Manistee, Michigan

August 13, 2021 - Finally updating the blog; Laurie burned through a ton of data (accidentally - see hangups/hiccups below) and we’ve had to save the remainder for the “essentials” - work and school! Goes to show how much we take our internet at home for granted….

We rolled into Manistee - staying at Orchard Beach State Park - on a early Saturday afternoon (July 24). We’re all getting pretty efficient at camp set up, but had a minor issue at this spot which involved no working electrical. But the rangers were super efficient and had it working within the hour. Owen had already done his due diligence on the park and discovered that there was a trolley that stopped by that afternoon, for anyone interested in a 45-minute tour of the city. Tom and I were tired from being on the road but we obliged and we were so glad that we did, as it gave us a really good overview of the city and took us to parts that we might not have discovered on our own. It definitely helped us plan out the next few days. And as we were the only ones on the trolley at that time, it was like our own private little tour with our guides, John and Jim. 

Side-trip excursion: It’s worth noting that prior to arriving in Manistee, we had stayed at a Harvest Host location the night before (Iron Fish Distillery). We had a little time to kill before we could arrive in the State Parks (check in isn’t until 3 pm), so we were close enough to the Sleeping Bear Dunes area that we thought we could tag that area in the morning before heading down to Manistee. That required an early wake-up time (6:30 am), and it was drizzling a bit, so we threw the rain gear into the Jeep. As we got closer to Sleeping Bear Dunes, we also got closer to the storm. By the time we arrived at the “Scenic Drive” area, we were enveloped in a downpour! It was also kind of funny because we were the only ones out there at 7:30 am on a Saturday morning! The rangers weren’t even out to take our admission fees. For me, this was reminiscent of a Conn family adventure, for sure.

We drove into the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes parking lot (again - solo), except for a couple of rangers gathering up garbage and recycling. It was still pouring, but because we live by a mantra of “There’s no bad weather, only poor clothing choices” we suited up in our waterproof jackets and went hiking. Now these sand dunes are MASSIVE - many miles - and boast some pretty impressive inclines and declines. The rain was a warm rain, and actually compacted the sand, which made them easier to climb. We had the place to ourselves, and actually, had quite a bit of fun. We figured we hiked about 2 miles, but never did make it to the lake - it was still pretty far away, and we encountered a number of false summits. At times it kind of felt like we are on the planet of Tatooine…(so.much.sand)…

Hungry and wet, we decided it was time for breakfast and found a great spot in town at the Good Harbor Grill in Glen Arbor, MI. Tucked into a small community, it was a busy and popular spot. After that, we headed back to the RV, where the sun was just starting to come out. We broke down camp and headed to Manistee. On the way, we also had time to swing through Traverse City, a picturesque Marina town situated on the west arm of the Grand Traverse Bay (part of Lake Michigan). We made lunch (in the RV in the Walmart parking lot), unhooked the Jeep, and headed to a park at the marina to have our lunch there, and walked down Front Street - another fun area with shops, restaurants, etc. Places such as “Peace, Love and Donuts” and the “Arcade Cafe.”  We’ve been told that Traverse City is a must see, and while we didn’t see too much of it, it does seem like a great place to visit. Finally - on to Manistee!

Manistee is known as the “Victorian Port City” and is historically recognized for its prominence with the early lumber trade industry. Supposedly the US government “went to war” with Manistee  in the 1800s as they were concerned that there was too much clearing going on with the forests. There are beautiful Victorian homes and buildings throughout Manistee, and the tour is a great way to learn more about them and the families that built up the city. 

Manistee is also located on what is known as the Gold Coast of Lake Michigan (east side of the lake). While we couldn’t access the beach at our campground due to the erosion, there were a couple of beautiful beaches within a 5-10 minute drive of us including

• North Beach - More private, smaller (with some gorgeous homes on it)

• Fifth Avenue beach: This seemed to be the “main” beach with the most traffic, parks, bathhouses, and places to buy ice cream treats (of course we did), and we spent the majority of our beach time here

The beaches are amazing - clean, pure sand bottoms and the lake isn’t even that cold. We’ve been extremely fortunate with the weather on this entire trip so far. And really, no bugs!!!! The sunsets from our campground were also quite special.

There is a good downtown district, with a mixture of gift shops, coffee shops, restaurants, book shops and a museum. We particularly liked The Outpost - combination of a great coffee shop and lots of great outdoor wear and gear. There’s also a riverwalk that goes for about a mile on the RIVER where one can dock their boat. We had dinner one evening at TJ Pub’s (one of the oldest establishments in Manistee) and during our hour-long wait, enjoyed the walk along the riverwalk. There were a couple of other restaurants right on the water that we didn’t get to, but those looked fun as well (these were Bluefish and Fillmore, for posterity….)

Per a recommendation of other campers we met, we headed down to Luddington (about 30 minutes from Manistee) to go to the Historic White Pine Village as well as the Maritime Museum. The White Pine Village offers a living-history tour of late 19th century - early 20th century pioneer homes and establishments. All the buildings (some original) contain thousands of artifacts and archives detailing life at this time, and also the agricultural and lumbering industry. The Maritime Museum was really well done, and had exhibits highlighting the car ferry industry, the lighthouses, and of course, lots of information about shipwrecks, of which there have been over 5,000 in the Great Lakes in total.  Of course, we had to make an ice cream stop after our museum visits and found the perfect stop - The House of Flavors (chocolate chip cookie dough for Owen, black cherry for me, and strawberry for Tom). We also went on a quest for a boogie board here, as Owen wants to body surf the Lake Michigan waves - and we’ll likely find many other places along the way to put it to use.

We got pretty comfortable in Manistee, as we stayed for 5 days and it included a lot of beach time, work and school time, exploring and even some Olympics viewing by the bonfire a couple of nights. Also - lots of laundry. Right across the park from us was the Beech Hemlock Nature Trail, which offered up about a 30 minute trail run for Tom and I, and even allowed us to see about 10 deer on the trail. 

Owen wants me to note that I had to get a new phone while in Manistee because I had cracked the screen pretty badly right before our trip (not to mention it was 8 years old) and it was time for an upgrade. However, I mistakenly used our “RV Wifi” to do the update and transfer all my photos, videos, apps, etc - and it used up 75% of our data for the month. He is not letting me live it down, because it has severely cut into his YouTube time. 

Other than that, a pretty successful stay in Manistee.

• People met along the way: Friendly couple from (near) Detroit camping with their grandkids. When I pulled out the Jiffy Pop, they mentioned they hadn’t seen that since the 70s.

• Hiccups and hangups: No electrical at first, but quickly remedied. Laurie using up 75% of the data plan for the month (and it just kicked off) - Owen keeps reminding me of that.

• Dates of stay: July 24 - 29, 2021

According to Owen…

Manistee was fun. We went to the beach on 5th Ave. On the first day we got to Manistee, we rode the trolley around town.

Iron Fish Distillery - Thompsonville, MI

Inside Iron Fish Distillery

Outside Iron Fish Distillery

Iron Fish Distillery is in Thompsonville MI. They have really good pizza. we stayed at Iron Fish Distillery as a harvest host spot. On Friday they had live music. They have corn hole, connect four, frisbee, and a game where you throw bean bags at bowling pins. They ran out of pizza because it gets really busy. We were able to get there in time so we still got pizza. We saw a helicopter land and take off at the distillery.

St. Ignace, Michigan

We fully expect that this trip won’t be all rainbows and sunsets - meaning that there will be places we would’ve and should’ve skipped to see something more exciting but that’s part of the journey as well. St. Ignace itself was fine - but the draw that brings most people there seems to be Mackinac Island. Apologies in advance to those of you who love this place, as there are some redeeming qualities to it but if I was to rate this on Trip Advisor - and I might - it’s probably getting no more than 2 stars. Maybe 3 if I’m feeling generous.

We pulled into our campground, the Lakeshore RV Campground, just outside of St. Ignace (pronounced like “Agnes” but with an “I”). Beautiful views overlooking Lake Michigan and the Mackinac Bridge. There’s a private little beach just down from the campsite, with a few benches and a table where you can enjoy views of the sunsets, the large freighters passing and of course, the bridge. The bridge is the 3rd longest suspension bridge in the US (5 miles long) and once completed, it negated the ferry industry that ran for years in the Mackinaw Straits.

The sites here are even tighter than the last place (!) but it was a relatively quiet site (“boring” for Owen, as there weren’t any kids his age or many kids at all). We set up, and headed into town for a look around and to research the options for getting to Mackinac Island the next day. We put Owen in charge of this project and he pored over the options, ultimately setting on Star Line ferries - the fastest, from his perspective. The other main option is Shepler’s, but both offer similar services and pricing. St. Ignace seems to serve as a jumping-off point as the main tourist draw, but there are also some historical museums about the area and quite a bit of trail hiking as well.

We took the ferry over on a Tuesday, and the weather was perfect. The boat we took included a ride under the Mackinac bridge on the way to the island, which was certainly cool to see. Upon docking and getting our bikes unloaded, we headed out onto Bicycle Street (I actually don’t know if that’s the name - it’s probably Main Street) but I heard a stat (unverified) that Macinac Island has the most bicycles of any island in the world. Based on what we saw, don’t think we can really dispute that. This place puts Amsterdam to shame.

You can bike around the island (8 miles roundtrip) but unfortunately, we could only go part-way around the island on each side because- construction! They were doing shoreline restoration, and perhaps this added to the bummer factor of our visit, because biking to see the island is one of the best parts. There are no motorized vehicles allowed on the island - only bicycles and horsedrawn carriages. Now some people might find this charming, but near on collisions with bikes versus horses looked probable and there are ample amounts of horse dung to avoid, along with trying not to enter into a head-on collision with oncoming bikers. There were just SO many people. And bikes. And horse crap.

Many of the houses on this island are absolutely gorgeous, but with so many throngs of tourists riding just in your front (or back) yard, how does one enjoy this? Ok, so there ARE many interesting things on the island to see including Fort Mackinac, Fort Holmes, historic churches, beautiful vistas, historic cemetaries and lots of trails. The only place where there aren’t a lot of people are the hiking trails and the inner bike trails on the island. There is also Arch Rock, which is one of the more famous rock overlooks on the island (waiting line to get up the stairs to take the picture….). Earlier in the day, we were told we weren’t able to visit this place as there was police activity in the area, and it was blocked off. It opened up later that day and we did eventually bike over there. Sadly, we found out later that evening that it had been closed in the morning as a man in his 40’s had died by suicide by jumping off the arch, and he was found that morning. So very sad.

Arch Rock

We found a cute place for lunch (no line!) called the Watercolor Cafe, which was right on the water and offered great views of the marina and Lake Huron. Good food, good prices. We did bike up to the Grand Hotel, which really is a sight to see - so massive! But just to access the sprawling patio and order a beverage, one has to pay an admission fee of $10 per person. I guess I understand it, because if you are paying a minimum of $500-$600/night to stay in a room (that looks like fashion designer Betsey Johnson has thrown up in BTW), well I don’t think I’d want to be bothered by tourists either. But it IS grand to look at.

We returned to Bicycle Street and hopped into the closest confectionary we could find for some sugary reinforcement. If you like candy shops, souvenir stops, and eateries/breweries of all sorts, this might be your kind of place. We hopped back on the ferry at 3:30 and appreciated our visit and the opportunity to do so, but decided we did not need to go back anytime soon. Upon getting back to St. Ignace, Owen wanted to head to splash pad that he had seen the day before, where he decided to get soaking wet, and managed to pull me in as well (it was a pretty hot day).

Splash pad! St. Ignace

Back at the campsite that night, we got out the pudgy pie maker for cherry turnovers! A classic camping must-have.

On our final day, we spent a good majority of the morning working and doing school. I’ll probably write a post on what that looks like for us but we’ve decided that Owen is going to do school year-round, so we started in earnest this week. Through a combination of an online program (that we monitor and partially teach) as well as curriculum that we will completely oversee, he is starting to dive in and also use our route as a means of learning. By the time we wrapped up all of our respective duties, we had a few hours left in the day to take advantage of so we drove across the Mackinac Bridge to Mackinaw, and went to a Coast Guard Icebreaker ship (now a museum). Of course, had to fit a couple cheesy photos in.

“Hi - Owen here. I just wanted to say that I had a lot of fun going to Mackinac island and the splash pad was really fun. The Coast Guard Icebreaker ship was a great experience. In Sault Sainte Marie we went on another ship but I was glad they were not the same experience.”

We visited the local Farmer’s Market that afternoon, which I was happy about as it was the first one we’ve come across on the trip. Purchased fresh greens, juicy slicing tomatoes (maybe the best thing I’ve had so far), and fresh baked bread. Also had to pick up some smoked whitefish and a traditional “pasty” (pronounced past-tee), which is a handheld meat pie. Like an empanada (but honestly, not as good IMO). Still, we want to try as much of the local fare and I have a strict goal of not wanting to eating at any chain restaurants this next year if we can help it.

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

We weren't too far from Sault Ste. Marie, so it was a relatively easy drive to our next campsite - Aune Osborn Campground, which amounted to a large, grassy field right next to St. Mary's River. This spot is well-known for the famous Soo Locks, where thousands of Great Lakes freighters pass through the locks each year. Our goal in choosing this spot was to witness some of this traffic and learn more about the area in general. The St. Marys River is the only water connection between Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes. There is a section of the river known as the St. Marys Rapids where the water falls about 21 feet from the level of Lake Superior to the level of the lower lakes - thus the need for the Soo Locks.

After squeezing into our campsite spot (the sites are pretty stacked together here), we decided to take a drive into town to actually see the locks, as the Soo Locks Park provides some of the best viewing (short of being on the river itself). At the time we were there, we saw one of the Soo Locks tourist boats going through the locks, and watched that transaction take place. There is also a really great museum in the park, that has all the historical information on the locks being built, the damage and destruction because of natural disasters and wars, and lots of maritime facts and figures to absorb. Owen’s favorite display included a simulation that allowed him to open and close the locks to allow the boats through. I still marvel at the facts about Lake Superior - it’s size, depth and power.

Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, MI

A typical “footer” freighter heading toward Lake Superior through the locks

Due to COVID, we still can’t enter Canada, which we had hoped to do by now. Maybe by the time we get to Niagara Falls we can (estimated date is August 9 at this point). There’s a really great museum that we can see from the US side, all about the bushplanes but unfortunately, we won’t get to it. However, we did visit two historical sites - the sadly named “Tower of History” and the Valley Camp ship museum (the latter of which was really amazing).

As we were walking up to the Tower of History, it actually looked vaguely familiar and reminded me of the St. John’s church on the campus of St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN. Sure enough - the same architect had been hired to design this structure, which was originally going to be a shrine for missionaries, but it never came through to completion. But you can now walk up 292 stairs to the top, which Tom and I did (because, bragging rights) while Owen took the elevator up the 25 flights. Maybe he’s the smarter one in our bunch. Of course, we were treated to some spectacular views.

After that, we headed over to the Museum Ship Valley Camp - a freighter that was used on the lakes for over 50 years but it is now a museum and it is very well done. The Smithsonian has rated it as a first-class Smithsonian museum (which sounds good in theory, although still researching to find out exactly what that means). The entire ship is pretty much on display and has been turned into a historical gem that contains so much information - from the mechanical aspects to the living quarters to information on so many different ships that frequented the waterways. A few highlights and key takeaways:

• Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial and Exhibit - the two lifeboats that were recovered from the wreck are on display here (or more accurately, 1 1/2 lifeboats). These were stunning to see. The theatre here also shows a continuous loop of footage related to the ship, the wreck, the retrieval of artifacts, and the families of the survivors.

• 1200 gallon aquarium inside the ship, stocked with fish from the Great Lakes region

• Dating back to the 1800s to present day, there still are not any women recognized in the Hall of Fame

• The hull of the ship on the lower level is so uneven as all of the weight from past loads of iron ore buckled it

Back at the campsite, Owen has made fast friends with a number of kids as this seems to be a pretty family-friendly campground. The main activity involves challenging one another to climb up “the rock” without any assistance (picnic tables, for example)….

Finally, we just spent a lot of time chilling out, watching the ships and finding the best fudge!

• People we met along the way: Damien and Karen, who are avid travelers and spent years traveling fulltime by boat! #lifegoals

• Hiccups and hangups: Lost an ornamental lugnut off the hubcap on the trip over (minor issue!)

• Grateful for: Watching the ships (Tom), seeing the locks “that was really fun” (Owen), and listening to Owen play the violin while the ships went by (Laurie)

• Duration in Sault Ste. Marie: July 17 - July 20, 2021

• Next stop: St. Ignace, MI

Paradise, Michigan - Tahquamenon State Park

Welcome to Tahquamenon (rhymes with “phenomenon”) - and this place was pretty phenomenal. We realized that prior to leaving Munising (where we had full hookups, mind you), our next campsite had none of that - we were staying at the Rivermouth campsite at Tahquamenon in the “rustic” section. When we were booking campsites back in the February/March timeframe, it was nearly next to impossible to find open campsites, so we were taking what we could find when it came to the size of our rig. Given the spot we landed for the next few days, we were happy to survive without electrical and water hookups just fine. Since we’ve been tent camping for the good majority of our lives, we still feel like we’re walking into the Taj Mahal when we enter our rig. Our spot was gorgeous! Heavily wooded, and steps away from the Tahquamenon River, which empties into Lake Superior (thus, the Rivermouth campsite name). We also discovered wild blueberry bushes behind our campsite area, which made for a nice treat from Mother Nature (and good blueberry pancakes).

We decided to take to the water right away, and inflated the BOTE kayaks. The water was glass, and we paddled for about an hour, downstream from the campsite. We weren’t far from Lake Superior - perhaps a mile. Came across a playful beaver who was fun to watch as he would dive into the water with an enormous splash of his tail, as if we were trying to get us wet (or keep us away). That night, it rained from 9 am until 7 the next morning. There were quite a few campsites around us with nothing but tents and while grateful for our dry and warm spot to sleep, my heart went out to the tenters - we’ve been there before! Not pleasant.

Since the next morning was still a little overcast and wet, we decided to head up to the Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. Located about 15 miles north of our campground, this museum has exhibits of 12 area shipwrecks, a restored 1860’s era Lighthouse Keeper’s Quarters, and a Lifeboat Rescue Station, detailing how rescues used to be attempted for sinking ships and their crew. This is also the oldest Lake Superior lighthouse still in operation.

The museum houses the original Edmund Fitzgerald bell that was recovered from the Nov. 10, 1975 sinking, as well as a second order Fresnel lens. Tom and Owen have a goal of seeing a first order, but we have to go to the East Coast in order to find one. The second order was pretty cool though. We came here on a relatively calm day, and it was still quite windy and you can just imagine what a place like this must feel like in the heart of winter.

Whitefish Point (the Edmund Fitzgerald sank about 17 miles northwest from here)

After our visit to the museum, we headed to the falls area, which is a main attraction in these parts. There are the Upper Falls and Lower Falls, both easily accessible by a paved footpath. Pretty views too:

Lower Falls, Tahquamenon State Park

Upper Falls, Tahquamenon State Park

On our final day, I (Laurie) decided I wanted to do a through hike from one spot to another and have Tom and Owen pick me up at the end. So I decided I would hike from a path that started near our campground and hike up to the Lower Falls area - about 8.8 miles. I’m calling this hike the “Muggy Buggy Uno” hike because it was hot, it was buggy and it’s likely not going to be the last hike like this. Tom and Owen dropped me off at the trailhead (about 3 miles down a dirtroad in the middle of nowhere), and I gave them about a 2.5 hour estimate as to how long it would take me. A mile in, I realized that maybe I should’ve brought the bear spray because if I was a bear, this is probably where I’d want to be. Complete silence, no other foot traffic, wild berries, lots of water….pretty remote. Oh, and no cell service. I really was on my own! The trail was quite tough - lots of different terrain, some switchbacks and overgrowth so I knew it wasn’t a heavily trafficked path but it was beautiful. I even found myself a “forest wand” to help clear my path. About a mile from the end, my support crew showed up and hiked with me the rest of the way. So nice! During my trail workout, they had found a local basketball court to shoot some hoops, followed by fresh french fries and rootbeer floats.

We finished up the day with a kayak out from our campsite to the mouth of Lake Superior. Between the hiking and the kayaking, I was pretty beat! Good way to wrap up our stay here.

• People we met along the way: Two other couples in the surrounding campsites that camped often here - Ted and Norma (and their sweet dog), and Jeff and Sharon

• Hiccups and hangups: No hookups was a hangup for Owen :-)

• Grateful for: Seeing the Upper Falls (Owen), visiting the shipwreck museum (Tom), and time alone on a nature trek to reflect - and get a good hike in (Laurie)

• Duration in Tahquamenon: July 14 - 17, 2021

• Next stop: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan - home of the Soo Locks

Munising, Michigan (Upper Peninsula)

Pulled into Christmas, MI (about 3 miles outside of Munising) to, Silent Nights campsites, which was our home for the next few days. These sites were great - plenty of space, and full hookups (water, sewer, electric - yay!) The town is cute and kitchsy in its homage to the Christmas season in that the streets are named “Mrs. Claus Lane” and “St. Nicholas Avenue”, and the restaurants and businesses follow suit in their offerings - such as where we’re staying. Gorgeous weather, so we got situated, unhooked the Jeep (our tow vehicle for the trip), and decided to explore. Headed into Munising, which is the main town from which all activities around the area get booked and launched, it seems. We decided to drive up to get a few initial views of the terrain, which took us to Miner’s Castle. We were just starting to get a glimpse of how beautiful this area really is.

Pictured Rocks, Lake Superior

Miner’s Castle, Picture Rocks National Area

This area is well-known as the Pictured Rocks area, and plenty of hiking, biking and boating opportunities exist to experience. We planned to do all 3 during our time here! After a little more exploring around the Miner’s Castle area, we headed back to camp for dinner. A family with kids around Owen’s age pulled in next to us that afternoon, and he had fun playing tag and catch with them until it got dark. Hoping we will have lots of opportunities like that along the way. This family was from southern Illinois, and on a 3-week camping trip through Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa.

The next day, we were anxious to try out the new BOTE kayaks we brought along (inflatables) and check out the shores of the area. We headed back to the Miner’s beach area, where it was relatively accessible for the boats and also offered an amazing expanse of sandy beach.

Owen discovered a path that hugged the rocky shoreline and would take us 10-15 feet above the water’s edge. Outfitted with ropes along the way (it was not a place you wanted to slip into the lake because chances of getting back up and out weren’t in your favor), we sneaked along the path for about a quarter mile until we had to turn back as the path left no option except for cliff jumping. We did return to the beach and jumped into the chilly waters of Lake Superior - which actually felt pretty good! Spent most of the afternoon here, just taking in the beautiful weather and the sights. That evening, yet another family pulled into our campsite and Owen had new friends, once again. Hoping that we have lots of these opportunities for him along the way.

I think we were all really looking forward to our next excursion, which would involve a day’s worth of exploration around Grand Island. This recreation area is part of the Hiawatha National Forest and allows for camping, hiking, and biking - but no cars. You access the island via Grand Island Ferry service, run by Patrick, Marie and their deck hand, Kali. Super nice people, who gave us lots of recommendations for sites throughout the US, as when they are not managing the Grand Island Ferry Service, they’re traveling in their sprinter van around the country. They said Big Bend National Park in Texas is not to be missed. They also requested that we contact them at the end of the trip “to see how things went.”

Caught the first ferry at 9 am (which is a rather large oversized pontoon boat), loaded our bikes, and traveled a mere 1/2 mile to the other shore. And we were off - the first couple of miles were pretty tame and then we quickly learned that we were in for some true mountain biking - large rocks, steep inclines (and declines) and lots of rock. I won’t lie - there were frustration and tears at times from the youngest Healy member but he really hung in there and went the FULL 21 miles! Tom and I were tired out too - it was a great ride and we hardly saw anyone else out there. The views were spectacular and the water was so clear - and the cliffs - - steep!

Overlooking Lake Superior from Grand Island

Round-trip it took us 5 hours (we were told the average is about 4-6 hours, although I would say expert bikers can get through it pretty quickly (we took a few breaks to rest and take in the views). The island was originally inhabited by the first settlers in the 1800’s (the Williams family, who had 10 kids) - two of the boys died in Lake Superior, although not sure how. The original home was eventually turned into/expanded into a resort in the early 1900s. A few buildings, as well as private residences, remain on the island. The original cemetery (where the Williams family is buried,) is hauntingly beautiful. It is still an active cemetery and descendants of the families that lived here over the years are able to be buried here.

Our final full day in Munising included hiking as part of our plans. We headed towards the Chapel and Mosquito Falls area initially, where we hiked the 3 miles roundtrip to Chapel Falls (supposedly the more interesting one of the two). Easy trek, heavily visited as it is easy to get to - if you have the right vehicle. The dirt road leading up to it is very well worn, rutted out and has large potholes. While there are a couple of parking spots for RVs, we would NOT recommend this unless you want to risk smashing up your grey and black tanks (we took the Jeep). There was an option to check out Chapel Beach, but we wanted to see Twelvemile Beach as well, and that included another 3 mile hike. This was a far less visited hike - we only saw 4-6 other people - and the views and landscape had large, overhanging rock cliffs and was a bit more strenuous than Chapel. It eventually led us out to Twelvemile beach - exactly what it sounds like. We were treated to a beautiful expanse of sand, which rivaled that of Hawaii or Panama. We kept asking ourselves - where is everyone?? But realized that these spots are a little extra work to get to if you’re able….and we realize that not everyone is, so what I love about the Pictured Rocks area is that there are many beautiful areas that are accessible to all.

Twelvemile Beach

We also had some time to drive down to Kitchitikipee. The touristy website says it best: “Two hundred feet across, the 40-foot deep Kitch-iti-kipi is Michigan's largest freshwater spring. Over 10,000 gallons a minute gush from fissures in the underlying limestone. The flow continues throughout the year at a constant 45 degree Fahrenheit. By means of a self-operated observation raft, visitors are guided to vantage points overlooking fascinating underwater features and fantasies. Ancient tree trunks, lime-encrusted branches and fat trout appear suspended in nothingness as they slip through crystal waters far below. Clouds of sand kept in constant motion by gushing waters create ever-changing shapes and forms, a challenge to the imagination of young and old alike.” Here’s a photo below that is taken through the middle of the raft, and this video, which shows the fissures:

After all this, it’s time for pizza then, right? Yes! We were looking forward to the Pictured Rocks Pizza place in Munising (good reviews, and a cute patio) but it was closed, so we did carry out from Main Street Pizza and headed back to our campsite for a late and rewarding lunch.

Time to say goodbye to this beautiful area, even though I’m sure we could’ve found much more to do here. There are glass-bottomed boat cruises, kayak excurions, pontoon rentals and more. We pulled out of Munising on the morning of July 14, my brother Brian’s birthday. He would’ve been 46 on the 14th and he would’ve loved it here. He also would’ve kicked our butts on the Grand Island Mountain Bike trails…. RIP peace Brian - miss you so much.

• People we met along the way: Patrick, Marie and Kali from Grand Island Ferry Service; the family from Indiana

• Hiccups and hangups: None, really!

• Grateful for: Our excursion around Grand Island (both Owen and Tom); perfect, amazing weather all week that allowed us to experience all of these places (Laurie)

• Duration in Munising: July 9 - 14, 2021

• Next stop: Tahquamenon State Park (Paradise, MI)

Rhinelander, WI (our transition travel spot)

Given that our plan is to head east, we have our sights set on Michigan - more specifically, the UP. We also plan not to drive more than 200 miles in any given day, so thankfully,my cousin Eric lives in Rhinelander, WI - provided for a good stop for a few days. Figure the first few legs are going to feel novel in many ways, so it was nice to be able to land there for a few days (even though we’ve done a couple of inaugural trips to get the kinks worked out).

Arrived on Tuesday evening and promptly set up our 38 foot RV in the front yard! They’ve got a great spot - right across the baseball fields sits Boom Lake. We were treated to some amazing sunsets each night - here’s our first official setup:

We’re quite familiar with Rhinelander as Tom’s brother and wife also lived here for many years, and it was where we celebrated their wedding. However, we got to a few new spots, thanks to Eric and Kristi:

• CT’s Deli in downtown Rhinelander (the place was hopping for lunch on a Wednesday)

• Holmboe Conifer Forest, where Kristi, Laurie and the kids went exploring - beautiful Hemlock forest and we found the coolest looking red mushrooms

• Tom and Eric went fishing on the Wisconsin River - Eric is the founder of On the Fly Fishing, and offers fly fishing float trips, and all sorts of guide services for aspiring fish anglers

• The World’s Largest Hodag Statue! We’ll be working to get photos with all the kitschy statues across the country because, why not?

CC, Chloe, Owen and Marlin at the “Real” Hodag statue

Kristi and Eric also took us out in their pontoon for a ride on Boom Lake. We even got over to Estabrook Island to explore a bit. This small plot of land offers a nice stopping off point to hike around and if you’re up for it, camp for the night. The land was donated by The Estabrook family and has become a public area for anyone to enjoy. There’s a great little campsite you can paddle right up to. We also found a homemade rope swing, but it looked a little suspect…

A fave part of the trip included meals cooked by Eric. As I mentioned in our first post, he’s an excellent chef! Some of the cuisine we were treated to included:

• Crab rangoon stuffed and bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers (um, nightly….)

• Fish ‘n chips: Fresh caught Florida grouper (flown in by a friend), deep-fried to perfection

• Some of the best ceviche we’ve had, and grilled salmon tacos (sorry Eric - I’m not doing it justice here as I need a few more culinary details!)

To wrap it up, on the final night in town, we learned (through the power of social) that good friends of ours were a mere 4 miles away! Tom and Bridget Posta (Laurie’s high school and college friends) were staying at a cabin near friends of theirs, and we met up for hellos and hugs. That was super fun.

• People we met along the way: Kristi, Eric, CC and Chloe, The Posta’s

• Hiccups and hang-ups: one shoe that became a dog chewable, and problems with the RV door lock getting jammed by foreign objects (Tom deftly fixed)

• Grateful for: Fishing with Eric (Tom), walking around town with the girls (Owen), and amazing food and the hospitality of the Thoreson’s (Laurie)

• Duration in Rhinelander: July 6 - 9, 2021

• Next stop: Munising, MI