I got wheels on my heels and I gotta keep rollin' along Road Trip 2009

Wilderness State Park, MI 4 Sep 2009

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Trollville!4 September - I got underway at 11 and enjoyed a very pleasant drive on US-2 through the Michigan Upper Peninsula which skirts the northern edge of Lake Michigan and offers many scenic view/rest areas. It cost me 10 bucks to cross the Mackinac Bridge into Trollville but it sure beats driving the 900 some-odd miles around the lake and back up through the peninsula. I arrived at the Wilderness State Park at about 3. This is one of their busiest weekends of the year and they have us packed in here like sardines. I forgot that Michigan State has this silly motor vehicle fee they charge in addition to the camping fee, so I had to pay 29 bucks for the RV and 6 more for Toad. They also wanted an additional $29 for M.C. but we worked out a deal that if I didn’t ride it, they would waive the fee. Anyhoo, here’s the total breakdown of the cost........

Bridge toll to get here: $10

Camping Fee: $189

Motor Vehicle Fee (RV): $29

Motor Vehicle Fee (P/U): $6

Motor Vehicle Fee (M/C): $29 (waived, unless I wanna ride it)

Total: 263 bucks, that’s 37.57 per day to camp like a sardine in this Michigan State Park. Yikes! No wonder the state is losing money. At this rate, many RVers refuse to use the state park campgrounds and op for a cheaper commercial RV park. Many 1st class RV resorts are less expensive than this place.

5 September - I did about 8 miles of hiking in the park before John, Bonnie and Laura arrived at about 3:30. Their campsite was close to mine but much larger and more private so we made it our camp headquarters. Later in the evening, we all enjoyed chitchatting and laughing around the campfire as we chowed down on various types of dogs with smores for desert. Yummy!

6 September - We all spent the day geocaching on Mackinac Island. It was the first time for John and only the second time for Bonny. John had his GPS so he lead us on over 8 miles of hilly trails and, in some cases, through the bush were there were no trails. We only found 3 but we got a heck of a workout and we saw parts of the Island that many people never get to see. It was a great way to spend the day. Nate, Laura’s hubby, arrived at the campsite around 10:30 and we all hit our bunkys shortly thereafter for our big day tomorrow.

The Mighty Mac Bridge Walk (4

The Mighty Mac

)7 September - We all piled into Nate’s little Saturn around 7:30 this morning and headed for Mackinaw City to catch the bus to the north side of the bridge for the start of the walk. It took us almost 2 hours from the time we got into the bus line till the time we got to the starting line, but it was an enjoyable time for the most part. The walk itself took another couple of hours. We did the walk along with some 50,000 other folks of various ages, shapes, and sizes. It was a hoot. After the walk, we pigged out on pizza and walked around Mackinaw City a bit before heading back to camp where we played camp games until it was time for Nate, Laura, and Bonnie to takeoff for home. I feel for them as they all have to work tomorrow. Sorry guys, but somebody has to keep America running. After they departed, John and I talked awhile, ate some dogs, and called it an early night.

8-11 September - John took off around noon on the 8th and I moved into his vacated site, which cost me another 5 bucks for a transfer fee, but it was well worth it as I now have tons of space and privacy. The internet connection is actually better here too so I‘m as happy as a lark. I spent the rest of the week walking/hiking/biking, geocaching, sightseeing, and enjoying campfires with the pile of wood that John had left for me. It was a fun time.