Thursday, September 24, 2009
Roughrider Campground, Minot, ND: Aug 18-20
This was our first time in North Dakota. We were expecting a flat, treeless expanse, gently sloping from one end to the other, but were quite pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the state. There were a lot of farms (many with fields of sunflowers in full bloom!), large expanses of trees, & also quite a few reservoirs & wetlands. On our way to Minot we drove through Rugby, ND, which has the distinction of being the geographic center of North America. Naturally we had to stop at the monument & take pictures. Also in Rugby are a Prairie Village Museum, a winery, and a Northern Lights Tower sculpture, which is pretty hopping stuff for a town of 2500.
Minot is known as "Magic City" -- when the railroad was being built through ND in 1887 a bridge was needed to cross a dry streambed. 
A large tent city sprang up at the expected site, but when it was announced that the bridge would be built several miles away on the Souris River, the residents moved the entire town to its present site overnight. The town became such a magnet for disreputable characters that a railway conductor cried "This is MINOT, end of the line. Prepare to meet your God."
Roughrider CG is a little pricier than we like, but we got a nice electric-only pull-through with three sites in front of us that were empty 2 of the 3 days. Of course we researched the Minot bridge club before we arrived and were able to play twice.
We also visited the Scandinavian Heritage Center one day, which was worth the trip all by itself. The park, a gift to the city, displays flags of the five Scandinavian countries, plus the US and Canada, and contains sculptures and structures exemplifying Scandinavian heritage.
Among the items are a full-size Stave Church, a 30-foot high Dala horse, a Danish windmill and a Finnish sauna. It's located in a lovely setting with curved walkways, waterways and fountains. The center also sponsors many events honoring Scandinavian traditions throughout the year.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Spirit Lake Casino & Resort, Devil's Lake, ND: Aug 16-17
When we were about halfway to the state line, the weather cleared up, and the rest of our drive was in sunshine -- unfortunately also a strong headwind, lowering our gas mileage significantly. This casino's RV park is not free -- the charge is $18/night for electric only and $25 for full hookups. The full hookup cg is quite new and very attractive, but we opted for an electric-only site, which was quite adequate. The casino doesn't have any promo offers unless you spend a lot of money gambling first (which isn't really a promo as far as we're concerned!), but the breakfast buffet is included with the price of camping, and they have very low-priced dinner buffets on Mon & Tues nights.We're planning no outings here, which is good since the weather has gotten cold & rainy again. We'll spend our time eating at the buffets and catching up with our travelog. The forecast for our leaving tomorrow is good, for which we are grateful.
Central Park, Crookston, MN: Aug 13-15
This was sort of a "surprise" stop. We found this park listed in a tourist guide, and it sounded appealing, a quiet place to spend a few nights, so we rearranged our itinerary to include it. We found out that our stay coincided with their annual celebration, Ox Cart Days. We thought it would be just a small-town festival that wouldn't matter much. Wrong! It was a HUGE 4-day festival that coincided with a classic car show and the Miss Crookston Scholarship Pageant. We got the last campsite with electricity in the park, and then the place was inundated with more campers who parked every-which-way because they were part of the car show or there for the festivities in some capacity. We were the only people there who "just happened by". It seemed fun to have the events happening so close to us, although we had been warned that the music for the Teen Dance might be a bit on the loud side. Well, you can't even imagine how loud it was -- and how unappealing! It was like sitting inside one of those boom-boom cars for 3 1/2 hours. But we were good sports and suffered through it (until midnight!) and through the adult dance with a D.J. the following night (until one am!), enjoying some of the other activities anyway.
Ox Cart Days comes from the history of the Pembina Trail, on which goods were hauled through this area from Pembina to St Paul, opening up the area to the early settlers. The Pembina Trail was essentially started by Joe Rolette in 1842. The ox carts were unique to this area, and the sound of their wooden wheels rubbing against the wooden axles could be heard for miles across the prairie and was said to "make your blood run cold" (so the Teen Dance fits that spirit perfectly!). The ox carts were used from 1842 until 1871, when the railroads took over. In their time, there were as many as 5000-8000 ox carts traveling across the state at one time. Each one was driven by one man, drawn by one ox, cost about $15 each, traveled about 1000 miles a year, and carried from 800-1000 pounds at a time.
A particular highlight of Ox Cast Days for us was the WoodPicks, a bluegrass group from nearby Thief River Falls, who performed outdoors on the local college campus. The University of MN Crookston is a 4-year college that has a lovely campus on the north side of town. We enjoyed the music and also enjoyed walking through the beautiful flower gardens on the mall (think commons, not shopping) area.
Unfortunately, Saturday morning it started pouring rain, and many of the activities had to be cancelled, postponed or moved to other venues. So we didn't get to see the classic cars in the nice grassy field just behind our campsite; we had to drive to the high school on the other side of town to see them. There were some great cars there, including several that shot flames out their tailpipes. Unfortunately, the loud music did not get moved or postponed!In spite of there being another day of festivities, we decided to stick to our "plan" of leaving Sunday. We were hoping by heading west to get out of the rain and into the sunny weather again.
Hamilton's Fox Lake CG, Bemidji, MN: Aug 9-12
What a travel day this was! First, we planned to stop at a casino east of Bemidji, in Cass Lake. This casino had an attractive, free RV parking area with 20-amp electrical hookups. For some unknown reason, we can't plug our trailer into 20-amp GFI-protected circuits -- we flip the breaker every time we plug in. We don't know what causes this, if it is "our fault" or something in their wiring, but the forecast was way too hot to park without the option of electricity. We tried to call Bemidji SP to ask about the availability of camping but the number in our outdated AAA book was no longer valid. So we drove there, only to find that the fees for camping would total $29/day, and we felt that was just too high. We continued on to a nearby Passport America park that we had thought was too far out of town. It turned out to be a lovely place, with plenty of space for us, at a much lower cost than the state park, located on a small lake, and plenty close to town going the "short way".
We found a lot to do in the Bemidji area. Bemidji is the legendary home of mythical Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. There is a large statue of them on the shore of Lake Bemidji outside the visitor center, and the Paul Bunyan Trail, which starts there, is a popular bicycling, skiing & snowmobiling route. The visitor center contains a fireplace built out of rocks from all 50 states and many provinces. Bemidji is the first town on the Mississippi River, and the river flows through Lake Bemidji. There was a display of public art, and we picked up a brochure with a map, which enabled us to walk through some of it, despite temperatures near 90 and similar humidity. It was well worth the effort! We got to see the historic area of town along this route and also visited a nice woolen mill outlet, with great bargains. Unfortunately, it's difficult to think of buying wool when you're so sweaty!
We spent a day at nearby Lake Itasca State Park, home of the Headwaters of the Mississippi River. The park was established in 1891 to both protect the basin around the source of the Mississippi and the remnant stands of virgin pine. The 32,000-acre park has become a famous natural and cultural landmark. Willie had always wanted to visit and wade across the Mississippi, and she got her wish! It was a hot day, and no one minded getting their feet wet. The place where the water left Lake Itasca and became a river was clearly delineated by a line of rocks.
Our stay in Bemidji coincided with one of their two weekly bridge games, so we were able to play once. Yet another friendly club (we haven't run across many that aren't!), we managed a fine second-place showing.
We found a lot to do in the Bemidji area. Bemidji is the legendary home of mythical Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. There is a large statue of them on the shore of Lake Bemidji outside the visitor center, and the Paul Bunyan Trail, which starts there, is a popular bicycling, skiing & snowmobiling route. The visitor center contains a fireplace built out of rocks from all 50 states and many provinces. Bemidji is the first town on the Mississippi River, and the river flows through Lake Bemidji. There was a display of public art, and we picked up a brochure with a map, which enabled us to walk through some of it, despite temperatures near 90 and similar humidity. It was well worth the effort! We got to see the historic area of town along this route and also visited a nice woolen mill outlet, with great bargains. Unfortunately, it's difficult to think of buying wool when you're so sweaty!
We spent a day at nearby Lake Itasca State Park, home of the Headwaters of the Mississippi River. The park was established in 1891 to both protect the basin around the source of the Mississippi and the remnant stands of virgin pine. The 32,000-acre park has become a famous natural and cultural landmark. Willie had always wanted to visit and wade across the Mississippi, and she got her wish! It was a hot day, and no one minded getting their feet wet. The place where the water left Lake Itasca and became a river was clearly delineated by a line of rocks.
Our stay in Bemidji coincided with one of their two weekly bridge games, so we were able to play once. Yet another friendly club (we haven't run across many that aren't!), we managed a fine second-place showing.
Black Bear Casino, Carlton, MN: Aug 2-8
This casino is listed as having an area where RVs can park for as many nights as they want, which is essentially true -- it's really just a parking area, not one that is specifically meant for RVs. However, we decided to try it out since we wanted to visit friends who lived in nearby Duluth. The drive to & from Duluth was long and there was road construction, which certainly didn't add to the enjoyment! Each night the small parking area would fill up with RVs of varying sizes and each day everyone would leave except for us. Many people were quite unaware of any of the common courtesies of boondocking and would park way too close or run their generators through the night.
Our first day here was Willie's birthday, and with some recommendations from our friends, we headed for the Canal Street area, with its huge variety of shops & restaurants. We opted for a place called The Green Mill (which turned out to be a local chain) and had a delicious meal.
We spent most of our time visiting with friends Kathy & Terry Clark. Willie & Kathy had been roommates during Willie's early years in Cleveland, OH. Doug had met Kathy once, briefly, in the mid-90s when we attended the Women's NCAA Final Four Basketball Tournament in Minneapolis. We all quickly started catching up as if we had never been apart -- except that there wasn't enough time to talk as much as we wanted to. We hadn't seen anyone we knew since our brief visit with Mary & Elaine in early June, so it was really nice to be with old friends again!
One of the highlights of our visit to Duluth was an outing on Kathy & Terry's sailboat, Vivace, which is harbored in Superior, WI, just across the St. Louis River from Duluth. Terry picked a perfect day and we had a wonderful sail, ending our day coming through (or under) the large aerial-lift bridge right behind one of the 1000-ft ships. There was a large crowd along the waterfront watching us motor through. We felt like celebrities! Coincidentally, this large ship, called a "laker" because they travel only on the Great Lakes, was the Walter J McCarthy, Jr, that we had seen passing through the Soo Locks in June. We wondered how many trips it had made since we had seen it then.
Kathy took us on a drive up the North Shore as far as Split Rock Lighthouse. Along the way we also saw Two Harbors, with its lovely lighthouse, which is now a bed & breakfast, and Gooseberry Falls SP. Gooseberry Falls has several falls with trails leading around them. For some reason, they don't charge admission to this state park. At Split Rock Lighthouse, you don't have to pay to visit the state park grounds, but the historical society charges plenty to tour the lighthouse grounds. It is an interesting lighthouse, and the grounds are well kept, so it was almost worth the price of admission! The trails along the beach and to the hoist & tramway that were used to deliver goods until the road was built in 1924 were quite steep! Perched on a high, rocky point, the lighthouse is attractive from many vantage points.
The casino was located quite near the town of Cloquet, and we spent some time there, shopping, visiting the post office and using the WiFi at the library. There was a gas station designed by Frank Lloyd Wright that we had to get photos of. It is a pretty town with attractive parks & flowers.
RVing friends Nancy & John Peyton, whom we met at the Benson co-op, spend each summer near Duluth, and we were able to meet up with them for a long chatty breakfast. They had relatives visiting for the week, so it was good we could find a mutually agreeable time to meet.
We were also able to work in two bridge games at the local club. It was a friendly club, and we had hoped to stay and play a third time, but we just couldn't face the casino parking lot (or the drive in) any longer. We had checked into moving to somewhere more attractive; however, due to the Blues Festival that weekend, nothing suitable was available.
Our first day here was Willie's birthday, and with some recommendations from our friends, we headed for the Canal Street area, with its huge variety of shops & restaurants. We opted for a place called The Green Mill (which turned out to be a local chain) and had a delicious meal.
We spent most of our time visiting with friends Kathy & Terry Clark. Willie & Kathy had been roommates during Willie's early years in Cleveland, OH. Doug had met Kathy once, briefly, in the mid-90s when we attended the Women's NCAA Final Four Basketball Tournament in Minneapolis. We all quickly started catching up as if we had never been apart -- except that there wasn't enough time to talk as much as we wanted to. We hadn't seen anyone we knew since our brief visit with Mary & Elaine in early June, so it was really nice to be with old friends again!
One of the highlights of our visit to Duluth was an outing on Kathy & Terry's sailboat, Vivace, which is harbored in Superior, WI, just across the St. Louis River from Duluth. Terry picked a perfect day and we had a wonderful sail, ending our day coming through (or under) the large aerial-lift bridge right behind one of the 1000-ft ships. There was a large crowd along the waterfront watching us motor through. We felt like celebrities! Coincidentally, this large ship, called a "laker" because they travel only on the Great Lakes, was the Walter J McCarthy, Jr, that we had seen passing through the Soo Locks in June. We wondered how many trips it had made since we had seen it then.
Kathy took us on a drive up the North Shore as far as Split Rock Lighthouse. Along the way we also saw Two Harbors, with its lovely lighthouse, which is now a bed & breakfast, and Gooseberry Falls SP. Gooseberry Falls has several falls with trails leading around them. For some reason, they don't charge admission to this state park. At Split Rock Lighthouse, you don't have to pay to visit the state park grounds, but the historical society charges plenty to tour the lighthouse grounds. It is an interesting lighthouse, and the grounds are well kept, so it was almost worth the price of admission! The trails along the beach and to the hoist & tramway that were used to deliver goods until the road was built in 1924 were quite steep! Perched on a high, rocky point, the lighthouse is attractive from many vantage points.
The casino was located quite near the town of Cloquet, and we spent some time there, shopping, visiting the post office and using the WiFi at the library. There was a gas station designed by Frank Lloyd Wright that we had to get photos of. It is a pretty town with attractive parks & flowers.
RVing friends Nancy & John Peyton, whom we met at the Benson co-op, spend each summer near Duluth, and we were able to meet up with them for a long chatty breakfast. They had relatives visiting for the week, so it was good we could find a mutually agreeable time to meet.
We were also able to work in two bridge games at the local club. It was a friendly club, and we had hoped to stay and play a third time, but we just couldn't face the casino parking lot (or the drive in) any longer. We had checked into moving to somewhere more attractive; however, due to the Blues Festival that weekend, nothing suitable was available.
Thompson West End Park, Washburn, WI: July 30-Aug 1
This is a lovely city/county park that located along the shoreline at the south end of Washburn. Every night you could look out over the water and see the lovely lights of Ashland. We were fortunate here to have friendly neighbors who invited us over each evening to enjoy their campfire and listen to their son's friend sing & play the guitar. He was quite good!
Ashland also had an attractive city park, but Washburn was closer to the places we wanted to spend time. We did go back to Ashland in order to take pictures of their many interesting & attractive murals and to visit a fish shop that had promised to have freshly caught Walleye that day.
We visited Cornucopia, WI in honor of our good friend from Chaco, GB Cornucopia, and discovered a charming small town -- and the northern-most US Post office in Wisconsin. We then visited the Little Sand Bay area of the Apostle Islands Natl Lakeshore, another out of the way place that was quite attractive; so much so that we might look into volunteering here in the future (or maybe at the previously mentioned Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center). These areas in Wisconsin seemed more appealing than some of the harder to reach areas in Michigan.
We had a hard time deciding between the 2-hour cruise or the 3-hour cruise of the Apostle Islands, but we finally decided on the shorter one. That was a wise choice! It was a lovely, quite well-run and relaxing cruise, but 2 hours was more than enough. We were able to see some interesting historical places along the shore of several of the islands and one really attractive lighthouse, but for the most part we were just riding along looking at islands covered with trees. One looked pretty much like the next.
Ashland also had an attractive city park, but Washburn was closer to the places we wanted to spend time. We did go back to Ashland in order to take pictures of their many interesting & attractive murals and to visit a fish shop that had promised to have freshly caught Walleye that day.
We visited Cornucopia, WI in honor of our good friend from Chaco, GB Cornucopia, and discovered a charming small town -- and the northern-most US Post office in Wisconsin. We then visited the Little Sand Bay area of the Apostle Islands Natl Lakeshore, another out of the way place that was quite attractive; so much so that we might look into volunteering here in the future (or maybe at the previously mentioned Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center). These areas in Wisconsin seemed more appealing than some of the harder to reach areas in Michigan.
We had a hard time deciding between the 2-hour cruise or the 3-hour cruise of the Apostle Islands, but we finally decided on the shorter one. That was a wise choice! It was a lovely, quite well-run and relaxing cruise, but 2 hours was more than enough. We were able to see some interesting historical places along the shore of several of the islands and one really attractive lighthouse, but for the most part we were just riding along looking at islands covered with trees. One looked pretty much like the next.
Bad River Casino, Odanah, WI: July 28-29
Another casino -- this one with free hookups at the back of their parking lot, but quite a ways from all the exploring we wanted to do. We took a day trip over to the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, just west of Ashland, where they have comprehensive visitor information on the region's cultural & natural history. This is a lovely facility with trails and informative programs -- we went on a birdwalk there with a pleasant young volunteer. We continued up the coast through the town of Washburn, arriving at Bayfield, home to the Apostle Islands Natl Lakeshore, where we looked around and booked reservations on a cruise through the islands later in our stay.
While driving through Washburn we decided to check out their city campgrounds and found one of them very much to our liking. We decided we'd rather be there, closer to the places we wanted to visit & more attractive to boot. Plenty of sites were available, since they didn't take reservations, and we made plans to move there the next day, before the weekend crowds arrived.
While driving through Washburn we decided to check out their city campgrounds and found one of them very much to our liking. We decided we'd rather be there, closer to the places we wanted to visit & more attractive to boot. Plenty of sites were available, since they didn't take reservations, and we made plans to move there the next day, before the weekend crowds arrived.
Ontonagon Township Park, Ontonagon, MI: July 22-27
We decided to take a break from camping in casinos. We first planned to go to the cg in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, but learned about this Twp Park in Ontonagon, which sounded pretty appealing, so we decided to try it first. We were quite lucky and got the last space available right on Lake Superior and happily settled in. The cats were happy too, with more interesting scenery outside their windows. We were able to walk along the beach frequently and enjoy the cool lake breezes.
We took two day trips to the Porcupine Mtns, one to the east side, where we visited the Lake of the Clouds area and the lakeshore nearby. Lake of the Clouds is a large lake which can be seen from several nice vantage points along a trail. The whole park is densely forested and contains one of the last large stands of uncut hardwood-hemlock forests remaining in the midwest. What you see from overlooks are miles of green; what you hike through is green! Our second trip to the Porcupines was to the Summit Peak and Presque Isle River areas. We took the short hike to the top of Summit Peak, and from the top of the tower we could see -- you guessed it -- LOTS OF GREEN!! The Presque Isle River area was quite lovely, with hikes to several amazing waterfalls. The sand and gravel that was carried by the rushing water had carved fantastic shapes & swirls into the river rocks.
We decided to take in some local culture and attended a production by the Junior Harbor Town Players putting on their version of "Oliver Twist". This was the most abbreviated version we have ever seen -- only 80 minutes long, including an intermission & two musical numbers from "Oliver!". If you weren't familiar with the story, you probably wouldn't have had a clue as to what was happening. Still, it was a worthy cause!
We took two day trips to the Porcupine Mtns, one to the east side, where we visited the Lake of the Clouds area and the lakeshore nearby. Lake of the Clouds is a large lake which can be seen from several nice vantage points along a trail. The whole park is densely forested and contains one of the last large stands of uncut hardwood-hemlock forests remaining in the midwest. What you see from overlooks are miles of green; what you hike through is green! Our second trip to the Porcupines was to the Summit Peak and Presque Isle River areas. We took the short hike to the top of Summit Peak, and from the top of the tower we could see -- you guessed it -- LOTS OF GREEN!! The Presque Isle River area was quite lovely, with hikes to several amazing waterfalls. The sand and gravel that was carried by the rushing water had carved fantastic shapes & swirls into the river rocks.
We decided to take in some local culture and attended a production by the Junior Harbor Town Players putting on their version of "Oliver Twist". This was the most abbreviated version we have ever seen -- only 80 minutes long, including an intermission & two musical numbers from "Oliver!". If you weren't familiar with the story, you probably wouldn't have had a clue as to what was happening. Still, it was a worthy cause!
Ojibwa Casino, Baraga, MI: July 17-21
Other than being run by the same tribe, this casino cg has nothing in common with the last one. It cost $20/night and had full hookups plus cable and paved parking pads. However, the spaces were close together and not at all attractive. We much preferred the previous cg (and the price too!!).
We chose to camp in Baraga in order to drive up the Keweenaw Peninsula to Copper Harbor through Houghton & Hancock. That was a long day's drive, but it was quite pleasant. We spent most of our time at the north end and made a second trip back to see the sights near Houghton/Hancock. We were able to time our second trip in order to play in their weekly duplicate game, which we won! One of our best games ever in fact.
Copper Harbor is very attractive and would be an appealing location for a longer stay, except the prospect of hauling our trailer through the narrow, winding streets of Houghton/Hancock in order to get there seemed rather daunting. It would be a lovely place to spend a few months of the summer, however. We toured the historic Fort Wilkins located in Copper Harbor and happened to meet Peter & Christiane, so we all enjoyed lunch overlooking the lovely lighthouse. Driving back from this trip, we saw a black bear running across the road.
Just north of Hancock we discovered Peterson Fish House and Food Stand (actually it was recommended to us by a friendly tourist whom we met earlier in our travels). We had a delicious, almost gourmet, meal here and took home some tasty fresh & smoked fish for later. This place (another must) is right across from the Quincy Mine (a local attraction which we didn't have time for this trip), so it's easy to find.
This was our last stop together with Peter & Christiane, so we had to say goodbye to them for a while. We hope to meet up with them this winter.
We chose to camp in Baraga in order to drive up the Keweenaw Peninsula to Copper Harbor through Houghton & Hancock. That was a long day's drive, but it was quite pleasant. We spent most of our time at the north end and made a second trip back to see the sights near Houghton/Hancock. We were able to time our second trip in order to play in their weekly duplicate game, which we won! One of our best games ever in fact.
Copper Harbor is very attractive and would be an appealing location for a longer stay, except the prospect of hauling our trailer through the narrow, winding streets of Houghton/Hancock in order to get there seemed rather daunting. It would be a lovely place to spend a few months of the summer, however. We toured the historic Fort Wilkins located in Copper Harbor and happened to meet Peter & Christiane, so we all enjoyed lunch overlooking the lovely lighthouse. Driving back from this trip, we saw a black bear running across the road.
Just north of Hancock we discovered Peterson Fish House and Food Stand (actually it was recommended to us by a friendly tourist whom we met earlier in our travels). We had a delicious, almost gourmet, meal here and took home some tasty fresh & smoked fish for later. This place (another must) is right across from the Quincy Mine (a local attraction which we didn't have time for this trip), so it's easy to find.
This was our last stop together with Peter & Christiane, so we had to say goodbye to them for a while. We hope to meet up with them this winter.
Ojibwa Casino, Harvey, MI: July 12-16
This casino offered free electric sites that were actual sites with tables & trees, located conveniently about 9 miles from Marquette. Peter & Christiane were also here for part of our stay, so we got to know them a little better. We enjoyed Marquette a lot. It has many interesting restaurants and about 10 duplicate bridge games a week! We played 4 times during our 5-night stay. We also did a bit of sightseeing between bridge games.
Marquette has many interesting buildings in the Neo-classical style made of local sandstone. They have a long waterfront biking & hiking trail which ends in Presque Isle Park at the north end of town. There is a very lovely lighthouse, which is almost impossible to get to, but we spent a good bit of time trying! Marquette is also the home of Jilbert's Dairy, which makes delicious ice cream.
A man named Tom Lakenen needed a hobby to help fill long hours when he wasn't working and discovered the hobby of creating "art" from "junk". He has an area filled with whimsical creations from metal scraps of various types, and people are welcome to drive or walk through at any time. It's free of charge, but there is a place for donations. It is a place that is well worth a drive-through if you're ever in the area.
Marquette has many interesting buildings in the Neo-classical style made of local sandstone. They have a long waterfront biking & hiking trail which ends in Presque Isle Park at the north end of town. There is a very lovely lighthouse, which is almost impossible to get to, but we spent a good bit of time trying! Marquette is also the home of Jilbert's Dairy, which makes delicious ice cream.
A man named Tom Lakenen needed a hobby to help fill long hours when he wasn't working and discovered the hobby of creating "art" from "junk". He has an area filled with whimsical creations from metal scraps of various types, and people are welcome to drive or walk through at any time. It's free of charge, but there is a place for donations. It is a place that is well worth a drive-through if you're ever in the area.
Kewadin Casino, Christmas, MI: July 6-11
This casino offered free electric hookups in an asphalt parking area and lots of free tokens for their machines, so we were able to rack up about $35 in cash from this stay. We met Peter & Christiane, RVers from Germany who have been in the US for over a year traveling in their motorhome, and found we were continuing on the same path for several more stops. We enjoyed meeting them and hearing of their adventures. Amazingly, they applied for a visa and instead received Green Cards. Funny how it's so easy for some and so difficult for others!
The tiny town of Christmas was just outside Munising and the western portion of Pictured Rocks Natl Lakeshore. We took a boat cruise to see the cliffs of Pictured Rocks, from which the area got its name. It is best seen from the water, but the crowded boat & lots of noisy children made it difficult to enjoy. In retrospect it was worth it but just barely! The photos bring back nice memories. The boat we took was the one daily cruise that traveled all the way to Spray Falls, which was why the boat was so crowded. Spray Falls comes over a cliff into Lake Superior, and can only be seen from the water.
There were a lot of pleasant hikes to spectacular waterfalls at Pictured Rocks and around the area in general. And right across the street from the casino was the Forest Service cg and historic site of Bay Furnace, the remains of one of many old iron blast furnaces that once operated along the shoreline.
The tiny town of Christmas was just outside Munising and the western portion of Pictured Rocks Natl Lakeshore. We took a boat cruise to see the cliffs of Pictured Rocks, from which the area got its name. It is best seen from the water, but the crowded boat & lots of noisy children made it difficult to enjoy. In retrospect it was worth it but just barely! The photos bring back nice memories. The boat we took was the one daily cruise that traveled all the way to Spray Falls, which was why the boat was so crowded. Spray Falls comes over a cliff into Lake Superior, and can only be seen from the water.
There were a lot of pleasant hikes to spectacular waterfalls at Pictured Rocks and around the area in general. And right across the street from the casino was the Forest Service cg and historic site of Bay Furnace, the remains of one of many old iron blast furnaces that once operated along the shoreline.
Chip In's Island Casino, Harris, MI: June 30-July 5
We found another casino with a campground ($17/night) near Escanaba, our real destination. There are two loops in the cg; the lower one (near the restrooms & showers) was almost always full, the other that we chose was quite empty. The casino offered no deals, was noisy & smoky, so we only went there when we needed to use the wifi. They did have a pool & spa which we were welcome to use as cg guests, but we never found time to use them.
A recurring theme in our travels is painted animals, and when we drove to the Visitor Center in Escanaba we learned that Escanaba has Painted Fishes, so naturally we had to try to see as many of them as we could. We also learned about a movie that was filmed there - "Escanaba in Da Moonlight" - that we rented from a local store. It was fairly amusing in a quite bizarre fashion, with a lot of "local humor".
As before, most of our time was spent sightseeing: scenery, lighthouses and waterfalls. We took one long drive south along the coast of Lake Michigan to just over the Wisconsin border into Menominee and one another west towards Iron Mountain. We spent a lot of time in the harbor area of Escanaba, which was especially attractive with many flowers and an historic lighthouse. We enjoyed the fireworks over the harbor on the Fourth of July. It was a spectacular location with the fireworks reflecting off the calm water. This was our last stop near Lake Michigan.
A recurring theme in our travels is painted animals, and when we drove to the Visitor Center in Escanaba we learned that Escanaba has Painted Fishes, so naturally we had to try to see as many of them as we could. We also learned about a movie that was filmed there - "Escanaba in Da Moonlight" - that we rented from a local store. It was fairly amusing in a quite bizarre fashion, with a lot of "local humor".
As before, most of our time was spent sightseeing: scenery, lighthouses and waterfalls. We took one long drive south along the coast of Lake Michigan to just over the Wisconsin border into Menominee and one another west towards Iron Mountain. We spent a lot of time in the harbor area of Escanaba, which was especially attractive with many flowers and an historic lighthouse. We enjoyed the fireworks over the harbor on the Fourth of July. It was a spectacular location with the fireworks reflecting off the calm water. This was our last stop near Lake Michigan.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Big Cedar Campground, Germfask, MI: June 23-29
This campground used to be Passport America but is no longer, but it looked like a good base for sightseeing, so we decided to stay here anyway. We got an Escapees discount, but they charged $3/day for A/C, just for the days you use it, and that pretty much used up the discount. Fortunately we only had to run the A/C two days. This park has a friendlier feel without so many rules. The name "Germfask" may sound unfamiliar -- it was originally named "The Dump" since lumber was dumped into the river there, but no one wanted to live in a place named The Dump, so eight of the original owners decided to rename the town based on the first letters of their last names, and Germfask is what they came up with.The cg is only 3 miles from the entrance to Seney National Wildlife Refuge, a truly special place, even for a NWR. The land was originally sold to potential farmers "sight unseen", who found less than an inch of topsoil after clearing away the timber & swamps. The owners all abandoned the property, so it reverted back to the state, who offered it to the federal govt as a refuge. During the Depression the CCC set up camp here (our cg was the original CCC camp) & reworked the land into its present shape. All the lakes in the refuge are manmade, originally by the CCC. We have driven through or gone on a tour in a park vehicle at least a half-dozen times, seeing Trumpeter swans (lifer), common loons (with babies on their backs!), osprey, bald eagles, & numerous smaller birds as well as other wildlife, but the real draw is just the beauty & tranquility of it all.
We managed to tear ourselves away one day to drive up to the village of Grand Marais & the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior. Part of the road in Pictured Rocks was closed, but we still got to see Sable Falls and the Log Slide Overlook, which offers a breathtaking view of the Grand Sable Dunes. We walked the 1.5 miles to the Au Sable Lighthouse, and on the way back walked along the shore past the remains of 3 shipwrecks: Gale Staples, Sitka, and Mary Jarecki. We will see more of Pictured Rocks from the west side when we stay in Munising in a couple of weeks.
We took another side trip down to the town of Manistique and found a lovely boardwalk, which led to the picturesque Manistique East Breaker Light, a charming red lighthouse at the end of a breakwater. Luckily, we are finding few problem bugs at these shoreline areas that we enjoy so much.
Another day we drove around Manistique Lakes and then south to Lake Michigan. From there we drove to the town of Gulliver to Suel Choix Point Lighthouse, which has been nicely restored by volunteers from the area.
The next day we drove west of Manistique to Palms Book State Park, home of Kitch-iti-kipi or Big Springs, the largest springs in Michigan. Seeing the 300x175 foot oval pool is fairly impressive, but there is a hand-operated raft attached to a cable that takes you across the pool, where you can see the sand at the bottom bubbling & rolling from the water rushing in at the rate of 10,000 gallons per minute -- well worth the time (and with no effort, since kids always seem to take over turning the wheel that propels the raft). From there we drove down to Fayette Historic State Park, home of the Fayette Historic Townsite. Fayette was a bustling industrial community built on a natural harbor between 1867 & 1891. 20 historic building still survive in excellent condition, and visitors may wander for as long as they like. The signs provide an excellent glimpse into a long-gone way of life.
More drives through Seney and a nice walk on their 1 1/2 mile nature trail finished off our time here. We now have nets that cover our heads for bug protection and have had to use them several times. They actually sell whole "bug suits" (think of harem-type pants made of netting and similar jackets) if you really get serious about being outside. Avoiding the areas for the most part, seems more desirable to us! We are also using a lot more insect repellent than we like to.
Northcountry Campground & Cabins, Newberry, MI: June 21-22
This is a campground dominated by rules. The owner makes you initial a form stating that you have read & understand all the rules. None of the rules are unreasonable; in fact, we would probably want to enforce most of them if we owned a campground, but we would never be crazy enough to try that! However, just having them pointed out so strongly sort of puts one off. It's a Passport America (half-price) park, and they charge $2/day extra if you run your A/C (we really dislike being hit by hidden costs like that). We quickly decided we would splurge for A/C after setting up in the hot, humid weather. They also had advertised free WiFi, but it turned out to be only available from outside your rig at some picnic tables in 3 sites -- and the mosquitoes & other unfriendly bugs were too bad to stay there for even 5 minutes! Even then it was such a weak signal it wasn't worth the effort. We ended up driving into town and parking behind the local Super 8 Motel when we needed to get online.
We arrived early enough that we decided to take a scenic drive up to Muskallonge Lake State Park on Lake Superior for the rest of the day. It makes sense to start out late for sightseeing when you know that it will be light well after 9 pm. When we left the campground it was 85 degrees, but within a couple of miles of the state park & Lake Superior (35 miles away) the temp dropped to 52 & we ran into a fog. Talk about weird. We had planned to drive along Superior via a road through the park, but it was lined with trees, never offering us a view of the lake, so we turned back & stopped near the Visitor Center where there was a nice path leading down to the shore of Lake Superior. As we were sitting there another fog started rolling in, so we walked back & headed home. There was a nice nature trail, but once away from the shoreline, the mosquitoes really came after us.
The next day we drove down 20 miles of dirt road to Crisp Point Lighthouse, which many people say is their favorite. We can see why -- Crisp Point sits by itself on a long stretch of sandy beach. The combination of beauty & solitude is truly compelling. It's hard to take a bad picture of Crisp Point.
We arrived early enough that we decided to take a scenic drive up to Muskallonge Lake State Park on Lake Superior for the rest of the day. It makes sense to start out late for sightseeing when you know that it will be light well after 9 pm. When we left the campground it was 85 degrees, but within a couple of miles of the state park & Lake Superior (35 miles away) the temp dropped to 52 & we ran into a fog. Talk about weird. We had planned to drive along Superior via a road through the park, but it was lined with trees, never offering us a view of the lake, so we turned back & stopped near the Visitor Center where there was a nice path leading down to the shore of Lake Superior. As we were sitting there another fog started rolling in, so we walked back & headed home. There was a nice nature trail, but once away from the shoreline, the mosquitoes really came after us.
The next day we drove down 20 miles of dirt road to Crisp Point Lighthouse, which many people say is their favorite. We can see why -- Crisp Point sits by itself on a long stretch of sandy beach. The combination of beauty & solitude is truly compelling. It's hard to take a bad picture of Crisp Point.
Bay Mills Casino RV Campground, Brimley, MI: June 15-20
We mentioned earlier how some casinos provide space for RVs (& 18-wheelers) to park, allowing them to stay as long as they like for free since no hookups are provided. Bay Mills has an actual RV campground across the street from the casino. The sites are pretty basic, but each has water, electric, & a picnic table. There is also a section with full hookups, which of course cost more. The casino sits right on Lake Superior, so we had a great view from our front yard and WiFi that actually worked.
Naturally, the first thing we did was go to the casino & see if they had any deals. We each got $15 in "free" gambling bucks each, which we stretched out as long as possible at the penny slots, and both did quite well. Since we were staying for so long, we found occasion to visit the casino over the rest of our stay, but still turned a tidy profit (by our very small stakes standards!). Our first evening we drove to the Point Iroquois Lighthouse, a lovely lighthouse only 5 miles from the casino, made even more dramatic by the light of the setting sun.
The next day we visited the Soo Locks. The only water passage out of Lake Superior is the Saint Mary's River, which drops 21 feet at the Rapids. At first, boats had to unload & haul their cargo through town, then reload alternate boats on the other side. A lock was built in 1853, putting an end to this expensive & time-consuming task. There are now four locks, and two of those are currently being replaced with one larger, state-of-the-art lock to handle the largest of the Great Lakes fleet. We were fortunate enough to see 3 large freighters pass through, two of them just over 1000 feet long, almost completely filling the lock. These are the largest freighters that can pass through the locks, and they have to remain in the Great Lakes, since they are too large to pass through the Welland Canal and out into the Atlantic Ocean. In between ships, we walked around Sault Ste Marie (MI not Ontario), shopping & visiting historical sites.
The next day we went on a scenic drive all the way up to Whitefish Point, where there is a beautiful lighthouse of the same name, as well as a Coast Guard Station and a Bird Observatory. Whitefish Point is known as the ship graveyard of Lake Superior -- more vessels have been lost here than in any other part of the lake, including, most recently, the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975. Many migrating birds, especially raptors, gather at Whitefish Point before heading out on the dangerous flight across Superior. We were too late in the season for any migratory birds, but we did walk all the way out to the very tip of the point. In a nearby enclosure, well protected from tourists, was an endangered Piping plover's nesting area. We could just glimpse the birds from our distant vantage point. Superior's shore is noted for its agates, and we enjoyed rock-hunting along the way. After doing some research, Willie has determined that none of our rocks are actual agates, but they are pretty varieties of quartz. You have to be really lucky to find the distinctively striped agates.
On the drive back we visited Tahquamenon Falls State Park. There are two "Tahq" Falls -- Upper & Lower. The Lower is actually more like a pair of lengthy cascades, divided by a large island in the river. The Upper is a true falls & is the 2nd largest falls in the US east of the Mississippi River -- only Niagara is larger. The falls have a distinct brown tint to them, a result of large concentrations of tannin in the water from all the rotting plant material in the swamps & bogs that the river drains from. Upper Falls was our first real encounter with Michigan's infamous swarms of mosquitos, and it was not pleasant. No sooner had we entered the woods on the trail to the falls than we were besieged by hundreds of the blood-thirsty little buggers. Not fun.
Naturally, the first thing we did was go to the casino & see if they had any deals. We each got $15 in "free" gambling bucks each, which we stretched out as long as possible at the penny slots, and both did quite well. Since we were staying for so long, we found occasion to visit the casino over the rest of our stay, but still turned a tidy profit (by our very small stakes standards!). Our first evening we drove to the Point Iroquois Lighthouse, a lovely lighthouse only 5 miles from the casino, made even more dramatic by the light of the setting sun.
The next day we visited the Soo Locks. The only water passage out of Lake Superior is the Saint Mary's River, which drops 21 feet at the Rapids. At first, boats had to unload & haul their cargo through town, then reload alternate boats on the other side. A lock was built in 1853, putting an end to this expensive & time-consuming task. There are now four locks, and two of those are currently being replaced with one larger, state-of-the-art lock to handle the largest of the Great Lakes fleet. We were fortunate enough to see 3 large freighters pass through, two of them just over 1000 feet long, almost completely filling the lock. These are the largest freighters that can pass through the locks, and they have to remain in the Great Lakes, since they are too large to pass through the Welland Canal and out into the Atlantic Ocean. In between ships, we walked around Sault Ste Marie (MI not Ontario), shopping & visiting historical sites.
The next day we went on a scenic drive all the way up to Whitefish Point, where there is a beautiful lighthouse of the same name, as well as a Coast Guard Station and a Bird Observatory. Whitefish Point is known as the ship graveyard of Lake Superior -- more vessels have been lost here than in any other part of the lake, including, most recently, the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975. Many migrating birds, especially raptors, gather at Whitefish Point before heading out on the dangerous flight across Superior. We were too late in the season for any migratory birds, but we did walk all the way out to the very tip of the point. In a nearby enclosure, well protected from tourists, was an endangered Piping plover's nesting area. We could just glimpse the birds from our distant vantage point. Superior's shore is noted for its agates, and we enjoyed rock-hunting along the way. After doing some research, Willie has determined that none of our rocks are actual agates, but they are pretty varieties of quartz. You have to be really lucky to find the distinctively striped agates.
On the drive back we visited Tahquamenon Falls State Park. There are two "Tahq" Falls -- Upper & Lower. The Lower is actually more like a pair of lengthy cascades, divided by a large island in the river. The Upper is a true falls & is the 2nd largest falls in the US east of the Mississippi River -- only Niagara is larger. The falls have a distinct brown tint to them, a result of large concentrations of tannin in the water from all the rotting plant material in the swamps & bogs that the river drains from. Upper Falls was our first real encounter with Michigan's infamous swarms of mosquitos, and it was not pleasant. No sooner had we entered the woods on the trail to the falls than we were besieged by hundreds of the blood-thirsty little buggers. Not fun.
Loons Point CG, Cedarville, MI: June 12-14
This is an absolutely beautiful setting, right on Lake Huron near the eastern end of the UP. This nice relaxing stop was much-needed after the stress of the last stop. We were quite close to Les Cheneaux Islands, narrow little islands jutting out into Lake Huron that look a lot more appealing on a map than in person. There are even roads leading out onto a few of them. While driving on them, there is no public access to the lake, and the roads are surrounded by trees, so you might as well be in a large forest as on the edge of an island. Of course the people who own the land right on the shore trim it enough so THEY can have a view, but it isn't visible from the roadways.
The Nature Conservancy owns a good section of the mainland shore, and we did some birding there. We managed to see an Alder flycatcher, a lifer that we had missed on our other eastern excursion back in 2001. We had planned to take a ferry to Drummond Island, but after reading up on it saw nothing really extraordinary to recommend it so we decided to pass and save the $20 round trip fare. We had seen enough lovely homes with trees blocking the views of the lake.
The Nature Conservancy owns a good section of the mainland shore, and we did some birding there. We managed to see an Alder flycatcher, a lifer that we had missed on our other eastern excursion back in 2001. We had planned to take a ferry to Drummond Island, but after reading up on it saw nothing really extraordinary to recommend it so we decided to pass and save the $20 round trip fare. We had seen enough lovely homes with trees blocking the views of the lake.
George's Body Shop, St Ignace, MI: June 8-11
We awoke on moving day to a steady rain that promised to last through the day and well into the night. There was also a steady 20-25 mph wind, which was worrisome since we were crossing the high bridge. We found a website that told if weather conditions were bad enough to warrant closing traffic, but evidently conditions like this are so frequent that they are considered mild. We took down & started our move in the rain. We couldn't figure out why our GPS was sending us south, until we realized that we had the preference turned on for "no toll roads", and since you have to pay to cross the bridge, it qualifies. The GPS was sending us via Wisconsin.
We got a good chuckle out of that, which was about the only chuckle of the day. Driving conditions through town and across the bridge were horrible, made worse by the fact that one lane was closed half-way across the bridge, so of course all the maniacal Michigan drivers, who do seem worse than usual by the way, had to speed by us, weather be hanged. There is an Information Center/Rest Area just past the bridge which we happily turned into after our white-knuckle adventure. This was one of our shortest travel distances (16 miles), but it turned into one of our longest travels days when, after we set up at our planned stop (a casino near St. Ignace), we walked in & noticed the trailer floor had a distinct slant to it. One of the landing legs had apparently given out. We called George's Body Shop, the only RV repair facility listed for St Ignace, who nicely enough came right out to check the problem. Upon seeing it however, he encouraged us to drive in & set up at the shop, which would make working on the rig a lot easier, plus we could have electricity. So we took down, drove back to St Ignace, and set up again, still all in the rain. Needless to say, we were soaked through, so it was nice to have George's electricity and free WiFi.
As a base for sightseeing, George's actually was preferable to the casino, which was 4 miles out of town. We had to stay in the first morning (which wasn't difficult since we are slugs) in order to discuss options for fixing the trailer, which boiled down to ordering a new leg or spending the rest of the summer in a off-kilter trailer until we found a different place to fix it. Naturally we chose to have it fixed. The leg had to be ordered from the manufacturer, Atwood, whom we've dealt with before & are real butts. Even though we were calling at 2pm they refused to send out the leg until the next day, so we had to bite our nails for two days hoping it showed up on Friday, since UPS doesn't deliver on weekends. While St. Ignace is nice enough, we wanted to move on by the weekend. Ironically, Atwood is HQed in Elkhart, where we had just been in early May, not getting much of our trailer work done. If they all have the type of no-help attitude that Atwood does, no wonder they're
going out of business!
The weather was still dismal that day, but we did get out & stroll around town, which is unremarkable in general but does have some splashes of charm. There is a boardwalk around the small bay on Lake Huron, and a small recently built lighthouse. We walked the boardwalk that afternoon, and again the next day when we got a visit from our friends Mary & Elaine, whom it seems we've known "forever". The weather was perfect for their visit, and we had a great time together, walking, talking, & having an early dinner before they had to head back home to their RV, which was parked in Sault Ste. Marie. They are spending this summer in the Maritime Provinces before going on another of their fabulous cruises. They plan them well and relatively inexpensively and do and see really interesting places. Later that evening, we drove to Straits State Park at sunset (here that means after 9:30!) to see the lights on the Mackinac Bridge.
Thursday we took the ferry to Mackinac Island, which is probably the big tourist draw here. Staying at George's meant we were just a short walk from the ferry docks, which added to the convenience of being there. Cars are not allowed on the island (they do have two emergency vehicles) and the only way to get there is by ferry, either from Mackinaw City or St Ignace, or by private boat. It was only a 3 minute walk from George's, and we caught the 10am ferry. It is hard to describe the transformation that goes on in your mind when you step into this culture: your transportation options are by foot, by bicycle, or by horse. Deliveries are done by horse-drawn cart. Mail is picked up at the post office -- there is no delivery, so house numbers are used only in emergencies. Houses are designed without garages, yards are designed without driveways. Life's pace is obviously slower, which feels wonderful in a small dose -- I wonder how desirable it would be on a permanent basis. An unfortunate side-effect is the smell -- anywhere horses congregate on a regular basis (the ferry dock, for example) smell strongly of horse leavings. This is certainly as offensive, although maybe not as much of a health risk, as traffic fumes. The island's biggest industry is fudge, and we sampled a lot & bought some. In the early days, the island was a center for John Jacob Astor's fur trade.
We walked most of the time we were there, but we did take a tour of the island by horse-drawn wagon -- probably not worth the time or money, but we did get to see some parts of the island that would have been hard to get to, even by bike. After getting to know our way around a bit, we ventured into the less touristy parts of the island and saw the places where "regular folks" had small summer cottages. We also saw the lovely Governor's Mansion. We have heard a lot about the economic troubles of the State of Michigan, and wondered at the "extravagance" of having such an expensive second mansion for the Governor. On the tour we learned that the mansion had been donated to the state for use by the Governor many years ago, the only stipulation being that if they didn't want it, they had to sell it for the original price of something like $15,000. We had an excellent lunch & dinner (both at the same place) and before we knew it it was time to catch the last ferry home -- and we had been worried that we would have trouble finding things to do.
We did get to see the famed Grand Hotel, built in 1887, that features a 660-foot porch and a strict after-6 dress code. It was featured in the movie "Somewhere In Time" starting Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, so it has gotten even more "famous". Since the guests paying tons of money to be there don't like being stared at, they keep pretty tight security on the place, and you can't get in without paying the $10 fee for looking around (first floor only) and being "permitted" to purchase a very over-priced drink in the bar. We didn't do anything but look around from the perimeter and admire it from afar and see part of the lovely grounds. While we were eating dinner we talked with some women who had gone in a "back way" and looked around to their hearts content without paying the fee. We have filed that bit of info in case we ever go back! Unfortunately, unless you are a chambermaid, there is no way to look around at the various guest rooms. There are over 350 rooms and each is said to be furnished differently.
We spent Friday morning fretting over whether the landing leg would arrive - we didn't really want to spend the weekend in St Ignace - then finally decided to go grocery shopping. Just as we were leaving the UPS truck was pulling up, but we continued on with our fingers crossed. And (yay!) the leg was there when we got back. It only took an hour to install, so by 3pm we were paid up & ready to roll. We were going less than 40 miles that day, so we arrived before many other RVers normally reach their destination, even with our late start!
We got a good chuckle out of that, which was about the only chuckle of the day. Driving conditions through town and across the bridge were horrible, made worse by the fact that one lane was closed half-way across the bridge, so of course all the maniacal Michigan drivers, who do seem worse than usual by the way, had to speed by us, weather be hanged. There is an Information Center/Rest Area just past the bridge which we happily turned into after our white-knuckle adventure. This was one of our shortest travel distances (16 miles), but it turned into one of our longest travels days when, after we set up at our planned stop (a casino near St. Ignace), we walked in & noticed the trailer floor had a distinct slant to it. One of the landing legs had apparently given out. We called George's Body Shop, the only RV repair facility listed for St Ignace, who nicely enough came right out to check the problem. Upon seeing it however, he encouraged us to drive in & set up at the shop, which would make working on the rig a lot easier, plus we could have electricity. So we took down, drove back to St Ignace, and set up again, still all in the rain. Needless to say, we were soaked through, so it was nice to have George's electricity and free WiFi.
As a base for sightseeing, George's actually was preferable to the casino, which was 4 miles out of town. We had to stay in the first morning (which wasn't difficult since we are slugs) in order to discuss options for fixing the trailer, which boiled down to ordering a new leg or spending the rest of the summer in a off-kilter trailer until we found a different place to fix it. Naturally we chose to have it fixed. The leg had to be ordered from the manufacturer, Atwood, whom we've dealt with before & are real butts. Even though we were calling at 2pm they refused to send out the leg until the next day, so we had to bite our nails for two days hoping it showed up on Friday, since UPS doesn't deliver on weekends. While St. Ignace is nice enough, we wanted to move on by the weekend. Ironically, Atwood is HQed in Elkhart, where we had just been in early May, not getting much of our trailer work done. If they all have the type of no-help attitude that Atwood does, no wonder they're
going out of business!
The weather was still dismal that day, but we did get out & stroll around town, which is unremarkable in general but does have some splashes of charm. There is a boardwalk around the small bay on Lake Huron, and a small recently built lighthouse. We walked the boardwalk that afternoon, and again the next day when we got a visit from our friends Mary & Elaine, whom it seems we've known "forever". The weather was perfect for their visit, and we had a great time together, walking, talking, & having an early dinner before they had to head back home to their RV, which was parked in Sault Ste. Marie. They are spending this summer in the Maritime Provinces before going on another of their fabulous cruises. They plan them well and relatively inexpensively and do and see really interesting places. Later that evening, we drove to Straits State Park at sunset (here that means after 9:30!) to see the lights on the Mackinac Bridge.
Thursday we took the ferry to Mackinac Island, which is probably the big tourist draw here. Staying at George's meant we were just a short walk from the ferry docks, which added to the convenience of being there. Cars are not allowed on the island (they do have two emergency vehicles) and the only way to get there is by ferry, either from Mackinaw City or St Ignace, or by private boat. It was only a 3 minute walk from George's, and we caught the 10am ferry. It is hard to describe the transformation that goes on in your mind when you step into this culture: your transportation options are by foot, by bicycle, or by horse. Deliveries are done by horse-drawn cart. Mail is picked up at the post office -- there is no delivery, so house numbers are used only in emergencies. Houses are designed without garages, yards are designed without driveways. Life's pace is obviously slower, which feels wonderful in a small dose -- I wonder how desirable it would be on a permanent basis. An unfortunate side-effect is the smell -- anywhere horses congregate on a regular basis (the ferry dock, for example) smell strongly of horse leavings. This is certainly as offensive, although maybe not as much of a health risk, as traffic fumes. The island's biggest industry is fudge, and we sampled a lot & bought some. In the early days, the island was a center for John Jacob Astor's fur trade.
We walked most of the time we were there, but we did take a tour of the island by horse-drawn wagon -- probably not worth the time or money, but we did get to see some parts of the island that would have been hard to get to, even by bike. After getting to know our way around a bit, we ventured into the less touristy parts of the island and saw the places where "regular folks" had small summer cottages. We also saw the lovely Governor's Mansion. We have heard a lot about the economic troubles of the State of Michigan, and wondered at the "extravagance" of having such an expensive second mansion for the Governor. On the tour we learned that the mansion had been donated to the state for use by the Governor many years ago, the only stipulation being that if they didn't want it, they had to sell it for the original price of something like $15,000. We had an excellent lunch & dinner (both at the same place) and before we knew it it was time to catch the last ferry home -- and we had been worried that we would have trouble finding things to do.
We did get to see the famed Grand Hotel, built in 1887, that features a 660-foot porch and a strict after-6 dress code. It was featured in the movie "Somewhere In Time" starting Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, so it has gotten even more "famous". Since the guests paying tons of money to be there don't like being stared at, they keep pretty tight security on the place, and you can't get in without paying the $10 fee for looking around (first floor only) and being "permitted" to purchase a very over-priced drink in the bar. We didn't do anything but look around from the perimeter and admire it from afar and see part of the lovely grounds. While we were eating dinner we talked with some women who had gone in a "back way" and looked around to their hearts content without paying the fee. We have filed that bit of info in case we ever go back! Unfortunately, unless you are a chambermaid, there is no way to look around at the various guest rooms. There are over 350 rooms and each is said to be furnished differently.
We spent Friday morning fretting over whether the landing leg would arrive - we didn't really want to spend the weekend in St Ignace - then finally decided to go grocery shopping. Just as we were leaving the UPS truck was pulling up, but we continued on with our fingers crossed. And (yay!) the leg was there when we got back. It only took an hour to install, so by 3pm we were paid up & ready to roll. We were going less than 40 miles that day, so we arrived before many other RVers normally reach their destination, even with our late start!
Mackinaw Mill Creek CG, Mackinaw City, MI: June 5-7
First, a quick primer on the difference in pronunciation of "mackinaw" & "mackinac" -- there isn't any. They are both pronounced "mackinaw"; in fact, the only mackinaws you will encounter are in Mackinaw City, which is the British spelling. Mackinac is French, a shortening of Michilimackinac (who wouldn't?!), the French fort built here in 1715, and is prevalent from the Mackinac Bridge north -- the Upper Peninsula (UP), in other words, since the bridge is the only link between Michigan's Upper & Lower Peninsulas. Michilimackinac was the Native American word for "Great Turtle", which is what the island represented in their history. The Mackinac Bridge, incidentally, is truly an engineering marvel, and many tourists come to this area solely to view it. Built between 1954 & 1957, it is still the longest suspension bridge in the world, over 2000 feet longer than the Golden Gate. Before its opening in 1957, the only way to get between the peninsulas in a car was by ferry or via Wisconsin. The toll is $3 for a passenger car and $6 for our truck & trailer -- quite reasonable we thought.
We chose this campground as a compromise between cost & convenience -- we could have stayed closer to Mackinaw City but paid a lot more. Mill Creek CG is huge -- over 400 sites, laid out in a somewhat confusing fashion, but the sites are large & it has a good (all-important) view of the bridge & Lake Huron. The advertised wifi was nonexistent (this is a frequent occurrence) -- some pay-to-connect company was installing new equipment & service was supposedly available at the office, but that didn't work either.
We drove to Wilderness Point in Wilderness State Park on Lake Michigan, where the soil was much wetter than we were expecting, basically a bog, but the wildflowers were lovely & the scenery was terrific. On the way back we hugged the shoreline, using our GPS to explore various roadways, and found one that opened up on a breath-taking view of the Mackinac Bridge. The next day we kicked around Mackinaw City, reading up on the history of the area, asking people about things to do, walking the lakeshore pathways, and purchasing the requisite pasties & fudge.
We chose this campground as a compromise between cost & convenience -- we could have stayed closer to Mackinaw City but paid a lot more. Mill Creek CG is huge -- over 400 sites, laid out in a somewhat confusing fashion, but the sites are large & it has a good (all-important) view of the bridge & Lake Huron. The advertised wifi was nonexistent (this is a frequent occurrence) -- some pay-to-connect company was installing new equipment & service was supposedly available at the office, but that didn't work either.
We drove to Wilderness Point in Wilderness State Park on Lake Michigan, where the soil was much wetter than we were expecting, basically a bog, but the wildflowers were lovely & the scenery was terrific. On the way back we hugged the shoreline, using our GPS to explore various roadways, and found one that opened up on a breath-taking view of the Mackinac Bridge. The next day we kicked around Mackinaw City, reading up on the history of the area, asking people about things to do, walking the lakeshore pathways, and purchasing the requisite pasties & fudge.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Sturgeon River Campground, Wolverine, MI: 5/31-6/4
We couldn't decide where to stay in the Petoskey area. They also had a casino with a free parking lot, but we were feeling the need for a real RV park with electricity (for heat!) and a laundry, since our laundry basket was overflowing. We found a reasonably priced Passport America park in Wolverine, just 35 miles from Petoskey, located near the Sturgeon River (and also I-75!). The weather turned quite cool (lows in the 30s and 29 one night!), so we were glad to have the electric heaters available. The first day was rainy but the next 3 days were sunny & cool, so we were able to get a load of laundry hung out all 3 days, making us almost caught up.
The first night here we attended a concert of the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra featuring Haydn's "Lord Nelson Mass" in nearby Indian River at a place called Cross in the Woods. We won the tickets because we were the first to call the local classical station with the correct answer to the question "How many symphonies did Haydn write?" (104) Doug knows lots of musical trivia like this and surprisingly, we called in time to get a pair of tickets. The Cross in the Woods is a Catholic Shrine, featuring a cross carved from a single CA redwood. It is currently undergoing major renovation, so it's entirely surrounded by scaffolding. The cross is 55 feet high and 22 feet wide. The concert was held in the sanctuary, which had large windows with a full view of the cross. This was a bit distracting as a concert venue, since the musicians were backlit and you couldn't see them well. The acoustics were fairly good, with the exception of a distracting fountain that dribbled throughout the concert. Too bad it couldn't be turned off. Still, it was quite an enjoyable concert.
One scenic drive was along the shore north of Petoskey. Our first stop was at the Thorne Swift Nature Preserve just north of Bay Springs. It is a lovely small area with a couple of 1/2 mile trails that lead to the dunes and small beach area. We were able to see a few interesting birds (Golden eagle and Northern parula were the most exciting), and the whole area was lovely. It was a thickly wooded, moist, almost swampy place that suddenly opened out onto a dune-edged beach.
Farther up the shore we came to the little town of Cross Village, home of the famous Legs Inn. Built on a high bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, Legs Inn is unique in its architecture and decor. Polish immigrant Stanley Smolak fell in love with Northern Michigan and its people and settled in Cross Village in 1921. He created this unusual building from the twisted and tormented forms of trees, roots & driftwood, along with stones washed smooth by the lake and various other items that caught his fancy. The outside is topped with a long row of stove legs, giving it the name Legs Inn. Inside are various whimsical carved characters that were suggested by the odd shapes of wood they are carved from. It is still a working inn, with rooms available and serving Polish food.
We found a local duplicate bridge club that had games at 10 am on Weds & Thurs, and we decided we could play bridge and still have lots of time left for sightseeing. Being so far north, the days are amazingly long. The sun rises around 6 am and sets after 9 pm. There's barely enough dark time for sleeping, and we aren't at the solstice yet. We still can't get used to sunlight streaming in the windows after 9 pm! The first day (in which we did fairly well at bridge) we went to the historic gaslight district of Petoskey and wandered around the shopping area looking at the various shops. We also visited the harbor area and looked for the Petoskey lighthouse. All we saw out in the bay was a large crane. We joked that the crane had taken away our lighthouse. Then later we asked at a shop and found that the crane had actually taken down the lighthouse in order to replace the breakwater. There were no plans to replace the lighthouse, since apparently it was a small one that wasn't very attractive.
The second day (after a mediocre showing at bridge) we returned to the shopping district to eat at a highly recommended restaurant and look for some examples of Petoskey stones. We read that these stones are the remains of an extinct coral that inhabited the area 350 million years ago. We visited a couple of galleries to see what it looked like. They are truly unique, and are the state stone of Michigan. Of course we had to purchase a small sample! We then drove & walked through an area called Bay View, which is a Chautauqua type, which started in 1875 as a Methodist camp. The huge Queen Anne style houses are called "cottages", but they are not at all like the cottages at the Chautauqua in Boulder! The whole area is on the National Register of Historic Places and is quite lovely. We then drove out to Petoskey State Park and walked on the beach for a while, enjoying the sunshine and the waves breaking on the shore.
The first night here we attended a concert of the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra featuring Haydn's "Lord Nelson Mass" in nearby Indian River at a place called Cross in the Woods. We won the tickets because we were the first to call the local classical station with the correct answer to the question "How many symphonies did Haydn write?" (104) Doug knows lots of musical trivia like this and surprisingly, we called in time to get a pair of tickets. The Cross in the Woods is a Catholic Shrine, featuring a cross carved from a single CA redwood. It is currently undergoing major renovation, so it's entirely surrounded by scaffolding. The cross is 55 feet high and 22 feet wide. The concert was held in the sanctuary, which had large windows with a full view of the cross. This was a bit distracting as a concert venue, since the musicians were backlit and you couldn't see them well. The acoustics were fairly good, with the exception of a distracting fountain that dribbled throughout the concert. Too bad it couldn't be turned off. Still, it was quite an enjoyable concert.
One scenic drive was along the shore north of Petoskey. Our first stop was at the Thorne Swift Nature Preserve just north of Bay Springs. It is a lovely small area with a couple of 1/2 mile trails that lead to the dunes and small beach area. We were able to see a few interesting birds (Golden eagle and Northern parula were the most exciting), and the whole area was lovely. It was a thickly wooded, moist, almost swampy place that suddenly opened out onto a dune-edged beach.
Farther up the shore we came to the little town of Cross Village, home of the famous Legs Inn. Built on a high bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, Legs Inn is unique in its architecture and decor. Polish immigrant Stanley Smolak fell in love with Northern Michigan and its people and settled in Cross Village in 1921. He created this unusual building from the twisted and tormented forms of trees, roots & driftwood, along with stones washed smooth by the lake and various other items that caught his fancy. The outside is topped with a long row of stove legs, giving it the name Legs Inn. Inside are various whimsical carved characters that were suggested by the odd shapes of wood they are carved from. It is still a working inn, with rooms available and serving Polish food.
We found a local duplicate bridge club that had games at 10 am on Weds & Thurs, and we decided we could play bridge and still have lots of time left for sightseeing. Being so far north, the days are amazingly long. The sun rises around 6 am and sets after 9 pm. There's barely enough dark time for sleeping, and we aren't at the solstice yet. We still can't get used to sunlight streaming in the windows after 9 pm! The first day (in which we did fairly well at bridge) we went to the historic gaslight district of Petoskey and wandered around the shopping area looking at the various shops. We also visited the harbor area and looked for the Petoskey lighthouse. All we saw out in the bay was a large crane. We joked that the crane had taken away our lighthouse. Then later we asked at a shop and found that the crane had actually taken down the lighthouse in order to replace the breakwater. There were no plans to replace the lighthouse, since apparently it was a small one that wasn't very attractive.
The second day (after a mediocre showing at bridge) we returned to the shopping district to eat at a highly recommended restaurant and look for some examples of Petoskey stones. We read that these stones are the remains of an extinct coral that inhabited the area 350 million years ago. We visited a couple of galleries to see what it looked like. They are truly unique, and are the state stone of Michigan. Of course we had to purchase a small sample! We then drove & walked through an area called Bay View, which is a Chautauqua type, which started in 1875 as a Methodist camp. The huge Queen Anne style houses are called "cottages", but they are not at all like the cottages at the Chautauqua in Boulder! The whole area is on the National Register of Historic Places and is quite lovely. We then drove out to Petoskey State Park and walked on the beach for a while, enjoying the sunshine and the waves breaking on the shore.
Turtle Creek Casino, Williamsburg, MI: 5/28-30
We knew there were more things we wanted to do in the Traverse City area, so we decided to spend a few more nights at a casino nearby. There are numerous casinos throughout Michigan, with amenities ranging from an RV parking lot with no hookups to resort-style campgrounds. Turtle Creek was one of the former. It was quite cold, so the main problem was the noise from inconsiderate RVers, who ran their generators all night long in order to run heaters. We have a nice catalytic heater that doesn't need any power, plus we don't have a generator anyway, so we were stuck suffering the noise of others, without being able to retaliate with our own.
The days were lovely, with temperatures in the 60s, which is just about our favorite. The first day we drove up the other peninsula in Grand Traverse Bay, Old Mission Peninsula. With the aid of our fairly new GPS, we were able to chart our way up one side and down the other, traveling on the roads that were closest to the water. Even so, with the thick forests that Michigan continually offers, we often were out of sight of the water, despite it being only 10-50 feet away. Still, we saw many lovely homes and beach areas along both shores. At the tip of the peninsula is Old Mission Park, with lovely hiking trails and a really nice lighthouse, plus an historic log cabin. The lighthouse, which was built in 1870 and recently restored, is located on the 45th parallel. The log home was built around 1854 and was originally located in the southern part of the peninsula. It was moved to this park, repaired & furnished in 1992-97 so that people could see how the early settlers lived.
Another attraction that called out to us was The Music House, located in Acme, just north of Traverse City. We read about it in a tourist brochure and in the AAA book, but nothing could have prepared us for how special a place it was. The Music House contains an extensive, meticulously restored, collection of the finest and rarest automatic musical instruments. There's everything from an old organ grinder box to a Duo-Art reproducing grand piano to a Wurlitzer Theater Organ to a Mortier dance organ built in Antwerp in 1922. This is the only working Mortier organ in the United States, and it took several years of work to restore it. The reproducing piano was capable of recording an artist playing a work and then reproducing it exactly as played. We were fortunate enough to hear George Gershwin playing "Rhapsody in Blue" almost as if in a live performance.
We spent a little time in the casino on Thursday, when it wasn't so smoky. We gambled a few dollars in pennies and actually came out ahead. We spent the rest of the evening using their free WiFi. The following days turned out to be too smoky, so they didn't get any more of our business. Still, we thank them for their parking lot! When we get to the UP, our itinerary has us hopping from one casino to another.
The days were lovely, with temperatures in the 60s, which is just about our favorite. The first day we drove up the other peninsula in Grand Traverse Bay, Old Mission Peninsula. With the aid of our fairly new GPS, we were able to chart our way up one side and down the other, traveling on the roads that were closest to the water. Even so, with the thick forests that Michigan continually offers, we often were out of sight of the water, despite it being only 10-50 feet away. Still, we saw many lovely homes and beach areas along both shores. At the tip of the peninsula is Old Mission Park, with lovely hiking trails and a really nice lighthouse, plus an historic log cabin. The lighthouse, which was built in 1870 and recently restored, is located on the 45th parallel. The log home was built around 1854 and was originally located in the southern part of the peninsula. It was moved to this park, repaired & furnished in 1992-97 so that people could see how the early settlers lived.
Another attraction that called out to us was The Music House, located in Acme, just north of Traverse City. We read about it in a tourist brochure and in the AAA book, but nothing could have prepared us for how special a place it was. The Music House contains an extensive, meticulously restored, collection of the finest and rarest automatic musical instruments. There's everything from an old organ grinder box to a Duo-Art reproducing grand piano to a Wurlitzer Theater Organ to a Mortier dance organ built in Antwerp in 1922. This is the only working Mortier organ in the United States, and it took several years of work to restore it. The reproducing piano was capable of recording an artist playing a work and then reproducing it exactly as played. We were fortunate enough to hear George Gershwin playing "Rhapsody in Blue" almost as if in a live performance.
We spent a little time in the casino on Thursday, when it wasn't so smoky. We gambled a few dollars in pennies and actually came out ahead. We spent the rest of the evening using their free WiFi. The following days turned out to be too smoky, so they didn't get any more of our business. Still, we thank them for their parking lot! When we get to the UP, our itinerary has us hopping from one casino to another.
Platte River CG, Sleeping Bear Dunes Natl Lakeshore, MI: May 20-27
We chose this stop because we could park without reservations, which is important over a 3-day weekend. The reservation loop had been full for months, but they had 2 non-reservation loops. We had no idea what to expect here, or whether the week we had planned would be too long. This turned out to be not a problem, since there was more than enough to keep us happy. We even extended our stay one day, even after arriving a day late. After choosing a site & setting up, we drove to & hiked along, & then watched the sun set over, Lake Michigan. From the name (Sleeping Bear Dunes), we were expecting an area dominated by sand dunes. However, the dunes only extend a couple of hundred feet into the park, the rest is devoted to maintaining the lake-shore ecosystem, which is amazingly beautiful & diverse. We got an in-depth look at the diversity on a combination bird/plant walk sponsored by Plant It Wild, an organization that encourages people to landscape using native plants, which then attract native bugs, which attract native birds, etc. We learned about this trip and other local events on the excellent Public Radio stations that we like to listen to. Michigan has an abundance of NPR stations, often more than one in an area. Currently we were near a station sponsored by Central Michigan University and another from the famous Interlochen College (known for its music programs), which specializes in classical programming. Later during our stay, we went on a park-sponsored wildflower walk which was quite fascinating. Part of the enjoyment was walking with a biology grad student & her mother whom we randomly befriended at a stop along the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive the day before.
We found the lakeshore to be amazingly lovely, very reminiscent of the seashore but without tides and the salty smell & taste. The waves aren't as big, but the winds are almost constant and the water is quite vast. Because of the way the land was formed, there are many inland lakes, so there are miles & miles of lakefront property with an abundance of lovely homes & attractive community beach parks. They call Minnesota the "land of 10,000 lakes", and they may have them, but it's hard to imagine more water around than Michigan has. Maybe Michigan's lakes are less numerous but larger. We'll report back on this after we see more of Minnesota.
During one scenic drive south of Sleeping Bear, we visited the charming town of Frankfort, which had two small lighthouses and a nice city beach park, where we spent some time. They even had two-person swings for relaxing & enjoying the view. Back along the road home, we stopped at Point Betsie Lighthouse, which was built in 1858 52 feet above Lake Michigan. The Great Lakes have numerous lighthouses, and we will enjoy seeing as many as possible while in the area.
For old-times sake, we joined in on an astronomy gathering in Traverse City that we heard about on NPR, combining it with a shopping trip. It was fun to chat with fellow amateur astronomers again, and we realized that what we really enjoy (& miss) about astronomy is the social aspect. We haven't had a desire to have a telescope and look at objects on our own, but it was really fun to be with a group of astronomers again. There seems to be an instant camaraderie when they find out we're also astronomers.
We devoted another day to a scenic drive north of Sleeping Bear up the Leelanau Peninsula to the northern tip, where Leelanau State Park and the Grand Traverse Lighthouse are located. We decided to get an annual state park pass, since the cost was so reasonable ($29 for "foreigners"), and it was obvious that there would be many opportunities to use it while in MI. We enjoyed visiting the lighthouse and walking around the lovely state park. We noticed that the campground wasn't full and found out that tourism was way down this year, which most attributed to the economy (although some said it was that Memorial Day was too early this year and also blamed the cooler than usual weather). The towns of Empire, Glen Arbor, Northport and Leland along the drive were all quite charming and looked worthy of future visits.
Spring warblers were arriving in the area, and we heard many an unusual song while hiking. With the leaves almost fully out on the trees, it was hard to get good looks, but we did see a few beauties. While in the trailer (with the door open), Willie was going through warbler songs in order to TRY to familiarize ourselves with a few of them, when suddenly one song was answered from outside. This was a Cerulean warbler, which we had not seen before. We went out & hunted around and could hear it but could not find it. We don't like to count a lifer bird unless we actually see it. The next day we heard it again and got lucky and were rewarded with a quick view of one. We also saw (not lifers but gorgeous birds) American redstart, Chestnut-sided warbler, Blackburnian warbler, Black-throated blue warbler & Magnolia warbler. We have seen a pair of Mute swans with cygnets and a Killdeer family with two chicks. We are hoping for Loon chicks riding on mom's (or dad's) back soon.
We found the lakeshore to be amazingly lovely, very reminiscent of the seashore but without tides and the salty smell & taste. The waves aren't as big, but the winds are almost constant and the water is quite vast. Because of the way the land was formed, there are many inland lakes, so there are miles & miles of lakefront property with an abundance of lovely homes & attractive community beach parks. They call Minnesota the "land of 10,000 lakes", and they may have them, but it's hard to imagine more water around than Michigan has. Maybe Michigan's lakes are less numerous but larger. We'll report back on this after we see more of Minnesota.
During one scenic drive south of Sleeping Bear, we visited the charming town of Frankfort, which had two small lighthouses and a nice city beach park, where we spent some time. They even had two-person swings for relaxing & enjoying the view. Back along the road home, we stopped at Point Betsie Lighthouse, which was built in 1858 52 feet above Lake Michigan. The Great Lakes have numerous lighthouses, and we will enjoy seeing as many as possible while in the area.
For old-times sake, we joined in on an astronomy gathering in Traverse City that we heard about on NPR, combining it with a shopping trip. It was fun to chat with fellow amateur astronomers again, and we realized that what we really enjoy (& miss) about astronomy is the social aspect. We haven't had a desire to have a telescope and look at objects on our own, but it was really fun to be with a group of astronomers again. There seems to be an instant camaraderie when they find out we're also astronomers.
We devoted another day to a scenic drive north of Sleeping Bear up the Leelanau Peninsula to the northern tip, where Leelanau State Park and the Grand Traverse Lighthouse are located. We decided to get an annual state park pass, since the cost was so reasonable ($29 for "foreigners"), and it was obvious that there would be many opportunities to use it while in MI. We enjoyed visiting the lighthouse and walking around the lovely state park. We noticed that the campground wasn't full and found out that tourism was way down this year, which most attributed to the economy (although some said it was that Memorial Day was too early this year and also blamed the cooler than usual weather). The towns of Empire, Glen Arbor, Northport and Leland along the drive were all quite charming and looked worthy of future visits.
Spring warblers were arriving in the area, and we heard many an unusual song while hiking. With the leaves almost fully out on the trees, it was hard to get good looks, but we did see a few beauties. While in the trailer (with the door open), Willie was going through warbler songs in order to TRY to familiarize ourselves with a few of them, when suddenly one song was answered from outside. This was a Cerulean warbler, which we had not seen before. We went out & hunted around and could hear it but could not find it. We don't like to count a lifer bird unless we actually see it. The next day we heard it again and got lucky and were rewarded with a quick view of one. We also saw (not lifers but gorgeous birds) American redstart, Chestnut-sided warbler, Blackburnian warbler, Black-throated blue warbler & Magnolia warbler. We have seen a pair of Mute swans with cygnets and a Killdeer family with two chicks. We are hoping for Loon chicks riding on mom's (or dad's) back soon.
Big K(K-Mart) parking lot, Grayling, MI: May 19
This was not where we had planned to spend the night. As we mentioned above, we have never before parked overnight in a "box store" parking lot, but Doug noticed that the gas stations in Grayling had especially cheap gas, so we decided to fill up there while passing through on our way to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. When we got to town all of the stations had raised their prices -- all but one, that is, and that had a line of cars. Even though we were towing the trailer, it didn't look too bad, however, so we pulled up to one line and shut off the engine while the people filled up. It got to be our turn, and when Doug tried starting the truck, it wouldn't turn over. It finally did start, and after running a few seconds sounded good so we pulled up to a pump & started filling up. When we finished, we really couldn't start the engine. We called our Emergency Roadside Service, and after having to tell them that there was a Dodge dealer in town (they wanted to tow us 38 miles), we went out to wait for the tow truck. We were only blocking one pump, but that was enough to turn what had been orderly lines of cars waiting politely into a chaotic, every-man-for-himself jungle.
While waiting for the tow truck, we scoped out the area and decided that the Big K almost next door would be a good place for the trailer to be left so that he didn't have to tow the truck with trailer through some rather heavy-duty road construction areas. Doug went over & checked to see if it was okay for us to be left there for the rest of the day and possibly overnight. They said fine. When the tow-truck finally arrived, he towed both truck & trailer to the Big K, to a location of our choice, unhitched the trailer, then towed the truck to the dealer, who confirmed that the fuel pump had gone out. He didn't think he could fix it that day, so he drove us back home to Big K. Then he called us around 5pm and said that it was ready. He picked us up & we paid for the work & drove back home. We decided we were in no mood to start out driving to our original destination that late in the day, and settled in to spend our first night parked at a "big box". Now the real irony of this is that modern cars put the fuel pump in the gas tank, which means that to work on them they have to drain the tank. He had a tank to drain the gas into, but said that since it had also been used for diesel & contaminated gas, he wouldn't recommend putting the gas back in. So we had to completely fill our tank at the new, inflated price, which was 36c higher. Kmart was amply "rewarded" by our spending about $70 there that we probably would not have spent otherwise -- at least not at Kmart -- and it was all stuff we needed!
Since the Kmart was right across the street from the Ramada Inn, where the Kirtland's warbler trips meet, the next day we decided to get up early & go on another KW tour, and we're really glad we did. We got several excellent looks -- one an adolescent male learning to vocalize for at least a minute on a bare branch about 15 feet in front of us, and then a female, again only about 20 feet away, having a male fly next to her, whereupon they nuzzled for a couple of seconds, then flew down to the ground out of sight (for what we suspect was a little warbler hanky-panky). Truly awesome!
While waiting for the tow truck, we scoped out the area and decided that the Big K almost next door would be a good place for the trailer to be left so that he didn't have to tow the truck with trailer through some rather heavy-duty road construction areas. Doug went over & checked to see if it was okay for us to be left there for the rest of the day and possibly overnight. They said fine. When the tow-truck finally arrived, he towed both truck & trailer to the Big K, to a location of our choice, unhitched the trailer, then towed the truck to the dealer, who confirmed that the fuel pump had gone out. He didn't think he could fix it that day, so he drove us back home to Big K. Then he called us around 5pm and said that it was ready. He picked us up & we paid for the work & drove back home. We decided we were in no mood to start out driving to our original destination that late in the day, and settled in to spend our first night parked at a "big box". Now the real irony of this is that modern cars put the fuel pump in the gas tank, which means that to work on them they have to drain the tank. He had a tank to drain the gas into, but said that since it had also been used for diesel & contaminated gas, he wouldn't recommend putting the gas back in. So we had to completely fill our tank at the new, inflated price, which was 36c higher. Kmart was amply "rewarded" by our spending about $70 there that we probably would not have spent otherwise -- at least not at Kmart -- and it was all stuff we needed!
Since the Kmart was right across the street from the Ramada Inn, where the Kirtland's warbler trips meet, the next day we decided to get up early & go on another KW tour, and we're really glad we did. We got several excellent looks -- one an adolescent male learning to vocalize for at least a minute on a bare branch about 15 feet in front of us, and then a female, again only about 20 feet away, having a male fly next to her, whereupon they nuzzled for a couple of seconds, then flew down to the ground out of sight (for what we suspect was a little warbler hanky-panky). Truly awesome!
Beaver Trail CG, West Branch, MI: May 15-18
We stopped by the post office in St Helen to pick up a couple of Netflix we had had sent to General Delivery there, only to find that the postmistress had sent them back. A rather heated discussion ensued in which she claimed that our usage of General Delivery was inappropriate unless the post office had prior notice. Naturally I asked if she could show me the regs for that, since we'd never encountered this issue before & wanted to know if it could be an on-going problem. She phoned her boss, who said she had never heard of any such policy, and (we suspect) told her never to do such a thing again, so she grudgingly apologized for the misunderstanding. We continued, Netflix-less, to Beaver Trail CG, which fills up every weekend with campers who build large, smoky fires, play loud music, and ride ORVs around, even just to go the bathroom, which we were
right next to.
At any rate, we weren't there much of the time since the sole reason for our being there at all was to attend the Kirtland's Warbler Festival, a one-day celebration held in honor one of the world's rarest songbirds. In 1987 there were fewer than 200 "singing males", which is how they count KWs. Last year there were just under 2000, so the recovery efforts have been very successful. KWs will only nest in jack pine forests that are 5-15 years old, and Michigan now has over 200,000 acres of land set aside for KW habitat. A larger issue introduced within the last 100 years is the cowbird -- a nest parasite that lays its eggs in other birds' nests. Their offspring hatch earlier & are larger & more aggressive than the host's chicks, and since birds instinctively feed the larger, more aggressive chick, cowbirds tended to thrive at the expense of KW chicks. Efforts have been underway to trap & destroy cowbirds in KW habitat, and although the number of cowbirds seems to remain fairly constant, the incidents of nest parasitization have dropped dramatically.
The evening before the festival there were a couple of field trips nearby, which we attended. The first was at the Margaret Gahagan Nature Preserve in Roscommon, one of the many nearby small towns. This was a delightful place and the trip was led by a very interesting & knowledgable person who was the education director and a retired professor from Kirtland College, which sponsored the festival. We should have stopped after this one, but we decided to go to the second walk, which started at 7 pm. It stays light so late at this time of year that you can go out hiking & birdwatching until at least 9 pm. We drove about 20 miles to a Forest Service area called Wakeley Lake. It was a nice enough area, but the leader was uninteresting and the hike longer than we were up for. We got home so late that we decided to skip the early morning birding on Saturday.
The weather during the festival was cold, rainy, & windy -- the worst possible conditions for birding. We went on two tours looking for KWs as well as going out by ourselves, but were unsuccessful. We then heard about tours in nearby Grayling sponsored by the US Fish & Wildlife Service that had a high success rate. And best of all, they're free and usually have small groups. We dragged ourselves out of bed early (for us) & got to Grayling in good time for the 7am tour. The guide had only had one wash-out in the last two years, and that's twice/day, 6 days/week, but we're notorious for bringing tours bad luck, so it was our bad luck pitted against his good luck. Fortunately, his good luck won out. We got good looks at 2 males & a female, and went home happy.
right next to.
At any rate, we weren't there much of the time since the sole reason for our being there at all was to attend the Kirtland's Warbler Festival, a one-day celebration held in honor one of the world's rarest songbirds. In 1987 there were fewer than 200 "singing males", which is how they count KWs. Last year there were just under 2000, so the recovery efforts have been very successful. KWs will only nest in jack pine forests that are 5-15 years old, and Michigan now has over 200,000 acres of land set aside for KW habitat. A larger issue introduced within the last 100 years is the cowbird -- a nest parasite that lays its eggs in other birds' nests. Their offspring hatch earlier & are larger & more aggressive than the host's chicks, and since birds instinctively feed the larger, more aggressive chick, cowbirds tended to thrive at the expense of KW chicks. Efforts have been underway to trap & destroy cowbirds in KW habitat, and although the number of cowbirds seems to remain fairly constant, the incidents of nest parasitization have dropped dramatically.
The evening before the festival there were a couple of field trips nearby, which we attended. The first was at the Margaret Gahagan Nature Preserve in Roscommon, one of the many nearby small towns. This was a delightful place and the trip was led by a very interesting & knowledgable person who was the education director and a retired professor from Kirtland College, which sponsored the festival. We should have stopped after this one, but we decided to go to the second walk, which started at 7 pm. It stays light so late at this time of year that you can go out hiking & birdwatching until at least 9 pm. We drove about 20 miles to a Forest Service area called Wakeley Lake. It was a nice enough area, but the leader was uninteresting and the hike longer than we were up for. We got home so late that we decided to skip the early morning birding on Saturday.
The weather during the festival was cold, rainy, & windy -- the worst possible conditions for birding. We went on two tours looking for KWs as well as going out by ourselves, but were unsuccessful. We then heard about tours in nearby Grayling sponsored by the US Fish & Wildlife Service that had a high success rate. And best of all, they're free and usually have small groups. We dragged ourselves out of bed early (for us) & got to Grayling in good time for the 7am tour. The guide had only had one wash-out in the last two years, and that's twice/day, 6 days/week, but we're notorious for bringing tours bad luck, so it was our bad luck pitted against his good luck. Fortunately, his good luck won out. We got good looks at 2 males & a female, and went home happy.
Soaring Eagle Casino, Mt Pleasant, MI: May 12-14
It's a well-known fact in RVing circles that casinos are often good places to park. We know of quite a few RVers who park in "box store" parking lots (usually Wal-Marts) overnight, but they normally travel farther in a day than we do. We frequently arrive at our destination & set up by 2pm, and it just seems wrong sitting in a Wal-Mart parking lot all afternoon. Casinos not only allow overnight parking for RVs, they actively encourage it, knowing that a good percentage of RVers will drop a few bucks gambling. As it turned out this casino actually paid us to park there, since they give each new player $10 in free promotional bucks (which can only be played on slots, not cashed out), so after we went through our $20 we ended up with $13 in "real" money (which gives you a good idea of your return on investment there). We promptly pocketed our winnings & went on our way.
We walked around historic Mt Pleasant, which is a very nice little town, although there's no mountain within 100 miles, pleasant or otherwise. We chatted with one shopkeeper about the economic downturn, which has hit Michigan especially hard, and bought a half-price Laurel Burch bag from her. We learned that this county was not suffering at all. It is among the most prosperous (government-wise) in Michigan, due to their housing all the excess prisoners from the Detroit area for a fee. This unfortunately had the negative effect of raising the crime rate, due to unsavory visitors. She told us to be sure to check out the museum (actually a culture center) at the casino (actually a resort). The Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways is not advertised in any of the resort literature, but is truly worth a visit. It portrays the history of the Anishinabe (Chippewa) people from their migration from the east coast to their disastrous interaction with white men and their resurgence in modern days. There was also a special display of their bead & leather work. We had planned to only spend 2 nights here but were happy we stayed an extra day (due to high winds) so that we had a chance to visit this special place.
We walked around historic Mt Pleasant, which is a very nice little town, although there's no mountain within 100 miles, pleasant or otherwise. We chatted with one shopkeeper about the economic downturn, which has hit Michigan especially hard, and bought a half-price Laurel Burch bag from her. We learned that this county was not suffering at all. It is among the most prosperous (government-wise) in Michigan, due to their housing all the excess prisoners from the Detroit area for a fee. This unfortunately had the negative effect of raising the crime rate, due to unsavory visitors. She told us to be sure to check out the museum (actually a culture center) at the casino (actually a resort). The Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways is not advertised in any of the resort literature, but is truly worth a visit. It portrays the history of the Anishinabe (Chippewa) people from their migration from the east coast to their disastrous interaction with white men and their resurgence in modern days. There was also a special display of their bead & leather work. We had planned to only spend 2 nights here but were happy we stayed an extra day (due to high winds) so that we had a chance to visit this special place.
Eaton County Fairgrounds, Charlotte, MI: May 10-11
After nine years on the road we finally made it to Michigan. It's funny, but even though Willie grew up in Ohio & Doug used to vacation here when he was little, neither of us had any clear expectations of the state. The terrain is fairly flat, and most of the forests are deciduous -- a pleasant change from the oppressive pine forests that we're more used to in the west.
When we called ahead to make sure that camping at this fairgrounds would not be a problem, we were informed that the campground was reserved for the entire week for a Samboree, which is a gathering of RVers who belong to the Good Sam Club. We are Good Sam members, so we called the "wagonmaster" who assured us that there would be plenty of room for us, since the actual rally did not start until Wednesday. It took a bit of looking to actually find the fairgrounds, but when we pulled up everyone knew who we were, and drove us right to the area where we could park. We checked out the local countryside & went shopping that afternoon & did laundry the next day.
When we called ahead to make sure that camping at this fairgrounds would not be a problem, we were informed that the campground was reserved for the entire week for a Samboree, which is a gathering of RVers who belong to the Good Sam Club. We are Good Sam members, so we called the "wagonmaster" who assured us that there would be plenty of room for us, since the actual rally did not start until Wednesday. It took a bit of looking to actually find the fairgrounds, but when we pulled up everyone knew who we were, and drove us right to the area where we could park. We checked out the local countryside & went shopping that afternoon & did laundry the next day.
Supreme RV Service, Elkhart, IN: May 6-9
In 2003 we were having problems with our slide-outs, along with some other issues, and after unhappy attempts to get the problems fixed through the dealer in Colorado, we decided to try taking it to the factory (Travel Supreme) near Elkhart. The results were even better than we had hoped for.
Recently we had been having similar slide-out problems, with a few other issues, and thought we would head back to the factory as part of our eastern tour. Unfortunately, Travel Supreme was a casualty of the economic slowdown and went out of business in 2008. Then we discovered on the internet that a few ex-employees had started a repair facility specializing in Travel Supreme, so we set up an appointment. Our first inkling of pending trouble was when we walked in & no one was expecting us, since the guy we had made all the arrangements with had been sacked. This was not a big issue, however, since we were the only customers. Not a big issue that is as far as their having time to do the work. Things sounded pretty iffy about why the former TS employees were no longer there, and we didn't have a lot of confidence that these guys knew a whole lot that would help us.
Fortunately the weather was cool, so we didn't have to worry about the cats as we bundled all 3 into the truck the next morning, and work progressed on our trailer promptly at 8am. When we dealt with the factory, they had plenty of parts on hand, so replacing almost anything was not an issue. Not so with 3 mechanics struggling to stay afloat (were they actual employees or friends of the owner?), whose entire inventory was a well-stocked tool chest and an empty oversize garage. Every time a part was needed they would phone some cut-rate RV supply store who had probably acquired their inventory by buying up manufacturers' inventories on the cheap as they went belly-up. Our guys did successfully adjust our slide-outs (we think!), but most of the other issues were either fixed poorly or not at all. The bill was considerably less than what we were expecting, on the other hand, so we were not totally unhappy. Some unnecessary labor was expended in trying to fit a new set of steps on that turned out to be the wrong size. Because we are "good guys" (or suckers!) we agreed to split the labor. In retrospect, if they were at all professional, they should have known that the steps were the wrong size and not have tried it at all. Live & learn...
The Elkhart area is obviously in the midst of some hard economic times, so it was good to bring a little money to their economy. However, it would have been better to have spent it on work that we had more confidence in being done correctly.
We were planning to leave on Saturday, but there was heavy rain in the forecast, and after much flip-flopping decided to stay an extra day, at which point the rain pretty much stopped for the rest of the day. So we got to do some sightseeing around Elkhart, which is fairly limited unless you're into Amish, and we had had our fill of that at Shelbyville. Elkhart sits at the convergence of the Elkhart & St. Joseph Rivers, where there is an island that supposedly is shaped like the heart of an elk, which is how the town derived its name. The island is now a city park, and quite a nice place to stroll around and enjoy a pleasant afternoon. There are interesting sculptures throughout the city parks.
Recently we had been having similar slide-out problems, with a few other issues, and thought we would head back to the factory as part of our eastern tour. Unfortunately, Travel Supreme was a casualty of the economic slowdown and went out of business in 2008. Then we discovered on the internet that a few ex-employees had started a repair facility specializing in Travel Supreme, so we set up an appointment. Our first inkling of pending trouble was when we walked in & no one was expecting us, since the guy we had made all the arrangements with had been sacked. This was not a big issue, however, since we were the only customers. Not a big issue that is as far as their having time to do the work. Things sounded pretty iffy about why the former TS employees were no longer there, and we didn't have a lot of confidence that these guys knew a whole lot that would help us.
Fortunately the weather was cool, so we didn't have to worry about the cats as we bundled all 3 into the truck the next morning, and work progressed on our trailer promptly at 8am. When we dealt with the factory, they had plenty of parts on hand, so replacing almost anything was not an issue. Not so with 3 mechanics struggling to stay afloat (were they actual employees or friends of the owner?), whose entire inventory was a well-stocked tool chest and an empty oversize garage. Every time a part was needed they would phone some cut-rate RV supply store who had probably acquired their inventory by buying up manufacturers' inventories on the cheap as they went belly-up. Our guys did successfully adjust our slide-outs (we think!), but most of the other issues were either fixed poorly or not at all. The bill was considerably less than what we were expecting, on the other hand, so we were not totally unhappy. Some unnecessary labor was expended in trying to fit a new set of steps on that turned out to be the wrong size. Because we are "good guys" (or suckers!) we agreed to split the labor. In retrospect, if they were at all professional, they should have known that the steps were the wrong size and not have tried it at all. Live & learn...
The Elkhart area is obviously in the midst of some hard economic times, so it was good to bring a little money to their economy. However, it would have been better to have spent it on work that we had more confidence in being done correctly.
We were planning to leave on Saturday, but there was heavy rain in the forecast, and after much flip-flopping decided to stay an extra day, at which point the rain pretty much stopped for the rest of the day. So we got to do some sightseeing around Elkhart, which is fairly limited unless you're into Amish, and we had had our fill of that at Shelbyville. Elkhart sits at the convergence of the Elkhart & St. Joseph Rivers, where there is an island that supposedly is shaped like the heart of an elk, which is how the town derived its name. The island is now a city park, and quite a nice place to stroll around and enjoy a pleasant afternoon. There are interesting sculptures throughout the city parks.
Caboose Lake CG, Remington, IN: May 4-5
In 2003 we stayed at this Passport America park on our way to & from getting our trailer worked on, and decided to stay again since it is still Passport America & its location is so perfect, almost exactly halfway between Peoria & Elkhart. The downside is that it sits right next to I-65, and the traffic noise is considerable. We were parked across the lake, almost as far from the interstate as possible, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
Friends Ray & Lois Berg, whom we met at Chaco, came to visit us. They live near Gary, and we hadn't seen them for 3 or 4 years. We had a very pleasant visit, and it was nice to see them again.
Friends Ray & Lois Berg, whom we met at Chaco, came to visit us. They live near Gary, and we hadn't seen them for 3 or 4 years. We had a very pleasant visit, and it was nice to see them again.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Millpoint Park, East Peoria, IL: Apr 20-May 4
We picked this park because of its relative proximity to Morton, home of Willie's sister Cathy & her husband John Barry, and Willie's niece Jennifer Perez & her 4 children, Devin, Christian, Sophia, and Aiden. Millpoint Park is Passport America and let us pay half-price for our entire stay. It is a destination park for fishermen since it is right on the Illinois River, but due to all the rain, the river had flooded the cg shortly before our arrival, but had receded enough for us to set up. The river is still at flood levels, and it's sort of scary seeing so many waterside spots under water and having the lake right in our back yard.
Two days after getting here, Willie found another stitch thread popping out of the healing wound. So once again we were off to an urgent care center. We picked the place in Morton where Willie had gone in 1999 with a gall bladder problem. Surprisingly, she was still in the computer, so no paperwork had to be filled out. After a short wait, the doctor saw her and after a bit of digging was able to find another stitch to remove. We don't know if it was a sixth stitch that was hiding or one of the inside stitches that had worked its way out. Whatever, they all seem to be gone now, and the cut is healing well. Willie will have a very interesting "Harry Potter" scar now!
You will all be happy to know that Doug installed a safety handle so that there will hopefully be no more falls coming down the bedroom step. We're tired of the emergency medical visits -- even something easy like stitch removal is logistically annoying when on the road.
When we were making our plans, we weren't sure if 2 weeks would be too long, but we have had such a great time with both Cathy & with Jennifer & her family that the time has been too short, just flying by. Jennifer went through a painful divorce one year ago, and has been living in difficult financial & emotional circumstances since, but has done an amazing job of raising her kids & keeping them grounded (they are each precious in their own way: loving, respectful of themselves & others, & most of all, happy) and making ends meet with help from various local programs
While here, we helped the economy a lot. We had several minor fixes done on the truck as well as buying new front tires. We offered to buy a "special gift" for the children and the mutual decision was to get them a Wii system. What fun that was! We converged on Best Buy on a Saturday afternoon, and after excellent advice from their young salesperson, went home with a nice package. We all had fun playing it over the next week. The children let us play a lot, and Willie was surprisingly good in bowling, getting a score of 215. Doug was good at most things, but not that good at bowling.
Peoria has some interesting areas, and we were able (when it wasn't raining) to take several scenic drives through the sections overlooking the Peoria River (Lake) from both sides. There are awesome homes, especially on the west side high above the river on Grandview Drive. There were many interesting-sounding cultural events that we didn't have time to take part in. There was a very nice bridge club in Peoria, where we played regularly on Tues & Fri.
While there has been a lot of rain throughout the midwest, the resulting abundance of flowers makes it almost worth it. The leaves have popped out on the trees, and everything is blooming in profusion. When you take a walk, the scent of lilacs is everywhere and violets are scattered throughout the grass.
Two days after getting here, Willie found another stitch thread popping out of the healing wound. So once again we were off to an urgent care center. We picked the place in Morton where Willie had gone in 1999 with a gall bladder problem. Surprisingly, she was still in the computer, so no paperwork had to be filled out. After a short wait, the doctor saw her and after a bit of digging was able to find another stitch to remove. We don't know if it was a sixth stitch that was hiding or one of the inside stitches that had worked its way out. Whatever, they all seem to be gone now, and the cut is healing well. Willie will have a very interesting "Harry Potter" scar now!
You will all be happy to know that Doug installed a safety handle so that there will hopefully be no more falls coming down the bedroom step. We're tired of the emergency medical visits -- even something easy like stitch removal is logistically annoying when on the road.
When we were making our plans, we weren't sure if 2 weeks would be too long, but we have had such a great time with both Cathy & with Jennifer & her family that the time has been too short, just flying by. Jennifer went through a painful divorce one year ago, and has been living in difficult financial & emotional circumstances since, but has done an amazing job of raising her kids & keeping them grounded (they are each precious in their own way: loving, respectful of themselves & others, & most of all, happy) and making ends meet with help from various local programs
While here, we helped the economy a lot. We had several minor fixes done on the truck as well as buying new front tires. We offered to buy a "special gift" for the children and the mutual decision was to get them a Wii system. What fun that was! We converged on Best Buy on a Saturday afternoon, and after excellent advice from their young salesperson, went home with a nice package. We all had fun playing it over the next week. The children let us play a lot, and Willie was surprisingly good in bowling, getting a score of 215. Doug was good at most things, but not that good at bowling.
Peoria has some interesting areas, and we were able (when it wasn't raining) to take several scenic drives through the sections overlooking the Peoria River (Lake) from both sides. There are awesome homes, especially on the west side high above the river on Grandview Drive. There were many interesting-sounding cultural events that we didn't have time to take part in. There was a very nice bridge club in Peoria, where we played regularly on Tues & Fri.
While there has been a lot of rain throughout the midwest, the resulting abundance of flowers makes it almost worth it. The leaves have popped out on the trees, and everything is blooming in profusion. When you take a walk, the scent of lilacs is everywhere and violets are scattered throughout the grass.
Quad City KOA, Rock Island, IL: Apr 16-19
Willie's nephew Michael Barry lives in Rock Island with wife Kim & son AJ, so we stopped here to spend a few days with them. We don't often stay at KOAs, since they are usually too expensive; indeed, this is only the 5th in our 9+ years on the road. We researched numerous possibilities in the Quad Cities area, and this was not only the most convenient, only 5 minutes from Mike & Kim, but also less expensive than other choices. We really enjoyed our time with Mike's family; we had never seen AJ and it was a real pleasure meeting & interacting with him. And he seemed to enjoy his time with us just as much. He was fascinated with the trailer as a place to live, and he loved seeing the cats. The feeling did not appear to be mutual!!
It was time for Willie's stitches to come out, so we went to Mike & Kim's favorite medical center to get them removed. After filling out a ton of paperwork, the doctor finally took a look and removed the 5 obvious stitches. We were glad to have that done so conveniently (we thought!).
It was time for Willie's stitches to come out, so we went to Mike & Kim's favorite medical center to get them removed. After filling out a ton of paperwork, the doctor finally took a look and removed the 5 obvious stitches. We were glad to have that done so conveniently (we thought!).
Evening Star Resort, Topeka, IL: Apr 14-15
This is a very attractive family-oriented campground that serves as a summer weekend destination. After the excitement of the last few days, we decided to relax & enjoy the quiet. We took advantage of the bright sunny day by actually being able to hang out a load of laundry. Doug also disinfected the fresh-water system, a relatively easy process that needs to be done periodically.
Eagle Creek Campground, Lake Shelbyville, IL: Apr 10-13
We scheduled this stop in order to visit with friends Carole & Delbert Ulmer, whom we met in Port Aransas our first year on the road. We originally planned to stay in one of the COE parks, but Carole let us know they didn't open until May, prompting Delbert to wonder why any seemingly sane person would visit this area so early in the year. We have a lot of relatives & friends in or near Illinois, and visiting them is a delicate balancing act between too early & freezing, or too late & tornados. We erred on the side of too early, and temps did drop below freezing a couple of nights, and also it rained most of the time we were here, but we figured that was acceptable considering the alternative.
This is probably a gorgeous campground when it's not covered in six inches of mud. Setting up turned into a nightmare when we backed into 2 separate spaces only to find the park's circuit breaker flipping as soon as we plugged the trailer in. Another camper (the host ignored us) had the same problem & suggested we try a 50-amp spot. The only one we could find was a low spot in the park and was surrounded by standing water, but we were able to back in & successfully hook up, with about 6 inches of high ground on each side (and a 12-inch deep rut where Doug first missed the narrow pad!). The electric issue seemed to be a product of the rain and/or the GFI system (either in our trailer or in the park's system) -- the 30 amp sites only got about 24 amps of power, and the 50 amp sites got about 44. Apparently 24 was not enough for us! Supposedly this is only a problem during the rainy weather, the host assured us. We would never pick this park over the lovely, well-engineered COE campgrounds if they were open!
We spent an enjoyable 4 days with Carole & Delbert playing bridge & other card games. Then on Easter Sunday at 10pm, Willie was stepping down out of the bedroom, lost her footing, twisted her ankle & fell, striking her head against the edge of the sink counter. The resultant 1 1/2 inch-long gash bled profusely, & we had to dash off to the ER (30 minutes away) after calling Carole & Delbert who agreed to meet up & show us the way. Five stitches (or maybe 6) & a tetanus shot later, we were home safe & not quite so sound. Our last day we filled a prescription (for antibiotics that also cleared up Willie's sinus infection), ate lunch with Carole & Delbert, and Willie was up for another afternoon of bridge.
This is probably a gorgeous campground when it's not covered in six inches of mud. Setting up turned into a nightmare when we backed into 2 separate spaces only to find the park's circuit breaker flipping as soon as we plugged the trailer in. Another camper (the host ignored us) had the same problem & suggested we try a 50-amp spot. The only one we could find was a low spot in the park and was surrounded by standing water, but we were able to back in & successfully hook up, with about 6 inches of high ground on each side (and a 12-inch deep rut where Doug first missed the narrow pad!). The electric issue seemed to be a product of the rain and/or the GFI system (either in our trailer or in the park's system) -- the 30 amp sites only got about 24 amps of power, and the 50 amp sites got about 44. Apparently 24 was not enough for us! Supposedly this is only a problem during the rainy weather, the host assured us. We would never pick this park over the lovely, well-engineered COE campgrounds if they were open!
We spent an enjoyable 4 days with Carole & Delbert playing bridge & other card games. Then on Easter Sunday at 10pm, Willie was stepping down out of the bedroom, lost her footing, twisted her ankle & fell, striking her head against the edge of the sink counter. The resultant 1 1/2 inch-long gash bled profusely, & we had to dash off to the ER (30 minutes away) after calling Carole & Delbert who agreed to meet up & show us the way. Five stitches (or maybe 6) & a tetanus shot later, we were home safe & not quite so sound. Our last day we filled a prescription (for antibiotics that also cleared up Willie's sinus infection), ate lunch with Carole & Delbert, and Willie was up for another afternoon of bridge.
New Vision RV Park, Oaktown, IN: Apr 8-9
This Passport America park is located by an attractive lake but is also unfortunately situated by a busy highway & railroad. This was the first time the new cats had experienced train noise, and they did not like it one bit. We also didn't like that the park offered us a pull-through without warning us that they are $3 more than back-ins. It rained most of the time we were here, but it poured when we were setting up & leaving.
We spent our free day visiting Vincennes, which is the oldest city in Indiana (1732). Doug thought that spoke pretty poorly for IN that a city on the western border was oldest until Willie pointed out that the early settlers traveled by river, and that Vincennes sits on the Wabash. Vincennes was the home of William Henry Harrison, who seems to be in everyone's family tree and is most noted for his 2-hour presidential inaugural speech delivered without hat or coat on a cold, wet day, and dying from pneumonia 32 days later. Young male residents of Vincennes carry on this less than intelligent legacy by buying enormous trucks with loud exhaust systems and racing up & down the city's thoroughfares. Even little compact cars had loud mufflers!
We spent our free day visiting Vincennes, which is the oldest city in Indiana (1732). Doug thought that spoke pretty poorly for IN that a city on the western border was oldest until Willie pointed out that the early settlers traveled by river, and that Vincennes sits on the Wabash. Vincennes was the home of William Henry Harrison, who seems to be in everyone's family tree and is most noted for his 2-hour presidential inaugural speech delivered without hat or coat on a cold, wet day, and dying from pneumonia 32 days later. Young male residents of Vincennes carry on this less than intelligent legacy by buying enormous trucks with loud exhaust systems and racing up & down the city's thoroughfares. Even little compact cars had loud mufflers!
Charlestown State Park, Charlestown, IN: Apr 5-7
This is a lovely state park, but most of the camping spaces are uniform -- "How do we pick one with so many similar choices?", we asked each other. Then we found one loop that went through a stand of trees and found a lovely spot by some blossoming redbuds. We had previously arranged to meet Jules & Cindy, a couple we met at Chaco & who now live in Columbus, OH, here, and they called shortly after we set up to say they were already in the park. They both look fantastic & it was good seeing them again. We went on a hike where, unfortunately, we all picked up a number of ticks. We each had 4 or 5 which we thought was bad enough, but we chatted with Jules that evening (on Facebook) and they found over 2 dozen on them and their two dogs. Yuck!
We chose this park because of its relative proximity to Columbus, IN, which we had heard contains a number of buildings designed by different architects. We signed up for the tour & drove up quite early (for us) the next morning, stopping for breakfast at a Cracker Barrel. By the time we reached Columbus it was raining again, indeed it rained most of the time we were here. Our tour got off to an auspicious start when we were greeted by a Dale Chihuly sculpture (a glass artist, who's one of our favorites) in the Visitor Center. Most of the tour was by bus, so we stayed pretty dry. People from around the world visit Columbus to view the more than 70 buildings & public art displays by internationally recognized architects & artists. Its citizens decided in the 1960s that exemplary public surroundings were important for a community's well-being, and Columbus is now a vibrant, progressive and visually appealing town, with lovely landscaping and outdoor art, as well as the eye-catching architecture. The founder of Cummins Diesel, William Irwin, was the one who started financing the interesting architecture of the town. Columbus remains the world headquarters for Cummins, and Cummins is the largest employer in the area.
We chose this park because of its relative proximity to Columbus, IN, which we had heard contains a number of buildings designed by different architects. We signed up for the tour & drove up quite early (for us) the next morning, stopping for breakfast at a Cracker Barrel. By the time we reached Columbus it was raining again, indeed it rained most of the time we were here. Our tour got off to an auspicious start when we were greeted by a Dale Chihuly sculpture (a glass artist, who's one of our favorites) in the Visitor Center. Most of the tour was by bus, so we stayed pretty dry. People from around the world visit Columbus to view the more than 70 buildings & public art displays by internationally recognized architects & artists. Its citizens decided in the 1960s that exemplary public surroundings were important for a community's well-being, and Columbus is now a vibrant, progressive and visually appealing town, with lovely landscaping and outdoor art, as well as the eye-catching architecture. The founder of Cummins Diesel, William Irwin, was the one who started financing the interesting architecture of the town. Columbus remains the world headquarters for Cummins, and Cummins is the largest employer in the area.
Singing Hills RV Park, Cave City, KY: Apr 1-4
We decided that since we were so close to Mammoth Cave, we should check it out to see how it compares with Carlsbad Caverns. We chose this campground because it is Passport America, and would certainly recommend it to anyone planning to be in the area. The owners purchased the park fairly recently and are doing a good job of refurbishing it. This area suffered a lot of damage from the ice storm, and some of the sites were pretty muddy, but ours stayed fairly dry even though it rained most of the time we were here. Cave City is one of those tacky little towns with mini-golf & water parks that always spring up next to national parks.
Mammoth Cave was a bit of a disappointment. It is certainly mammoth, carved by underground streams & rivers over millions of years, but most of it is fairly smooth rock walls with few formations. I guess we were wrong to even compare it with Carlsbad, since it is entirely different. In Carlsbad Caverns you are free to stroll around at your own pace with no one else around. When we visited Wind & Jewel Caves last year, we were disappointed to learn that the only way to see them was on a ranger-led tour. Mammoth Cave unfortunately has the same arrangement. There is one self-guided tour that goes in the historic entrance for about half a mile, but it is not always offered, and it is not at all visually appealing -- just mammoth. We went on two ranger-led tours, each had over 120 people on it. We always seemed to get stuck near crying children, so there was no hope of hearing what the ranger was saying, even if we happened to be within earshot.
On our last day we visited Diamond Caverns, a privately-owned cave which has a reciprocal arrangement with Mammoth and is generally acknowledged as the most beautiful cave in the area. We were not disappointed. The half-mile tour passed some of the nicest formations we have seen -- we would definitely recommend this tour to anyone. Diamond also shows evidence of the infamous "Cave Wars" of the 1920s. The whole area is pockmarked with thousands of caves, and various cave owners, trying to boost their business & hurt others, would pay individuals to hide overnight in a rival cave and break off formations in the cave. They would then sell the formations in their own shops, doubly benefiting from the vandalism.
Mammoth Cave was a bit of a disappointment. It is certainly mammoth, carved by underground streams & rivers over millions of years, but most of it is fairly smooth rock walls with few formations. I guess we were wrong to even compare it with Carlsbad, since it is entirely different. In Carlsbad Caverns you are free to stroll around at your own pace with no one else around. When we visited Wind & Jewel Caves last year, we were disappointed to learn that the only way to see them was on a ranger-led tour. Mammoth Cave unfortunately has the same arrangement. There is one self-guided tour that goes in the historic entrance for about half a mile, but it is not always offered, and it is not at all visually appealing -- just mammoth. We went on two ranger-led tours, each had over 120 people on it. We always seemed to get stuck near crying children, so there was no hope of hearing what the ranger was saying, even if we happened to be within earshot.
On our last day we visited Diamond Caverns, a privately-owned cave which has a reciprocal arrangement with Mammoth and is generally acknowledged as the most beautiful cave in the area. We were not disappointed. The half-mile tour passed some of the nicest formations we have seen -- we would definitely recommend this tour to anyone. Diamond also shows evidence of the infamous "Cave Wars" of the 1920s. The whole area is pockmarked with thousands of caves, and various cave owners, trying to boost their business & hurt others, would pay individuals to hide overnight in a rival cave and break off formations in the cave. They would then sell the formations in their own shops, doubly benefiting from the vandalism.
