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Door County Hybrid Adventure
My extended weekend trip to Door County started on Thursday, October 28, 2004. Dr. Wendel Johnson of UW-Marinette had organized a hybrid presentation that included his biological sciences students as well as Paul Erdman's physics students. The Thursday evening presentation included several other faculty members as well as some general public attendants. It was a spirited group including a 2nd generation Toyota Prius owner. The questions were great and the rain outside on the hybrid cars was the only thing that dampened the event.
Thursday also included an excursion into the upper peninsula of Michigan. Overall, I got 65.5 MPG on my trip to Marinette, which included an unusual, slight head wind out of the east.
Friday morning opened with a presentation at the Marinette Campus of Northeast Technical College. The interest was high and I enjoyed meeting the campus president, Jeffrey Rafn. The early presentation allowed me to get an early start to Door County. My first stop in Door County was Dyckesville. I certainly was a long way from needing gas since I had logged only 300 miles but I stopped at the gas station to talk about biking on the peninsula. The attendant said the Ahnapee State Trail was close ? so I headed toward Algoma. Before I was out of town, I saw a Civic Hybrid. I stopped and talked to the owner about fuel efficiency and the hybrid presentation scheduled for Saturday. The Ahnapee State Trail reminds me of the La Crosse River Trial including scaring up a blue heron on both the Algoma to Sturgeon Bay and return legs. I enjoyed a beautiful view of Sturgeon Bay that evening during dinner and was ready to get some sleep.
The next morning, I loaded up "No Plug" and took off for Egg Harbor. Roger Kuhn not only set up the presentation in Door County but he fixed a wonderful African tea and oatmeal. We had a pleasant morning ride along the bay to Juddville. He gave me geology lessons as we made our way to his friend's art studio. The return ride included a biting rain but we enjoyed to added challenge.
Roger was as enthusiastic about exposing the fuel efficiency and environmental benefits of hybrid technology as I was since he had invested in a Civic Hybrid in July. The group was so spirited that I spent twice as much time as usual. I want to thank Liz and Steve Kastner for allowing me to use space in the Compass Caf? and for the excellent hot chocolate.
My return leg included a triple overtime football game between Michigan and Michigan State on the radio. The leg also included a strong head wind. And so I finished my 711-mile weekend adventure at 60.8 MPG.
I would like to thank all the people that made this Door County excursion memorable.
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