I found myself on the 11 p.m. trip, the last of the day, from Bayfield to La Pointe this evening.

If you were trying to determine whether or not tourism is down this year, you'd get the impression things are slow this year by riding the last ferry of the day to La Pointe on a Friday summer evening.

We left the mainland aboard the Bayfield at around 11:10 p.m., with a total of just seven vehicles on deck.  Two of the vehicles had Wisconsin license plates, the remaining five (including mine) had Minnesota plates.

The Bayfield has a capacity of 26 vehicles and up to 149 passengers.  Tonight, you could have ridden a bicycle around on deck.

Ordinarily, the last ferry boat of the day on a Friday or Saturday night is packed.  Tourists coming up to the Apostle Islands area from the Twin Cities or Eau Claire or Madison begin filling boats late in the afternoon and well into the evening. 

On top of that, this is "Biker Weekend" on Madeline Island.  Typically, this is the weekend that we see hundreds of motorcycle enthusiasts on the Island, filling the campgrounds at the State Park and Town Park and also occupying the available rental units.

You can't blame the lightweight ferry traffic on the weather.  It was a gorgeous evening, with a full moon, starry sky and almost no wind or waves on Lake Superior. 

What I observed tonight was in direct contrast to what I've heard from some Island merchants about this summer's tourist traffic.  Some have told me that lodging bookings are filled and campground sites are tough to come by.

Nevertheless, it's unnerving to ride the 11 p.m. boat on a Friday evening and find yourself with very little company on board.