Aug 6, cont.
Checked into another Passport America campground,
Tiki RV Park in
St. Ignace MI, a very nice park. We really liked our site, lots of trees and backing up to thick forest. However, all those trees made setting up kind of difficult. We have a relatively large slide out (about 40 in., containing the dinette and pantry) on one side and the awning on the other. Positioning the camper so both would clear the trees proved challenging. We decided to move the camper all the way to the rear of the site to clear a large cedar tree on the awning side. After unhooking, leveling, and setting the 4 corner stabilizer jacks Joan started to open the slide out and we discovered a small clump of trees in the way. I guess this is one of those things us new-bees have to learn the hard way. We knew the slide out had to come out and the trees were there for all to see, but it's like we had blinders on, not seeing the relationship between the camper and the trees until it was too late. This was soon added to our pre-setup inspection check list, "Make sure there's enough room for the awning
and the slide out".
At this point I have to explain that we have a special trailer hitch that came with the camper called a Pro Pride 3P. It doesn't use the traditional ball to connect the trailer yoke to the truck. It's supposed to transfer the pivot point forward, under the rear axle, like a 5th wheel. To do this there's a ridged connection between the truck receiver and the hitch assembly. Here's a
video showing how it's
supposed to go, in a perfect world. We've gotten pretty good at it and usually it's that easy, but sometimes, nothing goes right and this was one of those times.
All I did was disconnect the truck and pulled forward about a foot so I figured I'd come straight back and re-hook the truck to the camper. Well, it didn't work out that way. We tried multiple times to get the alignment right but it just wouldn't work. At this point we decided to walk away, have some lunch, go to the grocery store and try again later.
Later that afternoon we tried again and everything went like clock work. We decided to place the camper in front of the cedar tree just enough so the awning would clear, missed it by about 3 inches but it cleared.
Mackinac Island
St Ignace is one of two jumping off points for ferries to Mackinac Island, the other being Mackinaw City on the southern side of the bridge.
After the Civil War the island became a popular tourist destination. The boat and railroad companies built hotels, including the Grand Hotel, to accommodate the influx of tourists. In 1880 the federal government left the island and it became Michigan's first state park. Motor vehicles were restricted at the end of the 19th century. This ban continues to the present with exceptions only for emergency and construction vehicles.
During our trip through lower Michigan, everyone said Mackinac Island was one of those "Must See" destinations. While we were making plans to catch a ferry, Rick start having an annoying tickle in the back of his throat. We wondered when one of us would get sick, meeting so many new people, and here it was. It was just a average Cold with the worst of the symptom over in a couple days, but it did limit our activities for the time in St Ignace. We planned to ride our bikes around the island, exploring the out of the way places and avoiding the tourist areas. While not totally incapacitated, the thought of an all day bike ride around Mackinac didn't sound appealing. We decided to wait on Mackinac Island till the end of our stay in St Ignace.
Aug 8,
Horseshoe Bay Wilderness
Rick seemed to have recovered from his Cold. After a relaxed morning we decided to explore north of St. Ignace and maybe find a 3 mi. trail through the Horseshoe Bay Wilderness. On the way out of town we never found the trail and just drove to see what there was to see. This seemed to be real backwoods Michigan. a few little houses with very LARGE piles of fire wood. Some had what appeared to be permanent splitting stations where wood was delivered on one side of the splitter, then once split it was piled on the other side before stacking in preparation for winter. We came across a state forest campground and decided to investigate. The sites were very pretty with lots of space between but no hook ups except for a periodic water spigot. There were tents and a few campers, some with generators positioned a distance away. There was one camp host on site with what appeared to be full hookups. The charge was $16 paid at a self-serve pay station with a 14 day limit.
On the way back we found a small parking area that might be the trail we were looking for. We stopped and started looking for the trail head but found freshly downed trees blocking every way in. On the other side of the downed trees we saw a paved path along with an out-house that looked like the Forest Service style of construction.
After making our own way in, we started walking the paved path and came across an amazing find... the elusive PICNIC TABLE GRAVE YARD.
This was only thought to be legend. Stories of it's existence have been passed across campfires for hundreds of years, like the Elephant Grave Yard where millions of dollars of Ivory would be found.
What we actually discovered was an abandon campground. Once we realized what it was, everything became clear. Where as before we just saw nondescript clearings, now we could see the old camp sites cut into the forest. Many of the sites had little over growth and could still make a decent campsite.
We walked the first loop, hoping to find the the trail head but found none. Coming back to the parking area, we decide the walk the second loop then call it a day. Sure enough, we'd picked the wrong loop for our first walk, finding the trail about half way around the second loop. It appeared to be well trodden so we started down the trail. Remnants of old boardwalks over low spots were made of in-line railroad ties. They were in various stages of decay and we had to choose our path carefully. After some time passed, the forest was getting thicker and the trail less obvious. We didn't have our day packs with basic gear like a compass, water, snacks, walking sticks (to use as weapons in case of Bear attack), etc. After all, this was only a 3 mile round trip trail. I started running "Lost in The North Woods" scenarios through my head. I saw headlines "Wayward Floridians lost in the U.P.". Then I remembered I had my cell phone, so at least we could call 911. Then I remembered Joan had her cell phone, her new smart phone, her smart phone with a GPS function... all my disaster fantasies evaporated! She pulled it out, cranked up Goggle maps and saw we were only a short distance from our destination, a beach on Lake Huron. It's always good to have a destination on a hike, all be it a short one. I always feel the job's left incomplete if we just turn around at an arbitrary point and head back. We arrived at the beach, enjoyed the breeze (the mosquitoes were getting bothersome in the forest) took a few pictures and headed back.
A short distance into the forest, Joan noticed some scat on the trail, fresh scat, large scat... Bear scat?!?! We didn't notice it on the way out, soooo did we have a shadow? The "Disaster Movie" started rolling in my head again. Remember the hiking stick I mentioned earlier that we DIDN'T have! We hollered a few greetings to the Bear (a standard practice in Bear country so you don't surprise him/her) and moved down the trail, at a slightly quicker pace! It only took us about 30 minutes to get back to the trail head. When on an unfamiliar trail/road/paddle, it always seems to take longer when you're heading out than it does on the return trip, even if you don't have a phantom Bear on your heals.
Aug 9
Today we're on a sightseeing expedition from St. Ignace down M-2, a scenic highway along the northern coast of Lake Michigan. We're going to explore a spot told to me by a local back in Jonesville, our first stop in Michigan.
The drive reminded me of any coastal drive in Florida from yesteryear. Long stretches of parking along the road, a short hike across low dunes down to a sandy beach with turquoise water. This was a Sunday and there where a lot of beach goers, in and out of the water. I think I understand why we see northerners on the Florida beaches in winter, its just like their beaches at home in the summer. As the road makes its way along the coast, there's the usual assortment of small road side attractions and motor courts in various stages of full operation to abandon decay. Our destination was Gould City a very small town just off M-2. The north/south road through Gould City leads south for 9 miles through the country side. It dead ends on a point of land that extends into Lake Michigan. The fellow who told me about it said there was free camping on the beach and showed me some beautiful pictures of sunsets from his campsite. Our goal this day was just to explore the location, not intending to camp there. We turned off M-2 and headed south through "Down Town"
Gould City. The first thing I noticed was how
dead it seemed, no sign of life, except for a bar with a red OPEN sign and two trucks out front. Well, it
was Sunday afternoon after all. The cinema in my mind started rolling another reel. I pictured a few locals sitting in the bar looking out the front window waiting for an unfamiliar car (or Big Ass Truck) to go by heading south, fresh meat!. There's not much on this road, a few houses and a few side roads that dead end way back in the north woods. It's basically one way in... one way out! I know this because I investigated the road on Google Earth. I had a satellites eye view, and there wasn't much to see. As I mentioned before, the drive out on an unfamiliar road always seems longer than it is and this one seemed to go on FOREVER! In my mind I started hearing "Dueling Banjos"... or maybe the northern Michigan equivalent, perhaps with a Polka band? The road took a slight turn to the left and started getting narrower and the forest thicker, the same look of the Cyprus swamp we'd hiked through the day before.
What we found at the end of the road was not what I expecting, a charming little day use park with families enjoying the warm Sunday afternoon. A relatively new sign proclaimed it "Newton Township - Scott Point Day Use Park". On the sign were 4 black and white photos of families enjoying the area over the years, the last one showed a family in a mule drawn wagon. Based on the cloths and hair styles, I'd say it was from the late 1800's. We were greeted by a cute little Pekingese and her family. We all agreed the little ball of fur was the one controlling all the humans around her.
After a walk out to the shore for a few pictures, we headed back toward the picnic area. The families had packed up and were driving up the road. We were all alone except for a couple of cars whose owners were no where to be seen, the banjo polka band in my head start to play again. The low dunes were covered with thick scrub and evidence of many small trails zig-zaging here and there. I started to walk in that direction to investigate, looked in some of the darker recesses, then stopped... welllll, maybe not! It was getting late in the day so we mounted up and headed back up the long road toward Gould City, M-2 and eventually, St. Ignace.
On the way back, we played tourist, stopping at some of the overlooks and snapping a few pictures of the coast line and the Mackinac bridge.
Michigan Pasty Click
here for the correct pronunciation (from http://www.merriam-webster.com)
No, a Pasty is Not something used to cover a certain part of the female anatomy!
As soon as we got to St. Ignace we started seeing signs proclaiming "The best Pasty in town" or just "PASTY" in big bold letters. A Pasty is a meat pie with carrots, rutabaga, onion, potato and spices. They're served with gravy or ketchup but the purest eat them plain. They became a staple of the miners who would shove one in their pocket to be eaten for lunch while under ground. The Pasty has become the regional food most associated with the U.P. We didn't want to just stop at some joint to try a Pasty, we wanted our first Pasty to be a GOOD Pasty. We met another camp neighbor who was born and raised in St Ignace and was in town visiting relatives. It had been a while since she lived here but she gave us her recommendation on where to get a good Pasty
On the way back from Gould City we decided to get a Pasty to augment the night's dinner. We weren't sure if they would be open on Sunday afternoon but we were in luck. You can get them frozen, cold or hot. We got a hot one and headed for home. Our first Pasty was not a stellar culinary experience. It wasn't bad, it was... just kind of bland. I can see why they are served with gravy or ketchup. We weren't discouraged though, deciding to try another somewhere else along the road in the U.P.
We'd picked a day to go to Mackinac Island but the weather turned cloudy and cool (by Floridian standards) so we decided to save it for another trip. So far we were very excited by the U.P. and knew we'd be coming back someday.
Aug 10, Kinross/Kincheloe MI.
Our next destination was about 37 miles up I-75 to Kincheloe, Mi and RV Park East. It was another Passport America site and we were going to use it as a base for a day trip to Sauit St. Marie and the locks between Lakes Superior and Huron. Again, the Locks were one of those places "to see in the U.P.".
In case you haven't noticed, we've been going from one Passport America (PA) site to another. Most of these parks we'd never found on our own, and it's added to the adventure. Two of our favorite parks we found through Passport America. Adventure is all well and good but that's not to say we didn't research a potential site before deciding to go there. We'd read reviews and even do some aerial recon. with Google Maps/Earth I found most of the time the look of the park, how it was laid out and the surrounding area was a good indicator weather we'd like it or not. It's kind of a gut feel kind of thing. Some potential sites were rejected based on our research.
Kinross/Kincheloe was an odd place, I liked it, but it was different. As we were driving in, we both got the feeling this was an old military base, even though we didn't voice our suspicion to each other till much later. The whole area was very flat and laid out in a grid pattern with very few buildings to obstruct the view. There are no amenities other than a bath house, office and small rec hall with a TV, some books and a small kitchenette. The Campground had 64 full hookup sites with concrete pads but only about 20 or so were occupied, so we had our pick. The un-spoken protocol was to leave at lease one site open between each occupied site, so we did. Our camp neighbors were friendly, we met several times in the road for off hand conversations. It was a very quiet and peaceful place in a stark kind of way. When we go out west and camp in the desert, I suspect it'll feel much the same. It almost had a ghost town feel.
My curiosity got the better of me and I had to know the history of the area. Google to the rescue! Sure enough it was an Air Force Base from 1951 through 1977 when it was closed. Here's some links to a brief
Wikipedia History of Kinross/Kincheloe and a more detailed
Strategic Air Command history. The area survived after the base closure due to an airport utilizing the old Air Force run ways, some small industries and the development of several prisons. You can see razor wire from one of the prisons just northwest of the campground.
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| Sum beams glinting off razor wire. |
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| View from the camper. |
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| A cloudy sunset over Kinross MI. |
Driving around "the old base" we saw a sign for "The Mall" and followed it. We found what they called "The Co-Op", a retail area that was probably the old Commissary/PX. The store had a complete hardware store, food store and cafeteria all in one large area. The "Mall" part of the building was a hallway that lead to a few small offices and the laundromat. This is where I started noticing a local beer made by the
Keweenaw Brewing Company. What caught my attention was the interesting graphics on the cans (see link above), specifically the Widow Maker Black Ale. All they had were 6 packs and I wasn't ready to spend $10 on an unknown. That was a mistake, we didn't know what we were missing.
Aug 11, Sault Ste Marie MI
One reason we stopped in Kinross was a day trip to Sault Ste Marie and the
Soo Locks, another one of thoes "Must See" sites in the U.P. Since we were going right to the border with Canada, we planned to cross over just to say we did!. We carry a lot of our "stuff" in the bed of the truck in bins. We didn't want to give customs any reason to search us so we planed to leave the bins in the camper. Well, Rick still wasn't fully recovered from his cold and Joan was starting to show symptoms AND it was a cold blustery day so we scraped the border crossing idea.
We arrived at Sault Ste Marie a little before Noon, stopped in the visitors center and picked a place for lunch, the
Lock View restaurant. Now, you would think with the location "Across form the Locks" and the name "Lock View" they would have a
View of the Locks! Well what we had, from our 2nd floor window, was a view of the park and the 3 level Lock viewing platform. It wasn't a bad view, it just wasn't what we expected. Lunch was good, We had the fried White Fish, a Lake Superior specialty. They even had Pastes on the menu, but we decided to pass on that. We weren't quite ready to try another one YET.
After lunch we walked across the street to see the reason for that day's trip, the Soo Locks. There's a small park with historical artifacts as sculpture, a visitors center and the afore mentioned tri-level viewing platform. There was a cold wind blowing off Lake Superior right into the viewing area, well, it was cold to us Floridians. We positioned ourselves behind one of the sporadic Plexiglas shields, trying to block the wind, and watch the activity. I Guess we were in luck, there was a freighter pulling into one of the locks, very slooooowly pulling into the lock. Once it was in, it started sinking, very slooooowly sinking as the Lock drained. OK! It's cold! We've seen enough! Lets go the the visitors center! The
Soo Locks visitors center was actually more interesting than the Locks. There's historical dioramas showing the evolution of the locks and an interesting 3-D representation of the relative depth of the Great Lakes. Lake Superior has two very deep holes! (I took a picture but I can't find it, I'll post it later if I find it.)
There's a sub-peninsula east of I-75 that we didn't explore, including a couple of PA campgrounds. Oh Well, some place to visit next time we come to the U.P.
Coming soon: Tahquamenon Falls State Park.
Rivermouth turned out to be a lucky break. It's right on the Tahquamenon River where it empties into Lake Superior, hence the name, Rivermouth. Our site (#63) was large and backed up to forest, however it was all sand. And, there's a canoe launch right in the campground. While we had to drive 9 miles to see the Lower Falls and several miles further for the Upper Falls, we preferred Rivermouth for it's paddling opportunity and it's quietness.
This morning we started with a canoe trip on the Tahquamenon River. It was a beautiful day with no wind and a little mist that burned off quickly. We decided to paddle from the campground down stream around a bend in the river and out to Lake superior. The water is very tanic, similar to most of the black/brown water rivers in Florida. The trees are different though, we kept commenting about all the "Christmas Trees" growing in the U.P. 
