Indiana and home

Phew - almost home. Should be home by 2pm tomorrow. We drove from above Madison Wisconsin to just east of Elkhart - Middlebury, Indiana today. Long, long drive - took us about 6 1/2 hours. We opted to drive around the outer most interstate of Chicago, and added at least an hour on our drive. As it was - there was so much traffic the route we traveled, I can't imagine what we would have faced had we gone directly into Chicago (Interstate 90) and through. With this big rig, we are glad we took the extra time.

We are staying in a KOA (Kampground of America) and with all the points we earned from our big trip to Maine and Canada last September, we got this site for $18. Cheapest of all the sites we did on this route. We will have put 2400 miles on the truck, about 2000 on the RV, went through 5 states, saw 4 national parks, saw 4 of the 5 Great Lakes on this trip, got some new friends (Sam and Bambi) and found our summer retreat - Sunset Bay Campground - in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Did not break anything on the RV this time - the 2 things were already broken before we left - but still have to get it back to the dealer this week.

In one year of traveling with this RV, we have been to 17 states, 12 national parks, hiked so many trails, had our feet in the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, Lake Superior, seen all 5 Great Lakes, been to Canada with the rig, had some hairy experiences with things breaking, spent anywhere from $15 (Kentucky) to $58 (Bar Harbor) a night at a site, seen 9 waterfalls, met some STRANGE people and also some very warm compassionate people. Learned just what our limitations are and what the cats' breaking point of traveling is. It has been a blast - and we look forward to many more years of doing this. Our dream.

We will be in Vermilion for the month of July, probably won't head out for some time - I think I'll probably have to have surgery again on my foot - we'll see. In any case - long term - we will be leaving right after Thanksgiving in November and head to Texas for the winter, then be back home again sometime in April. I CAN'T WAIT! Will talk to you again when we head out 'on the road again'.

Cave of the Mound/Devil's Lake

We weathered a horrible storm Saturday nite - I think it hit Cleveland area Sunday late afternoon - but Sunday morning started as a gorgeous day. Decided to go to Cave of the Mounds which is an underground cave discovered in 1936. Impressive, but not spectacular. I think the most impressive so far was Karchner Caverns in Bisbee Arizona. Anyhow, Dave was impressed and that's good since he's the driver! This pic shows stalagtites coming down from the ceiling. I expected more color down there, and guess what? Dave said my pictures showed light orbs - ghosts, again. Guess I am a ghost/spirit magnet. I didn't feel them like I did the other day in the Delaware Copper Mine. The outside of the cave is natural gardens - prairie restoration, rain gardens, etc. Just beautiful Here's a pic of a prairie pea - there had to been over 100 species of prairie flowers. Got lots of pics of all the flowers - Dave loved using his new lens. More pics will follow separately. From there we drove into the Wisconsin Dells and drove down the main street and turned around and drove out. Talk about a tourist trap! So, instead I had Dave drive along the road of the Wisconsin River, right outside of town, and found a place - we thought - that we could get out and view the Dells (large cliff formations). Was a 4H camp and a counselor steered us to go to Devil's Lake State Park. We hiked the east bluff trail which goes along a very tall cliff overlooking the lake. Very pretty, very very tiring! Talk about a climb up, and then a very steep climb down. Pretty area. After we got back to the campground, I went to the info/store here at the camp to get popsicles for Dave and told there where we went - and they said - did we see rattlesnakes? You know we see them everytime we go there? Whaaaaaaa? Good thing I didn't know that! Yikes! Today we drive from Wisconsin Dells which is northwest of Madison, drive through Chicago which we aren't pleased about - but can't avoid - and stop in Elkhart Indiana for the night. That is a campground that we will clean the RV inside and out. We always stop at a full-hookup the night before we come home - to clean thoroughly before getting home. We should be home tomorrow afternoon. Was a fun trip - only down was not having the pets with us. They will go for sure next time.

Bye bye UP, Hello Wisconsin

Wouldn't you know it? We have been looking for eagles all this time in the UP and last night, as soon as we got back to the RV, a golden eagle came and sat in the tree above our RV for at least an hour. I think he (Sam) was saying - don't go! It flew away only when some small children came along the beach - it didn't like all the noise of those boys. Beautiful evening last night - had light rain, but listened to the fog horns of freighters passing, heard Sam screeching, and quiet solitude. With the sunset at 10:45pm, it was quite late by the time we headed to bed. About 1am Dave woke up to the moon beams spreading across the bed. Since we didn't have any neighbors, we could leave the shades up. This made it good since we could look for Sam or Bambi anytime. We kept a lookout for Bambi - the one we saw the first morning and since saw it playing in the road! And guess what? It came by first thing this morning to say goodbye also. And who was in the tree again this morning? Yep, Sam. Again, to say goodbye, come back soon. Something I forgot to mention - where we were camping - a couple purchased the adjacent property, built a $1Mil home, and are not living there because they are afraid that if something happened to them, the nearest hospital was 1/2 hour drive away. Well, if they have that kind of money - put in a helipad for helicopters. And, both of them are doctors? What are they thinking? Here's a pic of their home that is sitting empty.
Left Sunset Bay RV this morning at 9:30am and started the drive down the UP, through Michigan and into Wisconsin. No traffic, lots of fog, do deer - thank goodness! - and easy drive. When we got on I39 heading south out of Wausau, the terrain changed dramatically and you definitely knew you were not in Michigan. We are at Wisconsin Dells, not far from Madison. Will look around here tomorrow - see the Dells, maybe go to Frank Lloyd Wrights home, then head out Monday morning for Chicago and into Indiana and spend the night in Elkhart. Home Tuesday. Can't wait to see Chip and Grace - our sitter has said Chip really is missing us - he is right at the front door as she comes in, I think he must think it's us coming home.

Calumet and Museums

Last day in the UP and we decided to do some museum/history things. Weather is dreary - light rain with temp about 60. We headed south to Calumet where the National Park System has just started a historic park - dedicated to the Copper Mining museums of Keweenah County Michigan. No actual buildings are on display yet, and this park is different from others - it is in partnership with many of the towns and sites on the peninsula. Between ghost towns and mines (the Delaware mine we went through) to mansions of the people who owned the mines, to railroads to haul the copper, to the cultures and religions, lighthouses, schools, etc. there is alot to see - if you are in to history. Then of course all the outdoor things like hiking, biking, camping, seeing waterfalls, going to Isle Royale, and of course the quiet and no people!

We have now put this Sunset Bay RV resort as one of our 'must come back to some day'. The camping areas we are seriously thinking about staying for months at a time are: Old Town Florida - this was in the Panhandle of Florida and it was on the Suwamee River where we did the kayaking with the manatees this past March. Oxbow Campground in Payson Arizona. And this campground in the Upper Peninsula. We had another campground but they are putting in a water park and that blows quiet and solitude. Now, if we could just sell our home.....then we have places to go - set up this RV in the Florida or Arizona place, get a small box camper with a van to pull it, and travel between the other 2. Sounds good? Does to us.

A Day in the Wilderness

Forecast for yesterday was amazing - only 68 and sunny - so we planned to be outside all day. We started out by heading back up to the tip of the peninsula and drove up to Brockway Mountain. Way in the distance we could see a freighter going east bound, probably from Duluth to Detroit or Cleveland. If you look closely on the map you can see where we are in relation to the rest of the peninsula. The roads are something else - you would think with it being this far north that potholes and bad roads - but since it stays cold and doesn't have all the freeze thawing we have in Cleveland - great roads. However, curvy and bumpy and S-turns. And 55 miles an hour along this. Have to really watch for deer on the roads - every day we have almost hit one. From the mountain we dropped down into Copper Harbor. Found a coffee shop and reloaded our energy then walked along the north trail called Hunter's trail. Next on the list of things to do, we went to Estavent Pines where the grove of pines reach up to 300 feet tall, have a base of about 5 feet, and are at least 500 years old. We were on low energy, stumbling up and around on the path so we stopped the walk half way through and came back. Stopped at another waterfall, Mangenese Falls, could barely see it from all the foliage, but definitely hear it. Back into Copper Harbor to look around some more, stopped at an overlook by their lighthouse (can only go there by boat) and took some more pics. All in all a really nice day outside. Some thoughts and things we have found out since being here.....first, you see no pleasure boats on the water. Only large commercial fishing vessels every day. We found out that only fishing allowed is by the Ojibwa Indians since this is their jurisdiction. If you want to boat and fish, go to one of the inland lakes/ponds - of which there are 4 on this peninsula. Second - no moose, we are too far south - go to Minnesota, Canada, or Isle Royale to see them. Third - no Aurora Borealus - weather conditions are not suitable. Come back in August (yeah - and be eaten alive by flies.) Fourth - eagles and loons - where are they? They said at Brockway Mountain, or in Eagle Harbor, or Copper Harbor - didn't see any there, but did see 2 eagles fly overhead of us the first hour we got to this campground - and not since. And last - amazing clean, cold water. Said temp is 42, and definitely no vegatation in it. No ducks, no seagulls, no nothing - just rock. Totally different than Lake Erie. Heading back starting tomorrow, heading to Wisconsin Dells for a couple of days then home by Tuesday.

Jampot and Copper Mine

The day started out very overcast so we decided to head more north to Eagle Harbor, then on to Copper Harbor. Our thought was to get breakfast at the Jampot - which is run by Byzatine Ukranian Monks. Wow, talk about tasty treats! And definitely not pasties - those pies made famous by the Fins and Danish that were made out of meats and veggies. We bought pastries to last us until the end of the trip. Since this wasn't breakfast, we drove on into Eagle Harbor along a really narrow windy road on the north side of Keweenaw Peninsula. No luck there, onto Copper Harbor. Visited the information center, got our bearings and had a late breakfast, and since rain was threatening, decided to go to the Delaware Copper Mine. This is an abandoned copper mine which started operation in 1845 and stopped about 1898. A private owner bought this mine and he is now running it. It is a self-guided tour, and cold! On the surface it was 70 and below it was only 40. Brrr. He has done a nice job documenting the mine and what happened and how miners worked. I have to say - there were ghosts down there - even Dave said he had to get out because he was so uncomfortable. Will send pictures under separate email. Oh - and this guy and his wife own pet skunks - got to pet this pretty little girl - her coat is so soft! Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny - will go back to Copper Harbor, do some hiking, go to the top of Brockway Mountain to see the eagles that they say are numerous, and go into Calumet to another historical mining museum. Not sure yet when we are going to leave here.

Wolves Howling and Fog Horns

Last evening as Dave was walking the garbage up front and stopped in his tracks - wolves howling! He came back and said - you hear that? Well, how could I not? And we heard the pack howling again later, then again this morning. Then, he when he came back after the garbage run he said, did you see the bear trap? What? Where? He talked with the owner and he said that there is a bear that roams around and right now they know it's about 20 miles more north on the Keweenaw Peninsula (this spit of land we are on). Okay, so now I am thinking - are we safe? But then you hear the kids running around and out here without any parent yelling, and I calmed down. We have almost hit deer 2 times - standing right on the road and we had to slam on the breaks and honk the horn to get the kids running. The only thing I haven't seen is a moose - you would think they would be everywhere. And they are from what the locals said. I spent last evening with my feet in Lake Superior - at first I was going to cry from it being so cold, but then I think they became numb from the cold. Anyway, since my foot was still swollen and hurting from the hike a couple of days ago, no icing, just Lake Superior. Watched the fog come in and out - the fog is another factor. It is sunny and beautiful one minute and then bam - the fog rolls in. I discovered that when the wind starts up, the fog rolls in. Wind stops, fog goes away. This is the passway for freighters leaving and returning to Duluth so you can hear the engines of the freighters even though you can't see it. But, you do hear the fog horn. Again, pretty awesome. Did I mention that we are parked at the end, by the boat house? When I first called and said we were a really big RV, high profile, long truck - need extra space - the owner Bill said - well, just put you at the Boat House. You will be alone, but it's really a premier spot. And it is! From this picture you can see why it's called the boat house! And yes, that was a working boat that they took out fishing, and now resides here. We have our RV right in front of this, against the lake.

God's Country UP

We are here at Sunset Bay RV Resort - right on Lake Superior - and I do mean on the lake. We decided we will not leave here for a long long long time - it is so beautiful, eagles flying overhead, freighters sounding their fog horns, just heaven! If you look at this picture and look to the very right of the land - we are camped under that last pine tree. Breath-taking! There is a lot to see here on this part of the UP, and tomorrow we will begin our tourist stuff. We have paid until Friday but we are thinking - heck with Minnesota and Wisconsin - let's stay here as long as we can and enjoy! Foggy today but at times the sun comes out and temp is about 66. Lovely! Will be going to see a copper mine tour, stop by the Ranger station for Isle Royale which we aren't going to, maybe do some ATVing here - can use theirs and they have their own paths. You ever booked some hotel and wondered what the heck you were doing - when you pulled up and thought - oh no. Well, that's just what we thought as we pulled in - but are we surprised. Like the time we booked a hotel in Del Ray Beach CA in a run down hotel (we thought) and it turned out to be the best! This place will hold dear to our hearts for a very long time.

Hiking Pictured Rocks NP

Yesterday we packed up our hiking gear and went to Pictured Rocks NP to do some hiking. Dave wanted to go to Beaver Lake and hike which is within the park, and I wanted to see some falls. We started out at Miner's Castle overlook which we saw during our boat ride - but saw it from land. Pretty spectacular! From there we drove into Beaver Lake area which was an unpaved road, steep grades, and one lane most of the way. Dave was very nervous and at one point the truck skidded sideways toward the edge - did I say this was unpaved AND a huge dropoff? Whooohooo! The hiking trail into Beaver Lake was just beautiful - but very rugged. They said it was an intermediate class trail - but we went anyhow. Got to the lake and saw one beaver and then hiked further to Lake Superior's Twelve Mile Beach which is also part of the National Park. Again, blown away at the scenery.

Drove on to Miner's Falls where we again had to hike it in - fortunately this path is very even, you could tell it is visited alot. We figured we hiked in total yesterday about 7 miles. My foot and Dave's knee were killing us by the time we got back. I had to ice my foot for most of the evening - after I stood in a feezing Lake Superior for awhile. Spent the evening with a glass of wine and sitting on the beach at the campsite. Lovely day - temp only got 72 and again at night the temp drops down to 50. Today we need to grocery shop - I have already done laundry, and we'll grab lunch out, then go hiking again at Munising Falls. Tomorrow we pack up and head farther north along the UP.

Easy day at Munising

Our original plans to hike in Pictured Rocks was nixed. Dave wasn't feeling up to par - so we opted to just go to the Ranger Park station, get literature on the park, do some grocery shopping and then head back to the campground. Weather is very cool - but for the Yoopers, this is typical for summer. Gets down to 50 at night, yesterday's high was 71. Since Munising is in a protected bay of Lake Superior, the winds are usually from the land onto the water. Still brisk. Then by 6ish pm the winds die, then reverse from the lake. Brrr. People around us have their furnaces on at night, we instead just close everything down and put an extra blanket on.


We are enjoying sitting at the beach and staring out at life. A couple of things we noted - it stays light very late here. I checked sunrise/sunset - sunrise is same as Vermilion - about 5:54am. But sunset is 45 minutes later! No wonder some of these campers with small children are still running around at 10:15pm. It really doesn't get dark until 10:45. Another thing we noticed - lack of sea birds and ducks. Since the lake is so clean - wonder if that's got anything to do with it.


Today we will definitely go hiking at Beaver Lake within the park. There is a falls that we want to go to that during the cruise we didn't see.

Picture Rocks National Park cruise

We left St. Ignace yesterday morning in a light rain and drove 2 hours northwest to the top of the UP and got to Munising here with a beautiful sunny sky. We didn't have problems with the RV like we thought we would so the hook up and drive was really nice. One thing to do and put on your 'bucket' list of things to do before you die - do the drive along the top of Lake Michigan (and it's the southern shore of the Upper Peninsula) - it's absolutely stunning. I learned that from now on I need to keep a camera in the car to take pictures as we are driving.

Once we got here to the campground - different story. They first put us in a sight right at the water's edge - as a back in place - but our truck is too long and we couldn't maneuver the swing into the site. So, then we moved to another - only a dead tree limb was hanging down and would have scraped the top of the unit - so moved again. We still have a nice site although not full hookup - so have to monitor our water/waste output.

Not sure of the weather so we decided to do the evening/sunset cruise that goes out on Lake Superior and see the Picture Rocks. Absolutely stunning! Got back to the site at 10:30 and it was still light out. Today will are going into the park and do lots of hiking. You cannot see the rocks from the park so we are glad we did this cruise. One of the places we want to go in the park is Beaver Lake which was formed by beavers and is the largest natural - made lake in the US.

Horses and Fudge

We took the 10:30 ferry this morning over to Mackinac Island and once a day the ferry detours and goes under the Mackinac bridge for a quick tour. This bridge is 6 miles long and connects the upper peninsula with the lower state. The captain of the ferry boat explained that this bridge can sway up to 15 feet in one direction - which was engineered this way because of the winds through the strait. On one side of the bridge we were on Lake Michigan and as soon as we passed back on the side we came, we were on Lake Huron. On this trip we have now seen 4 of the 5 Great Lakes (started at Lake Erie - home, then Lake Huron coming up the east side of Michigan, then saw Lake Superior at the Shipwreck Museum and Whitefish Point yesterday, then today - Lake Michigan. Life style on this island reminded me of Jekyl Island in Georgia, or Camden Maine, or Key West Florida - alot of money, people wanting to escape so they go to a fancy hotel and pay big bucks for a hamburger, and rent bikes. The difference is - no cars or motorized anything allowed on the island. To see horses pulling a UPS guy and all his packages - gave quite a chuckle. People going to the Grand Hotel - their luggage is either put on a horse drawn cart or porters pile up luggage on their bikes and haul it up. I will never forget the smell of horse poop and fudge mingling together. And tourist trap - oh my goodness. If you like fudge, buying t-shirts, eating and drinking, or renting a bike and touring on bike - this is the island for you.

We toured Fort Mackinac quite extensively - Dave took some great pictures and I'll send them on when he's done editing them.

We didn't go to the famous Grand Hotel - you have to pay just to walk in the door. We were happy with just a picture. This picture shows the Grand Hotel on the left and the long building to the right is Fort Mackinac. It was abandoned in 1897 and then restored after WWII as a Federal Park but then was given back to Michigan as a State park. Too many people for us and we were glad to get back 'home' and relax. Tomorrow we head more up north to Munising where we will be and see Picture Rocks National Park.

Lake Gitcheegoomie

Today was a fun day. Started out pretty lousy - we had heavy rain all night, found the antenna for the TV still leaks - and Dave woke up with a wet side of the bed. Since the lousy weather we decided to drive up north to the most northern point of the Yoopy (Upper Peninsula) as we could, to Whitefish Point where the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is located. There is a working lighthouse for Whitefish Point for Lake Superior and if you recall - this is the area that the Edmund Fitzgerald freighter sank in 1975. Very impressive. While visiting the museum, Gordon Lightfoot's song "The Edmund Fitzgerald" was playing in the background. Very eery. We walked out onto their lookout deck outside of the museum and saw a huge tanker going by and you couldn't help thinking of the 29 men that lost their life back then on the Fitzgerald. I found that I was scanning the beach looking for artifacts when in fact there hasn't been a shipwreck since the Fitzgerald. Here's a picture of a freighter going through the pass down into Lake Huron from Lake Superior (Hiawatha's Lake Gitcheegoomie). Another A-Ha moment - one of the Life Saving stations where men were stationed to help rescue people who were drowning from their sinking ship was the Vermilion Life Station about 9 miles to the west. It's closed to the public and being restored with a grant. Vermilion is everywhere!


By the time we left the museum the sun was coming out - it had finally quit raining. We headed to Tahquamenon Falls, to the Upper Falls where they said it was more dramatic. This was also quite impressive. Typically about 2200 gallons of water go over the falls per minute - but due to all the rain yesterday and last night, they calculated over 8100 gallons per minute! The water is very brown from the tannic acid - from decaying wood and such.

Driving back to the campground we opted to stop in town and get fresh smoked fish. We picked up smoked salmon and smoked trout. Wonderful! But now we are so thirsty. Tomorrow we take the ferry to Mackinac Island and spend the day there. No cars allowed on the island so we will be doing lots of walking. And of course, getting some fudge!

Cold in the UP

We left Birch Run (Frankenmuth) by 10am this morning and had an easy ride straight up I75 across the Mackinac Bridge to St. Ignace (just north of the bridge). And it's cold! Right now it's 57 out and should get down to the 40's tonight. Good thing we brought heavier clothes. We got quickly back into the routine of living in an RV and of course - making some costly mistakes of doing routine things and possibly breaking some things - we should know better by now. Hopefully when we hook back up on Friday morning all systems will check out okay, with the exception of the annoying jack problem from day one.
Something cool - just south of Cheboygan near Gaylord we passed a sign that said we were at the 45th parallel and that the North Pole and the Equator were exactly the same distance from that point. No wonder it is colder. Dave said that we needed to start looking for Santa's toy shop.
Tomorrow we will drive about an hour north to Whitefish Point on the most northern point of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. If we drive any further we will be wet from driving into Lake Superior. There is a Shipwreck Museum of the Great Lakes that we want to go to and a bird sanctuary. From there we will drive to go to Tahquamenon Falls which are the highest falls north of the Mississippi. Hit the sand dunes about 20 miles from here, see Father Marguette National Monument on the way back.

Onward to Michigan

We left Ohio this morning about 10am, felt bad we left the cats at home but none the less - we did. A cat sitter is coming by daily so they should be fine. We drove 4 hours up route 23/Interstate 75 to Frankenmuth. This town is a large German/Bavarian settlement. We have been here before so we opted to eat at the Bavarian Inn where it's a family style dinner. Of course - ate too much. Weird observances by both of us - most of the people we saw were quite unhealthy - very overweight, very disabled (wheelchairs/struggling to walk) and just a very sad looking group of people. Depressing.

We had gotten the RV back from the dealer on Saturday the 12th and decided to pack up and get out of town. We are heading to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, to Picture Rocks National Park, and on to Houghton where copper mines are. From there we go to Marquette and take a ferry over to Isle Royale National Park (island) where we have to spend the night since we can't get there and back in one day. Then we leave to head to Duluth Minnesota, on to Wisconsin and then down to Illinois and Indiana. Quick trip - have to be home by the 3rd of July - got commitments.

Have some trouble with the RV already. We can't get the front jacks down using electric hookup or the battery. Have to be hooked to the truck to do this. Has worked fine in the past and now why is this doing it? An annoyance, but able to function anyhow. At least everything else (so far) is working. Tomorrow we head to Mackinac City where we'll stay for about 3 or 4 days. We want to go over the Mackinac Island and then go to Tahquenema Falls which is located about 1 hour north of there. These falls are the largest north of the Mississippi.