Day 34 - Sunday, July 28 - We Are in the UP, Hooray & PTL

 We had a good night at the Grayling Rest Area. This morning I visited with a guy who also spent the night there in a motorhome. He was originally from the UP (Michigan's Upper Peninsula) but had been living in Texas for several years. His wife, also from the UP, was diagnosed with cancer. She told him she didn't want to die in Texas so they sought treatment at the Cleveland Clinic. She recently died and he was carrying her ashes to the UP. She was native American and wanted part of her ashes spread in the UP and the remainder spread in either the Badlands or the Grand Teton's. After that he planned to return to the UP to live. We both were amazed at how little traffic went through the Rest Area during the night. The overnight low was 49 degrees. We slept with all our windows open, it was great.

I have previously mentioned the problem with the front passenger side leveling jack not wanting to retract. It seems to be getting better. It retracted on its own when we left the Fairgrounds yesterday. We didn't put the jacks down nor the slides out while at the Rest Area. We also didn't dump the air from the suspension air bags. After a couple of hours we noticed that the front passenger side air bag had deflated so we dumped the air from the other three. It seemed to inflate OK this morning. When I went to start the car, to pump transmission fluid through the transmission prior to leaving, it wouldn't start. I had forgotten to unplug the system that applies the car brakes when the coach brakes are applied. I don't know if that ran down the battery, or if I screwed something up when I jumped the guys battery yesterday. I carry a set of cables that easily reach between the coach batteries and the car battery, so it was easy to "jump it" and get it started.

We knew we had another short day, 150 miles, so we didn't leave the Rest Area until around noon. Traffic was fairly heavy until we crossed Big Mac (or Mighty Mac). It is so cool crossing it. You can find some information on it at

https://mackinac.com/about-mackinac-island/mackinac-bridge/

Our first glimpse of Big Mac today.

For those not familiar with the bridge the two inside lanes are grating while the outside lanes are concrete.

The "speck" on the left is the 450' long container ship the Goderich. The speck on the right is the 800' long bulk carrier the Arthur M. Anderson, headed to Burns Harbor, IN full of iron ore.

It took about 20 minutes to get through the toll line at the end of the bridge. Our toll was $10 for the motorhome ($5/axle) plus $4 for the car.

About 20 miles into the UP traffic had seemed to evaporate.

Driving around the UP you pass many 50-75 acre fields of hay.

But not to many herds of buffalo/bison.

Upon arrival at Soo Locks Campground I dumped our tanks while Kathy checked us in. I also unhooked the Flex. I had to jump it again to start it. The electrical cable connecting the coach to the Flex is supposed to charge the Flex battery while the coach is running. I jumped it again to start it. It will be interesting to see if it starts in the morning, without jumping it again.

Parked at Soo Locks. The view is the St. Mary's River & Canada.

Through our windshield.

When we exited I75 for Sault Ste. Marie we stopped and filled up at a Meijer store. Fuel up here was $3.89/gallon. In Coldwater it was $3.99/gallon. How can it make sense for fuel to be 10 cents a gallon cheaper up here at the Canadian border?

Today's high was a mostly sunny 83 degrees. Sitting outside in the shade it felt cool. I took a nice nap in my lounge chair. At 10:20PM the temperature has dropped to a damp 72 degrees. The overnight low is supposed to be 68.

A freighter just passed us heading to the locks, the 800' long Herbert C. Jackson. She is headed to Marquette. I wish I had a good enough camera to show you how great it is to watch them go past.

The campground only has water and electric connections, no sewer. When here I take showers at the "clubhouse". Its time to head that way and call it a night.

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