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Our original plans were to spend about three weeks in northern Florida, at Gamble Rogers State Park (our favorite) in Flagler Beach and Fort Clinch State Park (tied as our 2nd favorite) in Fernandina Beach. We were able to extend our stay in the area. This post covers our first 3 campsites there – 10 days at Gamble, 4 days at Fort Clinch, then 11 more days at Gamble.

At Gamble Rogers State Park there are two campgrounds. The campground on the river side of the park has very large, well-spaced, flat campsites with gravel pads, surrounded by grass. We prefer the oceanside campground, where you can hear the surf 24/7. Half of the sites there are on the ocean, most with ocean views. We are willing to deal with the dirt/sand campsites and huge puddles after rain as  trade-offs.

As I have mentioned in past posts, the idea of our very first Florida camping trip started with a youtube drone video of Gamble Rogers. That video and plans for the first trip helped us to survive the early months of the pandemic. The trip itself got us through the later months of the pandemic, when much of Michigan was under restrictions.

We really love Flagler Beach. It is a small, laid-back oceanside surf town. The bars, restaurants, galleries and shops are casual and not really expensive. With only a handful of small motels and inns, there are mainly locals, day-trippers,  and VRBO renters. That may change, as a new 100-room Margaritaville Hotel is going up in the center of town. Also, a huge increase in insurance costs and taxes, caused by recent hurricanes, is forcing many homeowners to sell.

Our shared mindset is to thoroughly enjoy every cool place we visit, while it is still cool. We appreciate that we have experienced many great places before they were forever changed (even ruined) by the internet, wealthy people taking over, fires, etc. Just a few examples are Aspen (now we call it “Beverly Hills East”), Lahaina (destroyed by fire), Key West (much more crowded with a parking lot in Mallory Square), Telluride (still cool but completely owned by the wealthy), Breckenridge (over-built), and Gatlinburg (has become a crowded tourist trap).

Fort Clinch State Park also has two campgrounds.  One is located on the St. Amelia River. Our rig does not fit in any sites there. Also, we heard it is a more noisy, party-oriented area with lots of bugs. We love the Atlantic beach campground, which is a short walk to the ocean. We toured the fort, the last two years, so skipped it this year.

We also really like the town of Fernandina Beach. It is a very cool historic town with several smaller hotels, but no huge resorts. The town reminds us of Holland, MI or a much smaller version of the Traverse City of 15 or 20 years ago.  The town has many places with live music and some great microbreweries. One of our favorite places is The Salty Pelican Bar and Grill, which has a roof top area with views of the Amelia River. A highlight of our stay there was meeting up with a couple we met in the keys. Stick and CJ are living full time and working remotely on an old trawler. They just happened to be in Fernandina Beach when we were. We found them in the marina, got a tour of their beautiful boat and had a fun time swapping stories.

My next post will cover our last 13 days in northern Florida.

It is a Monday morning in August. I decided to write a quick post as I wait for the coffee to finish brewing. My clothes for the next two weeks are stacked and ready to be packed into my duffle bag. On the kitchen counter is a list of all of the food to be loaded into coolers, Some items are downsized in the fridge to better fit in the cooler and the small RV fridge (butter, parmesan cheese, cottage cheese, etc).  Everything costs more “up north” and comes in family size portions, so we take as much as we can. The 30-gallon Water Buffalo is is full and in the bed of the truck. Clean sheets and towels are loaded.

I have spent the last couple of days doing food prep, laundry, packing and fitting in my last strength training session at the gym, for a couple of weeks.  It’s been a busy summer filled with many family events. We have spent as much time as possible camping at our northern outpost. Two weeks is approximately our maximum amount of time. We come home for a week to do laundry, take care of the house, etc. We have been planning that around family events and an occasional doctor or dentist appointment.

While I have plenty of time to work on my blog while camping, I have not worked hard enough to find a solution for charging my laptop battery. Our limited generator use has been sufficient for charging phones and tablets. We run the generator to use Dave’s laptop to pay bills, etc., but not enough to spend an hour or more blogging.

I’d better finish packing, now. Just checking in to let you know, I have not discontinued this blog.

From the lower keys, we headed toward Flagler Beach, over 400 miles and nearly 7 hours away. We didn’t want to drive that far in one day and were very curious to check out Key Largo and John Pennekamp State Park. Our original 2-week reservation there had been reduced to 2 nights, as we had picked up cancellations in the lower keys. We thought we would need 2 nights to check out the area.

Upon arrival at the campground, we really wished we had to stay for only one night. Our campsite was one of the least desireable. It was quite cramped. Our neighbors’ picnic table was about an inch from our sewer access. Our picnic table was similarly located near our other neighbors’ sewer access. We hurried to leave the campground and explore the area.  We managed to enjoy a couple of cold oceanside beers.

The next day we had a fun paddle and took advantage of the laundry facilities. I also checked out the aquarium and day use area, which were very busy and crowded with weekenders from the Miami area. The beach area was pretty small. The aquarium is small and sort of old, though my experiences with aquariums includes the Maui Ocean Center and the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.

There happened to be a full-time RV family in the campground, who was also in both of the lower keys campgrounds at the same time as us. Their smallest boy was about 3 years old and rode a small bicycle with no training wheels continuously, all around each campground, often faster than his older brothers. Fortunately, no one ran over him, as his small size made him very hard to see.  We escaped the campground again the second day, for a cold beer and ocean breezes. We don’t plan to return to that park unless we have to, but we did make the most of it.

We really enjoyed our bonus time in the lower keys. We met up with friends we met there in past years and made many new friends.  We made the most of our time camping there, since we have not booked any campsites for next year. Florida residents can now book 30 days earlier than everyone else and there is nothing available when we can book. We may find a way, in the future to visit northern Florida, but we believe the keys will be extremely difficult. (We are not sad because we have some very fun travels planned for next winter, without the RV.)

Curry Hammock State Park. This was our least favorite campsite in the lower keys, as it was across from the dump station and trash. Otherwise, it was a nice spacious site. We were fortunate to pick up a cancellation at a much better site and leave this one early.
(site #26)

We originally had 19 nights booked in the lower keys – 14 at Bahia Honda State Park (not waterfront) and 5 at Curry Hammock State Park (right across from the dump station). We managed to pick up some cancellations, improving our campsites and extending our stay in the lower keys to 28 nights. We shortened our planned visit at John Pennekamp State Park from 14 days, to 2 days. We had never been there, but no other campers even mentioned it, so we assumed it wasn’t great. This post will cover the first half of our time in the lower keys. We s.pent the entire two weeks at Bahia Honda State Park

When we drove to Bahia Honda last year, it was the Saturday before Easter. We also drove through Miami. Avoiding Miami, this year, and driving on a normal Friday was much easier. We were very happy that there was no smelly Sargassum seaweed in the area (at least not yet), like last year.

We had scoped out all of the campsites last year, so we knew ours would be decent, even if it wasn’t oceanfront. It was just a short walk to a fishing area, near the bridge, which was a perfect waterfront place to drink coffee in the morning. It is a fairly large park, with lots of areas to walk or run to, including 2 beaches, a nice gift shop, a marina, 3 campgrounds and section of the Old Bahia Honda Rail Bridge restored for walking and as a scenic overlook.

During our first two weeks, we went to some places we discovered last year and also some new places. We took two trips into Key West. The first was to meet up with some Maui friends for an afternoon/evening. We went to Hog’s Breath Saloon, Sloppy Joe’s, Sunset Pier and Angelina’s Pizzeria. These are all places we went to, when we first visited back in the early 2000’s.

The second visit to Key West was on St. Patrick’s Day. We had reserved a room at an historic inn and took the bus to Key West. The bus stop was right across from the park entrance. It was only $4 and we didn’t have to worry about parking our large, HD truck overnight. It was a great way to experience Key West at night, without a long drive home. The inn was located toward the more quiet end of town. It housed a cozy little rum bar. Most people who know us, no we don’t usually drink fancy cocktails, but we received coupons for a free Painkiller at the bar. They were delicious!!!. They used fresh ground nutmeg and a very smooth dark rum. I plan to attempt making these at home.

We learned that the big St. Patrick’s Day celebration, including the parade, was the day before, but there was plenty of activity in town. We were not disappointed at missing the craziness.  We walked around town, had a great mexican dinner, listened to some live music and met some very cool people. We especially enjoyed walking around town in the morning. We had a great breakfast and went to the Hemmingway Museum. We hopped on the bus and returned to the campground before town became really busy again.

Fort De Soto is very popular and it is difficult to find availability. Local county residents are able to book a month earlier than anyone else. Somehow, we got lucky and found available campsites.

The campground has 238 campsites, many of which are on the water. We had two different large, pull-thru sites with water and electricity. We were not fortunate enough to book a waterfront site. The park is very popular for fishing, cycling and birding. The fort was built between 1898 and 1906 for the purpose of military defense, though was never involved in combat. It was eventually abandoned in 1923 and sold back to Pinellas County in 1948. It became a county park in 1963.

There is a paved bike path running through the park.  We rode our bikes almost every day and were able to ride around 15 miles in the park, without looping around again. Many days I walked, ran and cycled, mixing in a lot of birdwatching. Needless to say, I was really feeling great and have been, since.

We spent  many afternoons and evenings exploring St. Pete Beach. We met some locals who told us where to eat and where to hear good live music. Once we figured out how to deal with the lack of parking, we really enjoyed it. It’s so casual and affordable compared with Maui and even metro Detroit.

After 12 nights at Fort De Soto, we headed south toward the keys. Midway Campground in Big Cypress National Preserve was, ironically, midway along our route to Bahia Honda State Park. The route allowed us to avoid driving through Miami, which is pretty crazy.

It was the only campground in the area with power and it also had water. The sites were level and paved, but were 90 degrees to the driveway, so it was impossible to back in without driving on the grass. It was literally in the middle of nowhere, with zero cell service. It was a really great feeling. I might have felt otherwise if severe storms were moving through, but the weather was really nice.

After 2 weeks at a campground with very poor cell service and internet, I can finally get back to posting again. Also, it is our first rainy day after 35 days on the road. This post covers our trip from Michigan to northern Florida.

We left earlier than planned, for our southern camping journey. We made two overnight stops, first in Kentucky, then Alabama.

Our third stop at T.H. Stone State Park, was a last-minute add-on. The park had been closed since hurricane Michael destroyed it in 2018. By chance, Dave happened to notice, one day, that booking for this newly renovated campground  was finally available. It is a beatiful park, located on Cape San Blas, outside of Port St. Joe in the Florida panhandle. We were able to visit nearby Appalaciacola, which we really enjoyed a couple of years ago. This park was the highlight of the first part of our journey.

Our fourth stop was one night at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park. I never heard of the guy, but was surprised to realize that I know some of his songs: “Old Folks Home” (Way down upon the Suwannee River), “Camptown Races”, “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair” and “Oh, Susanna”. How on earth I know these songs, written in the mid 1800’s, is beyond me.

Next stop, Fort DeSoto!

This will be my quickest post, ever!

I just returned from 3 nights at Stokely Creek Lodge in Goulais River, Ontario. It is a back-country lodge with an extensive cross-country ski trail sytem, perfectly groomed for both classic and skating. There is also an extensive snowshoe trail system.  My friend, Marcy and I spent 3 nights at the lodge and had 4 days of wonderful skiing.  We have been skiing there together for 29 years. This was our first time back since 2020.

The entire midwest is snow-free, due to abnormally warm temperatures, but there is snow at Stokely. It is located east of Lake Superior, creating the best chances for snow anywhere.

I mostly used my classic, no-wax skis, as waxing was challenging due to the high ice content in the snow. I even managed to skate ski for the first time in 4 or 5 years. Wow, was that challenging. I had to re-teach myself how to do it, but succeeded. Marcy skiied and also used her snow shoes.

The food was absolutely fabulous. Somehow, my clothes still fit me ! In addition to enjoying great meals, we also got to meet many skiers from across the US and Canada.

Now, I will finish packing and loading the RV. We are heading south tomorrow. Yayyyy!!!! First stop, Bowling Green, Kentucky.

We had another great year! (Be sure to see Slushie’s photo and comments below)

Niagara Falls area

We left the Finger Lakes area just before the rain came. The weather forecast was looking good for Niagara Falls. We had a quick overnight at Lakeside State Park, then we headed to Four Mile Creek State Park, which is on Lake Ontario and about a 25 minute drive from Niagara Falls State Park. I forgot to photograph the campsite, but it looked very much like the campsite at Lakeside State Park, posted below.

We set up camp and went to check out Devil’s Hole State Park and Whirlpool State Park. After a lot of walking and hiking, we went to the town of Lewiston, which is about halfway between the falls and our campground. It is a very cool small town. They were just packing up after their fall festival. There was a microbrewery/barbeque place with a nice outdoor patio. It was a perfect way to top off the day.

The next day we went to Niagara Falls State Park. Neither of us had ever been there and we were just blown away by the size of the falls. There were no brochures or maps, just a large sign with a map on it, labeling all of the sights. We just assumed if something was on this map, we should see it (once again, New York State Parks not providing much information). That strategy worked for us. We walked everywhere, all day. We walked to the visitor center, to see if there was any info or history. There was no information, only souvenirs. The popular viewing areas were pretty crowded, even on a Monday in September. I noticed a lack of safety features, some crowded rickety stairs and loose hand railings. We limited our visit to the American side, not wanting to deal with a border crossing. We didn’t track our mileage, but we figure we walked at least 7 miles. The food concessions didn’t look too appealing, so we headed back to the barbeque place in Lewiston.

Allegheny State Park

After two nights at Four Mile Creek, we headed to Allegheny State Park. It was somewhat on our way home and the photos online looked beautiful. We spent two nights there. We hiked, checked out the historic administration building, the fire tower, the dam, Thunder Rocks and drove around the park. The park has a lot of cabins and some very nice paved bike paths. They were not on the map we received at check-in, but I think they are new. The map we had was drawn by hand and probably 30 or more years old. There was no cell service or internet, so we were thankful to have it. We happened to get a campsite that wasn’t difficult to back into. One highlight for us, was hearing an owl while we were hiking late afternoon, the first day.

Eerie, PA

We had never been to Eerie, so we decided to check it out for a night on our way home. Our brewer friend, Kristy, moved there a couple of years ago from Detroit, so we planned to try to meet up with her. Unfortunately she was traveling for work, but gave us some tips on where to go and what to see. Lampe Campground, run by the Eerie Western PA Port Authority, was very nice. The sites are easy, paved back-in sites, perfect for a quick one-night stop. We apparently “won the lottery” by getting a site there. It is very popular with fishermen, as it is located on Lake Eerie, near Presque Isle State Park.

Eerie has a nice waterfront area with outdoor bars and restaurants. It looks like a fun place to spend time in the summer. Mid-week in September, there were no people there and many places were not open. We drove around the city and checked out a couple of microbreweries recommended by Kristy. We had a pretty good impression of the town and would definitely return.

Maumee Bay State Park

We wanted to go someplace new in Ohio, on our way home. We also did not want to tow the fifth wheel through downtown Detroit on a Friday afternoon, when rush hour starts early. Maumee Bay State Park is about 11 miles east of Toledo. It is located at the site of Niles Beach,  a community of vacation cottages that was destroyed in a storm in 1972. The campsites are level, well-spaced and have plenty of foliage between them.  All of the campsites appeared to easily accommodate large rigs. We did not check out the beach area, but the entire campground was really nice. We were fortunate to not be near some large groups and families, meeting up for the weekend. Best of all, we had a short, easy Saturday morning drive through Toledo and Detroit.

The second half of our trip ended up being very different than planned, but it was pretty fun! After 118 nights of camping, we planned to watch the weather and head north again or even camp somewhere near home. After a couple of weeks at home, the weather did not cooperate, so we winterized the rig and stored it for winter. Next camping trip – Florida!

We spent one night at Lakeside State Park, which is about 50 miles east of our Niagara Falls campground. It is on Lake Ontario. It allowed us to arrive fairly early to start sight-seeing the next day. We met a friendly camper there, who told us about Whirlpool State Park and Devil’s Hole State Park, which we had never heard of. We otherwise might have missed them.

I have named our fall trip “Fall Waterfall Tour” because we saw more waterfalls within a couple of weeks, than we ever have before. We headed east, with plans to explore the Finger Lakes Region in New York, then head south to Shenandoah National Park. We had all or our campsites booked in advance, with the end of the trip left open, in case the weather was good and we wanted to stay out longer.

Following our normal approach to RV travel, we monitored the weather and other factors that could affect our plans. We have learned that in the fall, hurricanes quite often eventually move toward New England or the midwest, after making landfall and downgrading. These enormous weather systems can stall for long periods over an area, causing days or weeks of rain, where we have plans to camp.  This year, Tropical Storm Ophelia did just that, resulting in a very different second half of our trip.  This post covers the first half.

1 night in Ohio then Letchworth State Park, NY

We left our house on a Tuesday, just after rush hour, heading to our first stop at Geneva State Park, in Ohio. We chose to avoid going through Canada, since Dave has been hassled by US border agents in the past (no problem with the Canadians). We figured crossing the border with an RV increased the chances of being hassled. It was a great 1-night stop, where we could pull in, stay hitched and do plenty of walking around the park before dinner.

We spent 4 nights at Letchworth State Park in New York. When we checked in, we were told we had one of the best campsites. We had a partial view into Letchworth Gorge and lots of space around us. We hiked every day and checked out the spectacular waterfalls and scenic views throughout the park.  There are nearly 30 different waterfalls and cascades in the park. We walked nearly every inch of the campground and through much of the park. We visited the museum and gift shop.

It was our first New York State Park and our first realization that the park system does not provide much information about a park, once you are there (accurate maps, directories, what to see, history of the park, conservation information). With no cell service, you should really research the trails and what waterfalls to see before you go. Of all the parks we visited on this trip, this was the only one that had information on the history, but only at the museum.

The New York Park state park system seems to be far less concerned with visitor safety than other places we have been to. With the exception of the fence between our campsite and the gorge, there were few safety railings or barricades. I imagine there have been many deaths there, accidental or not. My fear of heights kept me away from anything too dangerous. We managed to see a lot and stay safe. We really loved Letchworth State Park.

Watkins Glen State Park, NY

We spent 6 nights at Watkins Glen State Park.  We set up camp and then went to check out the town and harbor. We hiked the Gorge trail on our first morning there.  The trail is 1.5 miles, 500 feet elevation gain and feature 19 waterfalls, sheer rock walls and 832 staircase steps. It was so beautiful I did not even notice the steps and elevation gain.  I have really never seen any place like it. We went through pretty quickly with a plan to return really early another day, when there were less people. By mid-morning it was packed.

We explored the area around Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake. There are countless breweries and wineries with great views, our favorite being Two Goats Brewing. We visited the town of Montour falls for more waterfall viewing.  We spent a morning walking around the Cornell campus in Ithaca and visited Taughannock State Park. and the Cayuga Nature Center. We also went to Geneva, NY, which was a bit disappointing, as nothing was open and it was quite deserted. We hiked the South rim trail in the park, which was uncrowded and beautiful. We never did return to the Gorge trail, as  it became increasingly more crowded with day visitors. We believe it was likely near the beginning of leaf-peeping season.

Near the end of our stay there, the weather was starting to turn. Tropical storm Ophelia had moved north from the Carolinas and had become a tropical depression.  It was approaching Shenandoah National Park and was headed north. At the same time we were watching the news regarding the funding of the federal government and were concerned that there could be a government shut-down, which would close the campgrounds there.  We didn’t want to drive all the way there, only to head home right away. The rain was moving in toward us, at Watkins Glen, The beauty of camping is that you can watch the weather and change your plans at minimal cost (unlike canceling hotels and airfare). We canceled our reservations at nearby Robert Treman State Park, as well as Shebandoah and left the Finger Lakes area early. We headed toward Niagara Falls, where we found available campsites and the forecast looked good. Neither of us had ever been there, so we were excited to go.

Writers Block, 808 Day and a massive tragedy

I have been really behind on this blog (the post dates are aligned with the dates we traveled, rather than actual date I posted). I have been having a sort of writer’s block, due to a tragic event that occurred on August 8. I always celebrate August 8 (I call it 808 Day) for a couple of reasons. One reason is that 808 is Hawaii’s area code and another is that it is my birthday. That number seems to show up in my life on an almost daily basis. It started happening while I was deciding whether or not to retire from my corporate job. Since then, I have seen it as a sign from the universe that I am on track with what I am supposed to be doing.

August 8, 2023 was a great day in the Eastern Time Zone, though not in the Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone. We spent the day doing our favorite things in Frankfort. Dave didn’t tell me, but he had read that a fire started in Lahaina, but it had been put out before we went to sleep. The next day we learned the entire town had burned. We were scheduled to head downstate to restock and catch up on things around the house. All the way home I was on my phone looking for updates or news. We were sick with worry and many other horrible feelings, including loss. It took quite some time to learn anything because of the power outages there.

By that evening we confirmed that our friends, Ron and Rhowenna were home and okay. We also got a text from our friend Dave describing how he drove himself, Charlotte, her sister and the dog and cat out, barely escaping with their lives, by speeding over sidewalks, with the girls screaming and shouting the whole time. The next few days we would be searching online for any news of people we know. We have been going to Maui together for about 25 years, usually going twice a year. We have some close friends there and many casual friends. We belonged to the Lahaina Yacht Club for many years, where we met a lot of people. We have many wonderful holiday memories in town. It really is a small town, where everyone knows everyone. Since most people are not from there, everyone is like family (ohana, in hawaiian). There were so many people we were worried about.

We would learn that dozens (or more) people we know lost their homes and/or their place of work. There were countless stories about people we know and don’t know, running for their lives, as I’m sure everyone read about in the news.  There was one guy we knew from the yacht club who was missing and confirmed dead, weeks later.  The loss of life, pets, people’s homes, historic buildings, wonderful waterfront restaurants, art galleries, cool shops, the harbor, and boats is just gut-wrenching to think of.

I spent the next 2 weeks scouring the news, looking for updates, and worrying about where people would live. We donated and helped raise some money for some friends there. Eventually, I had to cut back on the news searching and get on with life. Heading north again and planning our fall trip really helped take my mind off of it.

Until now I have just been at a loss for words.  I have not wanted to write about how great my life is, while so many people I know are suffering (At this point many are still homeless or jobless). The need to wrap up my posting for the year is the only reason I am writing. It is nice to review all of the fun times. I am not sure what I think of 808 Day, at this point…..

Bear!

I am updating this post on New Year’s Day, as I just recalled a highlight of the summer.  One morning, I was in the outhouse at the northern outpost. I looked out the screened window and saw a bear. It was roughly 2 feet away from me, with only the outhouse door between us. I  immediately gasped, which startled the bear. It quickly turned and bounded off into the woods. It was pretty small, so I assumed it was a cub and I was terrified that the mother was nearby. I did not have my phone with me. Dave was in the RV and the generator was running. I knew if I yelled, he would not hear me.  I stood, shaking in the outhouse for about 15 minutes and finally hurried back to the RV.

Later, I did some research about black bears. Based on the bear’s size and the time of year, it was likely a juvenile that had just started off on its own. We have been aware that there are bears in the area. They are likely in the area because of all of the orchards. Our neighbors had to get rid of bird feeders because of a bear. Our friends nearby, in Benzonia had recently seen a bear near their house. We also saw a bear one morning, while riding our bikes on the Betsie Vally Trail. It was crossing Mollineaux Road, near Crystal Lake, its massive size covering an entire lane.

Dave saw a bobcat near the outhouse a few years ago. I saw what I think were juvenile bobcats a couple of years ago. I no longer ever go to the outhouse without my phone!

Leelenau State Park, Northport, Leland and Frankfort

We continued the rest of summer, alternating time between up north and home every 7 – 10 days.

We went to Leelenau State Park for some car/tent camping. We had a beautiful lake front site. We enjoyed time in Northport, first at a microbrewery, then at a restaurant for great tacos. It’s a very cool town. We hiked a beautiful trail in the park, on our way out the next day.  On the way home we stopped at Leland where we went to the beach to look for “Leland Blue” stones. We had no luck but enjoyed walking around historic Fishtown and had a great lunch.

In Frankfort we rode our bikes or hiked nearly every day. We spent time time at our favorite beaches and went to our favorite microbreweries. We met up with several sets of friends in the area. We listened to live music in Beulah, Traverse City, Benzonia and Frankfort and ate at our favorite Mexican Restaurant. I spent time identifying birds, trees and butterfies and picking wild raspberries.

Our last night at our Northern Outpost was September 2. It was our 44th night in northern Michigan, this year, and 97th night camping since we headed south on March 23. No, we were not finished yet! We headed home to do our annual RV maintenance and prep for our fall trip to Finger Lakes, NY and Shenandoah National Park.

The past few years, we have spent early June at our “sticks and bricks”, enjoying normal-length showers, our huge king size bed and our dishwasher, among other comforts of home. We catch up on laundry, routine dentist and doctor visits and time with family.  This year there were also retirement parties, our niece’s graduation party, a nice Father’s Day picnic and a visit from our Hawaiian friends, Kacy and Bri,  and their daughters.

We started planning for our return to our property in Frankfort and for some short tent camping trips.  We had both been inspired by other tent campers’ set-ups on our previous journey. It would be a way to use our Northern Outpost as a base camp and venture out further, without hauling our large rig.  Last year we went backpacking for the first time in 20 years, with some heavy, outdated equipment.  While tent campsites are less remote than hike-in sites, we could bring a larger tent, a cooler, plenty of food and drinks, and comfortable air mattresses. We would also have access to many more smaller sites that would not accomodate our rig.

We finally headed north in late June.  There is nothing like the feeling of our first arrival of the year, at our property. The first thing we always notice is the strong, sweet smell of Douglas Fir trees, one of my favorite scents on the planet.  I love seeing and hearing the birds, especially those that we don’t see or hear anywhere else. The Eastern Towhee, Indigo Bunting and Black-capped Chickadees sang as we decided where and how to park the rig for the summer. It is always interesting and fun to see which trees have grown bigger, which have fallen or died, and where new saplings have sprouted.

We set up camp for the summer and eased into our normal summer “up north” routine, hiking, visiting our favorite places and meeting up with friends in the area. We spent 2 nights tent camping at Fisherman’s Island State Park In Charlevoix. We had a beautiful lake front campsite. Our only complaint about the place was that the restrooms were very far away (between a quarter and half mile). It was great to see Charlevoix again. Unlike other northern Michigan towns, which have become overrun with tourists and wealthy vacation homeowners, it seemed to be mostly the same as when we last visited in 2009. We loved camping in the bigger tent and the new air mattresses were pretty comfortable. After 11 nights off grid, we were running out of water, so we came home.

Camping off grid at our own Northern Outpost. Home sweet home…

It would have been about a 10 hour drive home from Pigeon Forge. We don’t drive over 70mph and we like to stop to check the rig so we always factor in extra time. We decided to drive at least 6 hours, to get us closer to home and to allow us to tow the rig through Detroit when it wasn’t rush hour. We rarely drive more than 4 hours in a day, except when we need to get somewhere quickly or to avoid bad weather. After all, we are retired. Why be in a hurry and subject ourselves, to too many hours of sitting?

We found a beautiful county park in Lima, OH, which does not take reservations. We arrived around 3:30pm to find all the sites had been taken since 7am. I had the number for a KOA nearby, in case this happened. The KOA would not answer the phone and was due to close soon, so we found nearby Lake Cody Campground *(see special note below!). It is situated on what used to be a farm. It has many long-term seasonal sites and a few drive-up, full hook-up sites. A couple with a tiny trailer, who had been at our last campground was also there.  The owners were friendly and it was fine for a quick overnight stop.

The next day, after 4875 miles, 12 campgrounds (2 visits each to Flagler Beach and Hobe Sound) in 7 states and 61 nights camping, we returned home. Nine of the campgrounds were new to us. It was a great mix of returning to places we love and seeing new places. We especially loved experiencing the Florida keys.  We are looking forward to returning next year.

*Special note on this campground: Beware the campground descriptions on Campendium. They could be inaccurate. Always look for multiple guest reviews. DO NOT go to Lake Cody, unless you have your own toilet , sinks and shower. They have one disgusting unisex shower and 30-year-old pit toilets that likely have never been cleaned. We were fine, but I felt bad for the peole in the tiny trailer….

When we left Asheville, we had already been traveling for two months and were ready to go home. Even so, we could not justify driving from Asheville to Detroit without stopping at Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  It was a last-minute plan to go there, so we settled on a private campground in Pigeon Forge. We normally prefer camping in a more rustic setting, but we were only stopping for 2 nights and planned to fit in a couple of hikes, sightseeing and time in Gatlinburg. This was one example of our camping as an alternative to a hotel vs. truly camping. Mill Creek Campground costs about 4 or 5 times what we usually spend on a campsite, but they had an easy pull-thru site available. It was also just a short drive from a free shuttle into Gatlinburg.  It has a pool and small rental cabins. Though it was only 5 minutes away from the very busy, high-traffic area of Pigeon Forge, the hilly landscape blocked the traffic noise.

Dave visited Gatlinburg and the Smokies countless times, as a kid, mostly camping. His parents, Gary and Shirley, countinued to go there,  frequently, after their kids were grown. They climbed Mount LeConte a couple of times.  It is the third highest peak in the park, at 6,593 feet. It’s a 5 mile hike to LeConte Lodge.  We have enjoyed their stories about the lodge and many hikes in the park. The lodge was built in 1926 and offers meals, as well as lodging (we are adding this to our list of cool things we might do soon).

It was my second visit to the park. Dave and I previously spent a week there in October, 2015, a year before the 2016 wildfires.  We stayed in a beautiful,  condo in town and explored most of the park, hiking every day. At that time, the fall colors were at their peak and it was extremely crowded with tour buses everywhere. We managed to avoid some of the crowds by heading out early and hiking longer trails.

This time, we did one hike that I had not done before – Clingmans Dome.  At 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome is the highest point in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  We arrived at the trail head fairly early, and were still lucky to find an empty parking spot. It is paved and only about 1/2 mile, but very steep. There were a lot of people of all fitness levels hiking, many stopping along the way, gasping for air. I was really worried that someone was going to have a heart attack. The views from the top were spectacular.

We spent late afternons and evenings in Gatlinburg. It’s not our favorite town, mainly because it is a giant tourist trap. Gatlinburg has changed drastically since I was there over 30 years ago with friends. Then, it was a sleepy little town with “old time photo” places and a few souvenier shops. Now, the town is always packed with tourists and consists of mostly  Ripley’s Believe It Or Not attractions and distilleries.  Thinking I wanted to take something local home, I inquired about a tasting at one place. I learned that everything they sell is very sweet, such as butter pecan moonshine or salty carmel whisky, so I skipped it. Instead, we went to the brewery in town and we ate at a mexican restaurant. The free shuttle was great. We avoided parking fees and trying to find a spot suitable for our large Silverado 3500 HD.

I actually forgot to take a picture of the campsite.  Just imagine a very neat, full campground with little vegetation and campsites very close together. When we return to the area, we will plan ahead and find something closer to our style –  more scenic and more privacy.

The view from Clingmans Dome Observation tower, the highest point in the park, with a 360-dergree view. On a clear day you can see seven states: Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, South Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, and Mississippi. Great Smoky Mountains National Park

While planning our route home from Jekyll Island, we were looking for any route that did not require driving through Atlanta. Anyone who has ever driven through that area with or without an RV, could relate. We have been wanting to check out Asheville, so that was our obvious choice. We were lucky to find any campsite without advanced planning, so the Asheville KOA was fine for us.

The campground

We liked the location of the KOA. It was only a 7-minute drive from Black Mountain, which we planned to check out. While the campground was in a pretty setting, it was not very nice. The sites were very close together. The campground website states there is a dump station, but it  is only accessible to fairly small rigs, so I consider that to be false advertising. Fortunately we have our portable waste tank (aka poop trolly), which we can tow to the dump station with the truck. We frequently saw an RV dump service emptying tanks around the campground. We do not plan to return to this campground.

Biltmore Village and Downtown Asheville

We had planned to see the Biltmore Estate, but decided to do that in the future. The entry fees start at $109 per person and we knew we would not spend an entire day and get our money’s worth out of it. Our intention was to get an overview of the area and have more specific plans on our next visit. We opted to see Biltmore Village instead.  It is an area built in the late 1890’s to house workers of the Biltmore estate. It is now an upscale shopping and dining area. We went on a Friday morning and not many places were open. We didn’t have plans for fine-dining or high-end coffee shops. Expensive boutiques and galleries do not really interest us. We were hoping to check out the historic buildings and maybe learn a bit about the history. That was disappointing, as there was nothing displayed anywhere, with information about the buildings or history.  We quickly walked through the area, took a few photos and left.

We headed to the city, parked and spent a couple of hours walking  everywhere. The buildings and general feel reminded us of Detroit. It seemed pretty safe and vibrant,  We will return if we have a specific place we want to go to.

Blue Ridge Parkway and surrounding area

We were glad we did not try to fit in a tour of the Biltmore estate, as we drove a lot of distance over 3 days, checking out the Blue Ridge Parkway and some advertised must-see places that were all very long distances apart. The Asheville area is huge and the many advertised microbreweries are scattered over a very extensive area. We had a guidebook from the visitor center and some online info that were not very helpful, unless you planned to spend all day driving.  We enjoyed many scenic overlooks from the Blue Ridge Parkway, but did not do any hiking. My knee injury from Maui was almost completely healed, but Dave was still dealing with a sore knee from surfing at Flagler Beach. He wanted to spare the knee for any hiking we might do at our next location, the Smoky Mountains.

Our favorite times were spent in the small town of Black Mountain. It is a scenic mountain town with a couple of microbreweries and some restaurants, including a fabulous old-school mexican restaurant. We found the microbrewery that is the favorite of the locals.  Wherever we go, we like to spend time chatting with people who live there. It was fun experiencing the vibe of the town.

On our way to Asheville, we made a stop in South Carolina. We had planned to spend 3 days at Jekyll Island, but canceled the last day so we could chill out for 2 days at Dreher Island State Park. The photos online looked nice and we were not disappointed.  It is located about 20 minutes outside  the town of Prosperity, SC. Though it looked like a cute town, we decided to just stay in the park, since we would be driving a lot over the next week.

There are two campgrounds in the park. We stayed at the farthest south Islanders Camp Circle, where the sites were bigger and more well-spaced. We managed to book a large pull-through site. Many of the campsites would have been difficult or impossible for us to park our 33-foot fifth wheel.

We enjoyed the beautiful weather, exploring the park. We checked out the boat ramps and the tackle shop/camp store.  We talked with the ranger and learned a little bit of the park history and fishing conditions. We hiked some trails and walked around the campground. While Dave had previously been inspired to consider tent camping, while we were at Fort Clinch, I had the same inspiration while at Dreher Island (stayed tuned for summer tent camping adventures). We would definitely stop there again, but would be very careful about which campsite we book.

We arrived on Jekyll Island on Mother’s Day. The island was packed with local weekenders and day visitors, celebrating the holiday. There was a long line of cars waiting to get through the entry gate. We ventured out for a cold beer at a crowded open-air restaurant/bar, checked out the famous Driftwood Beach  and decided to tour most of the island the following day.

The campground was okay. It was pretty busy and there wasn’t a lot of space or any privacy between sites. Many of the campers were speeding around in golf carts, which they used to get around the island. The highlight was the bird sanctuary. It was an area with many bird feeders and a couple of swinging benches. We were able to see several painted buntings there, which I had not seen in a couple of years.

On a Monday morning we walked around the historic district and had the whole place to ourselves. During the late 19th and 20th centuries, the area was the vacation destination for many of the most wealthy millionaires and industrialists in the country. The historic buildings were once their cottages.  It was there in 1910, that draft legislation was written to create the Federal Reserve. The residents were asked to evacuate during WWll. Most of them never returned.

All of the land and buildings on Jekyll Island are owned by the state of Georgia. Land and buildings are leased to residents and businesses. Some  cottages in the historic district are used for special events. Guided tours of the district are also available.

At one point I considered how the homes of the wealthy and privileged men from that time period are now museums or national historic sites.  Even the names of all of the poor servants, cooks, gardeners, etc. are long forgotten. There is no recognition or remembrance of them. I managed to put the thought out of my mind and enjoy the beautiful weather and sights.

We camped at Fort Clinch State Park last year and really enjoyed it. The park is beautiful and we love the beachside campground. The people around Amelia Island and the town of Fernandina Beach are mainly locals and Florida tourists. There are no big resorts in the area and there is limited hotel space, so it isn’t crowded, even when busy. For next year, we scored a beautiful site, right next to the beach.  We are looking forward to that and returing to this beautiful area.

Our spacious campsite at Fort Clinch State Park, Fernandina Beach, FL

Link to 2022 post:

Amelia Island/Fort Clinch – April 3-14, 2022

On our way toward Amelia Island, we went to Gamble Rogers State Park, again, stopping first at Jonathan Dickinson State Park . JD has large, well-spaced  sites and new restrooms and laundry facilies. It was a great way to take a break from driving and wash some clothes. It is a really nice campground and nice area, so we may stay there a little longer next year.

Our stay at Gamble Rogers was as nice as it always is.  The cool breezes off of the Atlantic were a welcome change from the hot, humid weather in the keys. We have become acquainted with some of the regular camp hosts and the park rangers, at least one of which is an avid surfer. We also regularly run into other campers we have met during past visits at Gamble or other campgrounds. Needless to say, we always feel at home there.

One day, I was out walking and ran into the camp host. He told me he had just seen an exteremly large diamond back rattlesnake near the campground entrance. Apparently that is quite common. I had no idea! It definitely reduced my enthusiasm for hiking on the trails there.

We hated to leave, but were looking forward to Amelia Island/ Fort Clinch. We have reservations to return next year.

Our spacious campsite at Jonathan Dickinson, Hobe Sound, FL

We were quite happy to see our beautiful campsite at Curry Hammock State Park, which is a 30 minute drive from Bahia Honda State Park. It is a smaller campground, with newly rennovated facilities. It was a welcome change from the previous park, which could use some updates. The campground and beach are on the Atlantic/south side of the key, so we had sargassum seaweed fairly close to our site. It was only an issue when the wind shifted and blew from the south.

The weather was still very hot and humid. The low dunes around the campground blocked most of the breezes. We spent mornings walking around the campground and beach, hiking and booking campsites for next year. We didn’t paddle because the seaweed was pretty bad. Unlike Bahia Honda, Curry Hammock does not monitor the bacteria levels. We spent afternoons out, going to the air museum, finding fish markets and happy hours. We went to several local places, but our favorite was Keys Fisheries Upstairs Bar (aka Shannon’s Shuckers and Shakers).  There was a great view, affordable drinks and good food. We met 3 separate sets of people from Michigan. One guy lives in the same town that we do. Another couple owns a home where Dave grew up.

We cut our stay short because of the heat and the smell, opting to return to the cool ocean breezes in Flagler Beach. On our last day, we left early because strong storms were moving in. We wanted to  get to mainland before they hit. We learned that there had been a tornado warning overnight and all the campers had huddled in the restrooms. We plan to make sure we don’t miss something like that again.

View of our campsite from the beach at Curry Hammock State Park

While we were staying at Bahia Honda State Park, we took a couple of day trips to Key West. We were happy to find a parking lot that would easily accomodate our heavy duty pick-up truck. Next year we will consider taking the shuttle bus that runs between the park and Old Town. We may even spend a night there, so we can experience the sunset festivities at Mallory Square and being on Duvall Street at night.

We used to go to Key West in the early 2000’s, before we bought our place on  Maui.  They were short, fun, care-free trips, usually with friends. We used to stay at the Ocean Key resort, with rooms overlooking Mallory Square, for about $150/night (now $400 – $800/nt). We would rent bikes, spend afternoons at the pool and evenings out on the town. At that time, we were flying somewhere 4 – 7 times a year, so a shorter trip allowed me to use fewer vacation days.

The first thing we noticed was how crowded everything was and how heavy the traffic was, compared to past visits. We actually limited our walking on Duval Street for that reason. We went to the famous Southernmost Point buoy for a photo, but were shocked to see people lined up on the street, waiting their turn for a selfie. Rather than stand in line for 25 minutes, we skipped it. I’m not sure what was more surprising – the amount of people waiting or the fact that they were politely waiting in line.

We spent some time in the historic seaport district. It was quite busy, but seemed less touristy than Duvall Street. We had a great dinner at the Waterfront Brewery. The first visit, we sort of wandered Old Town, around aimlessly. The second time, we mapped out an itinerary and made sure we saw some historic sights.

Note: The beaches on the south side of Key West were unindated with smelly  sargassum seaweed, I think it’s a pretty rare occurence, but I would recommend checking the seaweed status anywhere in the keys, or even Florida, before going.

Sloppy Joe’s Bar – Ernest Hemingway’s favorite bar. We went there many times, about 22 years ago. We attempted to return a couple of times this year, but the place was packed, with no empty seats (even mid-day).

We spent 22 days in the keys, in 2 different state parks and we took day trips to Key West. This post covers the drive into the keys, the first campground and the surrounding area. Part 2 will cover the day trips to Key West. Part 3 will be about Eastern Marathon Key.

Jonathon Dickenson State Park, Hobe Sound, FL

We traveled from Flagler Beach to Jonathan Dickenson State Park in Hobe Sound, near Jupiter, FL. It was a great 1-day stop, to break up the long drive. We have met many campers who regularly drive 8 – 15 hours in a day, to get somewhere quickly. We don’t like sitting too long and prefer to see as much along our route as we can. There are 2 campgrounds at JD and we stayed in the newly renovated Pine Grove loop. The gravel sites are really large and flat and include water, sewer and electricy.

Bahia Honda State Park, Big Pine Key, FL

The drive to Bahia Honda State Park was a very long one. We expected lighter traffic on a Saturday, but it was Easter weekend and we believe people were heading to the keys for Easter break. What should have been a little over 4 hours was actually almost 8 hours.  Our campsite was designated for a rig over 30 feet when we booked it, last year. It was changed to 24 foot maximum after Hurricane Ian. We realized that, while trying to book sites for next year. We weren’t notified that we couldn’t camp there, so we decided to show up and give it a try. We were able to fit by angling the RV, but it was tight.

We really loved our campsite with views of the sunset, fish and birds. We were able to launch our paddle boards from our campsite. Swimming was not allowed (except at the beach) ,but that didn’t stop anyone at the campground.  We explored the entire park by bike and on foot. We spent most afternoons away from the campground, seeing as much as possible in the area, including Key West. Mainly we were wanting to cool off, as afternoons were very hot and humid.  We also learned that happy hours were quite affordable, so we took advantage of being able to go out without throwing off our financial plan.

On our way to Flagler Beach, we spent one night at Kathryn Hanna Abbey Park, in Jacksonville beach. It’s a city park. The park has 1.5 miles of beach and 20 miles of hiking and biking trails. The beach was beautiful and uncrowded for a Saturday during spring break season. The campsites were pretty small and challenging to enter or exit with a larger RV. The main reason we don’t plan to return is that the route to get into the park took us through a high-traffic area of downtown Jacksonville, which also seemd to be a bit unsafe. That particular detour was not worth being at that park, for us.

We were happy to return to Gamble Rogers State Park in Flagler beach again, the next day. This was our third year camping at the small, casual surf town.  There are no high-rises and no big hotels, so the town has not lost it’s charm like other towns, such as Daytona Beach or Destin. It’s a top destination for bikers, but our observation is that they are mostly mellow retirees enjoying freedom after a lifetime of work. We know of a great seafood market in the area, where we get local shrimp, tuna, wahoo and  mahi. We also really appreciate food and drink prices at the local restaurants (ex: $3 for a beer at  happy hour, compared with $12 in Destin)

There are many hiking trails in the area, but I was still recovering from a couple of injuries, so kept my walking to a minimum.  We had mostly great weather, so Dave surfed often and we spent time on the beach. By chance, one of my closest friends, Felecia, has been vacationing in the area for many years with her family, and they happened to be renting a house nearby, with friends. We spent an afternoon visting them and had a great dinner.  I also had breakfast with Felecia one day and lunch and shopping with the girls, another day. It was really fun.

The highlight of this campground is that the campsites are just steps from the beach. We can hear the ocean 24/7 and watch beautiful sunrises every day.  We don’t mind the lack of pavement or grass, to be so close to the ocean. There is another campground across the road, on the river, which has very large crushed gravel sites, surrounded by grass, We have noticed that each campground has it’s own vibe. At Gamble Rogers, people are mostly quiet but really friendly. We have often seen people here that we previously met here or at other campgrounds. We will return next month, as we head north toward home.

Our first stop was a new one for us, at Indian Mountain State Park in Jellico, TN. It was a beautiful, quiet first night with temperatures in the 70’s and spring in the air.  I imagine it is crowded and very bug-infested on summer weekends, but it was a perfect stop, midweek in March. We were fortunate that severe storms did not hit until long after we left the next day.

Our second stop was Forsyth, GA. We discovered Forsyth KOA Journey campground last year. It’s conveniently located, right off the highway. The town has a great microbrewery and a fantastic mexican restaurant. Once again, severe storms were approaching as we departed. We just barely escaped in time. A highlight was meeting a couple who just retired and were on their first night of full-time RV’ing. They were on their way to Florida to establish residency, before continuing on their full-time adventure. They plan to start a blog, so I’m looking forward to following along.

We stopped at Buc-ee’s to pick up some BBQ.  The chain has become even more popular since we discovered it last year. It was quite a circus, with traffic backed up on the freeway exit, crowds in the store and the parking lot almost completely full. Somehow, it was still a pretty quick stop and a great lunch.

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”
― Heraclitus

While I truly believe this, I still need to continue going to new places. Our travels are a good mix of seeing new places and returning to some old favorites. I always look forward to both.  Stay tuned, as I am planning to post something in a couple of weeks.

You can read more on cross country skiing in my post from last year:

Cross country skiing in Grayling, MI – Feb 25 – Mar 1, 2022

3 boring, cold months in Michigan 

October through January seemed like an eternity, doing work around the house, living with cold gray weather and fitting in regular doctor, dentist and other appointments.  Though Dave’s business was busy with holiday sales, we were mostly bored. Looking forward to Maui was how we survived it without losing our minds. I did fit in a 3-week painting class at the local art center, as well as the reorganization of our spare bedroom to make it a studio.  I did some painting, listend to many history poscasts and started a timeline of all of my travels.  I also managed to sort through and shred several years worth of old documents that I previously never got around to. Reviewing old credit card statements, I was able to fill in some gaps in travel timeline.

It was quite gratifying to review all of the cool places I have been to so far. I have been to roughly 31 countries, including 4 territories (It’s an estimate as I took several cruises and don’t recall exact itineraries). Since I met Dave, we have always taken multiple trips every year. 2001 was an epic year with 5 amazing trips – Feb  -Oahu/Kauai/Maui, July – Breckenridge, Sept – Telluride, Oct – Key West, Nov – Maui. We did this all while I was working 55+ hours per week and taking MBA classes at night. I remember being very tired….

Maui

It was great to return to Maui, as always. We had more windy and rainy days, than we did last year, but there was plenty of sun.

Going through life, it is clear that nothing stays the same. Change is pretty much constant. We have noticed that on an island, that is a high-end resort area, the rate of change seems to be far greater.  People change jobs and move more frequently. We know of more people dying, than on the mainland, especially young people. Many of the older people we know, no longer go to Maui. Many full-time residents leave the island. Inflation seems greater. What remains the same is the beautiful scenery, the warm weather, constant whale sightings during whale season and how happy we are to be there.

We often reflect on how we are very grateful that we had the foresight and resolve to figure out how to buy a place there, when we could. If we hadn’t, we would not be able to afford to spend much time there, now.

Two months seemed to pass very quickly. Though I’m always sad to leave, we have new camping adventures ahead.

Updated Campground log

It is currently 5 degrees (-28 degree windchill), the wind is howling, it’s snowing and we are both not feeling well. A post about our fun summer is just what I need right now.  It also fills a huge time gap in this blog.

After returning from our winter trip, we decided to take a break from traveling and to have a more relaxing summer and fall.  We split our time between our “sticks and bricks” in SE Michigan and our “Northern Outpost” in Frankfort, MI. While at home, we took care of the house and other responsibilities and met up with family and friends.

I am posting a lot of photos from the outpost, where we spent 47 nights, this year, camping off-grid in the RV. Highlights were meeting up with many friends we haven’t seen in a long time, hiking, paddling, cycling,  mountain biking, bald eagles, sunsets, great weather, and just enjoying nature.

End-of-season maintenance:

-inspected and repacked wheel bearings
-inspected and adjusted trailer brakes
-inspected tires
-inspected and greased suspension
-greased stabilizers
-painted RV frame, springs, and rear bumper, stabilizers
-sanitized fresh water system, flushed and winterized.
-inspected and cleaned roof
-installed new awning
-installed new microwave
-washed, cut, waxed entire exterior
-plugged or re-plugged all mouse entry points

-vacuumed and deep-cleaned entire interior

-cleaned windows

-restrung broken blinds

Cost:
-awning $165
-microwave $185
-grease $10
-supplies $40

-labor $0

TOTAL $400

As October approached, we planned for our annual RV maintenence, based on the weather forcast.  The plan was to bring the RV home, to work on it, stopping at some new campgrounds along the way. I was hopeful that this would not be our final trip for the year.

Last days in Frankfort 2022

We headed up to our Northern Outpost in Frankfort, MI for our last two nights of the year there. We did a couple of final short hikes and visited a couple of microbrewries. We packed up or put away everything for winter and closed up the outhouse/tool shed. The only reason leaving for the year wasn’t so bad, was that we were headed to a couple of new locations, on our way home.

South Higgins Lake State Park

We had never been to Higgins lake, so we booked a couple of nights at South Higgins Lake State Park. It was a pretty, 2-hour drive from Frankfort, with the beginning of fall colors near the center of the state. The campground was nearly empty and our site was beautiful. We know it is an absolute circus during peak season, as South Higgins Lake is known to be the “party camground”,  with a boat launch area. The North Higgins Lake campground is supposedly more family-oriented. We hiked at the Mari Lake trails, nearby. We drove around the area, checking out Roscommon and Houghton Lake and had a nice campfire.

Port Crescent State Park

We headed to Port Crescent State Park next. We were a little bummed that the microbrewery in Caseville and a couple of great places on Port Austin were closed because it was mid-week and off-season. When we saw our campsite we did not mind at all. It was a beautiful, calm afternoon, perfect for enjoying some quiet time on the beautiful beach. We happened to notice our neighbors’ bikes looked equipped for touring, with Brooks saddles and panniers, so Dave asked if they did any bike touring. It so happens that they had recently completed the Transamerica trail, just as Dave did when he was 20. The main difference, though, is they were 60! We had a lot of fun talking to them.

The highlight of our time at this park, was running into Skallywag, the German Shepherd and her owners, Bob and Wendy. We first met them at Fort Pickens, last winter, 2021 .  (I wrote about them near the end of this post:  Fort Pickens Area – Gulf Islands National Seashore – Pensacola Beach, FL Feb 25 – Mar 3  ).  They live in Owosso, spend a lot of time in Cheboygan in summer, and enjoy Florida camping in the winter, so we figured we we see them again, somewhere.  I saw the dog, when we were first driving into the park and I thought of them, not realizing it was actually them until we walked around the campground later. It was so great to catch up with them. It was just like when we were at Flagler Beach in spring, and realized were were camping near a couple from Maine, who were also at Fort Pickens at the same time. Bob and Wendy got a kick out of that, as they also remember the people from Maine.

We headed home to start our annual RV maintance after 119 nights of camping, this year. That is a total of 497 nights since we purchased the RV in fall of 2018, with Port Crescent State Park being our 79th camping location.

South Higgins Lake State Park, Roscommon, MI

This summer, we alternated every other 7 – 10 days between our two Michigan home bases.  While at our “sticks and bricks” in SE Michigan, we took care of the house, yard, laundry, etc. and touched base with family. At our Northern Outpost, near Frankfort, MI, we camped off grid, hiked, cycled, mountain biked, paddled, and caught up with friends. As of today, Sep 25, we have spent 89 days at home and 45 days camping, since we returned from our last big trip in May. We have camped a total of 114 nights this year, so far….

I took a break from writing this blog and I’m still contemplating how I will document the summer. This post will be about the Manistee River Trail and part of the  North Country trails, which form a 20-mile loop.

Day hike

We hike nearly every day, when we are “up north”, often on the 4 trails that are closest to home. We first day-hiked part of the Manistee RiverTrail, looking for some new scenery, and were not disappointed. We planned a quick late morning hike, so did not bring food or water. We were so enamored with the beautiful trail and gorgeous views of the river, that we just kept going.  It was a perfect late August day.

Along the way, we  saw several hikers who were camping overnight or doing multi-day trips. We decided we should dig out our old backpacking gear and return to spend 2 or 3 days backpacking. Our last time backpacking was in 1999, when we camped at Blue Lakes Pass and climbed Mt. Sneffels, in Colorado. (mentioned in my post on Ouray, CO, last September.)   The need for water and lunch made us turn back after about 3 miles. We were definitely going to return.

Backpacking gear

Dave found our gear in the basement, in a bin, where it has been stored since around 2005. I purchased mine in the mid 90’s and did several trips with the Sierra club. Dave purchased his sleeping bag for his cross-country cycling trip in 1986 and his backpack, later, for a trip to Alaska. Dave’s pack was starting to disintegrate and had a broken strap, but was still sufficient to use. Mine, having been completely over-engineered, looked brand new. I think I could drive our HD truck over it several times and it would still look new. Needless to say, it weighs almost 8 lbs, empty (today’s backpacks are less than 2 lbs).

Over several days I soaked everything in the bathtub with oxy detergent and vinegar, which removed about half of the musty rotten plastic smell. The sleeping bags cleaned up nicely by washing them in a large washer at the laundromat.

Dave hesitated to go, knowing my lack of tolerance for any unpleasant odors. I decided it really wasn’t too bad and I really wanted to have a new adventure. I even told him that I didn’t care if I couldn’t sleep.

Backpacking

We drove to the Hodenpyl Dam and  Hydro Power Plant to check out the canoe portage and eat lunch, before parking at the Seaton Creek tailhead and beginning our hike. The backpacking was really fun and the trail was beautiful. There were many beautiful campsites to choose from, since it was mid-week after Labor Day. We caught a perfect weather window. We saw deer, beaver, and many birds. At night I heard coyotes, what was likely 2 racoons fighting, the humming sound from the nearby Hodenpyl Hydro Power Plant  and other interesting noises.

Our only complaints were about the gear. My pack weighed 21 lbs. after loading it and really hurt my shoulders, even after making adjustments. Everything seemed so much heavier than when I was 30 years old, when I carried  25 – 30 lbs.  (The mean pack weight for today’s Appalachian trail hikers is 20 lbs. Many carry only about 10 lbs.)

The 1990’s vintage Thermarest sleeping pads were heavy and nearly useless. My sleeping bag, rated for 30 degrees, was too heavy and too hot, but it was too cold to leave an arm or leg out. I was also already bruised in multiple areas, including huge bruises on both hips, and a sore neck from recent wipeouts on my mountain bike. My small tent is too short for Dave, so he had to sleep on his side or diagonally.

Dave slept little and I slept even less, but I was still glad we went.  Just as we arrived back at the truck on the last day, it began raining very hard. We left the parking area at the Seaton Creek trailhead and headed to a place called Rosie’s Country Cafe, where we had hot coffee and an excellent breakfast.

We plan to return and do a day hike or two and catch some fall colors in October. If we backpack again, we will replace all or most of the gear. We will also rethink what beverages we take, as Dave had lugged several beers on ice (Dave’s brother, Dennis, is the only other person I know who would do such a thing).

Our old backpacking gear

Where we have camped since fall 2018, in addition to our own Northern Outpost:

17 states, 74 campgrounds and 1 BLM location

*Techically, Buffalo Gap National Grassland is BLM land and not a campground

Keeping with our general rule of five-hour maximum drives, we stopped at Fox Den Acres in New Stanton, PA, just a short drive off of I-70. We discovered it last year, on our return trip. It’s nothing special but it’s in a pretty setting and has nice pull-through campsites with full hook-ups. While we weren’t discovering something new, it was nice to know we could expect an easy, quick stop for a night.

Our final camping spot was at East Harbor State Park. It’s located in Lakeside Marblehead, Ohio, about 17 miles from the Cedar Point amusement park in nearby Sandusky, Ohio.

We arrived around 1:30pm. For only the second time, after camping at 75 different campgrounds over the past few years, we were at a park that enforced a 3pm check-in time. The first time was in Taquamennon Falls State Park, which was 100% booked and otherwise overrun with tourists during the height of the pandemic. That day at East Harbor, the park was mostly empty and we walked through to see our site was ready, but were not allowed to drive in until 3pm. We have heard this is a growing trend, at least at Michigan State Parks.

The park has 573 campsites, including electric, full-hook-up and non-electric, group sites, yurts and cabins. It also has a 1,500-foot sand beach on Lake Erie and 10 miles of multi-use trails. The campground seemed especially beautiful because it was still spring. The trees still had new leaves and spring blossoms. We realized that in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio, we were experiencing our first spring camping since we bought the RV. I was really appreciating that.

We were there for less than 24 hours, so didn’t get to explore a lot of the park or the nearby lighthouse. We drove to the local marina area, about a mile outside of the campground and had a beer at Crabby Joe’s. We enjoyed a fantastic dinner at the Crow’s Nest. We did our usual walking around the campground and talked with some other campers. On Saturday morning, May 14, we headed home.

I definitely had mixed feelings about returning home. I really love exploring new places, seeing new scenery and meeting people along the way. It’s been a great way for me to deal with the change of no longer working at a high pressure, demanding job for 34 years. It is always nice to return to our home, which feels like a mansion after months in the RV. It’s nice to take long, hot showers, sleep in a king size bed, and use the dishwasher and full-size refrigerator. Our routine shifts to working in the yard, walking, running and riding bikes around home, enjoying our patio and planning our Michigan camping adventures for summer. Best of all, we can spend time off-grid camping at our own Northern Outpost, in Frankfort, MI.

Our 2022 Spring tour was a great mix of exploring new places and returning to some old favorites. It included 18 campgrounds (19 counting 2 times at Gamble Rogers) in 8 states, 4670 Miles, and 69 nights. Since we purchased the RV in fall of 2018, our all-time total campground total is 75, with 378 total nights in the RV (as of May 14).

Stopping in Virginia, near Shenandoah National Park, was a perfect way to check out a beautiful area, while also avoiding a route through Washington DC.  We drove through there once before, on our way to the Outer Banks and have avoided it ever since.

We found Misty Mountain Camp resort online and had no problem getting a reservation midweek before the summer camping season. We had a nice creekside site with water and electricity. It was about a 10-minute drive to the park entrance, to several breweries and wineries, and to a very nice Harris Teeter grocery store.

Dave realized that he had passed through the area, during his cross-country bike tour on the Transamerica Trail, back in 1986. Read his journal here: http://tuz.net

We were able to find the location of the house where he stayed. It wasn’t difficult to find because “The Cookie Lady” was well-known by cyclists around the world and there are many articles about her in newspapers, magazines and on the internet. The exterior of the house looks mostly the same, but the area has changed significantly. What Dave describes was poor, rural Appalachia, is now mix of old rural houses  and wineries, vinyards, and microbrewries. There is also a mix of vehicles on the roads older vehicles and jacked-up trucks with over-sized wheels and tires and Toyota Prius’ (Prii..??) everywhere.

It was still spring in the park. Many trees still had new, young leaves and there were flowers everywhere. It mad me realize that I had not experienced spring in a couple of years. Last year we were in the southern states until Memorial Day and spring in Michigan had passed by then.

We did some beautiful hikes and went to a local microbrewery and winery, both with beautiful views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was a perfect finale to our winter tour. Over three days, we only saw a small fraction of the park, so we plan to return sometime soon.

Only two more quick stops before arriving at home.

Our creekside campsite at Misty Mountains Camp Resort, Greenwood, VA

The drive out of the Outer Banks was pretty harrowing. Driving through Rodanthe, the sand blowing across the road looked like a blizzard and we experienced 30 mph winds while driving the bridge over Oregon Inlet. It was raining harder and the surf was becoming more and more treacherous. We stopped at the dump station at Oregon Inlet and continued on. Later we would learn that the road on Hatteras Island was closed due to flooding and sand, in Rodanthe. A house was washed into the ocean and many others were in danger. We got out just in time.

Our plan was to spend one night at Newport News Campground, see Colonial Williamsburg and head to Shenandoah National Park. I had never been to either place, so was pretty excited to check them out and experience some nice weather.

The campground was nearly deserted and we could choose our campsite. We chose a spot very close to the clean restrooms and showers, since there is no water hook-up and we wanted a quick departure the next day (avoiding having to dump). The trees in the campground were beautiful. Since I retired I have become somewhat of a tree nerd (as well as very amateur birder, solver of puzzles and student of history – all to help occupy my now empty brain…). I was thrilled to see tulip trees and their flowers, as well as horse chestnut trees.

It was late afternoon on a Sunday, so we quickly set up camp  and headed to town.  All the historic sites were just closing, when we arrived, so we had the chance to walk around and see the town and take pictures with no crowds. A couple of hours was perfect, as it didn’t cause Dave to experience what he refers to as “history overload”. We found a great microbrewery with live music,  had a beer, then headed back to camp. We enjoyed our time there and would like to return one day. We considered this stop on our journey to be a “bonus”, since we had not originally planned to be there.

The ferry ride to Frisco was uneventful. We were pretty excited about camping at Frisco campground, since we spent an afternoon in the area last year. Like Ocracoke campground, the campsites have no electricity or water. Also, the showers are cold. We would be using our new generator there, also.

Frisco is a very quiet section of the Outer Banks, especially before Memorial Day. The area seems to be mostly very large, ocean-front vacation homes. There are few restaurants and bars, none of which were open air or ocean-front. Most were not open until 5pm during off-season. We opted to cook in the campground and enjoy the outdoors.

We had great weather and spent a couple of afternoons at the beach. The surf and winds were picking up, as a major Atlantic storm was on it’s way. We checked out the Graveyard of the Atlantic museum, which is very small and covers far less ship wreck history than we expected. It was worth seeing, though.

We were watching the weather forcast the entire time and deciding if we would cancel our stay in Nags Head, at Oregon Inlet. We also had reservations at Assateague Island National Seashore, in Maryland. It became clear that the weather was going to be miseralble at both places, so we developed another plan.  The National Park Service issued a warning about coastal flooding, expected the afternoon of May 8. We knew we had to leave Hatteras Island well before noon, or risk being trapped there by flooded roads. With a near 30-degree temperature drop overnight, we hitched up and headed out into the strong wind and rain, away from the coast and bad weather, toward Williamsburg, VA.

(For more on the Outer Banks, check out my posts: Outer Banks, NC – Cape Hatteras National Seashore – April 30 – May 25, 2021, Parts 1 & 2, when we spent almost a month there)

The only way to get to Ocracoke is by ferry. We had a morning reservation for the first ferry of the day on April 30, so we camped one night at Cedar Island. There are two RV parks there, one of which is right next to the ferry dock. We didn’t stay there because the reviews on Campendium said the road inside the campground was in poor condition. We realized the lack of bad reviews forthe campground we chose, were likely because it is pretty small and most people stay at the other. It was fine for a night. If we return, we will likely opt for the campground near the ferry, but make sure we are as far as possible from the riding stables because of the smell.

We were expecting to be on the large ferry pictured below, rather than the smaller one. The RV was literally about 2 inches from the outer wall of the passenger lounge area. Driving on and off was pretty nerve-racking, but we had no issues. Later we would learn that we were lucky to have been able to cross. There have been issues lately with ferries running aground or otherwise breaking down.

The national seashore campground is about 4 miles from the center of town.  The sites have no water or electricity, but there is a place to fill your tanks and generators are allowed. There are restrooms with showers, but no hot water. We recently purchased a small, lightweight, quiet generator, and are accustomed to quick hot showers in our RV, so it was no problem for us.

We arrived at the campground to find that we were unable to maneuver the RV into our reserved site. At that point, we had camped at nearly 100 different campsites over the past couple of years and this was the first time we could not get into our carefully selected site. There was a 2 – 3 -inch drop-off from the cement pad to the ground which could damage tires if we drove off. The angle into the site was too sharp. Worst of all, the camp host was directly across, with a huge storage trailer extending to the limit of their campsite, preventing us from having another couple of feet to drive over. With very weak internet, we managed to go online and find another site. After we set up, the camp host stopped by and pointed out that we couldn’t use a generator in that particular loop. We had to go online again, find another site, hitch up and  move again. It was a long day!

Ocracoke Island is 13 miles long, but the village of Ocracoke itself is just 4 square miles. The island has less than 1000 year-round residents. Most of the houses are vacation homes and most of those are available for rent.  Some areas reminded us of Mackinac Island only with cars and golf carts. Fishing is one of the main attractions. It was off-season when we were there, but on weekends, the charter boats were pretty active. We stopped at Smacnally’s, in the Marina, where you can get diinner and/or drinks and watch the daily catch come in. We saw some fish over 50 lbs being weighed, photographed and then cut up.

We rode our bikes from the campground to town, a couple of times, and explored the area that way.  The museum and lighthouse weren’t open. We also drove to the north end of the island and stopped to see the Ocracoke horses, which used to roam free on the island. Overall, we really enjoyed the island. We probably would not go there during the summer, when the campground is full and the island is crowded.

Huntington Beach State Park, 2500 acres of land, includes a freshwater lagoon, saltmarsh, maritime forest and beach. The park has a nature center a campground, boardwalks, hiking trails, beach and an historic landmark, and Alytalia Castle. It was originally the land and summer home location of Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington. The “castle”, their home, is open to the public to tour and also for weddings and events.

The campground includes 173 campsites with water and electricity. There is a newer section which is all fully paved sites with full-hook-ups (water, electricity and sewer). Those sites are closer together and that section has a laundry facility. We stayed in the older section at a  spacious, fairly private site.

The park is a popular birding destination , with over 300 bird species that have been seen in the park.  We had five great days at this park. We really enjoyed the beautiful beach, pond, salt marsh, birds, crabs and alligators.

It was great to be at the Marsh Walk with no pandemic restrictions and a little more activity than last year. We also had perfect weather. Next stop – Cedar Island, NC!

(For more photos, see the post for Apr 23-29, 2021)

Skidaway Island State Park is about 15 miles from Savannah. The park has several hiking trails, a visitor center, gift shop and 87 pull-through campsites with water, electric and cable. We spent our first day hiking and checking out the visitor center. We’ve heard that the noseeums can be bad there, but we had no problem in cool, breezy weather.

Our second day, we drove into Savannah. Last year, we  spent 2 days walking  through all 22 squares, the riverfront and Forsyth Park (roughly 10 – 11 miles, since we walked to some areas twice). This year we decided to take a trolley tour, expecting we might learn more about Savannah. Most trolley tours allow you to get on and off the trolleys all day, so it’s a great way to see the entire historic district in one day. We didn’t feel that we learned $40 dollars worth of history, but we did get to see most of the area more quickly.  We walked along the waterfront, listened to some live music and met up with our friend, Linda, who happened to be in the area. It was fun to catch up with our friend from the Detroit standup paddle race days.

It was a great place to spend a couple of days, on our way to Murrells Inlet.

This place is one of our favorites. The past couple of weeks, we have had fabulous weather. Our time on the computer has been focused on booking campsites for next year, on Florida’s new reservation system. It is proving to be very challenging to book a decent site. Otherwise, we are mostly outdoors, walking, running, hanging at the beach or exploring. We will not likely have good internet until around May 8.

Nice campsite at Fort Clinch State Park. The beachside campground is a very short walk to the beach. Nice to hear the ocean from camp.

We were so happy to leave the bugs at our last campground and return to Gamble Rogers State Park. It is one of our favorites because it has campsites with ocean views. There are two campgrounds. One is right on the ocean, the only downside being the sand/dirt road and sites. It is normally not an issue for us, with the exception of torrential rain, like we are having as I write this.  Currently most of the campground is flooded as the rain continues. I’m feeling bad for some people who are tent camping. At the other campground is across the road, the road is paved and the sites have nice gravel surfaces, with grass and some folliage between them. We have heard that the bugs can be quite annoying in that area, when there is no wind.

We enjoyed talkng with the camp hosts, Tom and Christine, who were here last year. We also got to chat with a couple from Maine, who we met at Fort Pickens – Gulf Islands National Seashore last year. They were quite memorable because on many chilly days he was the only other person on the beach besides us. It’s really fun to see people you know on the road.

We really like the area. It’s a quiet laid-back surf town.  There are no high-rises or big resorts. There are only a few small hotels and inns.  It tends to get busy on weekends, holidays and during bike weeks. In general, it’s popular with bikers and cyclists as A1A is a scenic drive along the ocean.  There are other scenic drives nearby,  through the wetlands.

There are several state parks and nature preserves in the area, where we have spent a lot of time hiking.  We hiked most of the trails at the Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park.  The sugar plantation was destroyed in one of the Seminole Wars in 1835. The short trail to the ruins is beautiful. Over all, we rank the trails in this park as some of the nicest in Florida. We hiked at the Betty Steflik Memorial Preserve. We went there last year because it was recommended to us by Dave’s Aunt Faira, who frequently hiked there with Uncle Don, when they lived in St. Augustine. It is a beautiful place.

We always enjoy meeting people, which was not the same last year, during the Covid pandemic. It was great to get out more this time. There is a place very close to the campground called High Tides. I don’t recall if we avoided it last year, due to not being vaccinated yet, or if it was closed. Really, it doesn’t look too special from the road or beach. This time we walked over for a beer and were happy to meet the daytime manager from Detroit. The evening manager’s close college buddy was from Detroit. Needless to say, we felt totally at home. There was a shirt swap, sticker swap and we had some amazing food. It’s right on the beach and windows are open when the wind isn’t ripping off of the ocean. It’s a cool place with a great vibe and fabulous food. We hope we can get a site next year, but the new Florida State Park reservation system will definitely be a challenge.

Sebastian Inlet is a man-made cut between the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian River Lagoon, in Brevard County, FL. It was cut across a barrier island in the late 1800’s. The state park is located on either side of the inlet on the barrier island. It has three miles of beaches, a swimming area on the inlet, a small campground, two gift shops and couple of museums. The inlet, the lagoon and the piers are very popular fishing spots, as well as photo opportunities for birders. Over 190 bird species have been identified there.

Pelican Island National Wildlife refuge is about 4 miles south of the park. It was the first National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in the country. We hiked the trails and boardwalk. There were far more birds at Sebation Inlet, but it was definitely worth visiting the historic location.

We enjoyed time on the beautiful beach, walking and running near the park, and seeing all of the birds and dolphins. The familiar sound of boats in the area made us feel at home, as it was like the sounds near our home in Michigan, during the summer. I also realized I like being around people who are fishing. They tend to be quiet and relaxed and generally in a good mood. It was sunny, hot and humid, with the exception of  a major storm, with 40 mph wind gusts. After leaving, I really regretted not taking my paddleboard out in the lagoon, on the calm days.

The weather was nice. The restrooms and showers were in good shape and very clean. The campsites were pretty well-maintained. The employees and camp hosts were very friendly and seemed happy to be there. The only problem was the no-see-ums. They were as bad as black flies at their peak in Michigan. Every bite was extremely painful for me, so I was covered from head to toe, while in camp, sweating in the 85-degree humid weather. Dave did not feel the bites, so suffered from the itchy aftermath, looking like he had the measles.  We purchased the recommended repellent, but it didn’t help much. We were forced to keep all of the windows closed and leave our noisy air conditioning running because the bugs can fly through window screens. We had reserved two full weeks there, but were happy we could leave early, for an ocean-front site at Gamble Rogers State Park. Though it’s a great park, we will not likely return because of the bugs.

We left Michigan on Sunday, March 6. The snow was pretty much gone and it was a good travel day. Most of our first few days were planned around avoiding driving in bad weather. Overall, it worked out pretty well. Our last day at Faver-Dykes was really rainy, but we fit in a decent hike, early. We did not feel like going to see anything in St. Augustine, after experiencing the traffic and crowds there, last year. Maybe next time… Our main goal was to get to Sebastian Inlet on 3/11 and to start enjoyng some warm, sunny weather in a new location.

Between Maui and our spring camping trip, I was able to fit in my annual cross country ski trip with my friend, Marcy. We have been friends for 29 years and she is definitely one of my BFFs. We met at GM and started skiing together soon after. We discovered Stokely Creek Lodge in Goulais River, ON a year or 2 later, and that became our only ski destination. We used to go 2 or 3 times a year, but since Dave and I started going to Maui, we’ve gone once a year. I’m pretty sure some people initially thought Marcy and I were a couple. I noticed some surprised looks when I showed up with a ring and started talking about Dave. I guess it wasn’t just at Stokely. Some people in my own family also suspected…Hahaha!

We were not very good skiers for the first few years. In fact, we did not know how to slow down or stop. We simply wiped out to stop. Thankfully,  Chuck, the original owner of the lodge, showed us how to snow-plow, one day, when he was skiing with us and noticed our awkward and painful technique for stopping. This is one of hundreds of great memories of skiing together.  We both love gliding along in the snow, enjoying nature and staying warm while doing it. We both love classic and skate skiing, though we are not very fast. We travel with at least 3 pairs of skis each and  at least 2 types of boots.

This year we decided we didn’t want to deal with crossing the border and having to pass Covid tests. We didn’t want to risk losing our deposit, if one of us tested positive or if something else went wrong. We decided to go to Grayling instead, because we know some avid skiers who skied there last year and liked the trails and grooming. Apparently, last year they had snow when Traverse City did not. We booked Finley’s Riverside cabins because the pictures looked great, the price was reasonable and they had the best cancelation policy.

We had a great time. The cabin was cozy, but still had plenty of space, with 2 double beds, a well-equipped kitchen area and bath. The owners were friendly and left homemade zuchini bread for us. It was very close to the Cross Country Ski Shop, where I could have new ski bindings mounted to my skis, by someone who actually knows about cross country skiing (there is no such place in SE Michigan).  We cooked most of our own food, which was really nice.

We skied at Forbush Corners in Frederic, MI. The trails and grooming were pretty nice. They actually have the ability to make snow on some of the trails, when necessary. It’s owned by a non-profit and run by volunteers.  It was really busy, with a lot of really good skiers. Hanson Hills Recreation Area in Grayling had nice trails and grooming. I prefer that place because there is no freeway noise and there are more miles of trails without really steep hills. At Forbush corner the longest easier trail runs along I-75, though it is still quite pretty. I did have a moment at Forbush where I felt like Jessie Diggins for about 5 minutes. I was flying along with my new bindings on my waxable skiis and just laughing because it was so fun!

Stokely Creek Lodge has many more miles of trails, amazing grooming, tons of lake effect snow, a cozy lodge, fabulous meals and always some familiar faces.  Though we miss it, we really enjoyed Grayling and are happy to know of another much closer alternative to ski, especially for a last minute quick trip. I will be hoping and praying for some early snow this year in November or December.

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So happy to ski again, after 2 years! Hanson Hills Recreation Area, Grayling, MI

I may eventually post more on Maui, when I’m not traveling. We have been going there for about 23 years and purchased a condo there about 16 years ago. Over the years we’ve been spending more and more time there, with the exception of 2019 and 2020, due to the pandemic,

This year we decided to spend only 6 weeks there. Since I retired, we can spend as much time as we want to, except for during Dave’s pre-holiday busy season. We had made reservations for a spring southern camping trip, in case the pandemic prevented us from going again. We decided to follow that plan, cutting the maui trip short and recouping some lost rental revenue in Hawaii. Rental rates on Maui are more than double what they have ever been.

We were extremely happy to be there again. Many things have changed. A lot of people have left the island, some have passed away, many happy hours have been discontinued, prices for everything are much higher, places have closed and people have changed jobs. We have gotten used to not going out much and cooking, so we continued that. We had the best winter weather we have ever experienced there, with no rain and very little wind. It was wonderful. We saw more whales than ever, icluding the birth of a baby, all from our condo. We also saw monk seals, turtles and dolphins. We were also happy to see friends again.

Before I start posting for 2022, I will summarize our travels in 2021.

We took two major tours – a 4-month RV winter trip to the southern US and a 5 1/2-week Colorado trip. We traveled over 13,000 miles through 18 states: AL, FL, GA, SC, NC, VA, PA, MI, IL, NE, CO, IA, OH. KY, TN, MD, IN, KS.

We camped in 12 states:  AL, FL, GA, SC, NC, VA, PA, MI, IL, NE, CO, IA. (We have camped in 15 states, total, in our RV, including WI, MN and SD in 2020.)

We camped 24 nights in Michigan including 4 different campgrounds and 18 nights at our own Northern Outpost. We spent 181 nights in the RV, totalling 309, since we purchased it in August 2018.

Running log of Michigan campgrounds (since we purchased the RV in 2018):

Sanilac County Forester Park
Stafford County Park (we do not recommend)
Holland State Park
Young State Park
Fayette State Park
Marquette City Park
Porcupine Mountains State Park
McLain State Park
Wilderness State Park
Brimley State Park
Cheboygan State Park
Orchard Beach State Park
Hartwick Pines State Park
Lake Michigan Rustic Campground, Hiawatha National Forest
Wells State Park
Fort Wilkins State Park
Tahquamenon Falls State Park
Straits State Park
Wild Cherry Resort, Leelanau
Warren Dunes State Park
Grand Haven State Park
Ludington State Park

Aside from really strong winds, our drive out of Colorado was pretty uneventful. I actually appreciated the scenery of Kansas and Nebraska after the dust clouds and tumble weeds of eastern Colorado. We stopped at Hunter Cove Park in Republican City, NE for one night. It was in the middle of nowhere,  and off-season, so very quiet and uncrowded. It was nice to take a walk and unwind after a day on the road. The next day, we drove to Walnut Woods State Park in West Des Moines. It was also a nice, quiet place walk and rest.

We had reservations at Indiana dunes State Park, for the following 2 nights. We were watching the weather and they were getting torrential rain. The forcast looked terrible for the next 1 – 2 days, so we canceled our first night (losing about $25) and found a spot at Fisherman’s Corner near Moline, IL. It would allow us to make progress toward home, but still have decent weather. We were unable to tour the John Deer Museum because it was closed, due to the panndemic. We did have a great lunch in town and enjoyed walking and checking out the Mississippi River.

The weather forcast for Indiana Dunes was still terrible, so we booked a site at Starved Rock State Park, where the forcast looked good. It’s a beautiful park with many miles of hiking trails. We had a great day hiking and enjoyed the warm, sunny weather.  We forfeited two nights of camping fees, but in return, we avoided torrential rain, had 2 beautiful weather days and  discovered Starved Rock. It was a great way to wrap up our 38-day adventure.

On September 24, we arrived home, having traveled 4,760 miles. We absolutely loved our time in Colorado and it remains one of our favorite states. We had as much fun as we possibly could, getting there and returning home, discovering some very cool small towns and beautiful parks along the way.  The RV is put away for winter, until March, when we will head south for a spring trip. In the meantime, we plan to head to Maui to enjoy our other favorite place. Aloha!

Driving through Kansas

Creede

When we arrived in Creede, were were happy to see that we had chosen the best local RV campground. The Antlers is located away from the main highway on the Rio Grande River.  At check-in, we were advised to eat at the Antlers  restaurant because there are few places to eat in the area. We were also advised to buy supplies early, since almost everything closes at 5pm. Also, we should get gas right away, because the local gas station runs out of gas on busy weekends. The sites are very well cared for and have full hook-ups. All of the facilities are nice, including laundry, which we took advantage of. There is a lodge, cabins and restaurant with an outdoor deck and live music, where we had a fabulous dinner. We were fortunate to be there, as it was the last weekend the restaurant would be open, for the season.

We really enjoyed the town, where we had the opportunity to meet some of the locals, as well as a large group from Frankenmuth, MI, who were in town for a wedding. It’s a very small town with a handful of shops, restaurants and a hotel with only 4 guest roooms. We were told the town becomes nearly deserted in the winter. It is quite the bustling place during the daytime in summer, with many Texans owning summer homes in the area and people day-tripping from other towns. We met some wealthy ranchers from Texas at the Antlers restaurant. They told us they come to Creede to cool off in the summer. We toured the underground mining museum and checked out the annual, local car show, Cruisin’ the Canyon. It appeared that the event was the “last hurrah” for the season. We had some great mexican food at Kip’s Grille. Fortunately, the only place open on that fall evening was really good.

Colorado Springs

We stopped in Colorado Springs because it was on the way home and because a long-time customer of Dave’s told him to stop in at the local brewery, if we were in the area.  We managed to book a site at Cheyenne Mountain State Park for one night. The park is located roughly half-way up the mountain and overlooks Colorado Springs. The view is especially beautiful at night. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is located farther up the mountain. We were joking about how the military personnel were watching us with binoculars and checking out Slushie (like they have nothing better to do).

Bristol Brewing company is only 6 miles from the park. Since we were only staying one night, and we had a lot of driving ahead of us,  our only plan for the day was to meet up with Nikos and have a beer. Expecting to meet a friendly bartender at a typical brewery, we were quite blown away by the experience. Nikos is the director of marketing and advertising for a pretty large operation and he gave us the grand tour. Bristol purchased an old school to house their milling, brewing and bottling, as well as multiple tap rooms, restaurants, a coffee shop, distillery, outdoor space and more.  The former art teacher at the school helped decorate the place. The former principal’s office is now the administrative offices. In the old gym, a band was playing and people were dancing. People were playing cornhole outside. We had so much fun talking to Nikos, tasting some great beer, and seeing everything. We even had some excellent Detroit Style Pizza. It was a great final day in Colorado.

We really want to return and see more of Colorado Springs. We would actually go back, just to go to Bristol Brewing Company.

Why we went to Pagosa Springs

We learned about Pagosa Springs from our late friend, Lee, who we met in Maui. He was a happy hour regular at the Hula Grill and Leilani’s. Lee’s long-time girlfriend, Cherie, owned an interval condo (timeshare) at the Whaler and they would spend about a month there every year. Lee was in his early 60’s was a self-employed geologist, working mostly in the western states and spending a lot of time at his condo in Pagosa Springs. He was a very nice, intelligent guy, but almost exclusively spoke about Pagosa. I thought is was so strange for someone to be in paradise, but continually talking about someplace else. We were very curious to learn for ourselves, why the place is so special. Sadly, Lee passed away unexpectedly several years ago, before he could retire and enjoy his favorite place full time. This post is dedicated to Lee.

Bruce Spruce Ranch

As we drove toward Pagosa Springs and then to Bruce Spruce Ranch, we were blown away by the beautiful scenery. There were no snow-covered peaks, but the landscape of mountains, the San Juan River, forests and the cattle ranches was stunning.  We quickly understood why Lee loved the area so much. The ranch is definitely one of the most beautiful campgrounds we have been to. It was easy to overlook the tight spacing of the campsites, as the whole setting was so peaceful and gorgeous. It was nice that we had a day or two with no neighbor. Bruce Spruce is family-owned, has full hook-up campsites, cabins, a shower/bath house and two stocked trout ponds.

Our Pagosa Springs hikes

We did three major hikes in the area, The first  started  at the far end of a barely passable forest service road (about 7 miles in) and offered a pretty rugged trail and beautiful back-country scenery. The second, on the Continental Divide Trail, started at the summit of Wolf Creek Pass. There were deer, great views and some steep drop-offs. We ended that one after about 2.5 miles (over 1,000 feet up) at the top of the local ski area. The 3rd hike was our toughest at over 6 miles and climbing over 2000 feet. We encountered a couple of groups of elk hunters on that trail. I was wishing we had worn some hi-vis colored hats. On these trails we learned the hard way, that cheap hiking boots are not sufficient. Dave was wearing some light hikers and I was wearing some inexpensive boots from Cabelas, one size too big, which I purchased to accomodate a swollen foot. The soles were not sturdy enough and the size was too big for my good foot. Needless to say, our feet were toast and I destroyed a toenail.

Wolf Creek Pass

During our time in Pagosa, we drove over the 10,856-foot altitude Wolf Creek Pass several times.  It’s very steep, with a 7% downhill grade, a hairpin turn and over 200 foot drop-off, heading from east to west.  Fortunately, we would be towing our rig over it from west to east.   Between 2015 and 2019, there were 47 semi-truck crashes on the west side of the pass, incuding three fatalities. There have been many passenger car accidents and fatalities, also. There are many postings all over the internet, warning of the dangers there. “Beware the Wolf!”. Once, while we were driving by, a we saw a vehicle  being lifted from down the cliff. Our neighbor at the campground arrived one day in a class B camper van, with brake failure. She likely destroyed her brake pads, coming down the pass. Throughout our travels we have seen many vehicles with smoking brakes, while heading down a steep grade. Apparently, people from flat states don’t educate themselves on using lower gears in the mountains.

Town and Boss Hoggs

The hot springs resort area is near what appears to be the old historic town center. Clearly, the hot springs are the draw for tourists. There were pleanty of people at the resorts and even swimming in the river, even though it was pretty warm outside. There really was not a lot else in that part of town, except for a couple of shops. Another section of town, which seems was originally residential, is where you can find restaurants and a couple of microbreweries. A little farther out, near some strip malls, is where Boss Hoggs Restaurant and Saloon is located. This was Lee’s favorite place, which he often spoke about in Maui. He loved the prime rib, as he was clearly a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. Cherie would often be in her condo, preparing a roast, while Lee was at happy hour. Going to Boss Hoggs was a great experience and we ate at the bar, as Lee likely would have. Dave loved the prime rib. I didn’t care much for the salmon, but the bartender had previously worked in Maui and knew some people that we know. We enjoyed the aloha.

While the town isn’t our favorite Colorado town, we did go to some nice places. We absolutly loved the mountains, scenery and hiking trails. I’m pretty sure Lee’s view in heaven looks a lot like the ranch land and mountains around Pagosa Springs. Aloha, Lee. A hui hou kakou.

We departed Ouray, taking the longer route, past Telluride and over Lizard Head Pass, to avoid the white-knuckle experience of towing over the Million Dollar Highway (US hwy 550). The summit of the million Dollar Highway is 11,018-foot Red Mountain Pass between Ouray and Silverton. The scenery is magnificent, if you can keep your eyes open. We have driven that route several times in a small rental car and that was scary enough. We certainly were not cheated out of beautiful mountain scenery, taking the tamer route. I recall being very happy as we traveled that day. Mountains, trees, rivers, sunshine……sigh… (can you tell I am getting my annual case of November cabin fever?)

Lightner Creek Campground is a private campground with full hook-up campsites. The photos online looked very inviting.  We wanted to spend a day or two in Durango, since we were in the area and this campground is located about 5 1/2 miles from town.  The area is quite scenic, but the campground is very crowded, with campsites very close together. The creek, located about 20 feet from our campsite, was dry. This might have been a good thing, considering the possibility of mosquitoes or snakes.

I was not comfortable with our neighbors. It’s not that I am judgemental about older RVs, or campers who may not be able to afford someting nice. I was mainly concerned with the fact that it appeared to be in disrepair and they ran their A/C continually. I was concerned about an electrical fire and their very close proximity to our site. We’ve read alot about RV maintainence and it is quite apparent to us, that most people do very little to properly maintain their equipment. Also, they had children and the youngest cried alot.  We set up camp and decided to spend very little time at the campground.

We hiked some local trails and enjoyed a couple of afternoons exploring town. As we always do, we went to the Durango Train Station and were fortunate to catch some photos the train, again. The Historic Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has been continuouosly operated since 1882. The train is used for sightseeing tours between Durango and Silverton. We have never taken the train because neither of us wants to sit on a train all day, but I believe we are missing out on some spectacular sights.

We have been to Durango may times, staying only a day or two. It was actually our first stop on our first Colorado trip, We always wished we had more time, but that was usually as we were about to fly home to return to work. This time, 2 days was enough, as we were heading to  Pagosa Springs and some other new destinations.

Our first day in Ouray, we arrived at the Ouray Riverside Resort campground early, so we had plenty of time to enjoy the town.  The campground is located about a mile from the center of town and is adjacent to the  Uncompahgre River, a tributary of the Gunnison River.  Though the campground does not have well-spaced sites with grass and trees, it does have full hook-ups, nice views of the surrounding mountains and is very close to town.  We had a riverside site where we could hear the rushing river.

We were especially excited to be in Ouray, because four years prior, we had hiked the Perimeter trail, a very steep, scenic and sometimes scary trail on the mountains surrounding town. On this particular stretch of the trail, there were some very steep drop-offs next to the narrow trail, as well as some bear tracks. I remember thinking about my life insurance policy and not wanting to be too close to Dave on the trail. I kept reminding myself of how much I know he loves me. After seeing the bear tracks I was afraid to be too far from him, but I was terrified on so many levels, especially when we came upon some teenage rock climbers who were climbing above us and could possibly fall and land on us. Yikes! We stopped for a break near a waterfall and met a couple from Ohio. They were retired teachers, but did not even look like they were 50 years old. They had an RV and were spending a month in Ouray. That could be us one day! We talked about that couple many times over the next few years.

We walked into town along a pathway next to the river. We passed the hot springs, but it was too hot to consider checking them out. Just as we walked into town we met a woman who asked about our logo gear. She was from Michigan and her father was a high level executive at GM. She was living in town with her husband for summer and near Torch Lake, MI the rest of the year.  We found an outdoor patio to enjoy a beer. A couple walked up to us and said “The last time we were in Ouray, 4 years ago, we met you at the brewery. We thought it was too strange a coincidence to not mention it.” They recognized our logo gear and had some of our stickers. They were from Glenn Arbor, MI, which is not far from our Northern Outpost.  These encounters made us feel that much more “at home” and glad to be back.

The next day we decided to check out Camp Bird Mine and Yankee Boy Basin. That is a very special place for us, as we back-packed from the mine to Blue Lakes Pass, where we set up camp and and climbed Mount Sneffels on our first Colorado trip in 1999 (camping is no longer allowed). We went up past the mine and found they now have restrooms to accomodate the many 4X4 tours. I was quite thankful! We found a decent place to park and walked up the 4X4 road into the Basin. It was as beautiful as we remembered it, but seemed far steeper. We hiked about 1.5 – 2 miles, climbing 1500 feet or more. How on earth did we hike 4 miles with full packs 22 years ago? There was a lot of 4X4 traffic and even a young couple in a rental car, who partially tore off their front clip, trying to drive over some boulders. They were laughing. We also met a couple of guys who were warming up for the Immogene Pass Run, that would take place two days later.

The drive back was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. This time, the steep drop-off from Camp Bird Road, into the canyon was on my side of the vehicle. The road was only wide enough for one vehicle in many places. I mostly kept my eyes closed and tightly clenched my fists, holding my breath. Dave says the road was greatly improved since 1999. It’s smoother and wider. Camp Bird Mine is now active again and it apprears they have people working on the road every day. Somehow, I don’t even remember the road in 1999. I guess I was really fearless back then.

We really enjoyed the rest of our time there. A highlight was dining at The Outlaw. It was truly the best meal I’ve had in years. The Rocky Mountain Trout and baked potato were cooked to perfection. Dave’s prime rib was just as good. The first few bites actually brought tears to my eyes. It had been so long since I had Rocky Mountain Trout or a good potato or a great meal in a restaurant. We will return to Ouray, just to eat there.

We also enjoyed the roof top patios at the Ouray brewery and the Immogene Hotel. We did some sightseeing, driving partially up U.S. 550, aka the Million Dollar Highway. We only drove part of it, but it helped us to confirm that we would not tow the RV on that road, because of steep grades and treacherous drop-offs. We met a newly retired GM couple from Michigan, who were touring the state in their brand new 5th wheel.

Before we departed Ouray on our last day, We walked into town to watch the start of the Immogene Pass Run. It’s a 17 mile course, starting in Ouray (7810′) and climbing 5304 feet over Immogene Pass (13,114′) (near Camp Bird Mine), ending in Telluride (8750′). It was pretty cool to see athletes of all ages showing up for this pretty extreme race.

I have been spending extra time on this post, since Telluride has been one of our favorite destinations since we first traveled there in 1999.  We started planning our first trip there, when we were still just friends. We have visited  at least 10 more times, since then. We almost bought a condo there (which would now be worth 10 times what it cost then).  Dave’s wedding ring has the mountains around Telluride engraved in it, a testament to its importance in our lives.

Matterhorn Campground is a US Forest Service campground, located about 10 miles south of the Telluride Ski area.  We planned our trip around this location, making sure we would have power for heat and would return to lower elevations before it snowed. At 8500′, it is our highest altitude campsite. It is one of very few campgrounds without an accurate map or overhead view on Google Maps, to enable selecting the best campsite. We were surprised to find that the campsite spacing was very irregular and that our site was exteremely close to our neighbor’s. While it is in a beautiful setting, and near Telluride, it was not our favorite campground.

The town of Telluride is at an altitude of 8750′.  It’s an historic mining town, which was still somewhat sleepy and quirky when we first visited. Since then, it has grown significantly and real estate is now for the wealthy, only. Surprisingly, it still does not feel too crowded (at least in the fall) and has not lost it’s original appeal to us. The gondola, the first and only free public transportation of its kind in the United States, runs year-round and provides a quick, free, scenic trip between town and Telluride Mountain Village, the ski area above town.

Our favorite activity there is hiking. There are many hikes that start right in town. This was the first time I could be well-acclimatized before hiking (or even walking around town), which made it a lot more fun for me. Unlike Dave, I definitely feel the affects of altitude. We were happy to hike our old favorites, as well as some new trails.

We were there during the Telluride Film Festival, which I imagine is one of the more low-key or laid-back film festivals. It didn’t really affect our visit too much. That is likely because “filmies” don’t seem to be into hiking. We had no trouble getting a table at our favorite restaurant, Esperanza’s (best Mexican food anywhere!) or a seat at the Last Dollar Saloon. The Historic New Sheridan Bar (est. 1885) is a bit more upscale, so we went there after the “filmies” left town.

We had a great time and hated to leave, but had many more fun destinations on our itinerary. Next stop, Ouray!

View of the campground from Galloping Goose trail

We reserved one night at the state park near, Colorado National Monument. The temperature was in the mid 90s that day, so we were happy to have a scenic drive rather than hike. We spent a couple of hours exploring the beautiful park. Driving toward the park, you would never expect to see such amazing views. The road was a bit scary at times. Driving through, I kept wondering, “Who ever came up with the idea to build a road up here…???” It is quite the civil engineering wonder.  It would have been nice to have a little more time, but we made the most of it. We had a great day there and it was definitely worth the visit.

Late afternoon, we went to the town of Fruita (pronounced froo tuh) to have a cold beer and get some dinner.  It was really too hot to cook and we were tired from traveling and touring the park.  The town was pretty quiet, but friendly. People actually said “hello” when they passed us on the sidewalk. Dave had been dreaming of Hot Tomato Pizza for months and it did not disappoint.

The campground was very quiet and well maintained. We had booked our site when the reservation window opened, six months prior to our arrival. That allowed us to score one of the full hook-up, pull-through sites, which is always great for a one-night stay. We would definitely camp there again, if in the area.

While we were staying at Heaton Bay, we scouted a section of I-70 over Vail Pass, since we knew it was very steep. We decided to avoid towing through that section of highway get to Redstone, because the road was under construction, with a bumpy surface , a lane closed and a high speed limit. The alternate route was less steep, still very scenic and took us over Tennessee pass.  We didn’t know what to expect in the Redstone area, as we knew there had been rockslides and mudslides recently. There were crews in the area, cleaning up and working on repairs, but it wasn’t a problem for us.

Redstone Campground is located in the White River National Forest, about 15 miles from the nearest main highway.  Our site had water and electric. There is no dump station, but there is a station at a nearby water treatment facilty. The sites are well-spaced and ours felt really private. Each site included a “bear box” to store all food and items with any scent, for campers in tents or pop-ups.  The Crystal River, great for swimming and fishing, runs along the edge of the campground.

There is a mile-long hiking trail from the campground to the historic town site of Redstone. We walked it the first day and explored the town and the Redstone Inn. There are a couple of stores, a church, a small hotel, and some very cute houses. There is also a bar advertising Detroit Style pizza  (another Detroit connection), owned by a Grand Rapids company.

Following the recommendation of the friendly campground hosts, we drove to Marble,  one day, to get some excellent barbeque.   The Crystal River Valley area is very popular with OHV and ATV enthusiasts. The parking lot in town was full of people with trucks and trailers, unloading their ATVs and heading out for the day.  Since we arrived before Slow Groovin Barbeque was open, we decided to walk around town. The town is even smaller than Redstone, but we stumbled upon Marble Mill Site Park, where a trail leads through the town’s historic marble mill site. Marble from this location was used for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Lincoln Memorial, the Denver Post Office, the Montana State Capitol building and more. We made it to the barbeque place, to buy a couple of pounds of brisket and smoked salmon before the ATV lunch rush. Later that day, we had excellnt brisket and salmon tacos and stocked our freezer.

The remainder of our four days there, we went for a scenic drive, enjoyed a quiet afternoon at our campsite, did some hiking, and spent a day in Carbondale.  In Carbondale, we did laundry and went to a microbrewery, where we met a couple from Telluride. She was originally from Dearborn, MI. The waitress was also from the Detroit area. It was a Sunday and hardly anything was open in town.  We were surprised as we were expecting it to be a lively, fun town.

Overall, we loved the Redstone and Marble area and really appreciated being away from traffic and noisy highways.

Crossing the continental Divide at Tenessee Pass, formerly a World War II training ground for United States Army troops of the 10th Mountain Division. It’s now the location of a memorial to them.