Saturday & Sunday, July 30th & 31st

 Saturday:

We stayed around the coach today and did some catch up housekeeping, laundry, etc. Weather was beautiful, but a little warm, low 80's during the afternoon.

We went down the road to the Cozy Inn for lunch. Both of us got the whitefish baskets. The fish was good, but not great. 

The campground has cable but I've not been able to get our  "smart" TV to connect to the cable channels. (The TV is smarter than me. 😀). I saw our neighbors our enjoying the beautiful weather and asked them if they were hooked up to cable. They weren't but the guy was better versed than I am in the ins and outs of smart TV's and offered to help. As he started over a neighbor from across the street had overheard us and came over. He asked is we had an antenna booster. I said yes. He said if the booster is on it scrambles the cable signal. We turned off the booster and after a channel search we had 148 channels available. Later I tried to get the non smart TV in the bedroom working. So far no success. Maybe I need to go across the road and ask Rich for more help. We are supposed to have an outside TV also but haven't even opened the bay door to check it out.

Rich, the guy  who helped with the TV, and his wife have been full time RV'ers for 7 years. Rich retired when he reached 59 1/2, shortly after his wife had both a heart attack and a stroke. After that they decided to retire as soon as possible and hit  the road. They  haven't looked back. They plan on staying full timers for the foreseeable future. Kathy baked zucchini bread and I took them over a loaf.

While we were sitting outside a guy stopped and asked how we liked our main awning. He just bought a new coach and is trying to determine what he wants for awnings. He has been full timing for a year and a half.

Sunday:

Weather was great again. Still a little warm during the day, low 80's. 

We had looked for a church last week but didn't see any that we thought we would enjoy attending so we stayed home last week and today.

Many (most?) people with RV's have problems with the level indicators on the holding tanks. We had problems with the sensors on our Dutch Star Class A, our Zinger travel trailer and now the ones on our Allegro Bus don't work properly. Adding Calgon to the holding tanks is one of the things that a lot of people recommend. I tried to buy some when we went to Meijer's Friday, but they didn't have any. This morning I went to the Walmart in Sault Ste Marie and searched for it. Eventually, after enlisting the assistance of a Walmart employee, we managed to find it there. I suspect that it will take weeks/months of use before the holding tank walls are "de-scaled" enough for the sensors to start working again, if they ever do. 

I picked up  another pizza from Superior, a restaurant down the road a few miles, for supper. It was as good as the one we got there last week.

I've been hoping to catch the people who own this rig while they were outside, so that I can talk to them. The tractor has an Ontario plate. It looks like one we saw at Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale, AL when we were down there last January.

I swept out the car yesterday and washed it today. I don't wash my vehicles nearly  as often as I should. It always amazes be at how dirty a white vehicle can be and still look reasonably clean, until you start washing it. I've keep track of the gallons of gasoline and mileage For the last 988 miles we have averaged 22.2 mpg. Nearly 700 of those miles were Interstate driving at 75-77 mph. I'm satisfied with the mileage and overall am very happy with  our decision to purchase a  used Ford Flex.

Watching the NASCAR race today. A few minutes earlier she could have taken a photo of me napping on the couch on the other side of the coach.

Kathy looked at the weather for the morning and rain is forecast. She suggested that we get the car hooked up, which we did. We still have to disconnect the water, sewer & electrical but the car is now hooked to the coach and ready for us to head to Marquette, MI in the morning.

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

Thursday & Friday, July 28th & 29th

 Thursday:

Mom's recovery is coming along. She took a Tylenol when she got up  and that was the last pain pill she took all day. I did nothing exciting Thursday. Went to Coldwater in the morning and bought a male 50 amp RV plug so that I could rig up an extension cord using some wire and a female 50 amp RV plug I had in the coach. Did a few small things around the house for Mom, I managed a nice nap.

Mom and I walked down to her pond and sat enjoying the day for awhile.

Kathy went to help at a garage sale at one of her nieces homes. Two of her sisters were there so she got to spend time with them. When she arrived home in the early afternoon I she had me vacuum Mom's upstairs and downstairs, good thing I had taken a nap to build up my strength 😀

After supper Mom & I drove down to my brothers to look at his travel trailer. He purchased a travel trailer than had experienced a roof leak in the bedroom. After patching the leak he tore out the bedroom ceiling, replaced 3 of the rafters/trusses and redid the ceiling. 

He also tore out the interior materials forming over half of one bedroom wall and rebuilt the wall. In addition he put down laminate flooring. He did a great job.

Friday:

We left Mom's around 8;30 and headed north. 400 miles later we were back at our coach at Bay Mills, after detouring into Sault Ste Marie to stop at a Meijer's for groceries.

We stopped in Mackinac City for lunch and some sight seeing. Lunch was an experience. The hot dogs were edible but certainly not delicious, and I like hot dogs.

The Mackinac Bridge is barely visible between the tree and the left edge of the photo. The land mass straight out in the water is Mackinac Island. We spent some time in the area in the late 60's. The mainland area has become so commercialized (tourist trap) that we had no desire to take the ferry out to the island again.

Just enjoying the view.

The bridge doesn't look nearly as impressive from this vantage point as it does when you are crossing it. It is 200' from the water to the top of high point of the road surface. The towers extend up over 500' above the water.

My brother, his wife, one of his daughters and her family, plus my brother's son-in-laws brother and his family, plus....(not sure who else might show up) are "camping" at Mom's pond all week, starting tonight. 

It is good to be home, especially with the cooler temperatures. It wasn't HOT while at Mom's but the temperatures were borderline uncomfortable for Kathy and I, we like cooler weather. It was 67 degrees when we arrived at the coach at 5PM. Now, at 11PM, the temperature had dropped to 58 degrees.

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

Tuesday & Wednesday, July 26th & 27th

 Tuesday:

Mom's gall bladder removal was done at an outpatient surgery center in an outlet mall. I think the place used to be a Gap store. Based on everything we experienced I wouldn't hesitate to have them work on me should I ever need outpatient surgery. All went well, we were back to her house before noon. She was up and about by late afternoon. The only significant problem has been trying to keep her from overdoing. 

Wednesday:

Not much happening. Did a few small fix it jobs around Mom's house, trying to save my brother some work. The biggest problem with Mom is that she continues to just ignore the 10# maximum lift limit. Can't tell you how many times during the day we have to tell her, "Mom, put that down! We will move it/ lift it/open the window/etc. I guess that is good news. If she had any significant pain from the surgery she wouldn't be wanting to lift things.

Weather has been warmer than Kathy and I like, but tolerable, with no AC.

Sunday & Monday, July 24th & 25th

 Sunday:

We took the day off. It rained on and off so we stayed in most of the day. We did get out long enough to go down to the place we got the great pizza, for a late lunch. The Italian sub I got was really good, and big. Kathy's wings were also good.

Even though the weather wasn't the best we decided to have a campfire. It was windy and cool. If it hadn't been wet from the rain it would have been to windy for a fire. I actually moved the car from behind the coach to the front of it to break up the wind.

Monday:

When I got up this morning it was 57 degrees outside and 59 in the coach, great sleeping weather. We left around 9:30 and drove the 375 miles to my Mom's in lower Michigan. We left the coach parked at the campground in Brimley, MI. Mom is having her gall bladder removed tomorrow (your prayers are appreciated) and we plan on being here for a few days. If all goes as planned we will head back north Friday or Saturday. 

I am pleased with the 2018 Ford Flex we bought. It rides good, seats up to 8 and has a fair amount of storage room. Michigan has a 75 mph speed limit on a lot of its highways. We filled up when we left this morning and again when we stopped for lunch, even though the tank was still half full. I set the cruise at 76 mph for 190 of the 199 miles we drove before lunch. The dash trip info center said we got 23.1 mph. I calculated the actual to be 21.9 mpg. We reset the trip info and when we got to Mom's it was reading close to 24 mpg.

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

Saturday, July 23rd - Whitefish Point

 Todays adventure was a trip to Whitefish Point and Brown Fisheries Fish House in Paradise, MI. We took the scenic route next to the water, as usual.

At the Point: There were quite a few people out enjoying the sunny, breezy day.

We, and almost everyone else, finds the rocks along the shore interesting. They are smooth and most of them look like they have been flattened.

Doing a little wading.

Taking a break and enjoying the view. Lots of old washed up trees to use as benches.

We saw lots of people wading. Two preteen girls where out in the water up to their necks for minutes at a time, with lots of screaming about how cold the water was. We also saw a woman (we think it was a woman) swimming parallel to the shore, not to far off the shoreline. She was wearing some type of wet suit, or dry suit. 

There is a shipwreck museum at the Point but we didn't go in, we have been here quite a few times.

Then it was on to Brown Fisheries Fish House in Paradise. They have GREAT whitefish. The place isn't going to win any awards for its ambiance. We arrived at 1:30 and didn't have to wait for a table. The last time we were there people were lined up outside waiting to get in. Waiting must be a normal occurrence because I saw a sign that said due to occupancy restrictions people waiting for a table had to wait outside.

On our way back we stopped at one of the scenic outlooks. I chose poorly. We should have stopped at one of the ones further north, they are closer to the water.

Then it was back home with time for a nice nap before doing some research on state by state changes in the number of people employed since COVID hit. 

Its interesting to see that even though our population had grown by over 4 million since Feb 2020, and even though we still have 775,000 fewer people working than before COVID, some states have done far better than others. Texas has over 400,000 more people working than pre-COVID. Florida had 270,000 more, Georgia 152,000 more & North Carolina 140,000 more. At the other end of the list New York has 400,000 fewer people working the pre-COVID, Pennsylvania 160,000 fewer, Ohio 140,000 fewer, Michigan 136,000 fewer, Illinois 101.000 fewer & California 97,000 fewer.

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

Thursday & Frday, July 21st & 22nd - Locks & Moving

 Thursday:

It rained on and off part of the day. Fortunately it was dry when we went to see the locks. A disappointing experiencing, to start with, the main building is closed on Wednesday's and Thursdays (OK, we should have checked earlier). It is where you can read about the history of the locks. I assume that inside the building  there is information about the new lock that is under construction. There was none in the lock viewing area.

There are two active locks at the Soo Locks. The MacArthur Lock, built in 1943, is 800' long by 80' wide by 29.5' deep. The Poe Lock was re-built in 1968. It is 1,200' long by 110' wide by 32' deep. The Poe Lock handles almost 90% of the tonnage that travels through the locks. 

Congress approved a new Poe size lock in 1986 and again in 2007, they just never bothered to include money in the budget for construction. Finally, in 2019 $75 million was included to start Phase I of what was supposed to be a one billion dollar project. Phase one included deepening the river, the bottom of which is rock in many areas, to provide a channel to the new lock. This month it was revealed that the Army Corp of Engineers were a little off with their original cost estimate. Instead of a $1 billion dollar price tag the cost is now estimated to be $3 billion. The completion date is 2030 so who knows how high the cost will actually go. 

There is no doubt the new lock is needed. If the Poe lock has to shut down during the normal shipping season the steel mills along the Great Lakes wouldn't have enough iron ore to keep producing. River traffic seemed to move in an orderly manner the first few days we were here but the last couple of days it seems that freighters idle for extended periods of time while waiting to get into the locks.

RV mix at the campground remains about the same. Typically 5 or 6 Class A's, about that many Class C's and about an equal split between 5th wheels and travel trailers. There is some tent camping and also 1-3 truck campers, but they aren't your grandpa's truck campers.

This one gets hauled around by a  Dodge Cummins 350 dually.

The vast majority  of our hot water has been heated using the electric side of our water heater. When we were at Mom's we used the propane side because there is only a 20 amp circuit down at the pond. (It was also powering a refrigerator and lights in a travel trailer part of the time we were there.) It worked fine but then it didn't want to keep burning. I pulled the burner electrical connections apart and cleaned them, raked a piece of coat hanger around in the burner chamber and sucked, then blew, the combustion chamber out with a shop vac. It will stay burning now but the flame doesn't sound right to me. Something to have someone smarter than me look at.

Friday: Moving day

We packed up and left our beloved Soo Locks Campground this morning. Lord willing we will be back next summer. I was talking to the guy next to us as I was packing. He has been coming to the campground to 27 years. I think he and his wife spend most of the summer there.

More thousands of bales of hay on the 20 mile trip to Brimley. We have seen only a few head of cattle. It doesn't seem possible that hay is worth transporting to lower Michigan when fuel is $6/gallon.

We stayed at Bay Mills Casino and RV Park a few days last year, when we couldn't get in to Soo Locks Campground. The casino is on an Indian reservation. Sault Ste. Marie is in the upper right of the photo below and Bay Mills is in the lower left. The river is the St Mary's and the solid line down it is the dividing line between Canada and the US. 

I'm not sure how many sites are here. We are in 118, the lbue dot. We had reservations. When we checked in at 1 PM there were only  4 sites available for us to choose from.

We saw these guys while we were walking around the campground. I think this is how we indoctrinate our children to prepare them for electric vehicles. They were pushing it back to their campsite, which wasn't far, to plug it back in.

It amazes me how time seems to fly by. We have now been living in our coach for nearly 10 weeks. We left Missouri 3 weeks ago today. The other thing is how late it stays light here. Today sunrise was at 6:07 and sunset at 9:21. This compares to sunrise at 6:02 and sunset at 8:29 in Centertown.

We are most definitely enjoying the cooler temperatures. Weather bug says today's high/low in Centertown was 102/71. Here the high/low was 80/61, still a little warmer than we would like but its the only day in the 10 day forecast with a high in the 80's.

We definitely need to top oof our fuel tanks before leaving here. Gas/fuel is much less expensive at a station just down the road from the campground. Diesel $5.59 and regular $4.64. Typical prices are $5.89 & $4.74. Maybe the station is on the reservation and its a tax thing.

Amusing RV anecdote: If you have seen the move RV and remember the tank dumping incident you can appreciate today's event. I dumped our grey and black water tanks as we left Soo Locks. I left a little in both tanks to slosh around as we drove to Bay Mills. Once here I hooked up the sewer line and the water line that  "flushes" out the black tank. I drained both tanks and turned on the flush water line line. After a few minutes of flushing I closed the black tank valve and let water build up  in the tank a little while I hooked up our water line and turned off the flush water line, at least I thought I did. Kathy called me to come in and eat lunch. As I was making a sandwich when she noted water running off the front corner of the roof. We had the AC on because it was humid and I said it was probably condensation off the AC unit. She replied that it was  a LOT of water for condensation. I looked and agreed. When I went out and checked I had not turned of the flush line and water was coming out the rooftop plumbing vent.  It appears that I did a pressure test on our wastewater system and it all checks out OK. The water coming off the roof looked as clean as if it was coming directly out of the hose.

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

Wednesday, July 20th - Rainy

 It rained on and off all day. It was sprinkling when I walked back from the shower house at 9:45 PM. It rained pretty hard for a short period around 3 PM but other than that it was all light. It did cool down the temperature. Today's high was a breezy 76, tonights low is supposed to be 59.

Below is a photo of the trike in an F150 that I mentioned yesterday. They moved on today. Never got to see him take it out of the truck.

I was sitting outside the morning, between showers, and think that maybe I need to occasionally stop wearing socks.

We met Dennis Barber for lunch in Rudyard, MI, about 30 miles south of us. After lunch he took us out to show us his cabin. Dennis is from this area but moved to TN some years ago. He and his wife, who passed away a few years ago, are/were great friends of Tom (Kathy's brother) and Mary Lou. Dennis has a cabin in Rudyard and another one in  Gaylord, MI. He spends around 9 months in TN and 3 months in MI.

There is a Farmer's Market in town from 4-6:30 on Wednesdays. We checked it out. Very  disappointing, virtually no produce, a few baked goods and lots of craft stuff. 

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

Monday & Tuesday, July 18th & 19th - Did a Few Touristy Things

 Monday

Weather was warm, I think the high hit 90. 

First, something I should have mentioned earlier. Algoma Steel has a plant on the Canadian side of the river, just west of the locks. I had thought Canada was "green", but after watching the smoke that pours out of that plant, day after day, I've changed my mind. Last night the air quality here reminded me of working at Gary Steel Works 50 years ago. There is no way a US steel making facility  could get away with dumping so much garbage into the air.

We are still downsizing. Our first stop of the day was to drop off a couple of bags of stuff at a charity  place. Then it was off to the Tower of History.

We didn't know what to expect and almost couldn't beleive the story behind this structure. Take a look at it and make a few guesses as to what you think it represents. (I was a structural engineer before retiring This is the kind of thing that makes me want to spit when I have to say the work architect.)

The tower was built in the late 60's, by the Catholic church next door, as a shrine to missionaries. It is supposed to remind you of Christ on the cross with the two thieves beside Him. WHAT!!! 

Basically the cost was so high that it nearly bankrupted the church. In the 70's a Bishop went on a personal tour to raise money to help pay off the debt. In 1980 the church donated the structure to the Sault Historic Sites. (Part of my New Testament reading for today included Luke 14:28&29, how appropriate.)

Views from the Tower:

Van in the parking lot.

Looking east. The long building along the river is an old hydro electric plant. 

The ship in the center of the photo is the Valley Camp.

The locks are behind the trees.

Then it was out to lunch. Yesterday a father and son walked by the front of our  RV with a fishing rod. I asked them if they had caught anything. The father said no, but if they were going to eat fish again while they were up here they would have to catch it. I ordered a walleye basket and Kathy ordered a whitefish basket. Each had two pieces of fish so we each had a piece of both to east. The sides were fries and cole slow, we both had water to drink. A couple of pieces of fish and some fries cost of $43. I'm looking for a Long John Silvers the next time I want fish.

After lunch we went to the Valley Camp. If you happen to vacation in the Soo forget the Tower of History but make sure you tour the Valley Camp.

https://www.saulthistoricsites.com/museum-ship-valley-camp/

https://www.saulthistoricsites.com/museum-ship-valley-camp/valley-camp-history/

The Valley Camp is 550' long today their are 13 freighters on the Great Lakes are 1,000' long. In July 2019 the 1,000' long American Integrity carried 76,000 tons of iron ore as she passed through the locks, the current record.

From the bridge.

From the stern.

Inside looking back at the ramps that were installed to allow guest to get from level to level.

We have seen several of the cruise ships similar to the one in the photo below. They come up the river, dock at the Valley Camp, buses haul them around the Soo, then they go over to the Canadian side and dock and then go back downriver. I think this is part of a 12 day excursion from Chicago to Montreal. If I read the brochure correctly  the cheap cabins are $6,000 per person, minimum two people per cabin. The top of the line cabins cost twice as much.

Tuesday

Not much happened today We went to Meier's for a few groceries, but other than that we stayed at the campground. I started cleaning and lubricating the seals around the slides, but only just barely got started on that project. 

I visited with a guy who has a Tiffin Phaeton and who is parked across the road from us. His is a 2012 that they haven't had that long. They are from Kansas and they have also started full timing. They also have Montana plates on their vehicles. Kansas is another state with outlandish personl property tax rates, like Missouri. Their "towed vehicle" is an F150 with a trike in the bed. I will try to remember to get a photo of it tomorrow.

Sunday, July 17th - A Little Warm Today

High temperature today was 86. We sat outside a lot and with the breeze off the water is wasn't uncomfortable. We haven't needed the AC for nearly week, nor the furnace. Between the breeze and the sun I've managed a sunburn on my head and legs, not bad, just a little uncomfortable.

This morning we went to the E-Free church in Sault Ste Marie, not sure what the name stands for. They have 9:00 & 10:30 services in SSM and a single service at a campus in Gaylord, MI (about 100 miles south of here). Both Kathy and I felt the Spirit moving during the service. Even though it was contemporary Christian music I enjoyed most of it. The Pastor had a good message. The only negative was that not one of the approximately 100 in attendance introduced themselves. The only person who shook my hand was the guy who I asked about the offering plate after the service. (They don't even mention an offering during the service. There is an unlabeled box on the wall by the door.)

Freighter traffic was busy this morning, but then nothing all day until right now I'm watching one approach the locks. I did get to see an interesting sight this morning as two freighters passed one another out in front of us.

As we have talked to our neighbors, at the campground, and others out walking, the number of them who come here for extended periods of time every year is amazing. The guy on one side of us has been coming nearly every summer for nearly 20 years. Some folks spend their entire summer here. Many are from lower Michigan but one guy is from Arizona. He lives in AZ about 7 months a year and travels during the hot months. He comes here every year for several weeks, or longer.

One reason this surprises me is that the sites don't have sewer hookups, just water and 30/50 amp. Some people have the little tanks on wheels to cart waste water up to the dump station as needed, others just drive up to the dump station once a week and dump their tanks. The men's rest room & shower area has been clean each time I've went in it to shower. Its adequate, but nothing special.

This is Sunday night and some of the tent camping spots are empty but almost every RV site is full.

It's 11:30 and the outside temp is down into the 60's. Inside the coach, with the windows and vents are still open, it is down to 72. I will close most of them when I go to bed.

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

Saturday, July 16th - Another Beautiful Day

 I'm sitting looking out over the river watching the lights on the Canadian side become more prominent as darkness comes. Its 9:45, the "official" sunset was 9:26. There was quite a bit of traffic on the river today. Lots of small fishing boats zooming up and down the river. We also watched 5 or 6 freighters pass by. According to the app I have it will be hours before another freighter gets to the locks, but several may make it before daylight.

Kathy went grocery shopping in the morning but most of the day we have spent sitting by the river, enjoying the weather and watching all the traffic on it.

Tomorrow I have to dig out our binoculars so that I can watch the Ojibway offload onto one of the freighters. I watched her as she left Soo Maritime Supply, next to the campground, and head out into the river.

With a pallet full of stuff ready for delivery. I'm thought one looked like an Amazon box.

Here she is, tucked up along side the freighter, moving the pallet to the freighter.

The above sequence was repeated at least three times today, as other freighters came eastbound through the locks. 

Not much else to report. We visited some with the guy on the west side of us and with a couple from Minnesota who were walking along the river. It was their first time here.

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

Friday, July 15tb - Sault Ste Marie

 Got up this morning and it was 47 degrees outside, 61 degrees in the coach. Great temperatures.

We arrived at the Soo Locks Campground at 1 PM. Since leaving MO we have put 1,558  miles on the coach. I think every site, including those up next to the street, is full tonight.

The view out the front window from our site. The land on the far side of the St. Marys river is Canada.

There are only 4 or 5 class A coaches at the campground. It is an older campground and the water and electricity (no sewer) are set up  for back in units (trailers or 5th wheels). Kathy thought I was going to have her in the water as I kept telling her "pull further ahead". Pulling this close to the water was the only way I had enough cable to make the connection to 50 amp shore power. I probably need to buy a 15-20' 50 amp extension cord for future similar situations.

Just as we pulled in Kathy took a photo of a tug and a barge with a crane on it, leaving the facility next door to the campground.

When we were here last fall I wrote about the Ojibwa, a tender, that comes out of the same next door facility. It is headed downstream, back to the dock, in the photo below. 

It was followed by the freighter in the photo below. I think it had just taken a pallet of goods out to the freighter. The guy at the site next to ours used to know the captain of one of the freighters. Some years ago he got to ride with the Ojibwa  crew as they delivered a pallet of goods to one of the freighters. He said that when a freighter leaves the Duluth area they send a supply list to the company next door. He has been in their warehouse. He said it had everything from nuts and bolts to bananas in it. It takes about 24 hours for the freighter to get here and clear the locks. The Ojibwa pulls up along side the freighter and hoists a pallet up on the deckl soon after it leaves the locks.

Below is an enlarged photo of the back of the freighter. The tug and barge with a crane is along side the freighter as it moves down the river. I couldn't see what it was doing. Before it was out of sight the tug/barge peeled away and came back to the dock next door.

There is a place across the rive that must work on float plants. They have a ramp that allows planes to taxi out of, or in to, the water. Several years ago we saw lots of planes taking off and landing but never saw one the last time we were here. I  did get to see one take off this afternoon.