On the road to the "UP", eh.

Aug 3
Left the Silver Lake area of  western Michigan heading north towards the "UP". There were thunder storm warnings the night before but all we had was a little wind and rain.  As we were driving we noticed many downed trees and debris along the side of the road.  Our destination was another Passport America campground (Chain O'Lakes) just outside the village of Bellaire, MI.  All the small towns in Michigan are Villages or Townships or some other quaint little prefix.  When we checked in we heard about all the heavy weather the night before, the campground was without power for many hours and small limbs littered most of the campsites.  As it turned out they had hurricane force winds and softball size hail reeking havoc all across the northern part of lower Michigan. All the racing events were over by Saturday and we could have left Sunday morning but we prefer to change campgrounds on Mondays. That turned out to be a good choice as we would have been in the thick of the storm if we'd left Sunday morning.  Here's a link to a recap of the event with some interesting pictures of the hail, cloud formations and a radar loop.

Aug 4
We like to  spend a minimum of 2 nights in a location, so we can take a day to tour the area and sample some of the local flavor.  That's what we did today.  Drove into Bellaire, MI, parked in the city park and walked around downtown.

All these little townships have a museum with volunteers to help with the local history. We learned that the town became a major rail hub in the late 1800's and attracted many small industries.  Most notable was the Wooden Bowl Company, which made wooden utensils.  They built a factory and a small dam on the Cedar River.  The factory is gone, replaced by the city park where we parked the truck and eat our picnic lunch, but the dam still exists. Just past the park is a series of Victorian homes now serving as B&B's.

There's a micro Brewery in town, Shorts Brewing Company.  We walked past it earlier in the day and there wasn't much activity.  About 2:00 in the afternoon we decided to go back and try their offerings.  What a difference, we had to get on a waiting list for a seat.  I wouldn't have excepted such a multitude on a Tuesday afternoon, but it was the only game in town.  The beer was good but the crowd made it kind of oppressive, so we drank up and called it a day.

Ever since we decided to go to the "Upper Peninsula" there was the underlying concern of crossing the Mackinac Bridge.  There were horror stories of  small cars being blown off, tractor trailers tipping over, and here we were towing a 30 ft. sail behind us. I was watching the weather and the coming Thursday was looking good, bright sunshine and low winds.  Just to be safe, I wanted to cross in the morning (usually the calmest winds) and not have to worry about the winds picking up in the afternoon.  To that end, we found a campground between Mackinaw City and Cheboygan MI, just 30 min. from the bridge.  So our plan for the big crossing was set, we'd move to Roberts Landing Campground on Wednesday in preparation for the Big Day on Thursday.

While talking to another camp neighbor at Chain O'Lakes they told us about a scenic drive along the coast of Lake Michigan called the Tunnel of Trees, a very narrow windy road.  They said they had seen someone with a 5th wheel navigating the road and it was just a small detour on our drive the next day, so we decided to give it a try.

Aug 5

The road into Petoskey MI

 The next morning dawned bright and sunny for the first leg of our mission to "Cross the Bridge" without being blown off.  Our route took us north through Petoskey and around the Little Traverse Bay.

Little Traverse Bay

After circling Little Traverse Bay, we turned north on M119, towards the Tunnel of Trees, with the camper in tow.

It's a very narrow road and when there was no oncoming traffic, I drove down the center. The scenery was good, what I could see of it, I was mainly watching the road.

There are little picnic areas overlooking the bluffs along the route, key work "little", not big enough for us to pull into.  Occasionally there would be a place on the right where I could pull over and let the normal drivers that stacked up behind us pass.  I'm sure they were cursing the crazy Floridian driving his camper down this narrow road.  When there was oncoming traffic, I'd pull over as far as possible, as would they, and we passed with very little room to spare.

We did come across one other truck and camper coming from the other direction, a 5th wheel, on a curve.  Luckily there was enough room for us to pull slightly off the road and they drove past.  I felt good about this, I wasn't the only one crazy enough to pull a big camper down this road.

We made it through unscathed, emerging into the little town of Cross Village. Stopping to get our bearings, we went into a beautiful lodge and restaurant called the Legs Inn.  The Legs Inn is made of stones and old timbers with a fantastic view of Lake Michigan. We considered having lunch but it was still early and decided to continue on.

Roberts Landing site

Arrived at  Roberts Landing in the early afternoon just in time for a very pleasant late lunch and to unwind after the stressful drive earlier that morning. The campground is right on the shore of Lake Huron with a view of the infamous Mackinac Bridge, Mackinac Island and Bois Blanc Island. The predominate feature I'll remember is the lush grass.  Grass has been a rare commodity in Michigan campgrounds so far, partly due to a lack of rain this summer.  That evening we sat on the shores edge and watched the sunset behind the bridge.

Roberts Landing from the shore line.

Mackinac Bridge at sunset.

Aug 6
The big day was upon us. Another bright sunny day with little or no wind, just as forecast.  We completed our usual traveling day routine and were on the road by about 9:00 am. This would be our shortest travel day of the summer, 15.6 mi and 21 min. (according to MapQuest), but it was those 10 minutes on the bridge we were thinking about.  The Mackinac Bridge is actually part of I-75.  Apparently you can go from Miami FL to Sauit Sainte Marie, MI (at the Canadian border) traveling only on I-75.  By the way, Mackinac is the French spelling but we pronounce it Mackinaw, like Mackinaw City.  The bridge, straits and island use the French spelling. The route was pretty simple, turn right out of the campground onto US 23 toward Mackinaw City. Take the ramp onto I-75 and go straight ahead.  The sign proclaiming "Last Exit Before Bridge"  made it sound ominous.

The towers loomed in the distance, and wouldn't you know, one lane was closed for  construction. That may have worked in our favor, reducing the overall speed and eliminating any traffic worries, just follow the car in front.  It also eventually forced us into the right lane.  Much of the left lane was an open grate with a clear view of the water some 200 feet below.   The view was great, for Joan. As with the Tunnel of Trees, I was watching the road, stealing only a few quick glances.  The toll plaza was on the far (north) side of  the bridge followed by a Michigan welcome center.  We pulled into the welcome center to celebrate the successful crossing.

We tried to make this sound as dramatic as the build up but it was really a non-event.  While I'm sure the crossing can be very treacherous in bad weather (the bridge was closed during the storm a few days before) this was a beautiful day and an easy crossing, as expected.

We came away from the welcome center with a bag full or information to study in preparation for our exploration of the Michigan Upper Peninsula.

Coming soon, Exploring the Eastern U.P.