Day 16 - Wednesday, June 24 - Another Glorious Day

 I got up early this morning. The sky was beautiful as the sun came up. A Viking river cruise ship came by just after the sun was up. It docked just down the river from the campground.

A few minutes later the Objibwe, a smaller "tender" from the marine place next door, headed out. It has a crane on the deck and goes out to load pallets of supplies on some of the freighters as they exit the locks. The freighters are accelerating as they leave the locks. Both are probably moving 4-5 knots, 6-8 mph, as the transfer is made. (It wasn't hazy this morning. I took the photo through the dirty windshield of our coach.)

The freighter, the Lee A. Tregurtha, has an interesting history. She was launched as a tanker for use during WWII. She is one of the most modified ships on the Great Lakes. She was originally 68' wide by 502' long. During the 1959-60 winter she was widened by 7', deepened by 2' and lengthened to 730'. In 1976 she was lengthened to 826'.

The overnight low was 45 degrees. Today's high was 73. We sat out in lawn chairs until a little after noon and then went to a Chinese Buffet for lunch. The food was good.

Sitting outside in the afternoon the sky was beautiful. I took the photo below around 2PM.

A little later we got to watch a float plane take off, over on the Canadian side of the river.

At 6 PM some dark clouds started rolling in. There is a chance of rain tonight and a 50% chance of storms tomorrow. Hopefully we will be able to get packed up to move without  getting wet. We are only moving 20 miles. Sadly we could only get a reservation here for 3 nights.

Yesterday I asked the check in lady about multi day site vacancies in July. Today I signed us up to check in on July 16th and out on July 3rd. The site will not be on the waterfront, those are booked, except for an occasional day here and there. We will be "up on the hill". We will still have a view of the river, just not as nice at the waterfront sites. We have previously stayed up there.

It is now 7PM. Kathy is back sitting outside soaking up the atmosphere. The temperature is 68 degrees.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 15 - Tuesday, June 23 - Another Beautiful Day in Paradise

 Last nights low was 46. We (especially me) were a little slow climbing out of a nice warm bed this morning. By the time we (me) finished breakfast it was time to head outside. It was still cool out but what a marvelous day.

Kathy stayed out for maybe a half hour and then she went "shopping". She hit Hobby lobby, for some yarn, and bought some puzzles at the Salvation Army.

I sat out for maybe an hour before walking around the campground, checking things out. This is a view of the campground office and the shower/laundry/game building from the street.

An interesting 5th wheel unit.

We went to the West Pier Drive In for a late lunch. It wasn't as good as we remembered, but not bad. I thought the mushrooms were very good, Kathy thought they were okay. The teen age girl who was our "car hop" was bubbly and a joy to watch here scurry around, jogging some of the time, taking orders and carrying food to the cars. A great work ethic.There is no inside seating. There is a small wing off the back, it isn't quite as small as it appears in this photo.

I think the guys on the rocks all came in the same pickup. They parked at the back of the parking area and ate their lunch while sitting on the rocks.

There was virtually no freighter traffic today. Yesterday must have been some type of freighter traffic jam. While we were out in the morning it was fun watching a decent sized sail boat (30'?) tack up the river, against the wind and current. They must have tied off somewhere on the Canadian side. Mid afternoon we watched it go downstream, with the wind. It made some good speed.

Today's high was a breezy, mostly sunny 71 degrees.

God is good. I pray that He bless you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 14 - Monday, June 22 - SPECTACULAR DAY!!!!

We were in no hurry to leave the rest area this morning since we were only 120 miles from the campground in Sault Ste Marie. We slept well at the rest area. The overnight low was 50. 

The day was awesome. Kathy called it spectacular as we drove over the Mackinaw Bridge. She had been the one driving the coach over most of the times we have crossed but today I was driving and she got to look, and take photos.

Note how the inside lane looks dark in the photo below. If you have never crossed Big Mac don't be shocked when you find out the inside lanes are steel grating, the outside lanes are concrete. Under normal weather conditions the speed limit on the bridge is 40 mph for cars and empty trucks. The speed limit for loaded trucks is 20 mph. Trucks must stay in the outer (concrete) lanes.

The sky was beautiful, the water was beautiful, it was just a great day. A sailboat off to the west.

A freighter off to the east.

About 10 miles from Sault Ste Marie we stopped at a rest area and had lunch.

We weren't in a hurry and were probably there at least an hour. I think only 2 trucks came through the truck parking area while we were there.

Then it was on to the Soo Locks Campground. I dumped our waste tanks on the way in, since the sites don’t have sewer hook ups, while Kathy checked us in. This is an old campground. It was set up for travel trailers being backed into the sites. Most of the sites on the river had motorhomes in them today. The motorhomes were parked facing the river. We do the same. As long as you know the situation and bring enough electrical cord and water hose so that you can route it under your RV it isn’t a problem.

The view of Canada through our windshield. 

 

We had not finished getting set up when the CSL Laurentien went by heading to the locks. She is only a little over 700' long.

Maybe a half hour later the Indiana Harbor went by. She is 1,000' long. 

There are 13 thousand footers currently sailing on the Great Lakes. Basically that is the maximum length for getting through the locks.

About 5:45P the James R Barker went by headed downstream. Since the several more have went past. It appears that current traffic has the locks maxed out.

We sat outside for almost an hour before the breeze caused us to head back inside.

Today's high was a mostly sunny, breezy 64 degrees. Tonight's low is forecast to be 48, awesome sleeping weather. At 9PM it is 52 degrees. Now that we are plugged in to shore power I may actually dig out the controller for my electric blanket, although we both slept fine last night without turning on the heat.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 13 - Sunday, June 21 - Happy Father's Day

 This morning we went out to David's and visited with him a little before going back to the Fairgrounds and heading north. We weren't in a hurry to leave since we only planned on travelling 240 miles today.

A few section of I69/US127/I75 were rough but most pavement surfaces were reasonable. We stopped at a nearly empty carpool parking lot where Kathy fixed us lunch, near Alma, MI. 

I took the photo below as I walked around the parking lot. In one 30 mile stretch along US127 we saw several oil wells (at least one of them was pumping), maybe 40 acres of solar panels and dozens of wind turbines (only 1 of them had vanes that were turning).

Then it was on to the rest area near Gaylord for an overnight stay. Parked at the Gaylord rest area.

I walked to the back of the rest area to look at the small lake.

Looking back at the parking lot from the back of the rest area.

It was a nice evening to sit out and enjoy a little people watching, although there weren't many people coming through the rest area.

An interesting storage shed. The 10'x12' shed consists of 5 precast panels and the door insert. The roof appeared to be a single 11'x13' panel. 

The day was a good day for driving. It was overcast enough that the sun wasn't to bright. Traffic was reasonably light. Some of the pavement was rough but most was okay, some even good. The high was  70 degrees. Tonight's low is forecast to be 45 degrees. We love the temps! But I may hook up my electric blanket 😊

I made reservations at another campground, Indian Lake RV Resort near Manistique. In July 12, out July 16. For any 70+readers. I don't think the following are the directions:

"You take a bus marked "Lakewood Drive"

And you keep on ridin' till you're out of the city

Where the air is fine with the sweet smellin' pine

And the countryside's pretty

And you'll see daffodils peepin' (daffodils) over the hills

Or a honey lovin' mama bear

Just take a left at the bridge

Go down to Quakerforn Ridge

And in a minute you're there

Indian Lake is a scene

You should make with your little one

Just keep it in mind if you're lookin' to find

A place in the summer sun

Well, you can swim in the cove have a snack in the grove

Or you can rent a canoe (you can rent a canoe)

At Indian Lake you'll be able to make

The way the Indians do

......"

This video is a hoot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey69bHCIvTY  

I read that the Cowsills were the inspiration for the 1970's TV show The Partridge Family.

Tomorrow, Lord willing, we will head to the Soo Locks Campground in Sault Ste Marie, 120 miles from here.

God is good. I pray that He bless you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 12 - Saturday, June 20 - More Driving Around

 First thing this morning Kathy went to the local Aldi store and picked up a few more groceries. Mid morning we picked up Mom and headed to a quaint grocery store on the other side of Bronson, MI. 

Then it was on to an In and Out Burger in Sturgis, MI. We have no idea how one of them happens to be in Sturgis. They are a drive through burger place, only drive through, you can't even go inside to order. Burgers were okay, coney dog was okay, Chicago style hot dog was good.

Sturgis is only a few miles north of Indiana. We headed south out of Sturgis, down to route 120, and took it east all the way back to Fremont, IN, and the lemon ice cream place. Gasoline in Indiana is 50-60 cents a gallon less than in Michigan.

We dropped Mom off at her place and headed back to the Fairgrounds. We are pretty much packed up and ready to head north in the morning. We are looking forward to being back in Michigan's UP.

God is good. I pray that He bless you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 11 - Friday, June 19 - Another Beautiful Day

 Kathy is feeling almost back to normal. PTL!

Ed & Cindy stopped by this morning and visited for an hour or so. 

My hearing aids needed the wax cleaned from then and I found that I forgot to bring "wax traps" and "domes" with me. I tried a couple of local pharmacies but they did not have any. I will have to find a hearing aid place as we travel around.

After a short nap I went to Mom's and brought her back to the coach. Kathy fixed us potato soup (like my grandmother used to make) with strawberry short cake for dessert. YUM,YUM!!! About 7 I took Mom home.

I added another reservation to our list. The nights of July 9, 10 & 11 we will be at The Country Village is Ishpeming, MI. 

We have reservations at the Soo Locks Campground for June 22, 23 & 24, in Sault Ste Marie.

Then at the Bay Mills Casino in Brimley, MI for June 25, 26 & 27.

Then we go to the Marquette Tourist Park for June 28, 29, 30 & July1 .

We have previously stayed at all of the above campgrounds.

Then on to the Hancock Recreation Area (Hancock, MI) for July 2, 3, 4 & 5. This will be our first time their. 

Then across the river to the Houghton RV Park (Houghton, MI) for July 6, 7 & 8, also a place where we have stayed.

Tomorrow I need to find campgrounds with vacancies and get reservations made at a few other places in the UP. We are hoping that Soo Locks will have a site available for a couple of nights in late July or early August. We love that place.

It is a peaceful evening as I sit by an open window writing this. The temperature is 67 degrees.

I haven't given up on Spanish yet. I'm still having a difficult time retaining things. I have to do a lot of reviewing. The daily lessons in both Babbel and Duolingo are short. I've done a lesson, or reviewed one, 141 consecutive days in Duolingo and 106 consecutive days in Babbel. Babbel keeps track of time and says I've spent 37 hours and 19 minutes doing its lessons.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 9 & 10 - Wednesday & Thursday, June 17 & 18 - Rainy

 It rained all day yesterday. Kathy was ill and we both just hung around the coach all day.

Kathy felt somewhat better today but decided to stay home all day. Mid-morning I walked up to the Fair offices and paid for us to stay through Sunday AM. On the way back, on the other side of a grassy area, I noticed this hawk(?) hopping around on the ground. After a couple of hops it took it a couple of tries but it managed to fly up to the top rail of a board fence. It was pretty scruffy looking.

Later I met my Mom and brother for lunch at the Willows bar, after David took her to her Thursday morning hair appointment. The Willows bar has been here for as long as I can remember, over 70 years. It has always been noted as a place to get a good hamburger. 

Mom went with me when we left the Willows. We drove around the countryside for a couple of hours. During the drive we managed to find our way to the ice cream place in Fremont, IN, for the 3rd time. Their lemon ice cream is really good.

I dropped Mom off at home and spent the rest of the day at the Fairgrounds with Kathy. Weather was great, high 60's with a little breeze. I walked around the empty Fairgrounds. The grandstand area brought back memories. In 1984 & 1985, when we lived in central Illinois, I made sure to be back here during the Branch County Fair. My grandfather, who made his living buying and selling horses, and I went to watch the horse pulling both of those years. We had a great time. I was planning on being back again for 1986 but he unexpectedly died a couple of weeks before the Fair. I looked at the 2026 Grandstand schedule and while the do have "pony pulling" during one of the days, there is no longer horse pulling. There is lots of pulling, just all motorized. Nights of: "street legal pickup and semi truck pulling", "antique tractor pulling", "farmstock and hot farm pulls" and a "NTPA regional truck and tractor pull".

It is 9:10P here and the sun is still up. Sunset is 9:17P tonight. Monday night, our first night in Sault Ste Marie, the sun won't set until 9:34P.

It is absolutely beautiful here this evening. An occasional car goes by on the street, about 100 yards away, but other than that it is QUIET. Well it was, some idiot just went buy romping on his turbo and then backing off, causing unburned fuel to explode in the exhaust. (Maybe I'm jealous I'm not doing it. 😀)

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.