Adam Lake Provincial Park - Boussevain, MB

Made it across North Dakota.  One more rain cell, and then it was clear skies.  Because we were from Virginia, the Canadian Custom Officers were not sure that we understood what a firearm was!  They explained that firearms also included rifles, shotguns, and semi-automatics.  Still not sure of us, they had us drive the RV into a special garage, where they closed all the doors, and tossed it for weapons.  After 20 minutes, they seemed convinced that we really were displaced New Englanders and would pose no serious threat to the inhabitants of Canada.  With the new travel ban in place, we are not sure if we will ever get back to the US...but then again...

Adam Lake is only 4 km from the border (we have converted all our electronics), so we have not really gotten into the Canadian Spirit yet.  And yes, it's Canada Day... Happy Birthday Canada...150 years old!

Lake Bemidji State Park - Bemidji, MN

Showy Lady Slipper - MN state flower

After a day traversing the lakes of Wisconsin & Minnesota in a day of solid rain (sensing the irony, the entire way), we drove through Grand Rapids, MN...the birthplace of Judy Garland... and finally to Lake Bemidji.  Last year, we had planned our trip through Michigan but a torrential rain storm had closed all the roads from Wisconsin to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  This year, the first week of our trip was exactly what we had missed last year, except in reverse.  So now that we are in Minnesota, we will be doing the same route that we did last year only in reverse, until we get to Jasper, Alberta.

The rain cleared for awhile after we arrived, so we walked the Bog Walk, a fairly short walk with a boardwalk through a bog.  There were plants that I think I have only seen in pictures...  Lady Slippers, Indian Moccassins, Pitcher Plants... if you happen to be in Bemidji, MN this definitely is the place to go!

Now it is off to The International Peace Garden and to Canada...

Porcupine Mountain State Park - White Pine, MI

From St. Ignace we crossed almost all of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  It's pretty remote, but the cities on Lake Superior were larger than we thought they would be.  With occasional glimpses of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, on the only clear day forecasted for the next week, we enjoyed the trip.

Porcupine Mountain State Park is right on Lake Superior.  The front of our RV is about thirty feet from the water (site 9).  The campground is what we have come to expect from Michigan State Parks, the limits of your campsite are marked in paint on the road, but other then that you can park any way and anywhere you want.  For some reason, there are lots of flies here, which made sitting outside more difficult, but all in all a nice place.

Tomorrow is a slightly longer day, but we will be leaving Eastern Time, so we will get an hour of free travel time.

Main Street Inn - Mackinac Island

The view from our balcony at the Main Street Inn

 The dog went to Sunrise Kennels, the RV stayed at the KOA, and we took the 16 minute super fast ferry to Mackinac Island (sometime it's spelled Mackinac, sometimes Mackinaw, but it's always pronounced Mackinaw).  When we got up it was pouring, it let up and drizzled on and off for the rest of the day...but we had our rain gear, so we explored the island some, then we had some food and drink, and then we explored some, and then more food and drink...and so it processed throughout the afternoon and evening.  We finally finished at Mary's Bistro, with a choice of any of fifty draft beers and, of course, deviled eggs, which Deb finished with a pillow treat of peanut butter fudge.  After a quick breakfast at the only place open at 7:00 in the morning, we hopped the ferry back to the RV, got the dog and headed out.

Lovely views all over the island

Mackinac Island was the setting for that wonderful movie, "Somewhere in Time" with Christopher Reeves and Jane Seymour.  It was showing at the bar, and there was a little boutique with the same name.  We promised ourselves that we will watch it sometime.  There are only three motor vehicles on the island, an ambulance, a fire truck and a police car.  Everything else is done by horse and carriage.  They banned cars in 1898. On the island you can bicycle, hike, eat and drink, and most importantly, buy fudge. There are more fudge stores than bars! We would return in a heartbeat.

Bicycle shop near the ferry

St Ignace KOA - St Ignace, MI

Hello mudda, hello fadda...here we are at Camp Mackinaw. Camp is very entertaining and we might have some fun if it stopped raining!  Our plan is to take the ferry to Mackinac Island...walk around, have dinner, spend the night, take a real shower and continue on...but it is raining pretty hard...hopefully the rain will stop by noon.

Yesterday, we drove up the western side of Michigan, along the lake...besides the fantastic views each little town was so cute....little eateries, taverns, art shop...and about a thousand campgrounds.  We even drove by a festival with thousands of tents and last week was Michigan's version of Burning Man.  This could easily be another destination.

We decided to stay at a KOA as a relatively safe place to leave the RV for the night.  I only post to Trip Advisor when I am really surprised by a place, either good or bad...in this case, bad...nuff said.

Muskegon State Park - Muskegon, MI

Lake Michigan, short walk from our campground

Last year, we missed visiting the last of the 48 contiguous states because all the roads to Michigan from Wisconsin were closed.  So today marks the victory (since we actually bought the RV in Michigan...we may have already been able to make the claim).  With breakfast on Lake Erie, lunch on Lake Cavenaugh (according to Wiki..while in Michigan you are never more than 6 miles from water and never more than 85 miles from a Great Lake), and dinner on Lake Michigan.  While those around us were munching on burnt hotdogs and store-bought coleslaw, we had Chicken Alfredo...made from scratch, of course.  Which gets us to our next issue.  We have moved away from the balmy south and into the start of the tundra...evening temperatures in the mid 50's.  So, we had to dig out the winter long pants which were slightly more snugged than I remembered.

Lovely breakfast spot

Although the campground was nice, and close to the sandy shore of Lake Michigan, it was a little crowded, so we decided to eat breakfast on the beach.  Still a little chilly, but we are alone, and can position the RV for a gorgeous view of the lake.  The wind is fairly stiff, but that doesn't stop some avid sailors..."you wouldn't sail in this wind, would you, Chris?"  "Ah, of course not! ;)"

Today, we drive up the coast to St Ignace..

Can't keep a retriever out of the water!

Maumee Bay State Park - Oregon, OH

Our first GPS fail!  We were guided right to downtown Toledo...Deb used her trusty iPhone to steer us through to the Park... Maumee Bay State Park is a gorgeous park with everything imaginable...beach...bike trails...restaurants....marina...even free bingo... and it's pristine clean...  we have reservation for two nights (minimum stay) and if it weren't for the fact that we would have a 500 mile day, we might consider spending another night.

Chris and Drex strolling along Lake Erie

It's Saturday morning...and that means eggs and hash (or bacon sometimes).  With only seven more days to go till our next fried eggs,  we ventured to the beach of Lake Erie.   You can't swim in the lake because the currents are squirrelly but you can walk along the beach.  Way out in the distance is the Toledo Harbor Lighthouse, well worth the 25 cents we spent on the telescope to see it. Today, we head to another Great Lake...Lake Michigan.

On the long drives, we are listening to an audio book "Alaska" by James Michener.  Fascinating!

Hocking Hills State Park - Logan, OH

Lower Falls 

Hocking Hills is the gemstone state park of Ohio.  I tried to get in there last year on our return from Jasper, but they were full.  This year I booked the reservation in October the year before and we got a spot!  The draw for the park is the natural gorge.  So, once we got to the park, I said, "Deb, you want to go see the gorge?" "Nah, pretty tired...how about tomorrow morning?"  We had a nice site(150)...electric only...and not particularly level, but level enough to make jambalaya.

Well, tropical storm Cindy decided to shed a few tears on us all night...then cloudy for breakfast.  Once we broke camp...just as I was dumping and getting more drinking water...the clouds opened.  "Chris, you don't really want to go hiking in the rain, do you?"  I know what the right answer is suppose to be but...it's been two years trying to get here.  We even bought rain gear and waterproof boots.  Anyway, the rain let up and we got to stroll through the gorge...believe it or not...it wasn't very crowded...

Douthat State Park - Millboro, VA

Packed and ready to go!

It's the first day of our Alaska Trip.  It's kinda a "get outta Dodge" kind of day, lots of trucks...there was a traffic jam at a popular truck stop exit just because the price of fuel was low.  Once we started heading to West Virginia, the traffic got very light, though.  We'd been to Douthat before, but we didn't remember until we got to the visitor's center.  There were a dozen or so campers hovering around the building like moths to a light.  The visitor's center has WiFi and there is no cell coverage in the park!

This morning we took quick showers and headed to the lake for breakfast.  It's a lovely view and there is a restaurant (we will be returning here for our last night and plan on having dinner).  Lots of people are here hovering around the restaurant even though it's not open...yup...WiFi. Today, we are off to Ohio.  There is another Campground right on the lake... maybe next time we should check it out!

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Merchant Millpond SP - Gatesville, NC

We headed north towards home, stopping at Bodie Island lighthouse.  It has horizontal stripes instead of the diagonal stripes of the Cape Hatteras light.  Because of the delicate spiral staircase, only eight people can climb the light at a time, with only one person either going up or down on each flight of stairs.  With a 40 minute wait, it was a perfect place for lunch, and then a 200 step climb to the top.  The group that climbed with us had spent their time walking the boardwalk and accidentally flushing out a dozing rattler.  Deb felt somewhat safer at the top of the lighthouse.

For the trip back, we left the Outer Banks half way up at Route 64 to head to the mainland, it was a more pleasant,  albeit longer, drive.  After staying up past midnight the night before, watching Django Unchained, I was yawning quite a bit.  The span was open crossing the Alligator River, so Deb says, "Let's change drivers". Bam!

Looking up from the first flight

Well, the new route left us at an old haunt, Merchant Millpond State Park., right about three o'clock.  So we decided to spend another night in North Carolina.  It's a Friday night and we always go out for dinner, so we cooked on the Barbie ate outside at the picnic table.  We may go canoeing before heading home. That would be after a Saturday breakfast of eggs, corned beef hash, and toast.

Frisco Campground - Cape Hatteras, NC (Day 2)

 It's a little ways to the beach, down a boardwalk and then over the dunes.  We decided to go in the morning, before the heat of the day, but the humidity is still s little oppressive.  To save on the expense of parking lots, everyone just drives their pick-up truck down the beach to their chosen location.  Then each night the surf repaves the parking lot.

Grilled salmon w/ mango salsa and grilled brussel spouts

Our lunch in Avon the day before was so nice, we decided to try another...this time Buxton Munch...(highly rated on trip advisor).  The place was crowded for a Thursday afternoon, so another couple from San Diego invited themselves to join us at our table for four.  They were driving from Maine to Florida.  Deb had a DIY fish taco while I settled into a Jamaican Wrap...both were served with a side of Tootsie Rolls.  Meanwhile Drex hung it in the RV with air conditioner running and the generator charging the battery.  Dinner was salmon, sautéed Brussel Sprouts, and rice.  After watching the sun set, and the temperature dip somewhat, Deb took a cool shower (after I lugged 10 gallons of water to refill our tank) and the 3 hours of Django Unchained...(one of those movies you have to watch....once).  Tomorrow it's back towards home.

Frisco Campground, Cape Hatteras NP, NC

We left Oregon Inlet for our 40 mile trip to Frisco.  Stopped at the Visitor's center on Pea Island, learned about the 1870 shipwreck just off the shore (Civil War supply ship...of course), walked the nature trail...the sign said, "don't feed the wildlife!"  So we quickly decided not to feed the hundreds of deer flies and after about 50 feet, returned to the safety of our vehicle.  In Avon, NC we stopped at The Froggy Dog for some local seafood...Fried Whiting.  After a quick stop for essentials (potato chips) we went to climb the Cape Hatteras lighthouse.  It's the second tallest brick lighthouse in the world, or something equally impressive.  So when they said it got moved from the eroding shoreline in 1999...we had to find out how.  We bought the DVD about the move to give to my ever inquisitive father-in-law for Christmas...whoops...I guess that was suppose to be a secret.   But curiosity got the better of us so we watched it...we'll just wrap it up for him later!

Just to prove we did climb it!

All the Campgrounds in Cape Hatteras NP seem pretty much the same, open fields with sites backing up to the dunes, except for Frisco which has lots of native shrubs and a hill overlooking the ocean.  Unlike the other campgrounds there does not seem to be any bugs (not counting ticks).  We can see the ocean off in the distance.  We have decided to stay here an additional day to check it all out.

Frisco Campground, Site P49