Crossing Lake Michigan on the Badger

It took about four hours (approx. eighteen miles per hour) for me and my friend Brian to cross Lake Michigan with his car on the steam-powered ferry, the Badger. Fortunately, it was a placid adventure with the waves at a minimum on this day. We left Manitowoc, WI around 2pm and would land at Ludington, Mi around 6pm on our way to see my family and spend a few days biking, hiking, and catching up on some reading in Upper Lower Michigan. The ferry was huge and could fit 450 passengers as well as semi-trucks, cars and everything motorized in-between. There were two cafes, a nautical museum, and a small movie theater to help pass the time. But we happy to watch the water go by and strike up conversations with fellow passengers, many who were aficionados and old timers who could recall many wavey, stomach challenging voyages.