In Cheboygan we stopped to do laundry and grocery shopping. It was breezy and cool in the town, which had a river canal running right through the middle of town with boats-- yachts and fishing boats--tied up to docks or trolling along. We wondered if that was how some people traveled through the town, stopping at a dock to do their shopping! Another interesting aspect to Cheboygan, are the street signs for snowmobiles! Right along with the traffic lights and signs for ordinary traffic, are signs that direct the snowmobiles where to drive, turn, etc. You just know they have lots of snow during the winter months!
We are always looking at other vehicles used for traveling. Last year we saw the bus a young man had, outfitted to travel across the country, and heated with wood.
In the Cheboygan Walmart parking lot, we parked next to a Range Rover with a raised top, privacy curtains, and metal boxes attached to the top. During the day, they put some of their belongings outside the vehicle to give them more room. I can only imagine how crowded it must have been inside.
A green box on the roof says, “Around the world to help Huntington’s Disease Association” and on the side, a map of the world and the words, “One Life Live It.”
We, the Vagabonds, can embrace this motto.
The Mackinaw Bridge, which leads to the Upper Peninsula, has the reputation of being tough to cross. They even have designated drivers for those who are afraid to drive across themselves. We have driven over much higher, longer, windier, prettier, and more interesting bridges in our travels. The “Mac” did not intimidate James, and we crossed easily. How did it get this reputation?
We found an attitude in the Upper Peninsula (UP) that was quite funny. The residents of the UP are called “Yoopers” and the residents of lower Michigan are called “Trolls” (as in living under the bridge!) These two regions of the state of Michigan are as contrasting as New London County is from Fairfield County in our own state.
Traveling into the Upper Peninsula, we entered the Hiawatha National Forest - our planned destination for the next several days. The forest covers a million acres in two sections. The land had been heavily logged in the early 1900s and fires burned over much of what was left.
In 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt established the east section and it was named the Marquette National Forest. The western section was named the Hiawatha National Forest by President Herbert Hoover in 1931. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) replanted the forests, and established the campgrounds. The two sections were joined in 1962.
We stopped at the Ranger Headquarters to get information about the campgrounds. The Ranger was very helpful and told us which ones would have sites available for that night. Outside the building, there was a wildflower garden with milkweed. A dozen or so Monarch butterflies were flying all around, landing on the flowers, and then taking off again. I tried taking a picture of them, but they wouldn’t stay still long enough. But they were beautiful!
We found a site for the night at the Lake Michigan Campground, which has only 30 campsites stretched in a line along the lakeshore. By using our Senior Pass, it was only $9 for the night. The next morning, we followed Route 2 along the shore of Lake Michigan. The beaches along the roadside are all open to the public and we saw people enjoying the cool waves and sandy beaches everywhere.
We stopped in the town of Manistique, which claims to be the home of Paul Bunyan. It is a small tourist town, and we walked along a jetty to the East Breakwater Lighthouse. The Vagabonds were so taken by this walk it served as the stimulus for the first small town America profile. The town was celebrating “Pioneer Days,” and the Historical Society buildings were open. We stopped at some of the booths, and inspected the landmark brick water tower which was built in 1922, but is no longer used as a water source for the community.
We had a campsite reserved at Camp 7 Lake in the national forest for three nights, and continued on our way to find the campground. There are nineteen campgrounds in the Hiawatha National Forest. All are on lakes or rivers. From Manistique we drove 22 miles on Route 2, about 8.4 miles north off of RT 2 on Forest Highway 13, then 7.8 miles CR 442 (CR = County Road) to find the campground.
This was all through a heavily forested area with only a few homes. The campground itself is clean and well managed. The next day, we hiked the Van Winkle Trail to the pond of the same name, which is a refuge for wildlife, and caught sight of a family of swans, two adults and three babies, swimming among the lilypads. While the trail was well maintained, we saw no one else on the trail and the forest was quiet and peaceful. When we returned to the campsite, we changed into bathing suits and rode our tandem bike to the beach for a cooling swim. The sandy beaches stretch almost all around the entire lake, with plenty of places to swim or sunbathe. As we were leaving the beach, we were uninundated by ‘stable flies.’ They are much bigger than our local ‘horse flies’ and they have a big bite. I had blood running down my legs from the bites I got. For those who love Mother Nature as we the Vagabonds do, not all of her gifts are always a lot of fun.
Monday morning brought quiet to the campground. Most of the campers had left on Sunday afternoon, and new arrivals didn’t come in until later in the day. We enjoyed walking around the paths, and another swim in the lake.
While we were walking, we met a young boy, Noah, who was on his way to the lake to go fishing. Young Noah reminded us of “Opie” on the old Andy Griffin TV show. (The campground provides fishing poles to anyone who would like to go fishing and doesn’t have one. ) His family was camped a little way from us, and the children spent many hours riding bikes around the camp.
The next morning it was our turn to pack up and leave. We headed back to Manistique for some shopping, and a walk along the boardwalk. We discovered that they wouldn’t celebrate The Fourth of July until Saturday. These were very friendly towns, as we found everyone on the Upper Peninsula to be.
After searching for a town to celebrate July 4th, we decided to go north to Munising. It is located on Lake Superior, and they had a full day of activities planned with fireworks scheduled for 10:30 p.m. It seems to stay light longer the further north we go. The events were being held at Bay Shore Park, located right on Lake Superior and there were vendors and games set up in the park.
One interesting game they had for the youngsters was to shimmy out over the water on a greased pole. We watched as several determined boys made it to the end of the pole, and then jumped off into the water. It sure looked like a fun activity!
We moved the Winnebago VIEW to the American Legion post to park for the night and watch the fireworks, which were to be fired over the lake. We were sitting out in our lawn chairs waiting for the show to begin when strong wind started blowing sand around us. One of the members of the Legion came out and told us the fireworks had been cancelled as a big storm was brewing.
We closed up the VIEW, and went to bed. No fireworks this night. UGH!
From the UP, James and Joan, the American Vagabonds.
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