8/19 - Huron and down the Mitten

Lake Huron

I did a little housekeeping this morning after cooking some eggs for my breakfast. Kids came over to play with my dog again. She sure is popular with children. A couple people were very interested in my van – saying it was what they had in mind. After all was done, I dumped my gray water and filled the tank with fresh water before heading off.

We took US23 to Rogers City along he Lake Huron shore. We stopped at a roadside park (Huron Shores) that had access to the Huron beach shore and was down a ways from the road. I took my dog to play in the lake and run on the shore. She had so much fun, we stayed over an hour. Lake Huron water was clear like Lake Superior and unlike Lake Michigan. Interesting since Huron and Michigan are really the same body of water connected by the straights at Mackinaw and not thru a one way river like Superior is to Huron.

She started barking ferociously and raising her hackles at a rock a little ways in the water. I finally told her to leave it. She was obviously scared of it, I suppose because she had never seen a rock in the water like that before. We walked a little ways down where there were a few more big rocks in the water but closer to shore. She sniffed them and seemed to decide they were no threat after all. Then she went back to the first terrifying rock and waded out to it and sniffed it. She decided there was no threat after all.

My dog barking ferociously at a rock

Dog now brave enuf to see rock is no threat

How could I make a dog having so much fun stop?

She had a great time wading out into the shallow water several feet and never got in more than shoulder high. The she ran down the beach and came back when I called, the the other way, found lots of sticks to play with. I finally started throwing a stick into the water for her and she got all the way wet, One happy dog who was not ready to quit after more than an hour.

The drive down the mitten of Michigan took the rest of the day. At Mio, there's a rise up to 1700 feet elevation and pretty forested hills. Below Mio, I took the freeway all the way to Ohio, skirting the west side of the cities that begin with Bay City/Saginaw, thru Flint/Flushing. Ann Arbor, and down to Toledo. The dog decided “back” meant she could lay down in the aisle between the front seats of the van. At least she wasn't in the way. I had to move the extra cat from the foot area in front of the drivers seat several times – the one place he absolutely cannot be.

I took the freeway loop around Toledo and headed southeast on US 20. My Garmin said the Garbersburg recycling (about 3 miles S of US20 was a lodging place. Hmmm. I decided to try it and found no such place (go figure) but did find a park with a lake. The park said closed after 11pm but said nothing about parking. There was a van with curtains on its rear windows parked there (camping???). I found a gravel lot behind some trees for ball fields that was empty and no signs about parking limitations. I positioned the van near the front of the row of trees to be away from the houses behind the lot but be sort of private otherwise.

Camp at Gibsonburg, OH park

It is humid here but the low is supposed to be about 63 so I will try the fan for the night and take a shower before bed.

Route: US23S – MI65S – MI32W – MI33S – I75S to Flint – US23S to Toledo, OH – I475 – US20E – OH300S to Gibsonburg, OH