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!

Taking a Break

 

We are camping at Higley Flow State Park in the foothills of the Adirondacks. This area is only 70 miles from the St Lawerence River and is officially part of the 1000 Islands area of NY. We had every intention of exploring one or two of the 1,800 islands that make up the area but so far we’ve found ourselves content to just camp for a while. 

When there is so much to see and do, in a place we haven’t visited before, we can wear ourselves out trying to see and do everything! We’ve traveled enough now to know when it’s time to take a break and relax taking note of small things like spiderwebs in the morning, floating on rafts in the afternoon, evening strolls by the river and a campfire at night. When you slow down there’s a chance you might even run into the governor, in the restroom, while dining at the local eatery.