RV Adventures

We are back on the road for a bit this summer.  We’ve wandered from our home in New York State to Michigan (where I grew up) and eventually Wisconsin (where Jim grew up).

There is a new Meme here in the Great Lake State.  Check out the picture below.  I spotted this theme all over the place…bumper stickers, t-shirts etc.  I guess Michigan is hoping to gain from all those shark sightings this summer!  I found it pretty funny.

Michigan – Unsalted & Shark Free

We are now in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, having made a couple of stops to get to this area (big thanks to friends Leola and Doug for their hospitality in Southern Michigan). This was the Blue Flame’s first trip across the Mackinac Bridge (although not mine or Jim’s).  For those unfamiliar with the Mackinac Bridge, it’s the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere at 5 miles long.  It connecs Michigan’s lower and upper peninsulas (refer to the picture above).

We had reservations at the Straits State Park right on the north side of the Straits of Mackinac.

With Love from Michigan!

We did some local sight seeing.  One of the best views of the Bridge was from a local cemetery!

Nice View!

I did some Geocaching.  This is the view from the cache.  Wow!  Someone said maybe this line of sight was created by the surveyors when they built the bridge in 1957.  Maybe!

View from the hiking trail where a geocache was.

Visiting Mackinac Island (4 miles off the coast) is a must-do when in this part of the state.  The Island is only 5 square miles. It is unique in that the Island has no cars (with the exception of fire trucks and ambulances).  Everything is transported by horse and buggy or bicycle. To get to the island, you have to take one of the ferry lines, along with any freight and horses.  We got up early, loaded up our bikes and got on the 7:30 a.m. ferry with all the workers.  Yup, we were the only two tourists on the boat.

Our ferry boat, the Huron.

Proof that horses are also transported on these ferry. These “Road Apples” in the wheel barrel were from the horses that were on the ferry the day before.

On of the island’s workers making her morning commute…and sleeping while doing it.

the Island is famous for the Grand Hotel, fudge, and renting bikes at $5 an hour, among other things.  I haven’t been to Mackinac Island in 40 years!  The last time was with my Girl Scout troop!  I took my own bike then too!

The Grand Hotel as seen from the water.

The Grand Hotel with it’s LONG Front Porch. You have to pay to go up there. We opted not to.

Getting to the island at 8:00 meant we were able to ride our own bikes around the perimeter of the island in relative peace.  What a nice ride (although my behind is complaining a bit today).  The road is paved and frequented only by bikes and an occasional horse.  It was so nice not having to pay attention to cars.

Cairns along the shore road built by tourists…for the fun of it!

Our bikes along the perimeter road.

Of course, we had to stop and admire Arch Rock.

Arch Rock

We just happened to visit the Island the same day as the 250 sailboats in the Port Huron to Mackinac Race were coming across the finish line after a 48 hour non-stop sail.  What a sight!  You would see a boat come into the harbor with everyone in their foul weather gear.  Then the sailors find a place to dock and deal with their sails, etc.  Next we would see the crews wander off to clean up.  Then it was PARTY TIME!  We saw crews in the bars at 10:00 a.m. (they had probably been up all night).  There were parties all over the docks and boats too.  After sailing for 48 plus hours, they deserve a little fun.  It made for great people watching.

Racers finishing the race.

The harbor, full of partying sailors!

Mackinac Island was fun, but with our early arrival and throngs of people, we departed earlier than most.  We were tired from the bike riding and we had seen what we wanted to see.

This morning our reservation at campground ran out and we had to vacate the site.  So we headed west along the northern coast of Lake Michigan.  We found a primitive (no hookups) campground right on the shore of Lake Michigan.  So we are enjoying being powered by our new Lithium Ion batteries and all the comforts of home while our neighbors are sleeping in their tents and using out house.

Jim managed to fit this beast of an RV into a nice long camping spot for us.

One tight campsite, but Jim got us into it!

And this is our view.  Not bad!

Our campsite, right on the lake. Notice the path down to the shore. Ahhhh.

That is what we have been up to this past week.  I have no idea where we will be tomorrow night….we’ll probably won’t decide that until tomorrow when it’s time to leave!