands, but the hike wasn’t overly strenuous. At almost four miles, I thought I was at the overlook, as I came to the edge of a cliff with fencing. Was a little let down in that the water view was blocked by trees. However, after resting a bit, I continued down the fence line and found the trail continued another couple hundred yards, with another fence line, but this time a great view. Again, on the edge of the cliff. (Picture uploads will show the water view of where I was.) After taking in the view, I headed back to the boat. Had a late lunch at around 1pm, and then decided since the water was so calm, I’d run out to Outer Island. It was 20 miles away, and I decided to put C-Traveler up on plane as I wouldn’t be able to spend the night there. Outer is, as its name implies, the most outer island of the Apostles. It’s open to Lake Superior, so little protection if the winds pick up. The dock, on the north end of the island, is cement and no surrounding protection. There has been bear activity at Outer, and they actually had the island closed earlier, but now is open during the day. Still no overnight camping. (And not a safe place to stay docked all night either, unless there is no chance of any winds!) Last time I was here, a year or two ago, the NPS had construction crews working on placing a new roof on the lighthouse structures, and I wanted to see the finished product. Tin roof that looks nice. This would be a nice light house to open to the public. However, due to its location, I don’t know if many would go out to visit, except maybe for the tour boats. After a short time at Outer, I decided to head to Stockton Island, the Presque Isle dock. At my usual slowboating speed. I had thought about anchoring out, however, chance of storms tomorrow, and with my Senior National Park’s pass, dockage for boats under 40’ is only $7.50. So I’ll probably continue staying at the island docks. (I am planning to spend one night at the Madeline Island marina, and then also at the Bayfield City pier, later this week.)Read more

  • C-TravelerApostle Islands National Lake Shore, August 2026Traveler
    Ashland - Bayfield Passenger Ferry arriving to drop off passengers.
    Ashland - Bayfield Passenger Ferry arriving to drop off passengers.Notice, he ties his bow line off, then backs off of it to pull the boat into the dock.Trail map of the area I hiked.View along Presque Isle Bay looking back at boat dock. Boats will sometime anchor in this bay also.Trail starts out along campsites 1-19.Tombolo trail cuts across this lagoon or swampy area.Looks like Yogi was using this trail also.Julian Bay and beach.Noquebay shipwreck remainsSome kid's castle cityAnother view, facing Julian Bay.The scan and pay is nice. Assuming you have cell service!Track of my hike this morning.Inreach track into Oak Island, then up to Outer Island, and then to Stockton Island.Inreach track of my Oak Island overlook hike, on topo map.Inreach of my hike this morning on Tombolo and Julian Bay trails.

    Stockton Island Presque Isle

    August 25 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    After breakfast this morning, I hiked the Tombolo trail around Presque Isle, along the beach of Julian Bay, and then across on the Julian Bay trail back to the boat docks. Only four miles today. I thought about extending with the Anderson Loop around Presque Isle Point, but was expecting rain and my feet were getting sore. DIdn’t see any bears, but did see some bear scat along the trail. Before heading out on the trails, the Ashland-Bayfield Express passenger ferry came in behind me to drop off a number of passengers, and pick a few up. They returned about 3 hours later to pick the folks back up that were just here to visit the Island. The winds have picked up, as forecast, but other than some sprinkles this afternoon, the heavier thunderstorms have not shown up yet. More on the Tombolo trail. It starts at the Presque Isle visitor center, just above the docks. The trail travels through forest and bog and then onto the Julian Bay Beach. There is a lagoon outlet along the beach that at higher water levels requires wading across. The water is not that high right now, so just continue along the beach. However, you can see the end of the lagoon along the beach. This is where I took the photo of some kids castle city. It’s the middle of the afternoon, with just a few sprinkles passing over now and then, but I hear thunder in the distance. The rest of the day I’ll just enjoy the sounds of the waves, and do some reading.Read more

  • C-TravelerApostle Islands National Lake Shore, August 2026Traveler
    1C-Traveler surrounded by sail boats.
    1C-Traveler surrounded by sail boats.More sailboats on the other dock, with one large cabin cruiser.Stormy skies.Windshield wiper broke.1Yogi was on the trail again!Brown Stone Quarry.Wonder why all these holes were drilled? Blasting? Bit holder?More of the Brown Stone Quarry.Top of a larger quarry.Hard to see the brown stone with all the overgrown trees now.Woodpecker damage and tree mushrooms.Quarry Bay.C-Traveler tied up at the Quarry Dock.Zoomed out a bit on this view of my trail hike track. Presque Isle is midway towards the top.1Sun setting in Madeline Island's Big BayThe sailboats that were at Presque Isle last night, are in Big Bay tonight.Sunset in Big BayInreach track today. Presque Isle to Quarry Bay, then to Big Bay

    Stockton Island Quarry Bay, Madeline Is. Big Bay

    August 26 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    The forecasted storms never really materialized last evening, but we still got some rain and wind. Before nightfall, eight small sailboats came in to Presque Isle docks. I believe they are on a cruise put together by the National Catalina Sailboat association, and they operate in the Apostle Islands every two years. They were fortunate to be able to get dock space for all of them. Two of their group in larger sailboats ended up anchoring over in Julian Bay, on the leeward side of Presque Isle. The winds were still blowing this morning and actually picked up some to around 20 kts., so I thought I might stay another night since I was in a protected harbor. The sailboats all took off around noon, as they were heading to Michigan Island to see the lighthouses there. The winds did die down a bit by 1 pm, so I headed over the short distance to Quarry Bay, still on Stockton Island. On the way I did use my windshield wiper a few times for spray. About the third swipe, the positioning arm came loose. That’s the arm that keeps the wiper blade straight up and down while the main arm moves the blade back and forth. The positioning arm just has a little ball socket that fits over a stud near where the main arm attaches to the motor. I was able to fix that positioning arm, but will probably need to tighten it up when I get back home so it doesn’t come off again. The water was pretty calm by the time I tied up at the Quarry dock. (Protected by Stockton Island from the northwesterly winds.) I hiked 1.8 miles to the quarry, spent a little time there looking around and then hiked back. It was 4pm, and 10 miles to Madeline Island’s Big Bay, so I decided to go there to anchor for the evening. I’m planning to do some salmon trolling tomorrow on the south side of Madeline Island. The winds have pretty much calmed down now, and should stay calm the next couple of days. I learned from another local boater that the Bayfield City dock that I planned on docking at Saturday evening, is under construction with all the south side finger slips barricaded. Those were the charter boat slips. So all the charter boats are now reserved on the north face side with only one or two public spaces. So I made reservations at the Bayfield Marina for Saturday. I also have reservations for the Madeline Island Yacht Marina for Friday. The Catalina sailboat group is anchored here in Big Bay this evening also.Read more

  • C-TravelerApostle Islands National Lake Shore, August 2026Traveler
    My view for the first six hours of the day. (I did look out the front of the boat frequently!)
    My view for the first six hours of the day. (I did look out the front of the boat frequently!)26" Lake Trout. By myself, and no selfies with me and the fish.)Crane barge with Bayfield in the background.Sunset tonight in Quarry Bay (Stockton Island)My Inreach track today. Trolled from just outside Big Bay to the west end of Madeline Island.

    Trolling for Salmon

    August 27 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    Nice calm night anchored in Big Bay last night. After breakfast this morning, I headed out and set up to troll along the south side of Madeline Island. Two hours into my six hour day trolling, I caught a nice 26” Lake Trout. That’s it. I did have a couple of hits that tripped the line, but just the one caught. Still a good day with the one fish. Just wish Tom (C-Otter) was here to clean it for me. LOL. I definitely need more practice, which means I need to catch more. Lol. Pulled the lines in between Bayfield and LaPoint on the west end of Madeline Island, and headed to Quarry Bay to anchor for the night and clean my fish. Soon after pullng my lines up, saw a tug and crane barge. Pretty sure they were one of the ones I saw working on the Little Sand Bay breakwater when I launched Sunday.Read more

  • C-TravelerApostle Islands National Lake Shore, August 2026Traveler
    Stockton Island. The quarry is just inland from this point.
    Stockton Island. The quarry is just inland from this point.Construction equipment at the Devils Island small boat harbor.Another view of the construction equipment on the south end of Devils IslandThe Apostle Island Kayaking companyOffloading kayaks and kayakers.A group of the kayaks by the smaller sea caves.1Coming up to the north end where the sea caves are larger.Devils Island Light HouseMore sea caves on the north end of Devils IslandView of the crew's quarters at the Devils Island Lighthouse. (No longer in use.)Southeast side of Devils Island just has the prominent sandstone.Sailing ship "Starling". Tour boat out of Bayfield.Two Madeline Island Ferries. Passing each other.2C-Traveler docked next to "Chack Chack", another 25' C-Dory.Pipe organ inside St. John's UCC. I wonder how it sounds?Inside St. John's United Church of Christ.Stained glass window above door at St. John's United Church of Christ.Indian art piece next to Grampa Tony's.The Madeline Island Museum. I've been there before. Pretty neat.La Pointe ferry terminal. The ferry boats look to be pretty old.Tom's Burnt Down Cafe.A lot of crazy signs at Tom's.Saw two deer at the propane dealer and quickly pointed my ipone and took a shot catching one.Interesting art statue at the Woods Hall Gallery.Tried to take a selfie. Not very good at it. But notice my favorite shirt? lolSt. John's United Church of ChristMy walk from the marina to down town La Pointe.Interesting pieces of cloth left along the cemetery fence.La Pointe Indian CemeteryLa Pointe Indian CemeteryWalk to the CemeteryInreach track today. Quarry Bay to Devils Island, to La Pointe at Madeline Island.

    Devils Island and La Pointe on Madeline Island

    August 28 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    After breakfast this morning, I decided to take a run up to Devils Island to see the sea caves and to check out the construction on the small boat harbor. The boat harbor is on the south end of Devils while the larger sea caves are on the north end. There are some smaller sea caves along the northwest side of the island. Since Devils Island was 15 miles from where I was anchored in Quarry Bay, and then it was 20 miles from Devils to La Pointe on Madeline Island, and I wanted to get into the marina by 1pm, I ran on plane all the way up, and then all the way back until five miles away from La Pointe. At which point I came back down to about 6mph, and made and ate lunch. Once up at Devils Island, I ran very slowly around the island to check out the construction and sea caves. Also watched Apostle Islands Kayaking large boat offload kayaks and kayakers. The kayakers then kayak around the sea caves. Devils Island, like Outer Island, is pretty much open to Lake Superior. There was a good breeze out of the northeast today, so once I got north of most the other islands, the water was choppy. The west side of Devils Island was pretty calm with the island blocking the wind. As I rounded the north end, it got choppy again. I don’t know if the kayaks continued around to see the larger sea caves or not, but I imagine they did. I believe they have sea kayaks, and the waves were still less than a foot. Between Bayfield and La Pointe, I watched the ferry boats go back and forth. I think they run just about every half hour. Also saw an interesting sail boat. The 33’ Starling out of Bayfield. You can google it for more information. Pulled into the Madeline Island Yacht Club marina at 12:30, just as the last of the small Catalina group of sailboats were leaving. This was their last day in the Apostle Islands, and they were here in the marina last night. Spent the afternoon walking around town, buying some fudge (one chunk of dark chocolate with cayenne. Has a little spice to it, lol), window shopping, getting ice cream at Grampa Tony’s (best ice cream on the Island), and visiting Tom’s Burnt Down Café. Tom’s is to Madeline Island, as Wall Drug is to South Dakota. Also stopped to look inside St. John’s United Church of Christ. (I enjoy seeing various churches, and their stained glass windows. And also say a few prayers.) Back at the boat to make supper, and then walked around the marina to the La Pointe Indian Cemetery.Read more

  • C-TravelerApostle Islands National Lake Shore, August 2026Traveler
    Cloudy with some light rain this morning before leaving Madeline Island.
    Cloudy with some light rain this morning before leaving Madeline Island.Fishing Vessel Claire must have been processing fish. Lots of seagulls around her.Crappy (literally) dock at LaPointe Light on Long Island.La Pointe Light on Long IslandNot sure what building sat on this foundation near the La Pointe Light Station.The outhouses on the Apostle Islands all appear fairly new. This one at LaPointe Light Station.NPS outhousePeeking through one of the windows into the crew's quarters at the LaPointe Light Station.You have to wade in 3' of water to get off this dock!Chequamegon Point LightResearch Vessel Shenehon (T-465). Google for more interesting information.Ferry LaPointe at Bayfield terminal.NPS Bayfield headquarters building.Tree Top House. At a private Bayfield residence.Four mile walk around Bayfield today.Surrounded by sailboats and a very big yacht. Dock line crew worker for all of them today. :-)My Inreach track today.

    Long Island and Bayfield

    August 29 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    A little rain this morning, but again, not as heavy as the forecast. In fact it had stopped before I got far from the marina. I left Madeline Island Yacht Club marina and headed south to Long Island. My chartplotter tracks showed I’ve been by the LaPointe Lighthouse there, but never stopped at the dock. So today I stopped at the dock. It’s completely covered in goose or seagull poop, and ends 20’ before the shore, so had to wade in 3’ of water. There is a nice beach there, and weirdly enough, there is what looks to be a fairly new outhouse in great shape. It’s behind the light tower and clean with plenty of toilet paper and a broom. The crew’s quarters is locked and boarded up. Light tower is also locked. Peering through the quarter’s windows, looks like it would need quite a bit of rehab before the public could tour it. So many of these light houses have a lot of history, and wish more of them could be accessible for the public to see. Back at the boat, and headed a short distance to the west end of the island to see Chequamegon Point Light. It leans slightly towards the water, and I suspect someday will succumb to a watery grave. The Point shoal goes out quite some ways, so I stayed off shore and just took photos. Then headed back north towards the Bayfield Marina. Pulled into my slip, next to Halcyon, a 22’ C-Dory with a history, if you are familiar with Bill and El. Several of my facebook friends are based out of Bayfield. Bill, a retired UW professor from Madison has Halcyon now. Jon, who writes a number of stories for the Friends of the Apostle Islands and takes great photos, has the 22’ Tremolo. And Jeff, the Executive Director of the Friends, another great photographer, has the 16’ Little Dipper. If you remember from my blog earlier, I decided to go to the marina over the City Dock due to construction at the City dock. There actually ended up being quite a bit of room still for public docking, so the Bayfield Marina manager said it would be ok to cancel my reservations there and move over to the City Dock. It was open with space most the afternoon, but the last spot just filled a few minutes ago. (7:30pm). After getting tied up here at the dock, I explored town doing some window shopping, buying some salt water taffy and stopping for ice cream (of course!) At 4 pm, I attended Mass at Holy Family Catholic Church. I’m Protestant by faith, but after marrying Rosanne, a Catholic, I got involved with the Catholic Church in music and helping to song lead. Both Rosanne and I participate at both the Catholic Parish and Lutheran Church. Before getting to Holy Family, I stopped at the NPS headquarters building. While there I remembered that I needed to replace my Senior Lifetime National Parks Pass, as my card was cracked and splitting. Fortunately they were able to replace it right there. After Mass I returned to the boat, made supper and ate. Helped a few other boats coming into the dock by taking their lines, including one very big yacht. .Read more

  • C-TravelerApostle Islands National Lake Shore, August 2026Traveler
    Bethesda Lutheran Church, Bayfield
    Bethesda Lutheran Church, BayfieldTrack back from church, but paused and forgot to restart it at Bistro.Construction barge and tug heading south around Pt. Detour.A little lumpy coming around Pt. Detour.Choppy waters around Pt. Detour.Back at Little Sand Bay, ready to load out.Yeah, this time didn't work out so well.Much better. But camera out of focus. Came in at more of an angle due to the wind.Parking lot for the boaters kind of empty this afternoon.All packed up and ready to head home.Not very busy at the Hurley Rest Area.Track from Bayfield back to Little Sand Bay, and then on the trailer to Hurley rest area.

    Back to Little Sand Bay and on the trailer home

    August 30 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    Woke up this morning to a cloudy windy day. Walked up the hill to Bethesda Lutheran Church to attend service. Some mist in the air on my way back down the hill to the Bistro café for breakfast, where I had a yummy seafood omelette. Winds were picking up a little more, and the sailboat that came in last evening that I helped in behind me, called me while I was eating to see if I would be back soon as they didn’t think they had enough room to get out due to the wind blowing them against the dock, and were hoping I’d be able to move. (Sometimes I leave my cell number on the boat’s window when I’m not on the boat.) I was just about done eating so told them I’d be there within a half hour. When I got back, they helped me walk my boat forward (the other boats ahead of me had already left), and then I helped with their lines as they backed out of their space. (We were stern to stern overnight.) Shortely after that I headed out for Little Sand Bay. Decided to pull out this afternoon, with more winds forecast overnight, along with some thunderstorms, and nowhere near LSB that would be well protected from bouncy water. It was a bit sporty coming around Pt. Detour as the winds were out of the NE. Only 1 to 1 ½ foot waves, but with the C-Dory flat bottom, is still beats in the chop. I docked beside the boat ramp in LSB, and then started prepping some items for the trip home. Only one other car and kayak trailer in the parking lot, besides my rig. Not to many use this boat launch when the winds are out of a northerly direction. I had a little trouble getting C-Traveler lined up with the trailer due to the wind, as you can see from one of the uploaded videos. I have upright poles on the back of the trailer, and target bunks on the front. However, the boat is wider in the middle than at the stern. The problem I have, is it doesn’t take much to affect the direction the boat is going as I come on the trailer slowly. Sometimes it seems like those upright posts hinder more than help, as they “twist” the boat if I don’t hit them both in the same place at the same time. Actually I think I may need to adjust the poles, as I think one sits a little farther back than the other, and that would cause the twisting action on the boat. Once the target bunks grab the bow, the upright posts keep the stern centered. The target bunks are not that far apart, so if the bow is off to one side, they too hinder more than help. In a perfect, and calm, world, I should be able to just come in at a faster speed so the boat has more momentum. However, speed is not your friend when trailer loading. So anyway, you can see from the one video, I don’t always get on the trailer the first try. I set the camera up again for my second try, but of course the camera was focused on something else besides the trailer, so you can’t see as clearly how well that second time worked out. Lol.
    Rather than trying to get home late tonight, I’m “boaterhoming” in the Hurley, WI., rest area. I’ll have 280 miles to home tomorrow.    Read more

  • C-TravelerApostle Islands National Lake Shore, August 2026Traveler

    Back Home in Stoughton

    August 31 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    Uneventful drive the rest of the way home today. Left the Hurley rest area at 8am, stopped for gas twice, lunch once, and backed C-Traveler into the driveway at 1:30p. Got everything unloaded, and cleaned the inside of the boat. I'll clean/wash the outside tomorrow, and take her back over to her storage unit. I had a nice time up in the Apostles, and most days the water was fairly calm. It was a short trip at just one week. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your summer.Read more

    Trip end
    August 31, 2026