Lollygagging to Three Lakes

Yesterday, Friday, we made the trek from Gladstone to Three Lakes. Since we knew it was going to be an easy 140 mile drive we dawdled and lallygagged our way down US-2 as it weaved from Michigan into Wisconsin and then back to Michigan again... from Eastern Time to Central and then back to Eastern again. We threaded our way through the towns of Bark River, Norway, Spread Eagle, Florence, and Crystal Falls. We stopped for supplies in Iron Mountain, enjoyed a picnic lunch at a Michigan roadside park, and checked in with the owners of Stumps Bar in Three Lakes where we've traditionally stopped and un-coupled the toad from the bus-house before snaking down to the camp.

As I've mentioned before, Camp Soldner belongs to Dar's brother and sister-in-law, Dennis and Laura. They graciously allow us to camp here and soak up the solitude, the sights and smells of a lake tucked into a heavy U.P. forest, and to enjoy getting out on the water with their flotilla of kayaks, canoes, a sailboat, and a pontoon boat. We'll be here for a couple weeks or so... in many ways we'd like it to be longer.

Glad to be in Gladstone

Boy, did I ever sleep good last night; didn't stir once until a little after 5am and then fell asleep again until almost 8am. Low dew points, cool overnight temperatures, no RV park security lights shining in through the open window next to my head, no mechanical drone of a fan or air conditioner -- it all came together and I was apparently ready for it.

By the time I finally got up for good Dar had the bus-house ready for travel. Today is moving day, and today we start our westward trek across the country on US Highway 2. The ultimate goal of this leg of our journey is a couple of grandkids that we can't wait to see... way out there in Washington State. But there's a lot of ground to cover and a lot of new areas to explore between here and there. We're also going to pause for a couple weeks at Camp Soldner, a little further down the road here in the UP of Michigan.

We left Straits State Park about 10:30am this morning and pulled into Gladstone Bay Campground in the City of Gladstone MI. about 1:30pm. This campground is owned and operated by the City of Gladstone, and is right on the shores of Little Bay de Noc, a bay of Lake Michigan. We selected this camp for tonight because of the full hookups. There's a bunch of laundry we need to do before getting to Camp Soldner and the $24 camping fee isn't much more than what it'd cost at a laundromat.

Water quality is another reason we look for laundry camps like this one. If the camp is on a treated city water supply, the quality of the water is typically much better than you'd likely find at a rural camp with well water. Good water cleans clothes better and is better on the wash machine.

We'll be here for just one night. Tomorrow, Friday, we're heading up to Dar's brother Dennis's place (Camp Soldner) near Michigamme. The last time we stayed there, two years ago, a couple readers of the Journal asked for information and directions to this great camp. Unfortunately, (or maybe fortunately??), this is a small family place that's not open to the public. I probably shouldn't keep referring to it like I do, but it's become a thing I do.
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By the way, a couple other notes: first, if you haven't checked lately, Dar is once again uploading photos to our online photo gallery (Click here). Since there's a lot of catching up to do, she's starting with the current photos and working backward as she has time to fill the gap. She does a good job adding captions and telling a story of the day's explorations, so check it out for another, more visual way, of reading our story.

A few days ago I mentioned that Dar's laptop bombed out. It didn't look good... the dreaded "blue screen of death". I'm happy to report that I was able to revive it. At least it looks promising so far. It's amazing what resources are out there on the internet to help a hobby-tech'r like me give cyber-CPR to a non-responsive computer. A few google queries, a little reading, researching, and vetting, a little luck and a dance to the silicon-gods... well, it seems to have worked out. The laptop is functioning again.

I wish I could report the same on Margaret, our GPS. It seems nothing can help her now. She'll be interred in the next few days up at Camp Soldner.

Mackinac Island

Today, Wednesday, is our planned resting and get-caught-up day before we leave St. Ignace tomorrow. I've been lazing around this morning -- even made a hot breakfast for my cute long-haired fellow explorer. But now it's time to get this journal post done and published.

We spent yesterday on Mackinac Island. Neither of us had ever been there before and regular questions and comments over the years from fellow explorers finally pushed us to do our part to help out the local tourism-driven economy of the straits area... to finally buy those ferry tickets and get over there. No longer will we have to reply negatively to the query "of course you've been to Mackinac Island, haven't you?"

We caught the 9:05am ferry ($20 each after coupon discount and $8 for each bike) from the Star Line railroad dock just down the road in St. Ignace. After talking with some locals the past couple days we made the decision to take our bikes over with us in lieu of spending as much as $40 each to rent bikes once on the island. And there are other benefits of taking your own bikes... you know the bike, it's quirks, it's feel ... you're comfortable on it... it fits right... you don't have to stand in line to to pick it up or drop it off.  It became obvious this was the right thing to do.

The weather was great, with sunny skies and cool morning air. The first thing we did was to circumnavigate the island on the shoreline path. An enjoyable ride right along the waters edge, it's 8 miles of mostly level asphalt. At that early hour (started about 9:30am), there weren't many people on the trail... we often felt like we had it to ourselves. I enjoyed that ride much more than I thought I would. With stopping here and there to explore things along the way, it took us about two hours to finish the loop.

The next item on the list was the requisite stop at the Grand Hotel. According to local lore, this magnificent place was built in just 93 days in 1887. Probably the main reason I've resisted a trip to the island before this was the fact that the Hotel is now charging the common folk $10/head to get on the grounds and into the building. But, after badgering by the aforementioned fellow explorers, and a "conversation" with Dar ("my next husband won't be such a tight wad!"), I relented and happily released a twenty for the privilege.

 

We wandered all around, nooks and crannies, with Dar leading the way and snapping picture after picture. We were both surprised at the settling that's occurred over the years. In many places stairways and floors aren't level and walls aren't plumb. According to the concierge (who surprisingly answered our questions without demanding a twenty), the building is built on rock and was plumb and level when constructed, but the ravages of time and weight have taken their toll. It's a constant effort to keep doors from sticking and walls from cracking. But it is a grand place and I'm glad we made the time to explore it.

As noon approached we found a couple rockers on the huge front porch, found someone who would sell us a libation (another twenty for a beer, a glass of wine, and a small tip!), and found some relaxation while looking out over the island, the straits, and the big bridge. You just gotta take time like this to take a deep breath and soak it all in.

The island has about 7,000 residents during the summer... many people supporting the hotel and working the tourist trade... but others, obviously wealthy, who own 5,000 sq. ft. summer "cottages" and who may arrive for their stays by yacht or private plane. During the winter, pretty much everything closes, including the Grand Hotel, and the population drops to about 500 hearty souls.

Because motor vehicles are not permitted on the island, bikes are the most common form of personal transportation. During our stay we rode around the perimeter of the island and then through residential and more rustic wooded areas in the island middle and don't remember seeing even one motorized vehicle... not a Gator, service truck, golf cart, a four-wheeler... nothing. There are a lot of horse drawn wagons and carriages that perform the function of taxi, tourist bus, and truck. Personally, I liked the glimpse into a car-free environment and experiencing what a true walkable community could be.

Later in the day we parked the bikes and walked down the two main streets in the commercial district close to the harbor, Huron Street and Market Street. The place was absolutely packed. We learned that the Chicago-Mac sailboat race had just completed the day before and most of the participants were on the island -- celebrating and relaxing after the big event. Boat slips in the harbor were packed with sailboats, tied gunwale to gunwale, filling every possible mooring spot.

With crowds and congestion starting to detract from our experience we decided it was time to split and head back to the mainland, where we found a little place along the water for dinner. While soaking in the view of the island from the outside restaurant deck we recounted the day and agreed it was time well spent.