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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.

We had the unique experience of having our first long tour during a pandemic, from January 27 to May 27. We had already experienced shorter trips, since COVID hit the world, last year, so we knew generally what was in store for us. Of course, we assumed that by March or April, it would nearly be behind us and were wrong. By the time we were in St. Augustine, FL, in early April, Michigan had become the new COVID  epicenter in the US. I realized that was possibly the reason people were keeping a very large distance from me, while out walking or running and wearing my Detroit logo gear. We began telling everyone we happened to be talking to, that we had been in FL all winter, so they would not be afraid we would contaminate them.

Lockdown was tough for full-time RV’rs

The pandemic made us quite aware of issues that might arise for someone RVing full-time. Fortunately, all of the campgrounds had reopened by the time we headed out for the tour, but we know of people who literally had no place to go when all of the campgrounds were shut down.  In those cases they had to stay with friends or relatives, aka mooch-docking. We have not considered RVing full time, but knowing this further ensures we will not.

Getting vaccinated in another state

Throughout our winter tour I had been working on a strategy for us to get COVID vaccines. It was challenging, as many states, including Georgia and Florida only allowed vaccines for residents of their states.  Proof of residency was required. We met many snow birds along the way who had either flown to their home state or had driven many hours to get a vaccine (to no avail). I knew that South Carolina did not have a residency requirement, so our “plan A” was to get the Johnson and Johnson vaccine (single dose, only), if it was available. That was the quickest way to be fully vaccinated. When safety issues were raised for that vaccine I started searching for a place that had Pfizer or Moderna. By the time we had an appointment for the Moderna vaccine at Walmart in SC, I learned that North Carolina no longer had a residency requirement, allowing us to plan our 2nd dose there. The plan worked out well and we are happy that Walmart recently sent us a digital vaccine record. We may need it to fly to Maui this coming winter.

What we missed out on

The greatest drawback to traveling during a pandemic was not doing or seeing  everything we normally would have. Mask mandates were looser or nonexistant in most states we traveled through and few people wore masks. We didn’t go indoors anywhere that was not open air (windows and doors open) or that seemed crowded.  On bad weather days windows, doors and outdoor patios were closed and people were crowded indoors. There were countless times that we went to a  restaurant or microbrewery and just turned around and left.  A rainy, cold day would normally be a good day for a museum, a long leisurely dinner out or even a movie theater, but not during a pandemic. I think we quickly went through a couple of visitor centers, but otherwise, no museums, historic homes or indoor dining.

Crowded campgrounds 

The pandemic also resulted in many people camping, who otherwise would not. Our impression of the normal snowbirds, who migrate south annually, is that they are experienced campers with no small children and who usually have some awareness of campground etiquette. Typically, there are campsite vacancies that allow for some people to maintain a  less defined schedule. This year all of the campgrounds were fully booked. There were many large families who were presumably homeschooling and either “working from home” or not working. There were also vacationers who were camping rather than going on cruises or resort vacations. We believe this generally resulted in a less peaceful, quiet experience.

Still worth it, for us

The benefits to RV touring during a pandemic outweighed the drawbacks. We got to see something new almost every day and we made a point to do so. We walked and cycled every trail and every section of each park that we could. We regularly took walks around the campgrounds, checking out the multitude of rigs and camping styles and talking to countless interesting, cool people from all across the country. We saw and met so many cute traveling dogs and cats. We checked out as many hiking trails, cute towns, beaches and ocean front tiki bars as possible. We found all the best local fish markets and became skilled at cooking in our RV, as it was usually too dark, windy and/or rainy to cook outside).. None of these experiences would have been possible if we had stayed home and stuck to our pandemic lockdown routine.

Reposting some of my favorite pictures of uncrowded places:

OBX to Fredericksburg

The first day of our return trip was uneventful. We had replanned our route to avoid Washington DC traffic, based on advice from the man we met in Frisco. We knew, in advance, that we would have to pull off and turn off the propane (for the refrigerator) before entering the tunnel at Chesapeake Bay. We were bringing some tuna and shrimp with us, and wanted to keep it frozen, as well as not waste some other groceries. We chose the perfect place to pull off to turn it back on, allowing us to bypass a major accident on I-64.

When we arrived at the Fredericksburg KOA, we were told that we had the best campsite in the campground. It was a full hook-up and large enough that we did not have to unhitch. We have friends in the area, but we planned the stop at the last minute, for a quick one-night rest. We had just enough time to decompress a little, eat dinner and go to bed early, for an early start the next day. It was about 95 degrees and very humid in the campground, so we were thankful to have electricity. It was a nice campground and it would be fun to return, sometime, to explore the area and meet up with our friends (sorry we didn’t see you this time, Annalee!).

During our travels, we have met many campers who like to “wing it” and stay at truck stops or Walmart parking lots, which are free. We met a couple at a Michigan State park who owned a beautiful, new class A motorcoach. They once took a one-week trip to the Badlands and only stayed at Walmarts. We recognize that everyone has different priorities when they travel. Even for these quick stops, we prefer to be able to have electricity and relax in a peaceful setting.

Fredericksburg to New Stanton

The next day we headed to Fox Den Acres Campground in New Stanton, Pensylvania, which was just off of I-76, on our route home.  We were assigned a large pull-thru site with water, electricity and even cable TV. We did not have to unhitch, again.  It was Thursday night before Memorial Day weekend and the campground was starting to fill up, with large groups of campers gathering. The weather was beautiful, though storms were forcast for the entire weekend. They had a very large tent set up, probably because the rain was coming. There certainly was no sign that anyone was concerned about the pandemic. It was a very well-maintained and updated campground, with friendly owners.

We really enjoyed the scenery over the 2-day drive home. We started discussing Virginia and Pennsylvania as possible destinations for a future shorter, closer adventure. For the first time on the entire trip, we had to drive through torrential rain and heavy winds on the very last day, between Pennsylvania and our home in Macomb County, MI.

On May 28, after 4 months – 120 nights in the RV, 14 campgrounds, camping in 7 different states, driving 6,400 miles (including towing and exploring), we finally arrived home.

Though our RV is quite nice, with plenty of space, a queen size bed and the tank capacity for adequate showers, our house seemed to be absolutely enormous. My first long, hot shower (with aromatherapy oils misting) seemed like a spa experience. Over the first few days, we would take multiple showers, just because we could! We slept like babies in our huge, king size bed. I was so happy to use the dishwasher!

I had a minor surgery to repair my foot. I’m recovering and planning to fix the other foot soon, to avoid trouble during a future adventure.

Reflections on our journey

Looking back on the winter, we are both so glad we made the journey.  It was a great alternative to being trapped in our house and routine during the pandemic. We were able to ride our bikes, walk, hike and spend most of our time outdoors. We enjoyed some new, very beautiful places (e.g. Fort Pickens, St George Isand, Flagler Beach) and we learned that some places were not what we expected (e.g. Destin, St. Augustine). We can now confirm that as beautiful as these places were, they are not more beautiful than Lake Michigan. Maui and Colorado are still our favorite destinations.  We also learned a lot about what the winter weather and wind can be like in the panhandle and on the Atlantic coast.

We learned how to cook seafood  and that yellowfin tuna is as good as Ahi tuna from Hawaii (maybe better). We are certain that there is no shrimp in the world that is better than fresh Florida shrimp. After many experiences with bland vegetarian or seafood burritos or tacos, we now know how to make them ourselves. (The fact that I don’t eat meat doesn’t mean that I don’t care about flavor!)

We learned that we can still have fun together, even in tight quarters and under less than ideal conditions. We never planned to live in the RV full time, and are even more certain about that now. Four months is tolerable, but 3 months would be better and two months would be ideal. Next year we have plans for a trip to Maui, a little time for skiing, then a 2-month trip on the Atlantic, including Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

Our deluxe campsite at the Fredericksburg, VA KOA

As the days passed in the Outer Banks, the weather continued to be sunny, very windy and cool on most days. Most days, the easterly wind off the ocean, made a 75-degree day feel more like 55, if we were near the ocean. There seemed to be a continual rolling forcast, with 80-degree temperatures just a few days away.

Cape Hatteras and Pea Island

We continued to find as many new places to walk or hike as my foot could tolerate.  We walked at the Pea Island National Wildlife refuge a couple of times. We also went to Cape Hatteras Lighthouse a couple of times, hiked on a trail there and enjoyed the beach. The lighthouse was not open for climbing, due to an interior paint removal project, but it was great to see it again. Seeing it, in person, really adds perspective to the history of the moving of the light house 2900 feet, from it’s original location, back in 1999.

Fish Heads

Since we were in the south end of Nags Head, we only about 6 1/2 miles from the Nags Head Fishing Pier, home of Fish Heads Bar & Grill, one of our favorite ocean front tiki bars in the continental US. It’s a casual, laid-back atmosphere with a very friendly staff, an enormous draft beer selection and great food, including their happy hour shrimp. We first met two of the owners when discovered it, back in July of 2015,  Since then, the pier has had some close calls with hurricanes, but has survived. We were happy to see the owners again and the restaurant and bar still thriving after the pandemic.  We enjoyed a few visits there, when we were able to find an outdoor table and it wasn’t raining.

Life in the Campground

Half the fun of campground life is checking out all the campsites and rigs, seeing all of the cute dogs and cats and meeting people who enjoy camping.  During our 3 1/2 weeks at one campground we had the opportunity to meet many campers and see the entire spectrum of rigs and camping styles including tents, vans, classic airstreams, pop-ups, mini trailers, large trailers, class A motorcoaches, a full-size 5th wheel pulled by a semi, and everything in between.

The rig that we will not forget is a not-so-great looking converted school bus occupied by what appeared to be a home-schooling family of 8. Like many other campers who did not reserve in advance, they changed campsites every 1 – 3 days over a period of 3 weeks, packing up multiple bicycles, kids and camping gear only to move a few sites away. We were fortunate to not have them as neighbors, as there was often a baby crying or other kid-related commotion at their campsite. I will add that the young 20- or 30-something parents always looked extremely happy.

Our favorite neighbors were a couple from Virginia. He was a retired Capitol Police officer. Their German shephard, Justice, was a recently retired police dog. He was only 3 years old but had to retire early because his specialty was marajuana detection, and that became legal in Virginia.  He was extremely intelligent and never let his owner out of his sight. We also met two guys who were visiting for a fishing charter, which was canceled due to high winds and rough seas. They had an extremely quiet generator, which they are very happy with. We may be buying one soon.  This was one of many occasions on which we learned something useful from our fellow campers. Overall, most of the people were friendly and considerate of other campers.

Wanchese, NC

One day, we went exploring in Wanchese, a  fishing village and residential area. We drove along a road near the town’s large harbor, and stopped at a commerial fishing business called Fresh Catch. The place was located right in the harbor, with large conveyors for hauling in seafood from the fishing boats. We found a walk-up window with a small sign above it that said “retail”.  We ordered some shrimp and tuna, than watched the guy cutting our tuna from the morning catch. That’s as fresh is it gets! Needless to say, it was the best.

Frisco, NC

During our last week there, we finally had a wind-free, 80-degree day. We drove to Hatteras Island, past Cape Hatteras, to Frisco. We had packed a lunch and planned to stay for a couple of hours, then return to the campground It was so beautiful and peaceful and the weather was so perfect, that we decided to sty all day.  When Dave went out to buy some cold beer, I met a sweet poodle who was walking with his owner, a retired aviation engineer.  We chatted about the benefits of early retirement, how wonderful Colorado is and how Sudoko is a great way to relax. By the time Dave returned, we were discussing our route home. We learned from him, that our plan to avoid heavy Washington DC area traffic was not a good one, so we changed our planned route. We enjoyed the rest of the day on the beach and went to a Wings store for some OBX t-shirts. We really like the area, as it is mostly residential, with very light traffic. We will definitely spend more time there on our next trip.

On May 26, after 118 nights on the road, countless new experiences and our 2nd dose of the Moderna COVID vaccine completed, it was finally time to start heading toward home. We enjoyed our time in the Outer Banks, but were looking forward to being home.

Cape Hatteras Light Station, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Buxton North Carolina

We spent 3 1/2 weeks at this campground and exploring the area. We saw and did so much in the Outer Banks, so I will write 2 blog posts to cover this. This is Part 1. I added some headings to make it easier to skip over sections that may not be of interest to everyone.

Why 3 1/2 weeks in Outer Banks?

While we planned our winter itinerary around our stay at Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area,  the Outer Banks, NC was to be the crowning finish of the tour.  Dave camped there numerous times as a kid, with his family and he has always loved it. They had great times catching crabs, cooking over campfires, visiting the lighthouses and playing in the waves all day. Later, Dave and I spent a couple of summer vacations there, when my job required me to take a week of vacation over the July 4th holiday. Simililar to our vacations in South Carolina, we rented a condo on the beach for a week. The high temperatures were in the 95 – 100 range in July. In the mornings, after drinking coffee and watching the sun rise, I would go for a nice long run, while Dave surfed. We would then spend late morning under an umbrella on the beach, head in for lunch and an air-conditioned nap, then head off to our favorite tiki bar for happy hour beers and shrimp.  It was the perfect vacation from a demanding job. We planned to have a similar routine during this trip, only for 3 1/2 weeks in cooler weather, based in our campground and less frequent tiki bar visits.

Campground and campsite

Oregon Inlet Campground is located within the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, in Nags Head, NC. It is part of the US National Park system. It’s located south of the more quiet residential area of Nags Head. Driving is allowed on the beach, with on ORV permit,  in the National Seashore area. There are numerous vehicle access points or “ramps”. On the weekends many of the beaches were pretty busy with people fishing. We chose not to drive on the beach, since deflating the tires is required. We did not want to risk any tire issues before the trip home.

We were happy to see that we had selected one of the best campsites. There was a nice amount of space between our site and our neighbors on either side. We also had a view of the dunes behind us. There is a hiking trail, about 1/4 mile long starting next to our site and ending at the beach. It was too long of a hike, over sand dunes to carry  11-foot boards, so we would have to find alternative access to water for paddling or surfing. The showers were pretty rudimentary, activated by pulling a chain. There was no hot water. We would spend the last 3 1/2 weeks having our usual “quickie showers” in the RV.  We had purchased a portable wastewater holding tank, aka “poop trolley” so we would be able to periodically empty our tanks without moving the RV.

Surprise meet-up with friends

A highlight of our winter tour, occurred in the first few days at Oregon Inlet. Our friends, Lindy and Todd happened to be camping in the same campground. We met Lindy years ago, when she was a rep for a surf board and paddleboard company. We attended many stand-up paddleboard races together. Lindy and Todd recently made the leap to full-time RV’ing, splitting their time between a class A motorcoach and an Airstream trailor. It was so fun to spend time with like-minded friends and catch up, after over a year of being isolated from people we know, with few exceptions. Todd prepared a fabulous dinner of venison  bratwurst and grilled Alaskan Salmon (caught by his friend in Alaska). It was a fun time, with two very cool, adventurous people.

When you want to go home, but can’t

On May 7, we learned about the Colonial pipeline being shut down. We topped off the gas tank and planned to minimize any driving for awhile. Within a couple of days, there was no gas in the Nags Head area. Meanwhile, the weather was cold, windy and rainy for many days in a row.  We had tolerated similar weather off and on all winter, but we were getting a bit tired of it.

My foot issues (bone spurs and stiff great toe causing severe, sharp pain) seemed to be getting worse. Every day that was not rainy, I woke up with a knot in my stomach wondering if a hike would have to be cut short due to the pain. I wanted to get to the foot doctor ASAP. I was having upper back, neck and shoulder pain, likely partially due to my worry about my foot being destroyed for life.  A long, hot shower would have been great. There was also a very difficult and sad family situation, which I will leave out of this post, due to the seriousness of it. I only mention it because it contributed greatly to my feeling bad and also to make the point that life goes on, even when you are away from it.  One chilly, rainy day, we were doing laundry at the worst laudromat we had ever been to (broken machines, no baskets, people begging for money, children running around maskless and coughing) and, for the first time on our journey, we both really wanted to go home.  The gas stations were empty, so we had to stay.

The pipeline eventually started running and within a few days we could get gas. At that point, we were getting ready for our scheduled second dose of the Moderna COVID vaccine at the local Walmart. We really wanted to have that as soon as possible. Also, the forcast was looking promising, with sunny, 80-degree weather coming in a few days. We decided to stay.

Bodie Lighthouse and Coquina Beach

The Bodie lighthouse is about 2.5 miles north of the campground. We really enjoyed being able to see the lighthouse multiple times a day, from locations around the campground, and being able to visit it more than once, since we had so much time.  There is a boardwalk behind the lighthouse, with beautiful views of the surrounding area.

Coquina beach is located across from the entrance to the lighthouse. It became our favorite local beach, as it was a  short drive from the campground, a short walk from the parking lot, there were no vehicles allowed on that beach and very few people used it.  It would have provided perfect access to the ocean for surfing or paddling, if the conditions had been decent.

Wright Brothers Museaum

The Wright Brothers Museum is my favorite National Park Service museum.  Its a great experience to learn about the Wright brothers, their planes and first flights.  There you can see the first succssful launching and landing points and replicas of the planes.  Everyone visiting the Outer Banks, should go to this museum.

Duck, NC

We had attempted to visit Duck, during a previous July 4th vacation, but never made it there due to an intolerable traffic jam. On a cool, windy weekday in May, the traffic was no problem.  Duck is a fairly small community, with a boardwalk connecting the many shopping areas, restaurants, and town park. There were few visitors the day we were there, so we felt comfortable checking out a few galleries and shops, including Kitty Hawk Kites. We walked the entire boardwalk and  stopped at a nice place for a microbrew on an outdoor deck, with views of Currituck Sound.

Manteo, NC and Elizabethan Gardens

Much to my surprise one morning, Dave suggested going to visit the Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo, There are hiking trails in the area, but my foot was not able to hike that day. The gardens were an easy alternative for a slow walk and some new scenery. The gardens  were created as a living memorial to the time when Sir Walter Raleigh’s lost colonists, about 155 of them, lived there over 400 years ago, in 1587.  It was the first English settlement on the continent.  The governor of the colony went to England for supplies, and when he returned  3 years later, the people were gone. No one knows what became of them.  The gardens are adjacent to the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. The fort is not much more than a mound of dirt, so I don’t have photos.  It was nice that we nearly had the place to ourselves, as it was off season.  The down side of visiting in May, is that few flowers were blooming, yet, and the butterfly house had no butterflies.

Manteo is located on Roanoke Island.   It’s a very cute town, with a harbor area, and was a little more crowded than the gardens. We plan to spend more time there next year, when there is no pandemic.

Murrell’s inlet is one of our favorite areas. For that reason, this post is a bit longer, with more photos. We like it because it isn’t too crowded, there is a lot to see and do, it’s scenic and there are countless really good, casual  restuarants.

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 saw people walking around everywhere with binoculars and very expensive cameras. I am just an amature, beginner birder, but was thrilled to see a swallow-tailed kite and a painted bunting, the most colorful bird I have ever seen in nature (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Painted_Bunting/id).  There is other wildlife in the park, including alligators, jelly fish, turtles, oysters, many types of crabs and shrimp.

The day after we arrived, we went to the local Walmart for our first Moderna COVID vaccine. It was the nicest Walmart we had ever been to and the vaccine was painless. We felt great except for a slightly sore arm for a couple of days. It was such a relief to have that taken care of.

One afternoon we drove to Georgetown, SC, about 30 minutes south and west.  It is a very cute, historic town with restaurants, shops, museums  and harborwalk. It is a popular stop for people traveling by sail boat. We really enjoyed walking around town on a warm, sunny day. We did not enter any shops or museums, since we were not fully vaccinated, yet. We did stop at an open air microbrewery, with views of the harbor.

We explored the park every day, toured the “castle”, walked on the boardwalks and the beach. Sitting on the beach required wearing a jacket (for me) but it was beautiful and we had the place to ourselves.

We visited the Murrells Inlet Marshwalk on a couple of weekdays. When we had visited in July of 2017 it was about 98 degrees with 90% humidity. This time it was 65 – 70 degrees and breezy. We walked around, listened to some live music and had a beer or 2. We reminisced about the local crab cakes and she-crab soup at the restaurants, but continued our routine of cooking and dining at the campground to avoid the risk of getting sick. We were able to find some fresh local fish and crab cakes, so it was not too disappointing.

We already have reservations for next year, when we return on a shorter snowbird trip.

James Island County Park is a 643 acre park with a campground, 4.5 miles of  paved bike trails through wooded and open areas, a fishing pier, canoe launch area, and many other day-use amenities.  The park is fairly similar to Stony Creek or Kensington Metroparks. The campground has 124 sites, including some with full hook-ups.  Most of the sites are well-spaced with a decent amount of trees and shrubs in between. This park was a nice, spacious contrast to the campground onTybee Island.

We spent our first afternoon exploring the park and relaxing. The next day we drove into Charleston. We parked where we had in 2017, when we spent a couple of nights at the historic Elliot House.  On that trip we visited Fort Sumter and used the city buses to quickly go to different parts of the city, as well as to cool off (it was about 100 degrees in July of ’17). We were so happy we had seen so much during our last visit, because this time the buses were not running. Even if they had been, we would not have boarded a bus during the pandemic. We didn’t feel a lot of pressure to see everything, since we had already seen so much. We spent 2 – 3 hours walking through the historic district,  along the waterfront area and through some parks.

When we were ready for lunch, we really wanted to return to Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar where we enjoyed a fabulous dinner before (heavenly she-crab soup and crab cakes) , but it was packed full of people. Our back-up plan was to go to The Griffin, a pub which had an outdoor patio, but the patio was too crowded for our comfort. Though this was disappointing, we looked online and discovered another area of Charleston, known as The Brewery District. The area is somewhat similar to Midtown in Detroit, with older homes being refurbished and old warehouse areas becoming restaurants and breweries. We went to a really nice restaurant and microbrewery called Edmund’s Oast. The seating was all outdoors  (due to the pandemic) with a huge patio, many well-spaced tables and very strict mask protocols. The place had a great atmosphere and we were happy to relax and have an awsome lunch and beer, after so much walking. At one point, Dave announced he was on “historical overload”. Considering that, and the fact that Goolge Maps failed us on the way home, we agreed the next day should be more relaxing.

We spent an afternoon at Folly Beach, a small beach town. It is apparent that it’s a weekend or holiday destination for locals. There are  shops and restaurants, while the beach and fishing pier are the main attractions. It was not warm enough for swimming or comfortably sitting on the beach and the fishing pier was under reconstruction. Many businesses in town were still closed for the season.  These were perfect conditions to check it out, without any crowds. We will likely return during a future visit to the area.

Beautiful campsite at James Island County Park, Charleston, SC

The Rivers End Campground is located near the north end of Tybee Island. The campground includes full hook-up RV sites, tent sites, laundry facilities, a store and a swimming pool. Campsites are assigned by the campground and we were fortunate to get the site with the most privacy. Overall, it was a nice campground.

We arrived on a chilly, cloudy Friday afternoon, so the island was fairly quiet. We walked several miles around the north end of the island.

On Saturday we  drove to Savannah, about 20 minutes away, and spent several hours walking around the historic district.  Established in 1733, the city is America’s first planned city and was laid out in a grid pattern, allowing for wide streets and public squares. There are 22 squares, which are small parks with trees, monuments, fountains, plants and park benches.  The squares are well-used by locals and visitors, with people doing yoga, sitting on benches and walking. We walked through about half of the squares, checking out the exteriors of historic homes and churches, and then to the historic waterfront. Surprisingly, the area was not at all crowded at noon on a Saturday. The restaurants were fairly empty, so we were able to get a table on a 2nd floor terrace, overlooking the waterfront. It was our first meal at a restaurant since fall of last year. It was a fabulous lunch.

On our way back to the campground we stopped a fish market. The woman behind the counter was from Marine City, MI. We got a nice “local’s discount” on our fish! We also drove through the town on Tybee Island. The restaurants and bars were jam-packed and the sidewalks were crowded with unmasked people, some walking around in swimwear. Needless to say, there would be no visits to town for us, on this trip.

The next day we returned to Savannah to explore the rest of the historic town squares and Forsyth Park and return to the waterfront. We learned that Sundays and very busy there. It appeared that many people were there for brunch, as the restaurants were quite full of people.  We had lunch at a hot dog stand that also sold pretty decent veggie dogs.  It was our anniversary (17 years!), but I was happy with the affordable, outdoor, social-distanced lunch. This was an opportunity to remind Dave of the fact that  l am a low-maintenance wife.

Our last day on Tybee Island, we used the nice laundry facilities, rode our bikes around most of the Island and just relaxed. We would be leaving for Charleston the next day. We really enjoyed Savannah and will likely return soon. Having already walked the entire historic district, we might check out a couple of museums  and restaurants when there is no pandemic (hoping that will actually happen one day…).

We based our 2021 winter itinerary around Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area. Sometime last winter, Dave found a youtube video online, featuring drone footage of the campground on the Atlantic and description of a family camping experience there. The thought of camping on the spacious beach, in warm sunny weather, nearly brought me to tears after months of cold, snowy isolation  in pandemic lockdown. Fortunately last May 4, at exactly 8am, when I hit the “Book Now” button on the Florida State Parks website, for an oceanside site, I scored!

The park is located in Flagler Beach, off of A1A, on the Atlantic ocean. The beachside loop of the campground is all sand and dirt, which was only a problem after a heavy rain storm.  The campsites at the riverside loop are gravel and highly groomed like the sites at Henderson State Park. We had a beach overlook next to our site, which we used as our own personal deck, to watch the sunrise and check out the waves. There is a nature trail and a fishing area on the river. There is beach access from the day use area and a seperate beach access from the campground.

There is a paved bike path along A1A, that stretches for many miles in both directions, which we walked or ran almost every day. We walked about 3.5 miles on the nearby Lehigh Greenway Rail Trail one day. Another day we parked at Wadsworth Park and walked across Flagler Beach bridge and through the neighborhood.

One morning, we drove to Daytona Beach. Dave and I had both been there in the 1980’s for spring break and we were curious to see if any of it looked the same. My memory of the place was a 2-lane main road, lined with mostly small motels and hotels. I also remember thinking it was beautiful, though it was my first time seeing the ocean or even a palm tree, It had been my first time traveling away from Michigan (unsupervised) and I never felt so happy and free. That may have influenced my perception. Dave found the hotel he had stayed at. I saw a few very old motels, that could possibly have been where I stayed. Otherwise, it seemed like a totally different place, with huge resort hotels and a  multi-laned main road with extremely heavy traffic. It’s definitely not a place we would return to.

We really like the town of Flagler Beach. It is a small laid-back beach town, with no large hotels, only a few small inns and motels. Right in town, behind the library is the  Betty Steflik Memorial Preserve, with a series of boardwalks and trails running through a marshy area, woods and out to the Matanzas River. On sunny, warm days, the public beach in town was fairly busy and the town only seemed a little crowded Easter weekend, so we stayed away. Later, we enjoyed a couple of midweek happy hours (avoiding too many people) on the upper decks of some restaurants in town, which had great views of the ocean and beach.  The beers were practically free, compared with prices in Maui, Destin and even Michigan.

What we loved most about camping here, was the beach and ocean. We could fall asleep to the sound of the surf and watch the sunrise, while drinking our morning coffee. I am happy to know, as I write this, that we have reservations to return next year.

The campground at Anastasia State Park was our first on the Atlantic Ocean. It was our 7th campground on this tour. Our first night there was our 60th night in the RV in 2021, our 188th night since we purchased it (188 days of fun!!!!). The beach has four miles of white sand beach, 139 campsites and a .7 mile nature walk, called the Ancient Dunes Trail. Our campsite was spacious with trees and plants providing decent privacy. The trees in the campground were mostly palm trees, red cedar and live oaks, which were covered with spanish moss. It was was quite pretty, with plenty of shade.

The lighthouse is not far from the park, so we stopped by and walked around outside. The area was quite crowded, so we didn’t stay long.

I didn’t take many photos in town, in St. Augustine, since we did not spend a lot of time there. We first went into town during early afternoon on a Tuesday, hoping to avoid Easter weekend crowds.  St. Augustine is the oldest city in the US and also the oldest continuously occupied European Settlement in the continental U.S. There is a lot of history there and some of the buildings date back to the 1700’s.

We went to the historic part of town and found that all of the shops, museums, bars and restaurants were too crowded, for us (note – masks are not required in Florida), so we just walked around outside, as quickly as possible. In the main shopping area, we found it was difficult to keep our distance from the many large families and groups of mostly unmasked people.  We attempted to check out Flagler College, as we were told it is a must-see, but it is currently closed to the public because of the pandemic. We went to the fort, but it was not open on Tuesdays. A couple of days later, I heard from a friend who was visiting there, that there was a line a block long, to get into the fort.

After deciding not to return to town,  a friend recommended The Fountain of Youth as having a nice garden area to walk through, even though the fountain itself is a tourist trap. We drove there, late one morning, taking a different route into town, to avoid traffic. The traffic was actually worse than Detroit area traffic during Friday afternoon rush hour and during road construction.  Rather than spend $40 to look at some gardens and a fountain, with crowds, we left and spent the remainder of our stay in the park. We wish we could have really explored the entire town. It’s quite beautiful and we know we would have really enjoyed it, if there was no pandemic.

The park was full but did not feel crowded. We were happy to have neighbors who were a retired couple, vacationing from Marine City, MI. He retired from an automotive-related fabrication shop. She is an artist who regularly sells her pottery at the annual New Baltimore Art Fair. We just might see them again.  We noticed that this park had a lot of families and people on short excursions. We encountered more unfriendly campers than we had at previous parks. We are hoping that sometime along the way, we will again be surrounded by the friendly, retired snowbirds.

We took walks to the beach, along the beach and on the Ancient Dunes Trail. We spent time on the beach with our chairs and umbrella. I ran a little. It was too windy and rough for surfing or paddling. We also checked out other loops in the campground, to note which we would prefer for a future visit. Dave spent time, daily, cleaning sections of the RV that were covered with bugs from the drive across the state. Meanwhile, the spanish moss, trees and squirrels were covering the top of the RV with debris. (As I write this, we are in the next location, sitting through the end of a heavy rain storm, which started about 21 hours ago. We are hoping it was enough to clean the roof…) We really enjoyed the beach and trails and the park, in general. Unfortunately, we felt a little like we were trapped there, unable to go anywhere else. We will not likely return soon, because the area is so busy and crowded.

St George Island is sparsely populated with private homes, condos, a few small hotels and a handful of shops and restaurants. The island is 28 miles long and two miles wide, at it’s widest point, with the state park occupying nine miles on the eastern end. The west end of the Island is an exclusive gated community, called The St George Plantation, where many celebrities have homes. There is a paved bike path which runs between the St George Plantation and the state park.

The area is known as “the old Florida”, with no high-rises and a very laid-back, friendly atmosphere. The drive from Appalaciacola is quite scenic, first crossing Appalaciacola Bay to East Point on the 6-mile long  John Gorrie Bridge, then continuing on the 4-mile long Bryant Patton Memorial Bridge (St.George Island Bridge) to the island.

This is definitely our favorite park, so far. The beautiful, long beach is uncrowded, with some campers and some day-use visitors, mostly fishing. The campground is very quiet, with no vehicle or air traffic noise. The only sounds are the surf, the wind and the birds. It is similar to Fort Pickens, without the fort and with less day-use visitors. This was the case even during peak season, with all bridges open, compared with the Fort Pickens’ main access bridge being closed. Most of the campers were retirees, though for a few days, we were surrounded by noisy families. The facilities were pretty decent.

This is also our favorite area in Florida, so far.  St George Island was nearly at full capacity when we were there, though is was hardly crowded at all. Nearby, East Point had a similar look and feel to Algonac, Fair Haven and the St. Clair flats, with open  marshy areas, little traffic and no tourists. We visited the local microbrewery in East Point and found a fantastic seafood market there, where the owners caught the fish themselves. We bought the very best tuna and royal red shrimp of our journey, so far, at Island View Seafood.

Appalaciacola is a  very old town, which at one point, was part of Spain and later, a British colony. It seemed that most of the visitors were from Tallahasee and other Florida towns. We learned that the local lodging was at full capacity, though it was not crowded at all. We really enjoyed Oyster City Brewing Company, which had all of it’s seating outside, on the sidewalk. One day we ran into two local builders, who we had previously talked to at East Point Brewing. They both clearly enjoyed building houses and visiting microbreweries at the end of a work day. They had some great stories. We also met a guy who we had seen riding through town before, on his motorcycle, with his old dog in front of him, holding on. The guy prevoiusly lived on Maui and owned a bike repair business for 20 years. One of his regular customers was Laird Hamilton. His dog’s name was “Mr. Bob Barker”. And so there were more good stories (at a safe distance, of course).

We spent time on St George Island Riding bikes around town and on the trails, walking on the trails,  and sitting on the beach. It was too rough and windy for surfing or paddling.  We saw a couple of alligators and countless birds, including herons, pelicans, egrets, and a bald eagle (which flew over our campsite). We continued to cook all of our own meals, with the exception of some very delicious carry-out calzones from the local pizza place. We bought some fresh fish from a kid working at a food-truck-like trailer, on the island and learned it’s really better to be able to see the fish before you buy it. It’s also better to purchase fish directly from the people who own the market.

We  were told by other campers that we would love Anastasia State Park and the town of St. Augustine, our next destination.  We left St. George Island a few days earlier than planned, so we could spend 6 nights there. We were happy to miss the storms that passed through, after we left, but we regret leaving early.

Henderson Beach State Park is an oasis in the middle of the crowded, noisy Destin resort area. It includes over 6,000 feet of sugar-white sand beach, 30-foot sand dunes, 60 highly groomed campsites, immaculately clean restrooms, showers and laundry area and a large day-use area. It is definitely the most well-maintained campground we have ever seen.  We were thrilled to see our near-perfect campsite with a fair amount of foliage around it for privacy. Later, we realized ours had the least amount of privacy, but it was still very nice and we knew that we were lucky that we were able to get a reservation.

The walk out to the beach was at least a quarter of a mile, on a paved walkway and boardwalk. The walkway was very much like the beach access paths on Maui, making us feel instantly at home.  With only 60 campsites, the beach was uncrowded and was initially very quiet, with occasional military aircraft and a few tourist helicoptors. After our first week there, the helicoptor traffic became constant and was actually becoming quite annoying.

As we were planning our trip, a year ago, we were both anxious to see Destin again and to visit The Back Porch. We had both been to Destin over 30 years ago (long before we knew eachother) and remembered miles and miles of quiet beach and having lunch at The Back Porch. It was nothing more than a two-story shack, with large open windows, serving fresh fish sandwhiches and bottled beer. Now the main two-lane road is very much like Gratiot Avenue or Woodward Avenue during rush hour. The beach is lined with massive high-rise condos and hotels.  We went to the The Back Porch, which is now an upscale restaurant and bar, with prices equivalent to prices in Wailea or Kapalua (more than what we are used to in Lahaina or Kihei, Maui). We enjoyed a couple of good but expensive beers and did not return. I had to make an effort to not be sad about the changes.

The park is located just off of the main road, Emerald Coast Parkway. Though it was fairly quiet in the middle of the night, traffic noise was pretty loud most of the time. It seems that even though Florida has noise limits on vehicles, the authorities do not enforce them in Destin.  On the upside, we were able to take advantage of the Walmart (RV gear), the Vitamin Shoppe (stocked up on supplements) and an excellent shoe store (new Hoka running shoes, as my foot issues are evolving).

The Destin Harbor Boardwalk is one of the main tourist attractions. We went on a weekday, near the beginning of our stay. It was easy to imagine the crowds during peak season. Dave refers to this place as “the ten dollar parking lot” and “the place with ten dollar light beers”. It was worth seeing once.

We drove through Topsail Beach State Park and Grayton Beach State Park, while we were in the area. These parks are less groomed with less desireable campsites, but much more quiet. We also took our mountain bikes to Point Washington State Forest to ride the Eastern Lake Trail. One review of the trail said it was 25% sand. We found it was about 75% sand, which is challenging to ride in. At one point, the trail was completely flooded, so Dave decided to do a “recon” walk through some dense woods, around the trail. I immediately had a vision of a large snake and soon after, heard Dave gasping loudly. He saw a very large snake. We back-tracked, found a road and took another route to get back on the trail. For the remainder of the ride I was constantly looking for snakes and pedaled as hard and fast as possible past any standing water. My heart was pounding until we were back at the trailhead.

We were at this park on St Patrick’s Day. By then, spring break seemed to be ramping up, resulting in more people and traffic in the area. We spent the entire day at the park, rather than venture out to celebrate. By chance, a young woman at the campsite next to us was playing Irish music on her fiddle periodically throughout the day. She was quite talented. We were able to start the day listening to “Danny Boy”. What are the odds? I decided it was a sign of good luck for us.

The highlights at this location were walking, reading and flying Sharkey on the stunning beach and a couple of visits for a cold beer at The Crab Trap tiki bar.  We didn’t surf or paddle because it was too windy, every day. We also really enjoyed to newly renovated showers, which we referred to as “the spa”. They were quite an improvement over those in our previous campground at Fort Pickens. As the area was becoming more busy and noisy, we were happy to have been there, but also happy to head to the more remote St George Island.

Fort Pickens is located on Santa Rosa Island, in Pensacola Beach and is part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. The park includes a campground, day use areas, hiking trails, miles of beaches and an historic US military fort, It is managed by the National Park system.

I’m posting this almost two weeks after leaving Fort Pickens, which has given me sufficient time to miss what I really loved about the park.  Our site was in the smaller and likely older campground loop. We had one of the most private sites, with a great view out of our side and rear windows. Backing in without driving off of the pavement (a three-inch drop) was quite challenging, but we were successful. We avoided some fairly low branches driving in, though some other larger rigs sustained some damage while we were there. Our section of the campground was very quiet, compared with the larger campground loop, which was more open, with sites closer together.

The beach and hiking trails were beautiful and uncrowded.  The rest of the park was fairly empty. It wasn’t high season, yet, with daily high temperatures in the 60’s. The main bridge from Pensacola was stiill closed, due to damage from Hurricane Sally.  We are pretty sure that affected how many people were in the park and also around Pensacola Beach. There was a fair amount of military air traffic and the occasional boat. Otherwise, all we could hear was the surf and birds.

Most of the other campers were retired military couples. We met several people from Michigan, including an FCA design engineer, who was working remotely, and a couple from Traverse city. There was a couple from Owosso, MI who was spending winter in a pop-up trailer, with their very sweet 18-month old German shepherd named Skallywag. They were friends with another camper from Colorado. The guys would spend all day fishing on the beach together and the wife would play with Skallywag in the campground. It was great to meet such nice peole who were truly enjoying retirement. As in every campground we got to meet many very cute dogs. Here we saw several cats on leashes, which was a real treat for me.

A couple of days we drove to the resort area of Pensacola beach. We checked out Ron Jon’s Surf Shop, and watched part of a corn hole tournament on the beach. We discovered the outdoor bar at a restaurant called Red Fish Blue Fish. It was uncrowded (probably due to the closed bridge) and had nice view of the water. The area reminded us of both Maui (nice beachside dining and palm trees) and St Clair Shores (boats, docks and corn hole tournament).

We walked and ran all of the hiking trails in the park. We also rode our bikes everywhere. It was a great way to explore all of the fort. Fort Pickens was built in 1834 and named  after American Revolutionary War hero Andrew Pickens.  It is very much like Fort Sumter and Fort Morgan, as it was built in the same era.  The fort remained under Union control throughout the Civil War.  After the Civil War, the US Army added several gun batteries outside of the Fort. It was an active military installation until 1947, after World War ll.  In 1886 Apache Chief Geronimo and his men were imprisoned there. This was a reminder of another part of US history that I didn’t enjoy learning about, but feel it’s important to know.

During our last few days it was very cold and rained pretty heavily, most of the time. It was a good time to do our laundry in the park’s excellent laundry facility. The machines were likely just replaced, following the hurricane. The forcast at our next location looked promising and I was hopeful that the restroom and shower facilities would be better, there. We have had water hook-ups at all of our campsites, but no sewer. We have been using the facilities as much as possible to avoid running out of black tank and gray tank space. Over the past year, we have been learning that the facilities at state parks are cleaner and better maintained than at the national parks.

As we drove away, we were looking forward to new scenery and new adventures, but were a little sad to leave this quiet, beautiful place.  I was also a little sad to leave Skallywag, the Owosso couple and their friend, but it’s quite possible we will cross paths again.  Afterall, that is how the three of them met and became friends. This reminds me of the quote by Bob Wells, full-time, real-life camper and traveler, in the movie Nomadland: “One of the things I love most about this life is that there’s no final goodbye. You know, I’ve met hundreds of people out here and I don’t ever say a final goodbye. I always just say, “I’ll see you down the road.” And I do. And whether it’s a month, or a year, or sometimes years, I see them again.”

After 33 days traveling, we have yet to eat in a restaurant. Restaurants are at full capacity in Florida. Some places require employees to wear masks and others don’t. It appears that no one cares about “social distancing”. As the weather has been improving and outdoor patios are often available, we still haven’t dined out.  This is partly out of habit, but also we are worried that we would be disappointed, as our own cooking has been improving.

Our first night on the road, we ate carry-out El Charo, our favorite quick meal, which we usually take to our Northern outpost in Frankfort.  It travels well in a cooler and is easy to microwave. We have also had pizza twice and another Mexican carry-out dinner once.

We found excellent seafood markets near each park, which carry fresh, locally-caught fish, shrimp, crab, and crawfish. One place even sold crab cakes. We have been doing most of our grocery shopping at Publix.  They have a good selection of produce, fresh baked goods and other things we normally buy.

Oysters are very popular here, but we learned that The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission approved a measure that suspended all harvesting of wild oysters from Appalachiacola Bay through December 2025, or “until 300 bags per acre of adult oysters can be found on a significant number of reefs.” 90% of Florida oysters come from that bay. Apparently they are getting oysters shipped from Texas. At some point, I may try some, but we have no plans to prepare them ourselves.

We met some friendly retirees from Owosso, MI who buy their shrimp at the bait stores, since it is cheaper.  We will not likely do that because we are assuming they have different freshness standards and probably do not devein the shrimp. I know how to do it, but prefer not to.

We have cooked yellowfin tuna, mahi mahi, grouper and Gulf royal red shrimp. Combining our own experience with seasonings and some instruction from Bon Appetite and Epicurious, we have cooked some really delicious meals.  I’m pretty sure that the very fresh seafood would be delicious without any cooking skills. Typically, I do the seasoning and chop veggies for sides and/or salads. Dave cooks the fish and any rice or pasta. We are a pretty good team in the kitchen.

A standard RV favorite meal is veggie burgers on a brioche bun, with seasoned tater tots. Dave is currently hooked on Beyond Meat burgers (I love them, too), which are available at a decent price at Publix. This is a great option when we don’t want to clean a lot of dishes and if I am lacking motivation. Dave handles all of the preparation for this meal, including seasoning the tots and cooking them in the toaster oven. Another typical meal is linguine with pesto and mushrooms. We usually get two meals out of it. It requires a lot of dish clean-up and is not a great option when when it’s really cold and the windows can steam up.

So far, our favorite meal was sushi grade yellowfin tuna, with sesame oil, soy sauce, coarse-ground pepper, hot paprika and sesame seeds, pan seared rare and served on tacos.  Sushi grade can be eaten raw, so rare is safe.  Yellowfin is similar to Ahi or Bigeye tuna, which we eat in Hawaii. Yellowfin is a lot less expensive and just as tasty. The Gulf mahi mahi has been just as good as Hawaiian and the shrimp has been the best we’ve ever had.

I have finally come up with a spicy chipotle ranch recipe that we like as much as the fish taco sauce at Leilani’s or Cool Cat Cafe, in Maui. It’s not exactly the same, but really good.  I also found some pico de gayo and cilantro, which further improves the tacos. This will also be good on our veggie tacos in Michigan. You should know that when we are in Hawaii, Dave eats fish tacos almost every day. We haven’t had any great fish tacos in Michigan, except at El Berto’s in Elberta, which is no longer in business. We learned from the tacos there, that cooking and seasoning the tortillas improves the texture and adds another layer of flavor.

We have mostly been cooking indoors because it is dark outside. As the weather is warming up and days are getting longer, we are looking forward to using the outdoor kitchen and grill more.

(Please excuse the paper plates in some of the photos. We are minimizing dish washing at some campsites without a sewer hook-up, to avoid filling our tanks over the course of 2 weeks.)

We had explored most of Gulf State Park and decided we should check out Fort Morgan, before leaving the area.  It was about a 30 minute drive from the park. Fort Morgan is located on Mobile Point in Gulf Shores, AL. Originally, Fort Bowyer was built there in 1812. Later, the existing Fort Morgan was built between  1819 and 1833. It is most famous for its role in the Civil War Battle of Mobile Bay, after which Confederate General Richard Page surrendered the fort.  It was also used during the Spanish American War, World War I and World War II.  The fort became a State of Alabama Historic Site in 1946.

This fort reminded us a lot of Fort Sumter, in Charleston South Carolina, which we visited a few years ago.  My high school and college edication included very lttle about the civil war, so I have personally learned a lot about the the war and unimaginable loss of life and bloodshed on US soil, visiting these historic places. Fort Morgan has a great museum, which was much smaller than the museum at Fort Sumter, where we learned more about the difficult life of a civil war soldier and about horrible death and destruction. Amazingly,  the site is a very beautiful and peaceful place, now.

It was very chilly 37 degrees, plus wind chill. We had planned on temperatures in the 60’s and 70’s, but I was happy I brought warm layers, just in case.

Fort Morgan – Down coat and gloves required on this chilly day

We arrived at Gulf State Park Feb 3. We checked into our first of  four campsites, which was our 2^nd favorite of the four. Since this part of the trip was also a late add-on, we had to piece together whatever campsites were available. We are pretty sure that at least some of the cancelations were due to the US/Canada border closure, though we spoke with several people who were heading back north, early, so they could get a vaccine.

During our first days here, we both agreed we had never seen so many very active people over the age of 65. Everywhere in the park you can see very happy people running, walking, playing pickle ball and riding every type of bike – bicycles, recumbents, ebikes, tricycles. Aside from the young, homeschooling family that seemed to have followed us from the last park, we were the only people under 65. Most people were from Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio.

The park has two miles of beautiful white sand beaches, but it was too cool and windy to spend any time there. We spent most of the time riding our bikes, walking and running on the 28 miles of paved bike paths. Several of the days I was able to wear shorts without being too cold.  Dave, as usual, mostly wore shorts regardless of the temperature.

While planning the trip, we were dreaming of sitting on the deck at waterfront tiki bars. Fortunately we took advantage of the warmest and least busy days.  We were able to enjoy a beer, in the sun, at the Pink Pony and at the world famous Flora-bama.  We also had a microbrew at the open air bar at the Flora-bama Ole River Grill, located on the Old River. Both are in Florida, almost directly on the Florida/Alabama border. The week of Mardi Gras, the weather was quite chilly, with some rain. Mardis Gras is celebrated here, like St Patrick’s Day or Cinqo de Mayo. There were more people in town and the outdoor decks were closed, due to weather. They don’t have limits on indoor dining and don’t really enforce the mask mandate, so we spent our days in the park and cooked at home. We also spent an afternoon at Fort Morgan, which I will have a separate post for.

The wildlife at the park includes turtles, snakes, alligators, a wide variety of fresh and saltwater fish, crabs, armadillos, pelicans, hawks, bald eagles and many other birds.  There is a vast array of plants and trees, but the long leaf pine and southern yellow pine are what stand out the most.  The wind makes a very peaceful whispering sound as it blows through the pines.

Though there were a fair amount of people here for Mardi Gras week, it was clearly low season. Many stores and restaurants were closed until March. We learned that you can easily find very affordable Gulf-front condos during low season. We have seen footage from the Hangout Festival in May, so we know the beaches are absolutely packed during high season.

During the last few days, the weather was unseasonably cold, windy, and rainy. As we watched the national weather maps, we noticed we were on the dividing line between terrible and beautiful weather. We had met some people at the last park, who were heading west through Texas. We’re hoping they are staying warm! We spent our time working on taxes, the blog, reading and planning our fall trip. We absolutley loved this park, but were excited to move on to see new sights. We are hoping the forecast for warm, sunny weather at Fort Pickens, is accurate.

We arrived at Big Lagoon State Park on January 29, the first day it was open after  Hurricane Sally clean-up and repairs. There were still several areas of the park that remained closed and there was visible damage to structures, boardwalks and trees. We feel very fortunate that we could be there, since we did not plan it very far in advance.  It was 70 degrees and we thoroughly enjoyed relaxing in the warm Florida sun, at our campsite.

Our campsite was pretty secluded and the park was very quiet. There were 68 campsites, including rustic sites, but some of the campground was still closed. Most of the sites had a fair amount of plants and trees separating them. We were the youngest people in the park, except for what appeared to be a home-schooling family.

The high temperatures over the following days varied between 45 and 65. We hiked everyday we were there, in the park, as well as at Gulf Islands National Seashore and Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park. We would have loved to spend a day on Johnson Beach, but it was just too windy and too chilly on most days. I didn’t expect to see so many pine trees in Florida. They were mostly southern yellow pine. Hiking on the sandy trails was a lot like hiking near Lake Michigan, as we did all summer.

We spent an afternoon walking around the historic section of Pensacola and had a beer at an open-air place. It seemed pretty deserted, but a very nice town.

We found a great local fish market nearby and started working on our seafood cooking skills.  I will publish a seperate post on that later. Generally, we are avoiding indoor/non-open-air dining or drinking. Some people seem to be less careful about masks and social distancing here, but we are maintaining our own safety precautions. We don’t know when our age group will get vaccines and we don’t want to ruin our adventure by being sick.

We really enjoyed this park. It was a bonus leg of the trip, filling some of the time we should have been in Hawaii. Next stop – Gulf State Park, AL!

Campsite at Big Lagoon State Park

Boat Boat Launch area at Big Lagoon State Park

January 27, 2021 was a cold sunny day, as we loaded up the RV and headed south for winter. We started planning this trip over a year ago, well before the pandemic. Our original plan was to spend 6 weeks at our place in Hawaii, then head south with the RV after my annual cross country ski trip in Canada, returning by Memorial Day. It is necessary to log on to the  Florida State parks website at 8am, exactly 11 months in advance of your planned arrival and try to book a site. (If we had been in Hawaii, that would have been 2am.) We decided we didn’t want to go to Maui during a pandemic and the US/Canada border was closed, so we decided to start our trip early. We were able to make reservations in the panhandle (aka “the redneck riviera”) during the colder, slow season.

After a long, but uneventful day,  we made it to our hotel, south of Louisville, KY, just as the snowfall was becoming pretty heavy. The next day we drove to  Rickwood Caverns  State Park in Warrior, AL. It was a small campground, with few campers, likely because it was pretty chilly at night.  We unhitched and did some hiking. We also had our own private guided tour of the caves, which was really fascinating. Our tour guide, Morgan, is a geologist. She taught us a lot about the caves.

It was a chilly night, but we have decent heaters and a very warm down comforter, so no problem. On to the Florida panhandle!

FYI – I plan to post 2-4 times per month, based on the weather.

We drove from McLain State Park  to Copper Harbor on Sept 15. We set up camp in our beautiful pull-thru site in Fort Wilkins State Park (campsite #14 of this trip), with the best view of Lake Fanny Hooe. It was located in the newest section of the campground, with trees and plants separating each campsite. It was also the quietest, section until the end of our stay, when 4 campsites near us had multiple dogs. There were five Alaskan Malamutes on three of the sites, that howled through most of the day. There was an interesting mix of people, including a family of 8 that bathed together in Lake Fanny Hooe each morning. The park was 100% full, compared to 15%, around this time last year.

Copper Harbor did not feel crowded, but locals said it was their busiest fall season, ever. All hotels and campgrounds were full.  Restaurants were seating at 50% capacity and utilizing outdoor space, due to the pandemic. Most visitors were serious mountain bikers, as Copper Harbor has one of the best trail systems in the mid-west.  There were also a lot of people there for the 4X4 roads or to escape the crowds in the lower peninsula.

Our first full day, we rode our bikes to High Rock Bay. We decided to ride the road instead of taking the intermediate trail, Point Trail, since I’m not an experienced mountain biker. Sixteen miles round trip on a dirt road would be no problem, so we thought. The road was steep hills, rocks and mud.  There was no part of the road that was flat or smooth. It was one of the most difficult bike rides of my life. As we approached the  end I began to realized I was completely out of gas, arms burning from braking and carrying my bike around mud and over huge rocks, legs burning from climbing and working to stay on the bike, descending over rocks and gravel. All the while, there was constant traffic, logging trucks and 4X4 vehicles, many traveling to and from High Rock Bay, at scenic, remote Keweenaw Point. When we arrived, someone told us that Point Trail was easier and more fun than the road. We started the return trip on the road and some people stopped and asked if I wanted a ride.  Just what I was hoping for! Whew!!!

Most days we followed a similar routine. After breakfast I would drop Dave off at a difficult trailhead. He would bike down to the campground, then we would ride some easier trails together. Most afternoons we hiked. We hiked at Hunters Point, Estivant Pines Nature Preserve, and all around Fort Wilkins. We enjoyed some sunny afternoons on the patio at Brickside Brewery and had a fabulous dinner at the Harbor Haus, overlooking Lake Superior. I ate griddle-seared whitefish and Dave had flank steak. We both agreed we would return to Copper Harbor just to have dinner there. We watched sunsets from Hunter’s Point, the top of Brockway Mountain and the fishing pier on Lake Fanny Hooe.

One day was chilly and drizzly, so we drove to Eagle Harbor. We planned to stop by Jampot, a bakery run by monks. It was featured on  Under the Radar: Michigan and also recommended by a friend. When we arrived there was a long line of about 50 people, waiting to get in. Maybe next time…

The last couple of days in Copper Harbor were especially warm and sunny and the fall colors were near peak. We spent time on top of Brockway Mountain .  The brewery, usually open year-round, was now closed. We’re pretty sure they temporarily ran out of beer.  We were a little sad to leave and begin heading toward home, but we still had some fun stops ahead. Next stop – Marquette!

I am writing this in Copper Harbor, Michigan on September 19. There is a delay in my posting because there is no internet access here through our Onstar WiFi service. There is also no cell service unless you drive to the scenic overlook on Brockway Mountain. Yes, people really still live like this. Fortunately, the restrooms and store at the campground have WiFi.

We departed Custer State Park on September 10, heading to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. On the way, we stopped at the roadside park where we could see the Dignity statue and the Lewis and Clark bridge overlook on the Missouri River. Dave chose to have a long 6-hour drive. Note that only Dave drives. We both agree on this arrangement as his temperament would not ever peacefully allow for me to be the driver. We have discussed the possibility of him being sick or injured, so I may be doing some practice driving and hitching soon. (we’ll see….)

We spent one night in Sioux Falls at a Good Sam RV park. The highlight was pulling in and two very cute dogs were sitting and watching us pull in, their postures and movements perfectly in unison. It was right off the freeway, next to a very dilapidated trailer park. No worries for us. We were home (home is where you park it!), with supplies for a nice dinner and relaxing night.

The next day was another 6-hour drive to Duluth. This was our 63rd night in the RV, this year. It was also our first KOA campground. It was very well-staffed, with a nice store. A highlight here was a cat being wheeled around in a pet stroller (could have been my dear Faye’s brother!). The people were friendly, but the cat was irritated when they stopped walking. We had a great fire there.

Duluth is a pretty cool town that seems like a blend of Houghton and Detroit. We were blown away by the volume of people there on a chilly, drizzly day, walking around in shorts. Were they giving away free $20 bills???? Obviously, some were college students, mostly packs of young girls walking around in leggings and other light clothing. We had some tacos on an outdoor patio, then spent at least 40 minutes driving to a closed microbrewery (on a weekend?) and then to find parking at another, with road construction everywhere. We had to leave because they had just reached 50% capacity. Finally we had a really good beer at Hoops Brewing, though they were $7 each (more than a Maui price). We had carry-out smokehouse sandwiches (salmon and pork) for dinner. They were good but very over-priced. We enjoyed Duluth, but the pandemic and road construction did put a damper on things.

The next day we had a 4-hour drive to McLain State Park in Hancock, Mi, our 13th campsite of the trip. We were there a year ago and loved it. Last year it was about 15% full and this year it was 95% full, including many school-aged kids. We were glad we reserved our site, anticipating the affect the pandemic is having on campgrounds. It was great to return to the beautiful park and Houghton, especially Keweenaw Brewing Company. There has been significant shoreline erosion, similar to other parks in the lower peninsula. There were many recently fallen trees. We noticed more fall colors this year – bonus!

We are at the Game Lodge Campground in Custer State Park, our 10th campsite of the trip. Eleven months ago we reserved the last site available, that was large enough for our rig. It’s hard to believe we are finally here and leaving tomorrow.  The park is enormous and stunningly beautiful. There are endless possibilities for hiking and cycling in addition to sightseeing and wildlife viewing. It is on par with any national park. Had we known, we would have planned more time here.

We faired well during our first night of camping in subfreezing temperatures and snow. We kept our slide-outs in, to have less area to heat and avoid issues with ice in the seals. Our new heater, in combination with the rig’s built-in heater and our down comforter kept us warm.

The scenery on the way to Mt Rushmore was spectacular. We would have preferred 80 degrees and sun, but enjoyed the beauty of the snow. We arrived at Mt Rushmore to find that fog and clouds obscured any view of the carvings. People were leaving in disappointment, but we decided to have a coffee and wait. After about 40 minutes the clouds suddenly lifted and we could see. It pays to be patient! We also went to the Crazy Horse Memorial and the Native American Museum..

We returned to the campground via Needles Highway, a pretty harrowing drive. It’s very much like the road to Hana, with winding turns, steep drop-offs and stretches of one lane traffic.  The truck barely fit through some of the  tunnels. On the way, checked out all the lakes and areas around the lodges.

We checked out Hill City and the town of Custer, where we had dinner.  We had Scottish Ale and English Bitter at Mount Rushmore Brewing Company, and then the best Mexican food I’ve ever had at a restaurant called Maria’s. The corn tortillas were very fresh and hand-made.

On our last full day, we drove the wildlife loop. We saw wild burrows, big horn sheep, buffalo and a lot of deer. The highlight was being at the perfect location at the right time, for a buffalo round-up. We were able to hang out with the rangers (one was from Michigan), and watch from outside, while everyone else had to remain in their vehicles, lined up behind us. It was so cool! There is a staged, controlled buffalo round-up event later in the month, but this was the real thing. They round up the buffalo to sell some, in order to manage the size of the herd.

We really do not want to leave the park. We saw most of it, but would have liked to hike, ride our bikes and have dinner in one or two of the lodges. We will be coming back!

We left the boondocking camping area in the Badlands, on Friday, September 4 for Deadwood, SD. We squeezed into our tight campsite at Whistler Gulch Campground, which was a mining site, long ago. We were excited to explore the area and to be able to do laundry, clean the RV and take longer showers. This was our 9th campsite of 16 and our 19th day into the trip.

First stop in town was Saloon#10, which displays the chair that Wild Bill Hickok was believed to be shot in.  We were glad it was a Friday afternoon, so the holiday weekend crowds had not arrived, yet.  We had a beer at Saloon #10, and watched the reenactment of a shoot-out in the street, but did not return due to the crowds of unmasked people during the following days. It was a cool place and we hope to go back one day. We found a restaurant/bar across the street, where we could enjoy a beverage and views of town from a rooftop patio.

The second day we drove through Spearfish Canyon and did a couple of short hikes to see some waterfalls. We proceeded to Sturgis, which was hosting the annual Mustang Rally. It was nice to see an event, yet not the enormous crowds of the motorcycle rally. The demographic was mostly midwestern Mustang owners. It was a typical mellow, car-show group of people, very spread out through town. I will mention that we saw some Corvettes and Camaros in the area, also. It was 107 degrees in the shade.

We stopped at Walmart to buy a combination fan/heater to use the fan right away and the heater soon.

On our third day we spent some time at Mt. Moriah Cemetery. It was a nice, hilly morning walk through very old red pines. We saw Wild Bill Hickok’s and Calamity Jane’s grave sites, as well as other historical figures. It was educational and we had a great view of the town from there.  Later we drove back to Spearfish Canyon to enjoy happy hour at The Boar’s Nest Roadhouse. It was as if the “American Pickers” redecorated The Knuckle Saloon in Sturgis, and moved it to a beautiful Creekside location in the canyon. We enjoyed our last, hot (85 degrees), sunny afternoon there, knowing that in just over 24 hours it would be 30 degrees and snowing.

A note on traveling during the pandemic:  Previously on our trip, we felt the effect of the pandemic in Lacrosse, which normally would have been a busy, lively town, with filled restaurants and bars. Instead, extremely empty and quiet. In South Dakota we would learn that masks were not required and some businesses required employees and/or customers to wear them and others did not. In Deadwood, some tourists wore masks, but most employees and other people did not.   We read the stories about the outbreaks from the Sturgis bike rally. It appears that most cases were out-of-state people taking the virus home after the rally. The major outbreak area in South Dakota is on a college campus on the other side of the state. Regardless, we are being smart and careful, but not paranoid.

We spent the last three days in the Badlands boondocking off grid. We’ve been camping off grid on our property, so it’s no problem for us. We were glad we scouted the area before taking the RV there. It was a beautiful location. I was a bit nervous, as I am afraid of heights, but realized it wasn’t dangerous.

We took a day trip to Rapid City, where we had a great dinner at Firehouse Brewing Company. It’s a nice historic town with shops and restaurants. It’s definitely worth visiting. We also found a Safeway grocery store in town. We were able to stock up on food and pick up some Maui Safeway favorites.

We were happy to have 3 days there, to just relax and soak in the atmosphere. I loved it so much, that it was a little difficult to leave, but we were heading to Deadwood and more adventures.

Driving up to our boondocking site

We spent the last 3 days at Cedar Pass Campground in Badlands National Park. The scenery is beautiful. It feels as is we are on another planet at times. The campground layout is odd and obviously designed before large RVs existed, but we have enjoyed the views, peaceful setting and the birds, including Western Meadowlarks and Mountain Bluebirds.

We did some amazing hikes, even with my sore foot (not improved at all).  It was mostly climbing and descending, which hurts far less than normal walking.  We also scoped out our next camping area, which will be boondocking off-grid, at the rim overlooking the Badlands.

It will be a few days before we post again, since we will be off grid.

Our first stop in Minnesota, also our 5th camping location of 16, was Myre-Big Island State Park.  The park was very quiet and not very full. Though it is surrounded  by lakes, we were unable to find any access to the water for swimming or even taking photos.  It seemed very odd, since we are from Michigan, where life revolves arund the lakes.

We were happy that we stocked up on supplies in Wisconsin.  For lunches we had fresh baked sourdough from a bakery, really good turkey and cheese.  Dinner was sweet corn, known as “candy corn” in WI., veggie burgers and tater tots. It was our 3rd day of temperatures in the 90s, so we cooked outside. the corn lived up to it’s name.

The next day we went to Blue Mounds State Park. It is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, near the South Dakota and Iowa borders. The park is surrounded by farms and features include prairie  grasslands, rock formations, Buffalo herds, many trails and a wooded campground. This park was a little more full, but still very peaceful.  We wish we had more time to enjoy the bike trails and plan to return.

Nearby was the sleepy town of Luverne, MN. The town motto “Love the life!” was everywhere. We found the microbrewery in town, Take 16 Brewing. They had converted their parking lot to a beer garden with well-spaced seating and live music.  The entire town was there and it was clear everyone knew each other. The beer was fantastic and we enjoyed hearing live music for the first time in many weeks. It was so fun to enjoy a small town in a beautiful location.

Minnesota was far more flat and lake-free (at least where we were) than we expected on this trip. Minnesota campers seem to be far more mellow than Michigan campers.  There were no family reunions and large groups of raucous partiers, playing loud music and drinking heavily into the wee hours, as in MI.

We are at Goose Island County Park in La Crosse, campsite #4 of 16.  We feel so lucky that we stumbled upon this place. It has to be one of the best kept secrets in Wisconsin. It’s absolutely beautiful. We are also fortunate enough to have the best site here (thanks to the friendly park manager).  It has water and electric, the most shade and a lot of space around it. All great features when it is 98 degrees! The park is probably about the size of Stony Creek or Kensington Metropark. There is a 7+ mile canoe trail, numerous boat ramps, a small sandy “beach”,  picnic areas, as well as campsites. It is a popular place to fish for bass.  We rode our bikes through every inch of the park. It feels like a remote wilderness location.

We went to the popular attractions in the area. Shrine of our Lady of Guadalupe is quite beautiful and Dave agreed it’s worth going just to see the flowers (as beautiful as my sister’s garden!).  Sorry my photos do not capture the beauty. We didn’t go inside because I was wearing a tank top and flipflops (I’m not Catholic, but expect that would be disrespectful). We also went to Grandad Bluff Park, which overlooks all of La Crosse, including the University of Wisconsin campus. Surprise – Wisconsin is not flat!

La Crosse is a very cool town and we wish we could experience it without the pandemic.  We also enjoyed the IPA at Turtle Stack Brewery and ate dinner twice at Bodega Brew Pub.  Everything is homemade there (including the pesto and thousand island dressing) and NOT typical bar food. I can’t remember Dave ever being so happy with a meal, as he was was today. He had their spicy Reuben sandwich.  The La Crosse aloha is similar to the Detroit aloha and we plan to return .

Now we are off to Minnesota!

Sorry for the delay in posting – internet issues finally resolved

Hartwick Pines State Park

Hartwick Pines was our first stop on our great adventure.  It’s about a 3 1/5 hour drive, north,  from our home. This is a beautiful park, with old growth pines, some nice campsites, hiking trails, logging museum and very easy mountain bike trails. I haven’t done any trail riding for many years, so was happy to start conditioning for the Copper Harbor trails in September. I’m pretty sure I have a sprained foot (injured hiking on flimsy running shoes on last trip), but gimped along the hiking trails to see the beautiful trees and lakes (hoping the Ibuprofen eventually helps). Many of the buildings were built buy the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) in the 1930’s an 1940’s. We were fortunate to book a campsite surrounded by trees. We are learning every campground has trade-offs. This one is some noise from I-75 when the wind is light.

Bright Lake

Lake Michigan Campground

First comment – trade-off – view and noise of traffic from US -2 during daytime, vs secluded beach.  The beach was nearly deserted , peaceful, with gorgeous sunsets. This was a rustic campsite, no water or power. No problem for us. We checked out St Ignace. Nice, but the pandemic resulted in a wait for outdoor seating at some places.

Wells State Park

We have a beautiful site on Green Bay. This is another CCC campground. My first impression is that I could spend a long time here. The view and sound of the water is so peaceful. We have had a constant, cool breeze off of the water. A family with 4 children under 5, with a tiny popup trailer, showed up next to us (of course). Surprisingly, the whole family was very “chill”, no yelling, tantrums, crying, hitting.. whew! (Lucky kids and lucky us!!!!) Another CCC campground. The short hiking trails are beautiful. The rustic cabins and campsites are really nice. We felt the need to check out Escanaba. It seemed to be a very desolate version of Port Huron.  Though Upper Hand Brewery was closed on a Monday, we did enjoy Hereford and Hops brewpub. Fabulous Redemption IPA, RED and White Tail Ale.

I’m so excited I’m struggling to sleep at night. I can’t wait to be on the road with new adventures every day! Planning the trip got me through the pandemic stay-at-home orders and now it’s actually happening! Wednesday we leave the Detroit area, heading north toward Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (the UP), on our way to the Badlands, Mt Rushmoore and Deadwood, then back to the UP for a couple of weeks.. Every campsite is booked, except for our boondocking sites.

We spent 3 days cleaning the RV, inside and out and made some changes for easier travel, with less weight. We also created our detailed checklists for hitching and unhitching and lists of what we need to bring. Our 9-day mini-tour around Michigan helped us to tighten up our inspection process and understand what we need to bring. We purchased parts and gear for the RV. I found hiking boots and shoes and shorts for mountain biking. The route is entered into the Good Sam Club route planner, so we know the best route and fuel stops for RVs. I even learned how to use this blog software, sort of….. All that is left to do is final grocery shopping and packing. Badlands, here we come!

We took a 9-day mini-tour around Michigan, as a trial run for our Badlands trip. We camped at several state parks and off-grid on our property in Frankfort. We learned a lot and it was so fun to be camping and seeing new sights.

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