July 13, 2015
We got up without the alarm at about 6:30. There was no need to rush today. Our drive would be shorter to Harris, MI where we are staying at the campground at the casino there. It was a hazy morning with a pleasant temp. of 68 degrees. We were up and ready to go by 8:30. Bob has done a great job of choosing our campgrounds this trip. We use RV Review–a website that reviews campgrounds by campers themselves and it has proved itself to be a great tool. He also chooses campgrounds with easy access and a close distance to the highway. We also like to have a campsite where we can keep the trailer hooked up to the truck if we’re just doing an overnight. Google Earth has proved to be invaluable for seeing the layout of the campground, how easy it is to find, and getting in and out without a problem. What did people do before the Internet? We traveled through hilly, wooded coutryside as we made our approach to the Mackinac Bridge, connecting the main body of Michigan to the Upper Peninsula.
We can’t remember the last time we’ve driven over this bridge, if ever, but we’ve gone under the bridge many times in the boat.
The bridge was under construction as they put a new coat of paint on it.
From the bridge, I could see Mackinac Island in the distance and some boats under sail.
We arrived on the other side at 11:00 and waited in line to pay our toll of $8.00.
From there, we took Highway 2 along the northern shore of Lake Micihigan.
Many of these northern shore cities we’ve been to by boat–Escanaba, St. Ignace, Mackinaw City, Gladstone, and Fayette. We traveled along the top of Lake Michgan which looked very calm today. The terrain changed along the lakeshore to pine trees and sand dunes.
The skies turned grey and we hit some light rain for about an hour as we continued west around the lake. We eventually drove out of the rain and we could see the edge of the cold front ahead of us as we neared Manistique. We saw this lighthouse standing guard at the entrance to their harbor.
We followed this trailer out of town. Can you recognize what it is? I haven’t seen one of these in years. It’s a snowmobile trailer.
The wind picked up off of the lake and we had a strong crosswind which played havoc with the trailer. Once we got away from the lake, it lightened up a bit. We rounded the top of the lake through Gladestone and Escanaba.
The sun finally peeked out as we neared our destination. Auggie was getting restless, but found a spot in the backseat where he could lay in the sun.
We spotted the tall casino building in the distance a few miles past Harris, Michigan and pulled into the campground in the woods, just behind the casino parking lot at 2:00.
It was a nice little campground, called Island RV Park.
We were told to pull in, pick a site, then go up to the office in the hotel and register. We chose site #17 and set up camp.
After we settled in, we took the walk up to the hotel and registered for the night. It was $20. What a deal! We looked around the casino and restaurant. Bob even got some ice from the bar.
We walked back to the campground and decided to do some wash here at the campground. They had a nice little laundry, so while I had the time I decided to make use of the opportunity. I did some laundry and we ate a later dinner of brats on the grill. Auggie and I took our walk around the campground to see what other RV’s were here. It was about 2/3 full for the night. We relaxed as it grew dark and took it easy. Tomorrow we have only about 140 miles to go, so we don’t have to get too real early. That will be nice. They have a really nice campground here!
