I got up nice and early this morning and rode into The Village of Plover, just south of Stevens Point, around 9:30 AM. I toyed with the idea of visiting the recumbent shop in Stevens Point but decided I probably didn't have the time and might not have the energy. I did swing by the public library but found it closed, so I headed on out of town.
After leaving the Institute I had my real adventure of the day... I was trying to follow US 10 but finding it too busy and its shoulders too narrow. Then there were construction signs ahead... nothing to do but keep going. Turned out they're building a new limited-access route to bypass the towns of Amherst and Amherst Junction. The new road was closed to traffic but open to me! I had about 5 miles of smooth concrete all to myself.
When I got to where the new road rejoined US 10, I found that the highway itself is limited-access from there on: off limits to bikes. So I rode back into Amherst, bought some groceries, and continued on local roads.
The road I picked to Hartman Creek State Park was County D, and it was the perfect road. Scenic, very low in traffic, and with just enough hills and turns to be interesting.
The state park isn't as nice as Perrot, but gorgeous in its own way. It's a pretty recent development; part of the campground was planted as a pine tree farm and another part as a nut orchard, which makes for interesting camping. The campsites in the pine trees are almost spookily public, like camping in a convention hall with only supporting columns between one site and the next.
The real attraction of this park to me is its proximity to the Ice Age National Trail. I plan to take a hike tomorrow morning and see some erratics!
Total distance: 49.54 mi