Last Post 2021

 

The time has come to make our way home. Over the next week we will pass through Illinois and Kentucky, eventually settling back into our life in Tennessee. By the time we make it home, we will have traveled over 10,000 miles and visited 19 states. But before closing the book on this adventure, I’d like to document some of the “bests” we encountered along the way that for one reason or another I’ve failed to highlight. 

Best campsite of the trip was our roomy, shady site at the state park in Camden, ME. 

Best meal was at the lodge in Allegheny State Park, in NY, where we had Beef on Weck; a specialty sandwich, consisting of mounds of rare roast beef on a Kümmelweck Kaiser roll. 

Best bar for shooting darts; Shute’s Saloon in Calumet, MI. 

Best tacky tourist attraction; World’s Largest Indian in Ironwood, MI. 

The list could go on and on, but I’ll sign off for now, continually reminding myself to be thankful and grateful for so many amazing memories and experiences.

Chain of Lakes

 The Chain of Lakes, in Waupaca, WI, are an impressive natural feature, created by a receding glacier 12,500 years ago. The “Chain” consists of 22 spring fed lakes. The water of the lakes is translucent with deep emerald tints. The unique color is one of the trademark characteristics of the Chain, oftentimes referred to as the Killarneys of the Americas. 

Hartman Creek State Park, where we are camping, has a wonderful trail system for hiking, biking, horseback riding and skiing that wind in and around 8 of these lakes. A small  section of the 1,000 mile Ice Age Trail meanders through the park, too. The park also happens to be home to a large number of sandhill cranes. We have enjoyed watching and listening to these vocal birds, which are much bigger than I realized, with a wingspan of 6 to 7 feet!

We are throughly enjoying ourselves here with only a handful of other campers. I LOVE camping this time of the year!

The Badger State

 

After spending over a month exploring the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, it was time to say goodbye to Lake Superior sunrises, agate hunting in the sunshine and hiking in the rain. We have made the turn for home and find ourselves in America’s dairyland. 

Wisconsin is a beautiful state and we are pleased to see that the fall colors at Hartman Creek State Park are just as vibrant as the colors we left behind in the north country. My goal of extending autumn for as long as possible is working out, so far!

The Porkies

 Autumn has arrived in the UP. The leaves are changing and the high temps are supposed to remain in the 60’s this week. Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park is the perfect place to welcome fall and enjoy the last phase of our 2021 adventure. This area has everything Mark and I love and appreciate doing; biking, hiking and disc golf.

Even though we are embracing the peacefulness of this place, we haven’t lost sight of the loss and damage so many are dealing with as natural disasters have wrecked havoc in so many different parts of the country this year. Our hearts are heavy as we try to find a balance between grieving over the devastation, in so many places, while making every effort to be thankful and in awe that places like the Porkies still exist.

Isle Royale

 

Isle Royale National Park is a remote wilderness island, in Lake Superior, accessible only by boat or seaplane. It’s a place far from the sights and sounds of civilization where wildlife abounds. It also happens to be home to a population of wolves and moose that have been part of a historic predator-prey study for over 50 years.

Part of the reason for revisiting the Upper Peninsula was so I could hike from one end of the island to the other. I can’t really describe how perfect the three nights I spent there were. It’s a magical place where I hiked and camped, saw six moose and met so many remarkable people. Of course the most remarkable person in this story is Mark, who unselfishly held down the fort, at our campsite, with Starbaby, so that I could have this remarkable experience!

The Big Spring

 

We crossed the Mackinac Bridge, a few days ago, and have made our way into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We are staying at Indian Lake State Park, through the weekend, before heading to the northern part of the UP. This area is popular but not too overly crowded.

An attraction we discovered near our campground, called the Big Spring (or its Native American name, Kitch-iti-kipi) has ended up being one of my favorite touristy outings of this trip.

The pristine water is 40 feet deep and is Michigan’s largest freshwater spring. I borrowed an aerial photo, I found on Reddit, to show how clear the water is and the self-operated raft, the park has put in place, that allows visitors to pull the raft, by cable, across the spring and back again. From the glass bottom raft you can see large trout and more than 10,000 gallons of water, a minute, gushing from fissures, in the underlying limestone, into the spring. The water keeps the spring at a constant 45° F so it never freezes.

Not only was the attraction really cool to see and experience but it was also dog friendly!

Tip of the Mitt

 

After camping for a week in the largest, most urban, campground of our trip, we have made our way to the north eastern tip of the mitten to perhaps one of our quietest state parks of the summer. Onaway State Park doesn’t seem to be on anyone’s radar, but what an incredible place to regroup after the hectic pace of Traverse City.

We traveled in this direction in order to camp near Lake Huron. One of our goals on this trip has been to visit and take a dip in all five of the Great Lakes. Even though Lake Huron isn’t the largest of the lakes, it does have the longest shoreline. We have taken advantage of numerous trails along the limestone cobble shoreline admiring lighthouses and looking for petosky stones. (Petosky stones are fossilized coral pebbles that happen to be Michigan’s state stone). 

We also took a side trip to see Ocqueoc Falls. It’s the Lower Peninsulas largest waterfall. It’s rare these days to find an area, especially in the summer, that has this kind of natural beauty with absolutely no crowds.

Cherry Capital

 

Thirty-seven years ago, Mark and I had only been married a week when I decided I would surprise him with a homemade cherry pie. I picked the cherries from a neighbor’s tree and called Mark’s mom to find out how to make homemade pastry. It took me most of the day, but when I pulled the pie out of the oven it was just beautiful; cherries plump and pastry golden brown. When Mark got home I cut him a piece and couldn’t wait for him to take a bite. Alas, as he sampled my creation, a pained expression crossed his face as he spit out a stone. I suddenly realized that the reason the cherries looked so plump and perfect was because I’d forgotten to pit them.

Today, we find ourselves camping at Traverse City State Park, located in the Cherry Capital of the World. We missed the National Cherry Festival, by a few weeks, but there’s still plenty of homemade cherry pie available, hopefully guaranteed not to crack a tooth!

The Mitten

 

The next two months of our journey will be spent exploring the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. Because of its shape, the Lower Peninsula is sometimes nicknamed “The Mitten” with the eastern region identified as “The Thumb.” When asked where they live, some Lower Peninsula residents hold up their right palm and point to a spot on it to indicate the location.

Our first stop, in this diverse state, was Turtle Lake Resort, in western Michigan. It’s probably our last AANR (American Association for Nude Recreation) resort of the trip. It was a nice ending to the more libertarian style of camping we occasionally enjoy when we travel. The owners of this campground have a sense of humor as shown in the attached photo, where ice can be purchased, not from the “girl” in the window, but by putting a couple of dollars in the provided coffee can. Everyone we met at Turtle Lake was friendly and inclusive. The only unwanted advances we received were from the seasonal pests of the area; the local mosquito!

We have now moved on to a large state park, a little further north, called Yankee Springs. We are excited about checking out the hiking and biking trails this area is known for.

Ohio

 

Our first stop in Ohio was Youngstown Air Force Station. Even though we haven’t used military campgrounds on this trip, as much as in the past, it was so nice to check out this small base with so many amenities. The Famcamp in Youngstown is right beside a military CrossFit station, a walking track and state of the art fitness center. Getting in a great workout was effortless; except of course for the workout.

From Youngstown, we traveled to Green Valley Resort where we met our newest best friends, John and Candi. They are from Washington state and travel in a similar fashion to the way we do. We discovered, after sharing travel stories, that last year we were at the same park, at the same time, in Idaho, and never met. So glad we didn’t repeat that mistake in Ohio. 

We were also pleased to visit another national park that I didn’t even know existed until we started to look for things to do in the area. Cuyahoga Valley National Park originated as a national recreation area and became a national park in 2000. We hiked to the parks premier waterfall and explored a bit of the Ohio and Erie Canal towpath. This little park doesn’t have the wow factor of most national parks but it’s always encouraging to see a natural space being protected and preserved.

Four Months In

 

After a rainy weekend at Cayuga Lake State Park, we spent our last week in NY at Allegheny State Park; New York’s largest park celebrating its 100th birthday this year. 

We have been on the road for almost four months now, and it feels like the eastern phase of our adventure is coming to a close. We aren’t traveling too far west on this trip but we are excited about edging closer to the mighty Mississippi, in a few days, on our way to Ohio and Michigan. 

We have taken time this week to address some of the jobs that have to be done when traveling that aren’t particularly photo worthy; refilling propane tanks, getting the truck serviced and taking time to really flush and clean our trailer tanks.

I know this lifestyle isn’t for everyone but I’m so thankful to have two travel partners who are just as excited as I am about what unknown experiences await a little further down the road!