Warren Dunes State Park

Finny stole Cloud's favorite bed in the van

Sammies' last stop was Warren Dunes State Park.  As you may have guessed, it is known for its giant sand dunes.  Not as big as Sleeping Bear dunes, but still big by Wisconsin standards.

We pulled in as usual without a reservation.  Of course they have a site available for our trailer. Because that's just the way it works in my man's world! 

All was going well, backing in and getting set up, when suddenly I spotted a giant bee flying underneath our trailer.  Obviously we had just parked on top of a bee hive and the queen was mad!!  Staff said, and I agreed, that we needed to change sites immediately.  It could be problematic for sammies, who spend much of their time lounging around outside.  We wouldn't want our furry little babies getting stung.

The park ranger said, "Are you sure it isn't a killer cicada wasp?"  A what?  It turns out this type of wasp is only dangerous if you are a cicada.  In fact, no one has ever been stung there.  One park ranger allegedly said he just swats them away and has never had a problem.  I asked her what would happen if a dog or human got stung by accident, like if the wasp had a memory lapse, like I have sometimes, and mistook one of us for a giant cicada.  She looked at me as if I wasn't listening to her and said a little more slowly, "Well, I don't know.  No one has ever been stung."  Um, OK.  Not exactly the scientific evidence I was looking for.

Killer Cicada Wasp
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We decided we would just spend the rest of the day at the beach, then take a long nap, and go home in the middle of the night, hopefully avoiding traffic around Chicago.  

After walking the hounds, Staff and I rode our bikes to the beach.  I was too pooped to hike, but Staff hiked up the almost vertical dunes.

Don't worry, that water was clean, but  just the idea of spraying water anywhere near the "dump" station is unsettling.  I always stand ready with hand soap and Purell for my Stafford when he finishes the job.

We had originally planned to stay the night in Warren Dunes; however, after the "bee" incident, we decided enough was enough.  Our travels in the UP and LP of Michigan had come to an end.  Although we generally don't have a set date for the return home on these sammy trailer trips, it always becomes clear to both of us when it's time to wrap it up.

I feel that my little bloggy-blog does not do the UP justice.  It is truly a beautiful and serene place -  God showing off, as one of my favorite author says.  As a city dweller, I feel blessed to carry the memory of that peace and beauty with me.  

I wonder where sammies will take us next?

Manistee and Grand Haven

By this point in our trip, we had finally shed most of our moving stress.  We both agreed that it took several days to stop feeling mental with fatigue from all that packing, lifting, trips to Home Depot...I think I said this before. Clearly I'm still a little traumatized by the whole thing. 

Good doggies, waiting  in the car while Momma and Daddy set up!

I knew we'd lightened up from our moving stress when while sitting back in my car seat, bare feet on the dashboard, I began making observations about my big toe.  "Why is my big toe so icky?  That eczema, or whatever, just won't go away."  Stafford looked over, and in his best Broke Back Mountain voice says, "I wish I could quit you, Icky Toe!"  We both busted a gut at this and continued to say it over and over whenever possible during the rest of our trip.

After Mackinaw City we drove sammies to Manistee, a quaint historic town along the Manistee River and Lake Michigan.  We arrived just in time to catch an hour or so of sunshine, or at least of no rain.  After parking our rig and unloading the beasts, we strolled around the campsite.  Sammies received the usual attention and comments, “What kind of dogs are those?  Beautiful.”  They are always humble when being adored by other campers and their kids.

Manistee River

Airing out doggy beds after 10 days of travel

Staff and I decided to head down to Orchard Beach, which was located down the bluff from our campsite.  The Great Lakes are like nature’s wave pool – warm, clear and no scary fish.  We played in the waves and watched a front come toward our beach.  Staff was explaining the math behind calculating how fast a storm travels, but I stopped listening when I saw a flash of lightening in the distance.  Then I high-tailed it out of the water, snatching up both of our towels and practically running up the 50 stairs up the bluff.  

A young couple and their toddler were walking down the stairs to go swimming.  I wanted to say something to them, but they looked determined.  A man standing at the top of the stairs was watching them, too, and we both wondered if we had some sort of civic responsibility to warn them about the lightening.  The thunder was loud and unmistakable, but maybe they didn’t see the flashing bolts on the horizon?   Staff just kept walking saying something about everyone having the right to choose how they die.

Orchard Beach - another beautiful day in Michigan

About 50 stairs down to the beach-definitely not for the arthritically-inclined

As the rain started to pour, we packed sammies into the trailer and headed into Manistee’s downtown to find a restaurant.  We were spoiled by the UP where you can find delicious whitefish everywhere. Even bars whose specialty is friend cheese curds still have excellent freshly caught whitefish.  It appears that we have now entered what Staff refers to as the “Redneck Riviera,” the western shoreline of Michigan south of Traverse City, which is lined with picturesque sandy bluffs, but where it is almost impossible to find a decent restaurant.  So we gave up and gorged ourselves at Pizza Hut.

 

Though Manistee, like Munising, may have been hit by economic hard times, they seem to have a line item in their budget for flowers.  Both have downtowns that are lined with colorful annuals.  Almost made me forget about the fact that there are no yummy restaurants in Manistee. 

Flowers line downtown Manistee streets

Staff requested that we take a detour from our shoreline route to Grand Rapids so that he could visit an RV store and look at his dream RV in person. We were in dire need of a giant mat that you put in front of your trailer so doggies can lie on the ground outside and not track in dirt. 

Unfortunately, that little detour was the last beautiful day of sunshine.  We spent it in the car.  Ah, well.  No need to be gluttonous.  Not like we hadn’t just had 9 days of gorgeous weather on our UP trip.

Around 4:45 p.m., we arrived in Grand Haven state park.  Depending on your perspective, this is either RV heaven or hell.  The campers are parked within spitting distance of each other on a giant concrete pad about 3 acres long in front of the beach.  But that’s the heaven part - you are right on the beach.  A night at a hotel right on the beach would cost 4-5 times as much as our campground.  Also, downtown Grand Haven, with all of its cute shops, cafes and boutiques, is just a 15 minute walk or short bike ride away.

 

Staff tried to find wind, but was “skunked,” meaning the wind died when he got there.  I walked the beach and read my new book borrowed from the lending library shelf at the Grand Marais campground.   

Oh, yes, and sammies, as always, had a wonderful time.

Samoyeds in Mackincaw at the Beach

The sammies haven't been getting much air time on the blog yet.  Mostly they have been happy travelers getting lots of ooo's and aaahhs wherever we go.  Cloud is more arthritic than our last trip, so he requires soft spots to lie down on, even outside, and help in and out of the trailer.  Luckily Daddy is strong.

They had fun at the beach today, Finny trying to dunk Yuki in the water and running around like crazy.

Finny having a ball at the beach

Yuki putting up with Finny's water assaults

Princess Yuki on her bed in the van

Staff and Finny coming back from playtime at the beach

Cloudy watching the action in the water

Grand Marais and Mackinaw City

Next stop Grand Marais, a tiny city with working church bells and a fantastic pizza place on Lake Superior.

Not much happened there as it was thunder storming and drizzling almost the entire time.  I didn't take any photos as it was too wet.  Also, there is not much to see or do there if you're not a fisherman, kayaker, or boater.  

We had no Internet and no cell phone service, no card or board games, no TV, and Staff ran out of reading material.  Way too early to go to bed, so we drove into town and dropped in a sports outfitter store. Surprise! There was samoyed named, Heiki. It turns out that the wife of the owner researched a bunch of different breeds, and after failing to find a samoyed rescue dog, she got Heiki from a breeder.  They had lived previously in North Carolina with their daughter and then moved to G. Marais to open the little fishing/sporting goods store.  Unfortunately we didn't ask what brought them to this tiny fishing town. I still wonder about their story.  It's gotta be interesting.

The other highlight of G. Marais was a crowded bar with raucous laughter that hit you like a wall as you opened the door.  I'm more of a quiet coffee house person, but when in Rome.  So I ordered myself a pint of red micro-brew, and Staff and I shared a mouth-watering cheese pizza, with fresh mozzarella and tomato sauce with exactly the right amount of seasoning.  Hard to find.  That pizza was so good, it rivaled Sal's Pizza in Port Chester, NY.  I can't say that about many pizzas. 

Oh, and they don't have city snow plowers in Grand Marais, they have "Snow Fighters" who fight the snow with plows about 8 feet high. I'm not kidding. Check out the sign.

Next stop, today, Mackinaw City.  After driving 16  miles out of our way because I misread the map, (Small detail- I failed to notice that our first choice campsite was located on the side of the bridge we just came from.  Staff was not about to drive our rig back over the 5 mile bridge for a darn campsite.)


We finally arrived at the KOA campground, an even better place, as KOA usually are clean and full of services.

The "Mighty Mac"

I had a yen to bike around Mackinaw Island. It interested me for its beauty and history.  You may know that no cars or motorized anything are allowed.  Lots of horses and cyclists, to which Staff saw a great "pedicab" opportunity. 

Gorgeous mansions with perfect flowery gardens dot the hillsides. Staff pointed out, this is where the 1% have their vacation homes. Hard to say which was more beautiful, the architecture of these homes and their gardens or the lush green forests with overhanging trees and exposed knotty roots along the bike path. The air there was so fresh, almost sweet, kind of how the air smells in Door County. I made sure to take some big gulping inhales of that fresh air, a nice treat for my asthmatic lungs.

In search of the famous Grand Hotel, we stumbled across Fort Mackinac.  According to the sign, it was built by the British and was finally turned over to the Americans after the Revolutionary War.  It was guarded by soldiers for about 100 years afterward.  I had wanted to see the Grand Hotel because it was the filming location of one of my favorite movies, "Somewhere in Time" with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour.  I don't want to spoil the movie, but let's just say, it's very beautiful and so tragic in the end that you may need to schedule an extra therapy session.

Well, we didn't exactly find the Grand Hotel, but we did tour the island and its interior on our bicycles. Below shows one of our discoveries on the windy roads along the hills on the island, Arch Rock, a natural archy rock formation. We did see the Grand Hotel from the ferry as we pulled out of the dock.  It looked lovely.

Munising, MI

As happens 98% of the time in Staff's world, luck was on our side. I say that because 2% of the time my husband's luck runs out. Like 2 nights ago when we arrived in Munising and couldn't find a campsite.  That's how we ended up in Christmas, a tiny neighbor of Munising, which is also fairly tiny.  I can't even recall the campsite except that it was pretty low grade.  It had vault toilets.  Need I say more.  Just the name "vault toilet" is enough to conjure up all sorts of frightening images.

Anyway, we called the campsite down the road in Munising the next morning and, of course, they have a campsite - wait for it - right on Lake Superior.  I mean, beachfront, 50 feet from our trailer door.  Not bad. And yes, we could have that same site for 2 nights in a row.  Of course.  That's my man's luck at work. 

Normally one can't swim for very long in Lake Superior.  And by "one" I mean me.  But this year the heat wave has caused the water temperature to rise to just above hypothermic levels.  Practically tropical by Lake Superior standards.  I still hit an involuntary high note when I waded into the water, but I got used to it.

Yesterday I dragged Staff to Miners Falls, a pretty little waterfall near town.  The picture is on my previous post.  It was lovely.

Doggies love the water.  Actually Finny and Yuki could play in it for hours.  Finny loves to try to dunk his elderly sister.  So naughty.  Cloud isn't that fond of water.  He just sort of walks near the edge and then backs off.

Today we kayaked along Pictured Rock cliffs with a guided tour.  Oh, my.  If that isn't one of the top 20 wonders of the world, it should be. Every time we rounded another chunk of cliffs, the next one was even more spectacular. Colorful stripes in the sandstone rock are created by minerals, even petroleum in some parts.  

The water reminded me of the Carribean with its crystal clear greens and blues, only no scary fish.  At one point we docked our kayaks and our guide let us take a swim.  Both Staff and I were joyful at the opportunity to bend and stretch our achy 40-something muscles.  Did I mention how back-breaking the house moving stuff has been?  I'm sure I have.  I've told anyone who would listen.

One thing they did not tell us until we were floating along the cliffs was that occasionally there is a small landslide of falling rock.  Apparently no one has ever been seriously injured, though another guide was struck once according to our guide.  Just as I was asking Staff to steer us away from the cliffs, a shower of tennis ball size rocks plummeted into the water in front of us. There it is again, 98% lucky.

We didn't want our camera to get wet, so I found these on the Internet. I don't know who these kayakers are, but they may as well be us.  This is pretty much what we saw today.

After kayaking along this stunning display of nature showing-off, we decided to go out to eat rather than eating what I like to call, "trailer food."  PB&Js, chips and grapes get old after awhile.

About 25 years ago, Stafford played in band and they performed at Foggy's Bar and Restaurant right down the road in Christmas.  Our tour guide said their fried cheese curds were good, so we figured we'd snack on curds, then go somewhere else for real food.  Well, it looks like Foggy's is a changin' with the times.  As Munising has developed over time, so has Foggy's.  Not only did they have cheese curds, but an entire menu from Mexican, to burgers, to fish fry. They even sell Foggy's attire.  I was tempted to buy a hoodie with "Foggy's" sewn across the chest.   

I ordered the whitefish platter, broiled with lemon pepper.  OMG!  The best whitefish of my life.  And I don't think it was because I was so tired.  Honestly, if you ever pass through Christmas, MI, I highly recommend stopping at Foggy's.  Don't be turned away by the lack of air-conditioning or the spider webs right outside the half-open windows.  Delicious.

Tonight we are looking forward to a good night's rest.  The warm breezes and mild temperatures have been great for sleeping with the windows open. 

Unfortunately, our campsites have been remarkably all located next to either a train track or highway.  (Another part of my husband's 2% failing luck) It reminds me of the movie "My Cousin Vinny" when loud noises kept waking him up in the middle of the night.  As much as I really prefer fresh air, tonight the air-conditioner will be cranked up to tune out all the highway traffic.

EWWWW!!!  A spider just crawled across my screen. Good night.

Escanaba, MI

My mother requested more pictures of me, so here you are, Mom!

Correction about our first night in the UP. Our campsite was actually in Gladstone, not Escanaba.  But they are neighbors. 

We spent an extra night in Escanaba because they have a Staples office supply store with a working fax machine and printer.  Two very important things when you are selling house and going on vacation at the same time. The two hours we spent waiting for their Internet to come back up was worth it as we received an offer on our house!  Now the next thing we'll be doing on our vacation is trying to find a place to rent while we build our next home.

Our campsite in Gladstone, MI

In the meantime, I enjoyed exploring Escanaba neighborhoods while Staff kitesurfed at beautiful Luddington Park.  Besides getting an offer on our house, the highlight for me of our Escanaba stay was discovering a farmer's market, which sold delicious homemade strawberry jam, blueberries and fresh bread.

Staff taking in dip in very warm Lake Michigan at Ludington Park in Escanaba, MI

Always curious Finny and calm Yuki

There went my love riding

Miner's Falls in Munising, MI 

Heading to the UP, yah der hey! (aka, "We Forgot Everything" Trip)

Finny howling with approval of our campsite in Escanaba

Sammies are back on the road! This time we're heading north to Michigan.  The title of this post has multiple meanings.  On the one hand, we are both so dog-tired from hauling, moving, packing, and driving back and forth to Home Depot to get our house ready to sell, this vacation is an opportunity to forget about all of our moving worries and just relax. 

On the other hand, due to our absolute exhaustion both physical and mental, we forgot some important things, like a blanket for the bed, cups for coffee, utensils, refills on meds for both humans and dogs.  Ah, well.  Thankfully Wal-Mart has a crazy number of stores on our route.

First stop was Green Bay to see Keith and Carolyn, my in-laws.  We were welcomed by their dog Keagan, and as usual everyone played nicely together.  

Next stop, Escananba, MI.  Much cooler temps up here which is a welcome change for us and our arctic beasts.  Our plan was to get up early-for sure we're getting up this time- and be on the road by 9:00a.m.  But in Bridget and Stafford style, we slept the sleep of the dead and awoke at 9:23 a.m.  Well, it is vacation after all.

Staff's face sums up our mental state when we left our driveway.

Curious Yuki and Cloudy peering out the door at Momma and her crazy camera.

The pine trees up here remind me of those in the Pacific northwest and the coast of Japan.  What's up with that scrunched up bunch of needles randomly growing in the middle of the tree?  I keep meaning to become a professional naturalist, but in the meantime I will just have to wonder about such things.