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.

June 2 thru 6, 2024, Pontiac State Park, MI

From Petosky, MI, we headed south to Pontiac Lake State Park Campground in Pontiac, MI. The trip was 235 miles. It was a nice campground but, unfortunately, the mosquitos were now out in earnest and hungry. I tried to stay covered as much as possible while setting up camp but whenever I exposed skin they found it. 

This park was close to our friends Loren and Sharon who were going to Canada for the Fantasy Tour with us but, sadly, had to cancel. We visited them at their nice home on Sylvan Lake about 15 miles from our campsite (almost like we planned it). We love their cottage on the lake and completely understand why they return to Michigan every summer.

They were disappointed they were not visiting the Canadian Maritime Provinces with us but were happy to show us around for a few days before we headed into Canada.

One day they took us to Frankenmuth, MI, a nicely developed tourist destination. We enjoyed a wonderful all-you-could-eat fried chicken feast at the Bavarian Inn. It was served "family style" with so much variety - fried chicken, mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy, cranberries, beans, and more followed by ice cream for dessert.

After dining we crossed the Holz-Brucke covered bridge and walked some of our meal off at the Frankenmuth River Place Shops. It was a beautiful afternoon to just sit in the sunshine and people-watch.

As we were leaving, we stopped at Bronner's Christmas Wonderland. We arrived an hour before they closed or we might have spent much longer browsing the acres of Christmas decorations.

Another day they took us to the quaint small town of Holly, MI, for lunch at the Holly Cafe.  

Once again, after eating more than we should have we walked the downtown area exploring several shops. Traveling with limited space limits the temptation to load up on artsy knick-knacks. Joani was tempted but refrained.

Another day, I had cracked my head pretty good on our slide out and was concussed (according to Joani's Google research) but I fought the urge to sleep and pushed through the nausea. After a delicious bacon cheddar burger perfectly cooked at The Grill, I was on the way to recovery. 

We were pleased to spend time with our friends and sad they could not travel with us to Canada. We waved our sad goodbye's until we see them again in Arizona next Fall.

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.

May 20 thru 25, 2024, Munising, MI

Since rain was in the forecast, we broke camp early. The first few drops landed as we finished emptying our tanks. That might have been our earliest departure ever at 7:30am. What was especially nice was how still it was - not a hint of breeze, as can be seen in the lake pics below, and nice conditions for our 186-mile drive to Munising (we visited Munising once before in June of 2018).

Another benefit to the early start was critter sightings. The road had very little traffic, other than us, so we saw a wild turkey, a deer, a momma bear and her cub, a bald eagle (very close to the road at eye level), and a huge heron. They were all elusive enough that pictures were not possible but it made the drive even more memorable.

When we reached Munising the wind was still dead calm on Lake Superior. Our site (number 35) in Munising Tourist Park Campground had a nice view of the water.

With our early arrival, Joani had plenty of time to roam the shoreline hunting agates. A little breeze came along with a light sprinkling before ending the day with a beautiful sunset. 

Several days we had rain which was to be expected this early in the season. Since we were staying for 6 nights we were happy to see a mix of weather. Especially when the light rain was illuminated by the sun creating a beautiful rainbow.

After the rain, we were treated to some awesome cloud drama.

We awoke one morning to some thick fog. Joani opted for the shoreline of Bay Furnace Park (for a second time) for more rock hounding.

I picked up a few interesting rocks but mostly I snapped pictures. It was cool enough that these dragonflies stayed put as I walked by. They were sizable - I would estimate their wingspan at about 4 inches. You have to zoom in to appreciate their vivid colors.

We did not take the cruise along the Pictured Rocks Lakeshore this time. We hiked again to Munising Falls. I thought, with the recent rains, it would have more volume but looking back at pictures from 6 years ago it looked very similar.

Miners Castle Rock looks almost as picturesque from the overlook as it does from the lake level on the cruise.

We were able to hike to Miners Fall, something new to us this trip. The day was perfect with dappled sunshine on huge collections of colorful wildflowers in bloom.

Miners Falls was, hands down, our favorite falls within the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Park. I tried to capture the water movement with a long exposure which I thought worked well.

I wanted a closeup of the tiny blue flowers. Unfortunately, I did not review the picture while we were there. Later, I found I had missed focus. I should have used a tripod.

This was our second time in Munising and while some things were familiar, there were some new things as well and we would not mind staying here again. I certainly recommend the "Yooper Burger" and Onion Rings at Foggy's Steakhouse and Lounge.