M is for Muni, Mack and Mich

Ahh Michigan. It is beautiful on so many levels and very under appreciated by the rest of the country. Nobody ever says – "Hey lets go see the dunes of Lake Michigan or painted cliffs of Superior". But they should. Let’s face it the Great Lakes truly are great! Michigan has been blessed with bordering three – Superior, Michigan and Huron. Lake Superior has rugged cliffs and rich maritime history, Michigan is noted for its soft beaches and warmer temperatures. Huron I only got to see little bit so someday I will say more about it. The drive from Copper Harbor to Munising was very beautiful. The trees here were almost at their peak and the weather was glorious. Take the time to visit some of the Michigan rest areas - this state has done it right. They are often are on very scenic spots and are frequent and well maintained. Taking a walk can lead to a waterfall or lake vista. There are plenty of cozy little towns to meander as well so take the time to stop. Remember it’s the journey not the destination when RVing.

Munising is noted for its Pictured Rocks, Grand Island National Recreation areas, waterfalls and trees. Very pretty area. We stayed right on the shores of Lake Superior at the municipal park ( water and electric only). The weather took a turn for the worse for a few days. We were hoping to take a boat tour of the cliffs but the weather did not cooperate. Oh well – we still did some drives and a few hikes. The trees inland were much more colorful then the ones close to water. Very lush forests and waterfalls near the shores.

Next it was time to move on to Mackinaw and the shores of Lake Michigan and Huron. We originally were thinking about seeing the Tahquamenon Falls but needed to start heading south to meet up with family in two weeks. We went straight to the Mackinaw area.
Let me clear it up – something that has been a mystery to me. How exactly is it spelled and how do you say it? You will see the great Mackinac Bridge and Mackinac Island spelled one way and the town another. But rest assured they all are pronounced with a “naw” sound at the end. One is a French spelling “nac” and the other is the English “naw”.

We stayed at the KOA as opposed to one of the lake side RV parks in Mackinaw City because it had sewer and we planned on staying for few days. Glad we did, the trees were beautiful and there is a nice bike path and trail nearby. Mackinac Island is only accessible by ferry and they do not allow any motorized vehicles on the island. So you either have to walk, rent a bike or take horse drawn taxi. Very fun and it is filled with scenic Victorian era houses and more fudge shops than anywhere else per square mile. We waited for nice day weather wise and took the ferry over to the island. Jack and I had lunch on the island at the Grand Hotel and took carriage ride tour of the island. Very enjoyable but I suspect in midsummer the place would be a zoo! A little bit of a tourist trap but fun this time of year when the crowds weren’t too bad. I vaguely remember being in this area with my dad many many years ago when I was a little girl. It was fun to retrace some of my past.

Oh and how can one forget the famous bridge! Crossing it was a little tense with the Biff but we made it without falling off!

Copper and Gold

Copper, gold, orange and red! The trees have started showing their glory! The next week we spent exploring the Keweenaw Peninsula. It is an area filled with history, great views, and trees! And copper! Copper has been mined here by native and some say even pre-historic peoples. It is truly a beautiful and interesting area. We even purchased a few pieces of the raw mined copper - pieces of art in their own natural state.

We stayed a few days in Houghton at the municipal City RV Park. It was right on the canal with free wifi, cable, full hookups and a really good price. It has a good central location to explore the peninsula. There is a pretty circle drive you can take around the whole peninsula as well many interesting stopping points. This area has many old copper mines and lighthouses.

We drove all the way up to Copper Harbor which is at the very northern tip. We decided to come back and stayed three days up there as well. Very small town but it hosts a lot of hiking and biking trails and one of the best restaurants (Harbor Haus) of the whole trip. It was quite the surprise- it didn’t look much from the outside. Very nice at sunset with large windows that look over Lake Superior and all the wait staff runs out and performs a little dance when the sunset cruise returns. Very fun!

We stayed at the Fanny Hooe RV Park on beautiful Lake Fanny Hooe – they do have some full hookups but there is also a state park nearby as well. The state park also has a restored fort worth visiting. Jack and I were walking around the grounds and saw this very large black and white bird with a red head - yup it was the famed Woody wood pecker. He is much bigger in real life - I tried to get his autograph and a good picture but they all turned out too blurry.

This time of year the crowds are gone and it was beautiful and relaxing. Did I say I really enjoyed this area? Oh – and I also got one great massage while I was there at the Spirit of the North.

Greatest of the Great Lakes

We made it to the shores of the big lake Gitche Gummee. Wow – she always takes my breath away. Lake Superior is truly impressive. On a clear day her color is something to behold, a blue that is subtly different from the colors of the oceans and smaller lakes. Hard to explain but she is different even from her equally famous sister, Lake Michigan whose shores I grew up around.

We stayed at a municipal park on her shores in Two Harbors. The municipal parks in this area are a good deal often having free wifi and cable along with full hookups and for very reasonable prices. So to my fellow Rv’ers don’t be afraid of them – they have been great. This whole area around the shores of Lake Superior is choked full of interesting history, scenic views, romantic lighthouses and still has the feel of family owned restaurants and small motels. Very nice. The trees are starting to turn and fall fever is hitting me big time.

We continued down and around the shores to the Porcupine Mountains State Park in Michigan also located on Lake Superior’s shores. Don’t get excited these are not mountains by the western states standard but gentle rises full of hardwood trees and pines. I get excited just thinking about the reds and oranges the oaks and maples tree’s leaves turn this time of year. We tromped around a few days in the park and headed on to the Keweenaw Peninsula.

There is a rich history along the shores of Lake Superior. Iron and copper was first mined in this area in the middle 1800’s. The Great Lakes provided a way to move this ore which led to the industrial revolution. In some ways to see it now is sad because the glory days have ended. All we see are the old lighthouses and shipping harbors as reminders of the mining and shipping industry that once fueled this country’s greatness.

The Land of Lakes

We entered back into the lower 48 via Warroad, Minnesota. Yeah! Warroad was a pleasant surprise, pretty little municipal park on the shores of Lake of the Woods. They have a nice bike path around the town and along the shore. Part of the path runs through a high marshy area and there right in front of me was another bear. Holy smokes! I stopped dead on the bike. Really did not think I would be seeing any more bears and certainly not this close to a town. Good thing I was far enough away to slowly turn around and get the heck out of there. Turns out they have also had a few cougar sightings as well on this path. No more bike riding for me in Warroad! One morning I woke up early and got some great pictures of the sun coming up over the lake.

Next we headed to International Falls which has not had waterfalls since they dammed up the river for a humongous paper mill in the early part of the 20th century. Hmmm, maybe they should have changed the name? I was not overly impressed with the town itself but it is close to Voyageurs National Park. This national park is mostly water and is best seen from that perspective. After all, northern Minnesota is most notably known for its many lakes including the Boundary Waters which is the border between Canada and the US. Everyone has a boat, canoe or kayak except for us. We did not have the foresight to line up a boat and decided to head over to the North Shore of Lake Superior.

Turns out as we were heading to the coast we were on the southern edge of a wild fire that has been burning since August. It was kinda of scary when we first saw the smoke cloud on the horizon. We were not aware ( no tv or wifi at the last park) that the northern half of Minnesota was on fire with the Pagami Creek fire until we got to the Ely area and saw the smoke. Whew, we made it to the coast and landed in the Two Harbors area. Originally, we were planning on heading north to Grand Marias but opted out because of the fire.

I almost thought about naming this post "Land of Flies" instead of lakes. Somewhere in Warroad or International Falls we got an infestation of flies. Yuck! I guess along with all of those beautiful lakes comes a lot of black flies! We were able to get rid of them but never could figure out how they actually got inside the Biff.

Prairies

The landscape is changing from the majestic mountains to the endless prairies of the Great Plains. What would the world do without the vast amount of crops this area of Canada and US produces? The roads are better and driving much easier task for Jack even if the vistas are endless fields of grain. There is nothing like seeing a sunset or a storm on the vast prairie horizon. Something you do not get to see when circled by mountains or covered in clouds. Driving on these roads brings back memories of childhood for me with sights, smells and sounds very imprinted on my psyche – it feels like home. We certainly have finally hit sunny skies and warmer temperatures the further south and east we progressed. Summer at last and finally getting to wear warm weather clothing!

We spent a few nights in Saskatoon some place we did not think we would be seeing again. Last summer we spent more time that we would have liked at a less then desirable RV part. This time around was much more pleasant. There was a new RV park in town (Campland RV Resort )that just opened and made all the difference in the world. We spent one night in the city watching a Labor day weekend fireworks display and eating Saskatoon cherry pie. Yum!! Canadians don’t seem to get as excited about things and I was noticeably the only person oohing and ahhing. And I saw another bear in downtown Saskatoon!

We left Saskatoon on Labor Day and my birthday this year. We drove to Regina ( yes it does rhyme with female anatomy) and spent the night and next day in Regina. Jack took me out for a very fancy dinner in town. It is a fairly good size town with a defined town down area. I even spiffed myself up for the occasion! Next we did an over nighter in Brandon. Friendly town, they send a welcoming meeter/greeter to RV site with tourist information. However, we did not unhitch so we did not spend any time in the town. Next we drove through Manitoba and around Winnipeg and crossing the US border into Minnesota.

The Great Whitehorse Way

We were now back tracking on the famed Alaska Highway. Whitehorse is an area that we had done a drive by on the way to Alaska. We decided to take few days and hang around the town and see what we missed. The coastal areas of Alaska are incredibly beautiful but the rain is never ending. That can be hard for a New Mexico gal use to seeing those clear brilliant blue skies. The sun came out in Whitehorse and all was well with the world. We tromped around Miles Canyon one day and also just had to see the life size airplane weather vane.

We continued to follow the Alaska Highway to where we first met up with it at the junction with the Cassiar Highway. This time we stayed on it. We stopped at Watson Lake to take in the famed sign post highway. Dang, why didn’t we think to bring our own sign?

The drive is much prettier than I was led to believe between Watson Lake and Fort Nelson. This area is the very northern edge of the Rockies. Think about how large of mountain chain that really is starting all the way up in northern Canada and ending in New Mexico! We saw lots of wild life along the way including mountain goats and buffalo.

We spent a night at the very beautiful and natural Liard Hot Springs. Ahh – so relaxing. One thing I miss about the RV life is being able to take a long hot bath and this fit the bill nicely.

Muncho Lake area would have much prettier if they were not doing road construction – it was awful. Cough, Cough!

Next it was on to Fort Nelson for a night or two and then on to Dawson Creek. Most folks start their adventure in Dawson Creek but we decided to end our journey to Alaska at the historic milepost 0 site. So now it was done, we made it to Alaska and back on the Alaska Highway and without a chipped wind shield! Now don’t fret, our journey is not over we are just shifting gears a bit and heading east and south towards the upper Great Lakes. I want to see a proper Midwest autumn this year.

Haines Anything but Plain

We back tracked over Thompson Pass and started heading towards Tok via the Tok Cutoff. Haines being the final destination. Stayed the night in Tok at the Sourdough RV park. It was raining but it was a fun crowd. Every night they crank up the music and have live entertainment. They had a covered outdoor pavilion and had a roaring fire. Everyone seemed to be regulars or repeat rv goers that come back every year. Jack was feeling little under the weather and stayed back at the homestead. I ran into a British couple that we met on the road back in Valdez ( they had the same truck and Excel so we just had to say "hi"). They gave some tips on where to stay on the way back into Canada. We took their suggestion and stayed at the Cottonwood RV Park near Destruction Bay on the way to Haines.

We were glad to stop. The road from Tok to Destruction Bay was one of the worse we hit excluding the “Top of the World” route from the Canadian/Alaskan border to Chicken. We ended up staying three nights so Jack could rest up, he was feeling progressively worse. I spent one of the days by a fire on the shore and watched the rainbows all day on the Kluane Lake.

This is a really beautiful area and I really enjoyed the stay. Very relaxing. There was a grizzly bear in the area and I had close encounter with him while walking the dogs one morning. Luckily we decided to go our separate ways.

The ride to Haines Junction and on to Haines was another really beautiful drive. Again, the closer we got to the coastal town of Haines the rain started and stayed until we left five days later. Jack ended up seeing a doctor, he lost the battle and the cold turned into a sinus infection (antibiotics to the rescue!) Haines is not a touristy town and we enjoyed exploring the area. The Chilkoot river in Alaska connects the Chilkoot lake to the Lynn Canal. Bears and eagles like to hang around to eat the salmon and have the right of way.

From Haines

We found a little café and bakery (Chilkat) that had the best old fashion doughnuts I have ever had and really good soup too. We decided to take the Alaska Inland Marine Ferry to Skagway instead of back tracking to Haines Junction. That was a fun adventure! Pretty spiffy for a ferry! They have cabins, meals and a bar. You can take the ferry all the way up from Bellingham, WA with Haines to Skagway being the last leg of the trip.

They had a park rangers on board that gave a narrative of the area. He made a statement “you a really not seeing a rain forest unless it is raining”. So true for the South Eastern coast of Alaska. We did a drive by of Skagway which caters to the large cruise ships and tourists. The drive was very foggy over the pass and the landscape reminded me of parts of Nova Scotia, very eerily beautiful. I sure was missing the sun by the time we made it to Whitehorse!