8/18 - Lakes Superior to Huron

Lake Superior looking toward Marquette

I was awakened very early this morning by loud rapping on my van and a man yelling for me to wake up. I finally answered and he asked if I had a dog and if she was red. Yes to the dog, no to the red as I think of her as sandy colored. My drivers door was wide open (yikes) and my dog was roaming around the parking lot. I must not have latched it securely last night. I got back in bed and then heard meowing. Oh no, did the cat get out too? Yup, not in the van and he wanted back in. Not one of my finer moments. Then I couldn't really get back to sleep so I got up early at 6 am.

The Marquette, MI Food Co-op

Once on the road, I checked Garmin for grocery stores and found a food co-op, so off we went. I got some grapes, the olive oil I'd been meaning to get, some grass fed hamburger, and an UP red wine. I left my bottle opener at my sister's so I'll wait til I get home to try it.

Dog's first introduction to L. Superior

Then it was off to the east with the first stop the Marquette visitor's center rest area right on the Superior beach. I got my maps and brochures and looked at the lake. It is really immense with very clear water and such pretty rocks. After awhile and after people had left the shore, I let my dog off leash. She was so excited racing up and down the beach. She turned around when I called her back. She went into the water up to her back but never really swam. Good exercise and we stayed longer than I meant to because she was having so much fun.

We moved on east along the shore and I started to get sleepy around noon, so I pulled into an overlook roadside park and took a nap. I slept the missing 2 hours from this morning and felt a lot better. There was a beautiful overlook of Grand Island and the deep harbor at Munising.

Lake Michigan

On thru Munising and east then south then east on US 2 along the Lake Michigan shore. A few stops along the way. My dog did not want to go into Lake Michigan and I thought the water looked dirty. A lot murkier than Superior was. There were white capped waves on Michigan.

We crossed the Mackinaw bridge and I was charged the $9 for a motor home in stead of a 2 axel vehicle. I never know how they will charge the van. That is a really long bridge and huge expanse of water with high winds. I kept it to under 30mph because of the winds. And then on to the top of the mitten that is the state of Michigan. I turned southeastward to go along the shore of Lake Huron on US 23. It was getting to be evening and I noticed a green blotch on the map on Garmin so I headed for that.

Mackinac Bridge over L Michigan

On the Mackinac Bridge

It was Cheboygan State Park and they had nice campsites. I decided it would be nice to be in the woods by the lake rather than a parking lot so I paid the fee ($22 for out of state). I get electric, there are showers, and a dump and potable water for refill. As tight as my shower is, I think I prefer it to schlepping to a public shower when it is easy to refill my water and dump the gray tank. Think I'll wash my hair tomorrow since the water is plentiful.

Cheboygan SP camp

I couldn't find my extra cat when I got the electric hooked up. I called and looked for him around the campsite and he was nowhere to be found inside the van. He picked now to jump out and explore after so many weeks of staying securely inside the van? I couldn't find him so I went back to the entrance station but no sign of him. I finally got the dog and asked her to “find cat.” She started looking then I saw him in the trees near the edge of my campsite. Se went over to get him and I praised the dog for finding him despite the fact that she didn't really. Eventually, I hope she makes the connection and does really find him for me.

I fixed a dinner of onions, the Anaheim pepper I had and some eggplant/garlic sauce thing I had with the hamburger. I ate some of that and leftovers will be good in scrambled eggs or salads.

Making dinner in the van

Just as I was finishing up cooking that, my dog, who was out on the rope, attracted a bunch of kids. They were enchanted by her tricks just like the kids at Badlands. She, of course had a great time with them. I almost feel like I have an obligation to stay in campgrounds just so she can entertain kids.

My phone barely has a signal here but now it is having trouble being charged and won't connect to my computer at all anymore. I guess it is time to get a new phone. It will be 2 years in Nov. I think those mini connectors are lousy.

Now that I have seen the UP, the Lakes, and am in lower MI, I think I will go a little farther down the Huron coast, then head south to OH and across to MD. It shouldn't take more than 3 more days to get home from here. Even tho I've been driving within feet of the lakes' coastline, I only get glimpses of them because of the heavy forest cover. In this camp, the lake shore is very marshy so no beach.

Route: WI28E to Munising, MI – MI77S – US2E to I75 over Mackinac Bridge – US23S to Cheboygan SP