September 19th, Day One

I woke up to a beautiful day, excited about beginning my journey. After packing up my Mazda 5 with everything I thought I might need I set off. Heading north on I-65 towards Chicago, the fields across Indiana looked almost ready for harvest. The wind farms could be seen for miles away, like a flock of birds across the sky. In Chicago I followed Lake Shore Drive through several neighborhoods, noticing the different ethnic influences and heritage from one place to another. Traffic was never bad, but I ended up catching US 41 to save time. From Chicago to Milwaukee was a lovely drive with some farms and rolling hills along Lake Michigan. Milwaukee reminded me of Saint Louis and Detroit, an old industrial town. My first stop was at Growing Power. http://www.growingpower.org/
I had heard about Will Allen, founder and CEO, a few months ago and wanted to take a tour of his place. Every year they impact thousands of local youth in the community, as well as thousands more across the world as more people use many of his ideas.
After the tour, I continued north to Iron Mountain, MI, just across the border from Wisconsin. The last few hours of the driver were beautiful as the farms faded into rolling hills, that gave way to wooded mountains. I arrived at my destination, Summer Breeze campground around 8 pm EST. http://www.summerbreezecampground.com/
My tent would be the only one in the campground, along with several campers. The campground was decorated for Halloween and they were having games for the kids, along with hot apple cider and treats. I bought a load of wood and got my fire started. Once the tent was set up, I pulled my sleeping bag outside and laid staring at the stars for a long time. The sky was pitch black, since we were far from any city lights and the thousands of stars shone brighter than ever. I wish I knew the different constellations to look for.
As I was laying there resting, I thought about the day and how it was a perfect way to spend my birthday. There were no deep thoughts or revelations, just peace and quiet.