Sep 26, 2012 - Bushplanes, pretty leaves, a boat tour and a steel mill

Today was a great day in Northern Michigan. First we drove across the International Bridge to the Canadian side. We stopped at the Bushplane Museum which we could see from our campground across the river. It was a good museum and not only paid tribute to the bush pilots but also to the firefighting pilots in the wilderness. We saw a film about firefighting pilots and the affects were GREAT. We could feel the roar and vibrations of the fire, the mist from the water drops, smoke, thunder and lightening. There were many planes to see in the...

Sep 25, 2012 - Cherries, apples, fall colors, lakes and ships

As we were getting ready to leave the campground this morning we could hear a huge flock of geese honking. They had just taken off from the lake. As they came into view I got a few pictures. We love listening to them. Today we were headed to Sault Ste. Marie out on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Along the way we stopped at Friske Orchard in Charlevoix. We ended up buying 4 different kinds of apples for me to make pies, frozen Montmorency cherries for pies, a caramel crumb apple pie, and some delicious pastries. Yum yum! We are seeing more...

Sep 17, 2012 - Homeward Bound

Day 36 & Day 37, September 17 & 18, 2012 Arose on Monday about 100 miles from the Ontario-Michigan border, 800 miles from Duluth. Plan to do some serious driving and be home by Tuesday night. Steve blew a fuse (electrically speaking); camper outlets out. Problem not yet solved. Hope no more difficulties in the next 48 hours. Don’t expect much in the way of exciting photo-ops from here to Duluth. If our ETA is achieved, we will have been gone five weeks and two days traveling about 5,200 miles. We had planned to go around the Gaspe...

Aug 29, 2012 - Freighter watching

Wednesday, August 29 Aune Osburn City Park Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan We came here with Shari and Pete to watch freighters on the St. Marys River as they go in and out of the Sault Locks. Unfortunately, Shari had a medical need to return home the day following their arrival. We enjoyed our first day with them educating us and watching as the freighters passed. The following day, we saw more freighters; but it wasn’t as enjoyable without friends. We can see that it is a ‘social’ thing to meet friends and watch the freighters for several days.

Aug 22, 2012 - Sault Ste. Marie

We loaded the car early on Wednesday, August 22 and zoomed north over the Mackinac Bridge for Sault Ste. Marie without bothering with the complimentary breakfast at the Best Western. We figured we could find something better on the road. Since it was only 60 miles to our destination we arrived about 9AM. It was too early to check into our hotel so we drove into town looking for the local breakfast hot spot. Not seeing anything interesting Lynda asked a man on the street. Although he was a tourist like us he suggested Penny’s Café. It was an...

Aug 20, 2012 - The Yupper Area

Into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula Day 17 August 16, 2012 During the previous day’s drive into the cheese state of Wisconsin, it was quickly apparent that I hadn’t gotten all the wires correctly lined-up from the RV to the car and the Brake Buddy. The map of the KOA we stayed in that night had an RV repair ad. I called the guy and he send Brian over “First thing in the morning.” Well, actually it was about 9 AM in the morning, not exactly “first thing.” It took Brian a bit of doing to get our “toad’s” brake lights to come on when the pedal is...

Jul 25, 2012 - Sault Ste. Marie, MI

This is day 3 in Sault Ste. Marie. We are in Aune-Osbourne Campground on the St. Mary's River. Basically a large parking lot for RVs. Very clean and well kept. The fun is watching the large barges and freightliners pass by just yards from our window. They are heading into or coming from the Soo Locks. The Soo Locks form a passage for deep draft ships around the rapids of the St. Mary's River. It is the only lock on the St. Lawrence Seaway that can handle the super freighters which are up to 1000 ft long, with a clearance of 1' to 2' on the...

Jul 15, 2012 - Day 16

Our journey today took us 60 miles north of St Ignace to Sault (soo) St Marie, MI. If we had crossed the international bridge, we would have been in Sault St Marie, ON. Although we had our passports, we declined to cross over. We did take a ride on the Soo Locks Boat Tours which took us on the Lake Huron side up the St Mary’s River to the Soo locks. We had to wait for a freighter to finish coming out of the American locks #1, the MacArthur locks, before our boat could enter. We were then raised 21 feet to the level of Lake Superior, the...

Jul 5, 2012 - fireworks

Actually, the fireworks happened on the 4th. Looks like our journal is running a little behind times. Drove the 15 miles into Sault Ste. Marie to watch the parade and fireworks. Boy was the parade long. It took about 90 minutes for all the stuff to go by our spot. The usual small town parade with all the police, fire and tow truck vehicles blaring their horns. And the local politicians blaring their mouths. I found it kind of wierd that the only band in the parade was from Canada!!! The fireworks were spectacular. The only problem being...

Jul 4, 2012 - More around Sault

Been a busy week. Sunday, we took off north (if you can believe that) and went to Whitefish Point, Paradise, and Tahquomenon Falls. Besides a lighthouse, Whitefish Point is famous for being the point off which the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in stormy seas. It didn't run aground, but was simply swamped by huge waves. It lies in over 500 feet of water. I don't think the Edmund Fitzgerald would have been famous at all if it weren't for the song. There have been well over 500 shipwrecks in the area of Lake Superior, several involving ships as...

Jul 1, 2012 - Sault Ste. Marie, MI

We are now camped at a Casino. Bay Mills Resort and Casino in Brimley, MI is about 20 miles from Sault Ste. Marie. It has a full hookup campground with about 200 spaces. And most of them are full. The 2 campgrounds directly in Sault Ste. Marie don't have sewer hookups and we are staying here a week. Yesterday we ventured into town to take a tour of the Soo Locks. These locks connect Lake Superior with Lake Huron. There used to be a series of rapids here with a drop of 21 feet in elevation in a short period. Needless to say, nothing but...

Jun 20, 2012 - Sault Ste Marie

Wednesday, June 20, 2012 -- -- A little history lesson first -- Sault Ste. Marie (Sault is pronounced Sue) established in 1668 is Michigan's first city. At Sault Ste. Marie in a span of less than a half mile the river (Saint Mary River) falls 21 feet to the level of Lake Huron. A lock was built early in the town's history. Just across from Michigan's Sault Ste. Marie is the "Twin Sault" Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, with its 80,000 residents compared to Michigan's 15,000 residents. After a filling breakfast at the Casino, we went to WalMart to...