USA – Michigan… Yay!
Michigan
We were so excited to be able to spend 10 days with our daughter, Kayla. She is a social butterfly and for us to have 10 days with her to ourselves was amazing. Not only did she schedule this time for just us, but she also told her summer employer that she couldn’t start her new job until after our trip. We were in bliss.
Grand Traverse Bay
The first day, we decided to do a quick jaunt up the peninsula of Grand Traverse Bay and see the beaches, the vineyards, cherry orchards and also to see Old Mission State Park. We hiked some really pretty trails, however, it was still spring time and the air was a bit chilly (in the 40’s). We slowly meandered down the beach roads admiring the beautiful mansions along the way.
Traverse City
Well, after strolling the shops for a while, we decided to call it a day and prep for our road trip for the next week and a half. We drove our scout vehicle back to our lakeside campsite at Holiday Park Campground and enjoyed a mellow evening.
Sleeping Bear Dunes
On our way out of the park, we saw a few deer running through the meadows and jumping into the forest. Nature is always beautiful in its rawest form.
We drove north past Maple City and parked for a bit next to the Carp River in Fishtown, Leland. We did the tourist thing going in and out of the shops and having a fun time.
We eventually made it back to the RV park and watched the ducks, geese and other animals mother over their newborn babies.
Mackinaw City
We got Pepe the Prius back on the tow dolly and headed off to Mackinaw City. We decided to get a weekly rate at the Mackinaw Mill Creek Camping campground. It was great. We didn’t have any neighbors by us and we had a magnificent view of Mackinaw Bridge and Mackinac Island.
There were some black mosquito looking flies everywhere. They didn’t bite but the swarms were so vast, at one time we thought a truck was on fire and black smoke was coming from it, the swarm was so thick. They covered the side of our RV and were a nuisance but they really didn’t mess with us that much.
If you’ve ever read about Mackinaw or Mackinac, they are both pronounced the same, “Mac-in-naw”. They are just spelled differently and people interchange them often.
Mackinac Island
We decided to splurge and pay the big bucks for the ferry ride to Mackinac Island. It was worth it. This is one of Melissa’s favorite places. There are no cars allowed on the island (except for one ambulance we saw) and everyone rides bikes everywhere or use horse and carriage for transportation. We decided to walk and it was beautiful. We walked by the bay and out and around the southeast side of the island.
We made it to the stairs of the natural arch rock and hoofed it up to the top. The view was magnificent and the arch rock was beautiful. We continued our hike up to the “cave” which turned out to be somewhat of a joke and then we paid our respects at the cemetery. We continued down the hill and past the large fort where a young man was dressed up in French military clothing. He was practicing on his drum and trying to entice people into the fort. Pa-rump-a-bump-bump! Soon the major crowds would be here and he would be swamped with tourists. We were so glad to be here in the off season. We decided to head over to the hotel. It’s a good thing we had our hiking shoes on, since we were putting some miles beneath our feet.
Oh well, we decided to use our cold hard cash on something better than that… Mackinac Island Fudge!
We ate our dessert on the pier awaiting our ferry and just like the rule of travel, we were waiting at the wrong pier.
Sault Saint Marie
Kayla had been to “the Soo” before and we all decided we should do it too. Did I mention it is still spring and not warm anywhere in Michigan yet? It was freezing. We made the drive in record time and had a good time catching up as we drove. Kayla had a friend from college that lives in Sault Ste. Marie, so she contacted her and told her we were coming up. We always believe in getting the “local knowledge” whenever you can and Kayla’s friend was great. Her dad was a retired deputy sheriff there and they knew everyone. She took us to the Soo Lochs and we watched the ships go through, then we went down the main street and stared disbelievingly at the lack of people on the streets. Summer had not hit yet, and no one was in town. It was stark. We eventually made it to a coffee shop and had some good hot java to keep us warm and going strong.
It was a quick visit and we headed west out of town for a drive around the upper peninsula. We managed to stumble on the Tahquamenon River waterfalls and saw three of the great lakes (Lake Michigan, Lake Superior & Lake Huron) in one day.
Dark Sky Park
SUP on the Lake Huron
There were some interesting things to see from the perspective of a paddler and we didn’t have to get completely wet to look down 20 feet and see the fish swimming around the bottom.
Time to depart
Off to do more adventures, we did some other interesting things, like taking a drive to Cheboygan and walking along the beaches. We really just loved the time we got to spend with our daughter. We really wished William could have been there too, to make the family complete but there will always be other times.
Finishing our trip at Kayla’s moms new house, we had a great dinner with Kayla, her mom and grandmother. We take great pride that we all get along and Kayla is the product of several great parents and numerous grandparents.
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