July 16...Yellowstone's Edge RV Park

(Kim's Perspective)
Knowing I needed to shake out of my funk from last night and that Merlin needed some more time to rest, we hung out at the ole' WalMart till about 10:30. Naturally, we made our obligatory purchases to alleviate the guilt of a free night's lodging.

Having researched several parks in the Yellowstone area (and knowing that the NP campgrounds are not big rig friendly and that they would be booked up on a summer weekend anyway), we decided we would call Yellowstone's Edge RV Park to check for availability. We were in Bozeman - the campground was in Livingston - so we had to backtrack for about 25 miles to take 89 South towards Yellowstone. It was nice to see the mountains in the daytime. It really is absolutely gorgeous here.

We arrived around noon and met with the park owners, Pam and Chan. They're really great people and the campground was amazing.


We're not big on committing to a multiple night stay sight unseen, so we jumped onto Pam's golf cart and took a little spin to check out a few of the available sites. We decided on one that would be available for two nights knowing we would have to move Sunday morning. Not a big deal. It takes us 20 minutes to tear down and hitch up so moving isn't an issue for us. This site was well worth it. It backed to the Yellowstone River and, like every site in the campground, was surrounded by the most amazing mountains. We quickly paid our nightly fees (ouch!) and set up camp. That sounds so ridiculous...setting up camp...







We wanted to give Merlin a chance to chill and not be dragged all over God's creation, so we just stayed at the campsite all day with some sporadic dog walks and river explorations mixed in. I was really happy to see Merlin perk up when Twist started playing stick with Daddy. He went in the water (only up to his ankles of course) to grab the stick a few times but just didn't have the energy to play for very long. Not surprising given his lack of food intake. Regardless, it was nice to see him have fun. I love the fact that our dogs can splash and play in the Yellowstone River - more than 2000 miles from home. We went back to the site and chilled for the rest of the afternoon. I worked on the blog.


Bill sat with his Kindle and we all just chilled.


We continued to watch the clouds roll by and dance in front of the sun. The rays of light streaming through the clouds were especially cool to see.







I think this is what they call relaxing...still not sure. :)





At one point, we noticed Twister dreaming of the next upgrade...


We took the Boys for an evening stroll and met some really cool folks along the way. An older couple, Schuller and Olivia from South Carolina, were especially pleasant to chat with. They asked us how, at our age, we were able to travel all summer. We told them how it came to be and they thought our decision to do it now rather than later was awesome. She remarked that they often said it's a shame that most folks have to wait for retirement to travel - when they're older and don't have the energy of their youth. I'm grateful for the opportunity to not have to wait - or worse yet, wait and then never be able to do it. We're not promised any days on this earth, so we need to live life to the fullest and make the most of every day.

Anyway, I chatted with her, Bill chatted with him and we all chatted together at times. I love old people. They have the best stories and I generally enjoy talking to them way more than people my own age. Young people are generally ego-centric and clueless. Thanks, but I have nothing to learn from you...give me some old folks who can share something of value and I'm all over it. Obviously, this is a general statement and not directed to our friends back home... :) I'm strictly talking about strangers, eh. Yep, I'll stick to that. ;P

As we were chatting, the sun set and turned the mountains and clouds around us into a brilliant light show spectacle. I kept stopping mid-sentence and saying, "Wow! Look over there!". I've seen some amazing sunsets, but I have never seen the sky look like this. I was kicking myself for not bringing the camera. I have no proof of the beauty of this evening, but it will be a long time before I ever forget how gorgeous it was. I'm only hoping that our stay here the next few days yields the same amazing sunsets. Next time, I'll have my camera and will pray that the pictures can do it justice.

Upon our return from our evening walk, we ate dinner and I continued to update the blog while Bill read. At any given point, we have no idea what day it is and have to look at our watches to check. It's a hard life out here on the road. ;P

July 15...En Route to Yellowstone...Another Walmart Parking Lot Adventure

(Kim's Perspective)
We were up at 8 am (MT) this morning and went for our morning walk. We came back, did some mapping and some area forecast checks and then decided on our new destination. We took our time getting ready, packed up and hit the road. Merlin was not feeling well and I was quite worried about him. He had tummy troubles and was lethargic, so I called Dr. Mullinix's office and talked to Zach (a great tech and Dr. M's son). Just for the record, Dr. Mullinix (and her staff) totally rock. She has been fantastic with the Boys and an absolute pleasure to interact with.

Given my propensity to be overly paranoid and plan for worst case scenarios, I had packed a doggie first aid kit and an assortment of meds that the Boys have been on over the last year or so. Some were slightly expired but I wasn't terribly concerned about their efficacy - something is better than nothing. So, armed with Clavamox, Prednisone, Endosorb, Torbutrol, and Hi-Vite, (in addition to their regular daily meds), I had created a small cache of puppy drugs to address any potential issues that might arise. I was quite glad that I did because Merlin was now in need of some Cimetidine, Clavamox, and Endosorb. I had two out of three. Not bad. Fortunately for me, Cimetidine can be purchased OTC as Tagamet. Okay, next stop...WalMart...again...in Billings Montana this time. While there, we also hit the Petsmart to get some food that Pup might be interested in eating. He refuses to eat when his belly gets upset, and despite our best efforts to feed him yummy stuff (turkey and ham in this case), he flat out refused. Enter worry.

I don't have to tell anyone that I really, really love these dogs. They are my babies, (sorry Pastor, but they're as close to it as I'll ever get) and so I naturally worry about their well-being. I started fretting about him and quickly convinced myself that....he hates being here...he's unhappy...he won't adapt well to being on the road this long...which turned into...what should we do?...should we go home?....blah, blah, blah. Remember what I said about anthropomorphizing? Yes, well, it's hard not to do when your dog is unable to express how he's feeling. If he's lethargic, I slap an unhappy label on it and suddenly I'm responsible for his unhappiness. Being a real mom would give me an ulcer. Yuck.

The drive from ND through Montana was beautiful. We've never really spent any time in Montana before, and it's a beautiful part of the country. It's odd how the scenery changes so quickly and is so drastically different from one direction to the other.






I consulted my trusty map, referenced campground directories and checked rvparkreviews.com to locate a decent site.


Merlin had no interest in assisting in my search, but Twist is always interested in knowing exactly where we're going to stay.


With all the doggie drama and turmoil, we decided that getting into a campground late with the intent of only staying one night wasn't worth the $20 or $30 bucks we'd have to spend only to sleep there and pull out the next morning, so, yep, you guessed it, we pulled in to the Bozeman, Montana WalMart Supercenter around 9:30 pm and rode around the parking lot like sharks circling prey. This is a competitive sport, this WalMart boondocking. Out here, RV folks really take their free overnight stays at WalMart seriously. Obtaining a prime parking lot location takes some major strategic planning. We, having only spent one evening prior at a WalMart parking lot, are not nearly as skilled as the other predators, and therefore, had to take our lowly place in the pack...close to the entrance drive where every mountain redneck with straight pipes on a diesel pick up truck screamed by us at all hours throughout the night.

Oh...I didn't mention...this particular WalMart Supercenter is so stinking super that they're open 24 hours. Yeah, like that's necessary. Who needs to shop at WalMart at 3 am???! Go to bed people. I appreciate the night owl syndrome, I really do, but this is ridiculous. Did I mention the train that found the need to blast its horn a dozen times as it chugged by? That was AWESOME. Wow. All I could say was "Man, do I feel sorry for Pastor and Beth".

After not getting to bed till 1 am, and combined with A) the redneck, diesel driving insomniacs, B) that RIDICULOUS train blaring its horn every hour, and C) Merlin's urgent need to exit the trailer at 5 am, it was not a good sleep night for me. Dog diarrhea, lack of sleep, worry, and a disturbingly serious need for a chocolate bar does not make for a happy camper. But alas...Momma said there'd be days like this, there'd be days like this my Momma said...

July 14...All Day at Theodore Roosevelt NP

(Kim's Perspective)
We got up at 7am (MT) and tried the whole relaxation thing. Coffee in hand, we kicked back in our lounge chairs and sat outside under the awning...for about 17 minutes before we said "let's go do something". The wind was strong (forecast called for sustained winds of 25-30 mph) so we rolled up the awning and took the Boys for their morning campground walk. When we got back to the campsite, we grabbed something from the back of the truck and Twist jumped right in as if to say "enough relaxing, let's GO!". He's adapting well to life on the road - Merlin, not so much. His tummy is giving him issues. He's such a spaz.

We loaded the Boys and the bicycles into the truck and headed towards Medora, but decided last minute to do the 37 mile scenic drive around the park and to stop and hike some of the trails along the way. The trails were all short, but that was fine as the dogs are not allowed on NP trails (Shenandoah is a rare exception)and they would have to wait for us in the truck. Not to worry though - the temperature was an exceedingly pleasant 70 degrees with gusty winds that about knocked me on my butt at various times throughout the day.

Though short, some of the trails were very steep and narrow and provided for some amazing and spectacular views of the badlands.



We hiked the Ridgeline Trail,


the Coal Vein Trail,



and most beautiful of all, the Wind Canyon Trail.



On the road, we saw many prairie dog towns, of which Twister was totally enthralled (they're spastic squeeka toys after all), and spotted a small herd of wild horses with a foal in tow.


So adorable. Twister was checking the horses out hard as if he couldn't quite decide on what they were.

After the drive, we went to the visitor center and watched by far the worst NP video we've ever seen. I know TRNP is not a major US Park, but c'mon - I felt like I should have asked for a refund for the 13 minutes of my life I just gave up watching that wretchedly uneducational and boring video.

After the visitor center...uh...visit...we jumped on the bikes and pedaled through Medora. What a cute little town.






We had learned from those fine folks at Crane Lake about a Pitchfork Steak dinner that could be had in Medora, so we stopped to check it out.


Recognizing that neither one of us would realize any health benefit from having a steak placed on a pitchfork and dunked into a boiling lava hot vat of sunflower oil to be deep fried, we opted against the experience and agreed we'd eat something we had already paid for.

We continued our bike tour and snapped a lot of pictures along the way, and took a nice bike path that meandered along the Little Missouri river.



The headwinds were so strong, I didn't feel like I was making any forward progress, but I knew my reward for rapidly tiring would be a tailwind on the return trip that would have me cranking in what seemed to be a windless vacuum. Whitey, can you explain this? :)

On the drive back to camp, we got a call from Bill S. and got an update on VBS. Wow! Lots of kids, lots of salvations, lots to praise God for. It's amazing how much we miss our church family. Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, Wednesday Bible study and Thursday visitation makes for a lot of time spent with the same people. Plus they're good people and a lot of fun to be around.

Anywho...dinner was pasta with Bill's incredible sauteed baby bellas. Soooo tasty. We were very hungry since we only had trailmix for breakfast and lunch. We really must find time to bother ourselves with making proper meals throughout the day. It's hard to do that when we both would rather be seeing stuff than eating stuff. Bill's dropped 7 pounds already so I guess the increased activity level and lack of hunger has some value.

We went for our evening dog walk around the campground and then came back and did some mapping to try and figure out where we were going to go next. The initial plan was to hit South Dakota (Badlands and Wind Cave NPs and Custer state park), but given the weather forecast (high of 97 degrees) we opted to head due West into Montana to cooler temps. The beauty of the spontaneity of this trip is that we can go wherever we want whenever we want without worrying about pre-arranged plans or cancelled reservations and lost deposits. "Hey, let's go to Montana instead of South Dakota. We can hit SD on the way back". "Um, okay". Bill is so hard to get along with. :)

July 13...En Route to Theodore Roosevelt NP

(Kim's Perspective)
We woke up to some drizzling rain this morning in the lovely town of Fargo, ND. As we looked out our window to gaze upon the beauty of the shining vast blackness that was our campsite for the evening (also known as the WalMart parking lot), we decided to take care of a few shopping needs.


First stop, a quick walk to Lowe's to purchase a grate for the screen door. Apparently, even the smartest dogs don't discern fine mesh screen as a barrier, so in an effort to keep them from bouncing off the screen door yet another time, we decided to address it with a quick fix. We picked up a few things at Wally World and then hit the road. By the way, regardless of where you are in the country, there are always shockingly "interesting" people to be seen shopping at WalMart. There's a reason that there's an entire website dedicated to the sport.

Before we left civilization, we stopped at PetSmart to pick up a new leash (one that would be easier for loading the Boys in and out of the truck) and let the Boys pick out a bag of treats for the road. Along the way, we dumped our tanks, topped off our LP, and arrived at Theodore Roosevelt National Park around 6 pm. I must have had a brain fart while packing because I whipped out what I thought was the National Park Pass and then realized I bought a Shenandoah pass last year and not the Interagency Pass. D'oh!! So, that cost us $80 bucks on the spot but that will pay for itself many times over with all the parks we're planning on visiting.

After trying to find a suitable site at the park's campground (we were in the South Unit of TRNP), we set-up and discussed plans for the rest of the evening. Somewhere along the way, we crossed into Mountain time so we picked up an extra hour and tried to decide what we were going to do with it. We're still having a difficult time adjusting to "relaxing". We've never really been on a relaxing vacation (other than that much needed week between Christmas and New Year's last year), so the concept of sitting around and "relaxing" is still alien to us. As we were wrestling with the "to do or not to do" question, two wild horses waltzed into our campsite to munch on the sweet grasses and wildflowers.

These were the same two we passed as we drove into the park earlier in the evening. It was pretty cool to have them meander into our camp. We've seen wild horses before, though I can't remember where we were - somewhere in Montana during our first Yellowstone trip I think, but it was neat to have them so close. Dianne reminded me of the "wild ponies [that] kick and bite" at Assateague, but they're tiny compared to these full sized and adequately fed monsters. It's hard to remember that they're wild. I wanted to go over and feed them some hand picked grass (which I usually do at various places along the BRP on our MC trips). After a little while, they went on their way and we were left wondering what we were going to munch on.

A peek into the fridge yielded a dinner plan suggestion from Bill. Wild blueberry pancakes for dinner...um...okay. :) Bill always makes a mean breakfast, but these pancakes were phenomenal. We drizzled the pure maple syrup that Whitey brought back from his trip to Maine, and Bill sliced up some bananas as a tasty topping. I can't really express how yummy they were.

Just thinking about them now makes my mouth water. Sadly, the blueberries are all gone and I will have to wait to find more to pick along the way.

After dinner, we took a short drive to a few of the overlooks to watch the setting sun. We jumped in the truck and I commented that "we've seen wild horses and prairie dogs, but where are all of the tatanka?". About 13 seconds later, we rounded a turn and there he was, lazily grazing on the roadside grasses. We've spent a fair amount of time watching buffalo in Yellowstone, but I never tire of seeing them. I still like to watch the video we took when we were out there with Mom the year before last. We sat in a traffic jam as hundreds of buffalo ran down the steamy, hot springs laden hillside to weave around the cars as they grunted, bellowed, and thundered across the road. It was amazing to see how fast and how nimble they really are. It was an awesome experience. Mom was so awed by them. I'm so glad we got to show her that. It makes me smile and tear up thinking about it. This whole trip is somewhat difficult for me. We wouldn't be out here if not for Mom, yet I miss her so much and wish she could be here with us seeing all these amazing sites and all the amazing sites that are yet to come. I suppose I shouldn't be sad - she's the one seeing all the amazing things right now. Even still, it's difficult at times.

After the buffalo portrait mania (I really must stop snapping so many pics of buffalo), we drove into the tiny town of Medora. A very cute, touristy town, but one that rolls up its sidewalks at 7 o'clock at night. The return trip to the campground yielded more photos and another sighting of the lone tatanka, and once home for the night, we got to bed around 11 pm (MT) - the earliest bedtime for us so far.

July 12...Fargo (ND)

(Kim's Perspective)
We took our sweet time leaving this morning as Fargo, ND was our destination. We planned to boondock there for the night since it doesn’t offer much in the way of state parks or campgrounds. Fargo was simply a via point on our path to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. Taking advantage of the campgrounds free WiFi, I pulled out the computer, sat at the picnic table and sipped my coffee while watching the seaplanes come and go.

Ah…I could get used to this. We left the campsite around 1 pm and headed to the Ash River visitor center. Again, not much to do at the park, but we got the mandatory park sign pictures and spent some time talking to Mary, the retired Volunteer at the visitor center.




We walked down to the point and snapped some photos and then hit the road.


This park is definitely worth coming back to – if we ever have a boat and can leave the Boys somewhere. We were on the road by 3 pm (Central time) and entered our destination in the GPS. It took us on a very direct, albeit slow and windy, route. In fact, it was so windy that Monica (our GPS guide) kept telling us to turn left and right to continue driving on Minnesota highway route 1.

Thanks, chick but you need to SHUT UP – we weren’t turning, we were simply driving on the 10 and 15 mph marked turns. Wow. Really? Sigh. Our arrival time just kept getting later and later. Fortunately, Wal-Marts and Flying J’s don’t care what time you show up. ;)

Since we seemingly had all the time in the world, we stopped by an elementary school to stop for awhile and stretch our legs - all 12 of them. We walked the Boys to a grassy meadow area and let them off lead to romp awhile. Merlin, despite his age, started ripping around the meadow and chasing Twister. Bill decided to get the mountain bike out and let Merlin run with him like back in the day. Merlin has not forgotten his former mountain biking adventures and got all excited when Bill pulled the bike out. It was nice to see him so happy.

July 11...En Route to Voyageurs National Park (MN)

(Kim's Perspective)
As planned, the alarm went off at 7 am and we pulled away from our campsite by 8am. We headed out of Michigan, across Wisconsin and into Minnesota. My only requirement for stopping in Wisconsin was to buy some squeaky cheese. We found a little shop (Beth’s Cheese Shop) along the way and picked up some yummy flavored cheeses and some wild lake rice. Wisconsin may be known for their great cheese, but where the heck are all the cows? We didn’t see a single dairy farm the whole time we were in the state. Weird. When we were about 2 hours away from the park, we called to make sure there would be a vacancy at the Waters Edge RV Park in Crane Lake.


Voyageurs NP is not exactly the place to bring your Belgian Sheepdog with a water phobia and your 31 foot travel trailer. We knew this going in, but Voyageurs was on the National Park Life List so it had to be done. We arrived late afternoon and were assigned a nice spot with a water view. There were seaplanes taking off and landing and several boats with anglers who no doubt were waiting to tell exaggerated stories of the size of their catch. We took the Boys for a walk and spoke to some retired RVers who were visiting for the week. We spoke of trips and dogs and RV tales and had a very pleasant time with them.

We drove a short distance to the Visitor Center only to find it closed and checked out the dock where the seaplanes control tower (?) directed the seaplanes’ arrivals and departures. Because the Canadian border is just a mile away, there is a customs office that requires all seaplanes to be checked every time they depart and arrive. Knowing that the park wouldn’t hold much for us, we didn’t make plans to stay any longer than one night.

We did take a short hike to Vermilion Falls – which of course Merlin had no interest in viewing.

I picked some wild raspberries and blueberries to munch on along the trail and we headed back to the camp site for a simple dinner. We walked the Boys and then headed to the beach area to swing on the Adirondack style swing and watch the sunset.



We were pleasantly surprised to find that this private RV park was as quiet and peaceful as it was. We pretty much expected to be annoyed by screaming children and barking dogs. Sometimes, I like it when I’m wrong. :)


(Bill's Perspective)
Sitting very near the water at Crane Lake MN. The place is called Water's Edge RV Park. Nice but there's not much here for us so we move on tomorrow. Voyageurs National Park is a boater's park. We don't have a boat. Nuff said.

Here's a little sample of what we look for in a place to hang out and why. This is from Tahquamenon Falls State Park in Paradise MI a couple days ago. Happy dogs and happy people. Not a happy truck. More on that later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cCX9ffstog

July 10...TFSP & Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (MI)

(Kim's Perspective)
Today was Merlin’s birthday, so I wrapped their new toys in disposable blue shop rags and taped them with duct tape.


Yes, we celebrate their birthdays every year with new toys and chews, and yes, I wrap them in wrapping paper. Adventure road tripping requires one to be flexible and creative – thus the shop rags and duct tape. Shabby covering aside, it didn’t take long for them to figure out the oddly wrapped items were for them. Squeeka, squeeka is a dog’s favorite language.

We’ve adopted a morning routine which of course includes the morning potty, so I will spare you all the details of our morning dog walks…though I do have some funny photos… ;) Though we were seriously considering another night at the park and a visit to First Baptist Church (a “Fundamental, Independent, Bible-Believing” Baptist Church in Paradise) for morning services on Sunday, we decided to hit the road rather than relocating 30 miles to the campground with an available site. We’re trusting that our fine deacon and music leader, Kevin, will record the Sunday sermons so we can listen on line when we can’t attend local churches.

Before leaving, we wanted to see the actual Tahquamenon Falls so we set out for a walk to the viewing areas. The falls themselves were pretty cool. They too have some amazing statistics. Something along the lines of falls that are second only to Niagara in flow volume or some such thing. We weren’t able to spend much time there because Merlin is apparently terrified of waterfalls. Toes curled and pulling at the end of the leash like a freight train, he was on a mission to extricate himself from this seemingly life threatening situation. Water dog he is not, but panicking while on a wooden viewing platform that’s designed for handicapped access? Sigh. Time to publicize what we already know - our dog is a sissy. Naturally, Twist was intrigued and was happy to jam his head through the fence rails to check out the churning water. The falls are also referred to as root beer falls since the tannins from the nearby cedar forests color the water brown. He was probably just thirsting for an ice cream float.




After the falls visit, we returned to the campsite and did some preliminary mapping to figure out our next destination. We’re getting really good at tearing down and from start to finish, we were done inside a half an hour. Not shabby for newbies, eh? I attribute this to the lack of time consuming novelties that most RVers seem to want to surround themselves with at campsites. We decided to make a game out of what tacky lawn ornaments and goofy items we’ll see on this trip. At Maumee Bay, we saw pink flamingo lawn ornaments and at Tahquamenon Falls we saw what seemed to be miles of blue rope lights draped off of a 38 foot 5th wheel. Are you serious? What possesses people to light up their camper as if they were a government-kept-secret-visitor to Area 51? Bill and Shell, we love our going away gift…but they shall continue to provide a warm glow of light from within rather than emitting a beam of light so bright that the Hubble Space Telescope could pick up. :0)

We headed towards Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (near Silver City, MI). Along the way, we stopped a few times along Lake Superior and did a little wading at a public beach area. We finally arrived at the park around 6 pm. The sites were lousy – it was a family camp fest with the sites so close together it was difficult to assess which fire ring belonged to which site. We picked the best remaining site (#37) and unhitched. Dinner was cereal (use the milk before it rots!) and was followed by a jaunt down to the beach to view the sunset. It was very pretty and the shoreline was a jigsaw of broken slate type boulders. Fun to scramble on. We let the Boys off lead so they, nor we, wouldn’t break an ankle.



We hung out there for quite a while. It was after 10pm and we still had plenty of daylight to make our way through the maze of rocks back to the trailhead and campground. We had every intention of making it to bed early, but again, it’s hard to go to sleep when nightfall comes so much later than we’re used to. We went to bed after midnight and set the alarm for 7 am for an 8 am departure.

July 9...All Day at TFSP

Day two at Tahquamenon Falls consisted of a spectacular hike to Camp 10 Lakes. More on that in a moment. After a late morning start, we took the Boys for an hour long walk on the trailhead by the campsite. It was a nice trail. It started out at the riverside and then quickly climbed via switchbacks and changed to a dense forested hike. Ferns and downed birch trees abounded. The breeze was nice and the temperature was a perfect 70 couple degrees. I quickly noticed a few wild blueberry bushes and got my Sacajawea on and started gathering berries. I found a piece of bark to carry them on and after making it almost all the way back to the trailhead, I realized I didn’t need to be a pioneer because I had a perfectly good (and fortunately unused) dog poo bag in my pocket. Walla – a baggie for my berries. :)

After we got back home, we took out the park maps and picked the next To Do on our list. Seeing the “not all vehicles should attempt this drive” description of one of the fire trail routes, we knew this would be the place for us. Initially thinking we would leave the Boys in the trailer to keep them from what we knew would be a rough, slow ride, we changed our minds last minute when they were both eager to jump in the truck and go with. I’m always very happy to have them along, so we smiled, loaded them up and off we went. Begin the new truck’s first off-road adventure. It performed well other than the fact that it’s waaay wider than we were used to with the Ranger. This resulted in a fair amount of scratches down the sides of the truck as we drove past the trees that reached out to place their mark and become a lasting memory of our adventure. As most of you know, we’re pretty particular about keeping our vehicles nice. Not so much anymore. They are, after all, just things, and while we still want to keep them nice, we prefer more to use them for what they are intended, and on this particular day, it was worth the slight marring that was done.

At the turnoff to another dirt road, we parked the truck, put on the packs and headed on our way…for about 10 feet. We had unknowingly parked near a wild blueberry patch. I’m a simple kind of girl, so stumbling upon a patch of wild blueberries is enough to make me happy for the rest of the day. I pulled out my Tupperware container (thanks, Angie) and got to picking. Bill and the Boys watched…from the shade. After awhile, I pulled myself away so we could actually do the hike and relegated myself to simply picking berries along the way. The whole trail was loaded with them. Sooo tasty. For me, few things are as tasty as wild berries. No washing these things – just pop them in your mouth like nature intended. If a bug comes with, well then, you get a little protein with your vitamins and antioxidants. :)

After a short hike through the woods, the trail abruptly ended in an amazing clearing filled with wildflowers and lake grasses.


We walked across the brittle grassland and approached the water. There wasn’t a soul in sight. I love moments like this. No people, no hubbub, just the peaceful and serene landscape surrounding me. This is what I think of when I think of a perfect day. The Boys quickly learned that the water was shallow and began to romp and play like puppies.


It’s amazing to me to think that Merlin is now (as of July 10) eleven years old. Bill and I had so much fun watching them play. Regardless of our propensity to anthropomorphize, the Boys truly seemed to be happier than they’ve ever been running free and splashing carelessly in the marshes. We consider ourselves very fortunate to be graced with their companionship, even friendship; they’re just really great dogs and it’s so nice to have them along with us on this adventure.

July 8...Tahquemenon Falls State Park (MI)

(Kim's Perspective...)
We left Maumee Bay on Thursday (July 8) around noon and headed on to the next destination – Wilderness State Park near Mackinac Bridge. It’s near the middle finger of the Michigan mitten. I was firmly nested in the passenger seat with my trusty map and campground guide, the camera, and my can of Pringles at my side - yes, non-organic Pringles are my road-trip chip of choice. The OCD side of me and my need for order beats out my icky, non-organic food aversion; after all, what other chip comes packed in such a neat manner and in such a small, efficient space?? :)

Anyway, as we were 15 minutes from our next stop, I read about Tahquamenon Falls State Park and when I read about the moose, bear, and wolves that inhabit the park, we “RECALCULATED” and crossed the Mighty Mac and headed into the U.P. The bridge was pretty cool. It has some impressive statistics…Google it if you’re so inclined.



Once we crossed into the U.P., the landscape changed and we were surrounded by beautiful stands of white birch (my favorite) and tall stately pines. Needless to say, I took many pictures along the way. We encountered a bit of a brief, passing storm, but we were out of the rain in a matter of minutes. We arrived at the park around 8 pm and checked out the campground. The sites were pretty close together, but after a few investigative trips through the loops, we decided on site #17 – a nice site just steps away from a trailhead and lake access. We unhitched and were set up within a half an hour.

Nightfall comes later in these parts – it was 10:17pm and still light out. Dinner was brown rice, baby bella mushrooms, and green house tomatoes with basil. The sky was a beautiful, almost iridescent blue. We walked the Boys awhile and then took a Pup-free stroll to look at the stars. It was late before we went to bed. I’m used to going to bed a few hours after it gets dark. A few hours after it gets dark there means 1:30 am. Fine by me. I’m a night owl. Hoot hoot. :)


(Bill's Perspective...)
BRRRRR....I'm sitting in my lounge chair outside the camper at Tahquamenon Falls State Park in the UP of Michigan. I'm wearing long pants and a long sleeve shirt and I am perfectly comfortable. Once again we have cell signal but not enough to use the laptop (tethering) but enough to post text using the phone. This campground is the most crowded of the ones we stayed at but the weather makes it worth it. There are only a few bugs compared to what i've heard and apparently last year they were very bad. We are spending 2 nights here as there are supposed to be wolves and bears and many cool birds in the area...and moose as well. We're taking tons of pictures but can't post them yet. Once we can there will be much to share with you.
Were off to explore and see what there is to see. It's supposed to the sunny and beautiful today with a high of 73. ;)

July 7...All Day at Maumee Bay

(Bill's Perspective)
We liked Maumee Bay so much that this morning (7-7-10) we decided to stay a second night after we realized we were burning daylight really quickly. When I took my bicycle to the park office to request a second night, they told me that someone had reserved that very site for tonight so we couldn’t have it…but the one right next to it was available. Yeah, we had to move over one site. Now if you’re my brother, Jack, this would be a several hour adventure probably not worth embarking on. We, however, have the entire process down to a science so it was no big deal. By the way Jack, this is less than 10 hours away. You said… We went and filled up with water while it was hitched up then parked in the new site and here we are…looking at the empty site next door.

After a long morning walk and getting the trailer sorted a second time, we left the exhausted dogs to sleep in the dark air conditioned trailer while we went and rented a SeaDoo.

One hour at nearly full throttle the whole time is good fun. Kim got tossed off only once despite my efforts and unfortunately didn’t clear the craft during the get-off. Her knee whacked the back of the hull on the way down and she’s currently icing it. That’ll leave a mark.

Now, here we are sitting in the AC because it’s still pretty hot in OH though not 106.

Begin Adventure...July 6th...Destination: Maumee Bay State Park

(Bill's perspective...)
Day 1
8am was the departure goal. We left at 1130. Didn’t matter though because we had nowhere to be by any particular time. So we took our time getting the rest of the stuff done that we needed to do, said our prayers, and off we went. Wow, is the trailer heavier than on our practice trips. I was actually a little worried by how different it felt but once on the road, we got used to each other again and with the exception of the first tank’s gas mileage, all turned out well. The boys were amazing. They just laid down and slept for the majority of the way in the back “seat” of the truck. We removed the 70 part of the 70/30 split rear seat so they’d have more room. Seems to have made them content.

We opted to stay on 68 and go out to 79 instead of getting right on the PA turnpike. That’s a horrible piece of road that should be avoided…and we did just that. We got on 76 in between the PA turnpike and the OH turnpike. Going through with the trailer was no big deal. Little more expensive than the car but not horrendous. Eventually, our gas mileage got better as we got out of Western MD and WV and into Ohio. Almost 10 mpg. Yay. Actually, the truck did great even in the mountains. It just takes a lot of gas to get that performance. But we knew that going in. I can’t wait to get to the real mountains.

The service plazas on the Ohio Turnpike are really nice. They are clearly marked and even have RV parking with electric available. We didn’t go inside because we had to make miles due to our delayed start but I’m sure the inside was nice too. We just got gas, went potty and got a move on. Maumee Bay State Park is really nice and it’s right on the southern tip of Lake Erie. The campground is extremely nice and large and very easy to maneuver big rigs around in including backing into spaces. Most are separated by about a 5 foot hedge at a minimum but many are actually surrounded by trees and the spaces are very far apart. There is a nice flat grassy area at each space and the space for the camper was so level that we had to make no modifications when we parked it. Nice.

T-36 ish and counting

Couple of long days of preparation down, one more to go. It's getting very exciting and so many people are encouraging us that it makes it seem that much more ... just right. After talking to my brother who has a 38 foot 5th wheel about his follies and adventures, we feel a lot better about some of the unknowns we're heading toward.

One final day of work and we're off. One final day of work in well over 100 degree heat and we head north. :) We've checked the weather and it's in the 70s in most places we're going with lows in the 30s and 40s in a couple places. :)

Stay tuned... More to come.