June 13 thru 15, 2024, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada

Joani plotted our trek into St. Andrews down Prince of Wales Street on the north side of town. The Algonquin Resort was built over the street joining the north and south wings of the hotel. There was plenty of clearance for the coach, it was just tedious with all the foot traffic. We had the breakfast buffet here on our 51st wedding anniversary (June 15th) where I ate way too much but it was so delicious! 

Several times we took a trail from the campground that led into town. Along the way, we found fields of Lupine and very tame deer. One woman said when she would have popcorn at her camper the deer would come up to her for their share.

Most of the town's shops and restaurants were along Water Street, an easy three-quarters of a mile stroll. We tried the hardware store for a cabinet latch and while the store had been in business for many years they did not have what we needed. That's the side of the hardware store below. We dined out three or four times during our stay so it was good that we walked almost every time.

The amount of tide change depends on a number of factors. In St. Andrews it can be as much as 24 feet, however, it was more like 16 to 18 feet between high and low tide during our stay. I lost track of how many times Joani combed the shoreline for interesting rocks, I just know the car is loaded now. 

I found this live crab in a tidepool.

The deer below were at the edge of our campground. They were not bothered by people walking or cars driving by on the road. We counted five several times so we assumed they ran together but maybe there were more. We saw them around town in people's yards as well.

I don't know why I like sailboats - I've never had one, will probably never have one, and can't quite imagine sailing on one - I guess they will always just be nice subjects for photographs.

Below, I tried to center on the lighthouse at high tide and again at low tide to show the difference. I was impressed. Now I can't wait to see the tide at the Bay of Fundy in a couple of weeks.

At low tide, the array of rocks seemed never-ending.

The Celtic Cross was dedicated as a memorial to the Irish immigrants who died on Hospital Island just offshore.

We never had a clear evening for stars and we kept looking for color at sundown. Unfortunately, while nice, the sunsets never blossomed into a full technicolor display.  

June 7 thru 11, 2024, Michigan into Canada

We elected to travel on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes to Maine before ultimately starting our RV tour in New Brunswick, Canada. Our 226-mile trip included one last fill-up in the states in Port Huron where Kroger fuel points made our cost $2.75/gallon. I know we will not see that again for a while. The border crossing might have been smoother if the Blue Water Bridge had not been under repair.

I would estimate there were 20 semi-trucks for each car crossing into Canada. Not knowing exactly what to do or where to be we followed the line of trucks for 30 minutes before realizing we could have been in a different line with no waiting. We were asked if we were traveling with any firearms, liquor, or cannabis. We said no and were told to have a nice visit. It could not have been smoother after visualizing a full vehicle search 

We spent our first night in Canada at Milton Heights Campground, in Milton, Ontario. The park was nice but had so many rules and regulations. Many made no sense and made me happy we were not staying more than one night. We could not use our power monitor unless it was lying on the ground. We could not use a mat larger than 2 by 2 feet and we could not use jacks without jack pads. We did not even take the car off of the dolly.

The next morning we got an early start. Before we could get to the highway we had to wait at the geese crossing. This trip was 309 miles to a Walmart in Cornwall, Ontario.

The Walmart was smaller than most but had a nice level spot for us. We struggled with the refrigerator cooling again. At least we were near a source for bagged ice. It rained most of the night and we woke early to get on the road before shoppers created an obstacle to our leaving.

Our drive to Magog, Quebec, went smoothly. It was 152 miles of the Canadian equivalent of the Interstate highway they dubbed Autoroute. We chose the toll road option around Montreal after Joani discovered the mapped route through the city was not all limited access.

Domaine Parc Estrie was a nice campground with only one oddity - despite having plenty of room at our site and no neighbors they insisted our tow dolly had to be stored offsite for an additional six dollar per night storage fee.

Magog (pronounced like you would think), being in Quebec meant everyone spoke French. It was very different seeing all the signage in a foreign language. Sometimes, it was fun trying to guess what was written. 

Downtown was nice for a stroll and we had pleasant weather. We chose a pizza place for a late lunch and, with the help of a bilingual waitress, we ordered pizza and lasagna. 

Even deciphering store signs was a challenge but we finally saw an Hours of Operation sign with the days of the week spelled out so I took a picture for reference.

This park had more permanent and seasonal tenants than most with many nice park models. It was a convenient base for further exploration.

May 26 thru June 1, 2024, Magnus Park, Petoskey, MI

Rather than push through from Munising to Petoskey we chose to boondock at the Kewadin Casino in St Ignace, a trip of only 125 miles. We ran into thick fog along the Michigan Lake shoreline slowing our progress. The roads Joani mapped out for our trip were beautifully paved with very little traffic. The fog made the trip a bit more interesting.

We had stayed at this casino before, so it was all familiar. We found a level spot in the lot and set up to boondock for the night. We hit the buffet in the casino and returned to find the refrigerator choosing this time to stop cooling. After a couple restarts, to no avail, we pulled up the leveling jacks and circled the parking lot a few times (jostling the fridge has worked in the past). It never did behave, but it was a cold night and the temperature only slowly increased but never to the point of concern for our groceries.

Early the next morning (Sunday) we were practically alone as we crossed the Mackinac Bridge. Apparently, we timed it perfectly to avoid traffic. We continued to Magnus Park in Petoskey, MI. It was a very short and uneventful 48-mile drive.

Where is everybody?

Some confusion over our site led to setting up twice, but we landed on a very nice site and had plenty of time to address the fridge. We loaded 2 bags of ice inside and started it again. This time it cooled as it should.

Of course, Joani immediately hit the shoreline in search of Petoskey stones. She found some interesting specimens that will be heading back to the lapidary in Mesa for processing.

The next day we drove west to Charlevoix. We hiked a few of the trails in the North Point Nature Preserve. Some kind of plant on the beach spread with little tentacles. I do not know what it was but it seemed like a good time for a shadow wave.

Heading into downtown Charlevoix, we passed a house with a most interesting fireplace chimney and had to stop for a few pictures. A woman walking her dog filled us in on the history of the house. It was built for the daughter of Earl Young, the architect of the famous "Mushroom Houses" in Charlevoix. The whimsy was easily seen in the brickwork and the roofing. I'm sure this would be one interesting house to tour.

Applecore Cottage

In town, we headed straight for the Cherry Republic. They still had plenty of samples available for tasting. We left with two bottles of cherry wine, some cherry habanero summer sausage, and some cherry BBQ sauce (see the bags I'm holding below).

We drove by a few more of the Mushroom houses before returning to Petoskey.

The "Thatch House" is available to rent (sleeps 12) for a mere $1720 a night.

This little jewel next door to the Thatch House is more my style. It's called "Half House."

On the 30th, I was given the "royal" treatment for my birthday breakfast. This fine dining was just a short walk from our campsite (although it included a very steep uphill grade).

On our last full day, we got in more than 12,000 steps. We hiked several miles along the Bear River. The wealth and variety of wildflowers was a pleasant surprise. The weather was perfect and I don't remember any insects harassing us so I know just how lucky we were.

I was surprised to find a few Petoskey stones on the ridge high above the Bear river.

This was a first for me - a black squirrel. When I asked about them, I learned they are pretty common.

The squirrel is hard to see, he blends so well with the log.

We saw several deer along the trail but they were usually shy. This one posed for me before slowly wandering into the woods.

Downtown Petoskey was filled with charm. We walked along a few major streets and visited an art gallery. We left knowing there was much more to explore and we certainly will be visiting again.

Crooked Tree Arts Center was housed in a beautiful old church.

Almost every storefront included a flower box adding to the overall appeal of the downtown area.

Tuesday, May 14, 2024, Apostle Islands Boat Tour, Bayfield, WI

We moved to Washburn, WI, a short 77 miles and all-around pleasant trip. We arrived early since the sites were first come-first served at Thompson's West End Park. There was plenty of room and we settled into the very nice city park. Their main street through town was under construction so we did not have a chance to explore Washburn but we kept busy in Bayfield about 13 miles to the north. The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Headquarters in Bayfield was not yet open for the season. Bayfield was very "walkable" with many quaint shops and a marina full of sailboats. It was easy to imagine the crowds of tourists that must be here later in the summer. 

We enjoyed perusing the few open shops. Most restaurants, museums, and shops won't open for the season until the end of May.

I never spent much time thinking about a "bucket list" of must-see sights but the Apostle Islands would have been on it if I had. Now in our 12th year of traveling, we finally planned on seeing them on a boat tour out of Bayfield, WI. We opted for the "Grand Tour" shown below in red. It was a 55-mile cruise lasting around two and a half hours. 

The "Grand Tour" at 1:15 was the only tour offered this early in the season.

Our boat was the Archipelago that, if I remember correctly, could hold 140 passengers and only had about 45 booked for our tour so it had plenty of room to move around.

As we passed Basswood Island we saw the remains of the brownstone operation that was abandoned many years ago without even shipping the last of the stone blocks that had been quarried.

We saw many Bald Eagles perched in the trees and a couple exhibiting their aerial acrobatic skills.

Most of the islands had a fish camp where crews of men stayed throughout the year processing the catch and maintaining their fishing nets. Only one camp remained. It has been restored and is staffed for tours in the summers.

The most interesting island and the one most people have probably seen in pictures was Devil's Island. The strong winds on Lake Superior created a lot of wave action that, with the cold winters, sculpted the sandstone into the beautiful caves along the shoreline.

Imagine how it must feel to kayak through some of these caves.

On the way back to Bayfield we passed one more lighthouse on Strawberry Island. This facility was restored and maintained by the National Park Service. Other cruise options specifically visit and tour the lighthouses on the islands.

While I spent most of my time on the upper deck, the cold wind required that I go below to thaw out a few times as we traversed the channel between islands. I think it was better to brave the late spring cold than fight the crowd in the warmer summer months. There are four National Lakeshores established including the Apostle Islands, Pictured Rocks, Sleeping Bear Dunes, and Indiana Dunes (which was upgraded to National Park status) and we have now visited all of them.