Day 14-15 Marinette To DeYoung Family Zoo (Total Miles = 254 Miles)

This was another day where we decided to stay in town.  First, we wanted to stock up on showers just in case we had to go 3 days again without one!  Nah…but that would be nice wouldn’t it?  We did have to do laundry, including our sleeping sheets and freshening our sleeping bags in the dryer.  We are both clean freaks!  This shower situation has been the worst thing we have had to endure out here.  Before we left, I had visions of hippie-hood.  That feeling of being free, not caring if I am a dirty girl with hair on my legs and under my armpits.  But, the truth is…ewww.  I don’t like that!  I will adapt though.  I will encourage my inner hippiness and see where it goes.

I also had to get my hair done.  Uh-huh…that’s right.  My bangs were hanging down in my eyes and sticking to my forehead from the heat and sweat.  Not to mention, my hair was turning this weird color, like a shade of gray…I think it was from the sun!  We also popped into the Goodwill to find some cooler clothing other than mittens, pants, and the like, that we thought would be needed in the north country.  Add to that, Ken and I decided to unload some items we were carrying on the bikes and ship them to my daughter.  We sorted through all the stuff and picked out the gear we thought would not be needed.  Did you know that the UPS Customer Service Centers do not carry boxes or tape for packaging?  You can only drop off already packaged boxes for shipment.  By the time we found this out, we were too late to go anywhere else.  We would have to wait until 9am and go to the Pack N’ Ship store.  We really wanted to be on the bikes by 9:30 so that we could make it to the zoo for feeding time.  We worked so hard to be organized this time, and to our dismay (or mostly mine) the store was on modified hours and would not open until 11am.  By the time we lugged all the stuff back to the hotel and repacked, we were mightily over loaded.  Nonetheless, we headed out of town toward DeYoung Family Zoo.

Jenna from Green Bay told us about the DeYoung Family Zoo.  It is very well known in these parts.  It is a small family owned zoo that packs a big punch.  You can purchase feed for the animals, and as you walk the dirt paths, the animals will pose for you just for food!  They had bear, tiger, lion, goats, ducks, chickens, turkeys, camels, horses, hyenas, and big ole’ cows with horns, and wolves!  We found something out…there is a wild dingo that lives in North and South Carolina.  It is called the Carolina Dingo.  They look like domesticated dogs, but their genetics go back to prehistoric times.  We did get to the zoo in time for the feeding of the big cats and an informative talk about wolves.  Wolves, by the way, are in the Upper Peninsula.  It would be breathtaking to see one in the wild…at a distance.  The zoo was so much fun and definitely worth the stop.  I have videos of the zoo, but am having difficulty posting them.  I hope to figure it out and do it later!!

We rode our bikes across the street from the zoo to eat at Zoom In.  It is actually the first food truck we have seen since leaving North Carolina.  They are very popular in our state, and the food is always quite good.  Zoom In had some mouth watering items on their menu and guess what else they had?  Hand dipped ice cream.  Let’s set the record straight here.  I don’t think I have mentioned that Ken and I went vegan last September.  We don’t eat meat, dairy, fish, zero oils, and basically nothing that has a mother.  If we are home, we do really good, except for the occasional fish.  Ken has lost 25 lbs. and his cholesterol levels have gone down enough to take him off of his statin drugs.  He had a heart attack in his early 50s and we don’t want history repeating itself.  Oh my goodness, though.  It has been hard to maintain our healthy eating on the road.  Especially when you stop at a bee’s knees establishment like Zoom In!

Zoom In orders up burgers, fries, roto spuds (kettle cooked potato chips), barbecue pork, brats, sweet potato waffle fries, pepperjack cheese curds, and deep fried avocado!  Oh, and fried oreos.  We had the veggie burger.  It was so good!  And we were so good, until we ordered the roto spuds.  And they were so SO good!  Then the 2 scoops of ice cream, each.  And, yes, yes, it was good.  We started talking with the owner Ron, and his wife Kitty.  We asked if they would mind if we camped on their lot, as we had no firm place to go and it was hot.  They offered for us to stay in their tepee!  So, here we are sleeping in a tepee tonight.  The tepee is 20-25 feet in diameter.  It has a table, cots, blow-up mattresses, a soft bench, fans, carpets.  We are very content.  I know what you are asking…is there a shower?  No, no shower, but there is a water mister that feels heavenly.  Ron and Kitty also provided cold water bottles in a cooler.  We are set for the night.  We were warned that, since we are across the street from the zoo with exotic wild animals, we might hear unusual noises.  Also, the night sky is looking clear and you can see right up to the stars.  I can’t wait for evening to settle in.  Oh!  Excuse me for a second, Ron and Kitty just knocked………How nice!  They brought us an evening snack!  What happens in the tepee…stays in the tepee!

A Sandhill Crane In The Field

Bald Eagle Eating In A Field

Zoom In

Zoom In

Ron and Kitty – Owners of Zoom In

Our Tepee For The Night

Daytime View From The Tepee

Nighttime View From The Tepee