It's a testament to Lake Michigan's size that the bridge crossing its straits is five miles long. We crossed it in great weather, but apparently the winds get so bad in November that the sometimes have to close it. We are staying just north of it, in a beautiful state park with electricity, paved roads and showers. We were given a choice spot near the lakefront, on a big, sloping site across from the camp host. We really liked that site, and tried three times, with different angles, to level the RV there. Finally it did level, but the front tires were six inches off the ground, and the back driver's tire was raised a lot too. People were walking over to stare and a couple of them brought levels of their own because they couldn't believe something sticking that high into the air could be level. It was a little scary, thinking of the engine and heavy front-end that high up, and we decided to give up our cherry spot and try for another one. The girl in the office was very friendly about it--she'd heard this before. She gave me a map of available spots, and I found two I liked, a flat open boring pull-through, and a tiny spot in the trees, that might be big enough. Mark liked the little one too, and paced it out to over forty feet long. We took it, and attempted to manuever into it (whew, we made it), and then tried to level. Nope! I couldn't believe it--it looked pretty flat to us. Now we are in the wide-open spot. (I'll get a picture of it manana).
(Oh, an aside--when we moved from the wonderful spot near the water, a gallon of water tumbled out of our sink and splashed open on the floor of the RV. I was driving the car behind Mark, and thought he was having engine trouble. I could hear him yelling from outside the rig, but I thought he did a great job of sopping it up fast. It's the closest thing to a mop job we've done on the trip.)
Tired from the stress, we headed out to dinner and to do laundry, but the laundramat was closed. Oh well, but there was a nice-looking restaurant, and it was packed (good sign), and after a long wait, we had marvelous fish (Katie tried to eat all of mine, which was boiled whitefish) and the best damn salad bar I've had in over a year. Well worth the wait. We bought groceries and went home. Slept great, in this cooler air up here.
Thursday, July 7
Early this morning, I did the most expensive laundry to date: $2.50 a load to wash (their water rates are very high here, despite being right on Lake Michigan and Lake Huron). I actually paid more, to use the big industrial machines ($3.25 a load) and I had to use three of those and a regular machine to do all our stuff (we had a lot of wet towels, after yesterday's water fiasco). Got back after laundry and noticed a funny smell in the RV. Mark said Katie had remarked on it too--it smelled like mildew, or maybe the grey tank. Mark and I tried to discover if it was coming from the bathroom, and he proceeded to scrub the toilet (wow!), and I sniffed the carpet: maybe it was from there. We're just not sure. Left the windows open and headed out to explore for the day.
We came here on the recommendation of my stepdad, Bill (who did win his way into this year's World Series of Poker, it turns out). He had come through here with some friends he has in Michigan, and said we had to see Mackinac Island. So we're camping right near where the ferries leave, and today we took our bikes and put them on the ferry and headed over.
On the way over, we saw mansions on cliffs facing Lake Huron. Here is the Grand Hotel:
Here is what we saw when we arrived:
a neat little town full of folks on bicycles. no cars at all. If you are planning on staying at one of the many inns or hotels, and you bring lots of luggage, here is how they get it to your hotel:
There are lots of horse wagons and some bicycle wagons too. Apparently, back when motorcars started becoming available, the folks who rented horses & buggies petitioned to make them illegal on the small island, since cars frighten horses. The law stuck, and today you see the results: no traffic lights, no noise from cars, just lots and lots of bicycles everywhere. Also, lots of fudge shops:
And lots of 19th century inns:
My favorite place on the island was the Butterfly House. For $5, you get to see butterflies being "born":
and you walk through a warm room with hundreds of butterflies, some of which land on folks:
Later I had one lay an egg on my finger. I felt almost like a mommy again. More like an aunt.
We rode our bikes around the island on its perimeter road, and stopped at scenic places like this high spot with a great view (we went up to see a rock arch, but this view is better):
Some folks didn't have to walk up the hundreds of steps to the top: they took wagons instead:
Later we stopped by the lake to cool our feet in the water. Mark perfected his rock skipping technique:
while Katie searched for stuff:
The views from the road were often pretty:
Apparently, during the winter the Lake freezes between the island and the mainland. Ships can't bring supplies, but once the ice is hard, folks can walk or snowmobile over. They set old Christmas trees up to show where the "ice bridge" is:
When we made it back around the island to town, we had some great ice cream and watched as a fancy carriage drove up from the Grand Hotel:
On the ferry for the ride back, Katie spotted a water snake. I think I took this just as she was finding it:
Here is a parting shot of pretty Mackinac Island: one of the private cottages along the perimeter road. We saw folks building a house, and all they had for "trucks" were the wooden wagons, pulled by horses presumably to the site. Pretty neat I thought.
We got back to the campground and Katie made friends with the folks who moved in across from us, playing with their three kids until 10pm.
Friday, July 8
Here is our site this morning:
We are heading out to see the historic sites in Mackinaw City, across the bridge from here to the south.
Yesterday was nice and cool and sunny, but today it warmed up a lot, so we deflated just about the time we had seen the whole site of Colonial Michilimackinac. I can't pronounce it--it's French to me. But it was nicely done: the reinactors were very friendly and not forced to stay in their time period. Here are a few pictures:
The remains of the fort are found on the southern side of the straits bridge. First it was a French fort, then a British one, and the British burned it so the Americans wouldn't capture it during the Revolution (after moving most of the timbers and stuff to Mackinac Island, where they built a better fort, which is still there).
This guy was portraying one of the local Indian traders, I forget his tribe, but the reinactor told us he's been reinacting for 17 years now. He's played every age and nationality. He is very easy to chat with, and told us that the cedar bark that the local Indians here used to make walls for their huts would raise the temperature from minus 30 degrees up to 70 degrees Farenheit. Damn--where can I get some?
We leave tomorrow for Tahquamenon Falls. Right now, as I get ready to make dinner, Katie is playing with some girls camping beside us. So far, the girls she has met at this park have left each day after she meets them. This time she'll be the one leaving.
After dinner I walked Katie to the playground down the lane, and then decided to peek at a homemade trailer on the next lane over. The owners were there and graciously let me see and photograph it. It is so cleverly done: they can sleep four in their bunks, or else convert the bunks down to seating areas. They have a little sink that drains outside, and a fridge which can be moved to offer enough room for a nice sized chair. I really loved it. Here are the snaps:
If everyone had to build their own place, it would be so neat to see how everyone would solve the problems differently. These homemade places seem to have more individuality to them; I'm drawn to them. My grandmother Dorcas showed me pictures of an old Model T (or maybe a Model A) that her father converted to make a chuckwagon out of the back, for camping. I wish I'd seen the actual vehicle. She sounded proud of it, and I am too. Someday I'll find a copy of that photo and add it to this website.