Click Here For More Camping Pictures
August each year is when we take our week vacation and go rustic camping somewhere in the deep woods of Northern Michigan. This year is no different except that we usually start our week off at my SIL's house up north for a family reunion. I love rustic camping but due to health issues we got a popup a few years ago so I could continue to camp. I still don't go anywhere that there is electric or water and refuse to let my hubby use the furnace in the camper. This is also Magnum's first ever camping trip. We have had him in our family since December of last year when we adopted him. He is still scared of most everything and just recently started coming in the house while my hubby is here. He's very afraid of most people and especially men.
Destination:
Jewell Lake National Forest Campground, Barton City, Michigan
Sunday August 6, 2006
Been packing for a week or so since we camp with no electricity and no running water we have to take the whole house with us LOL. The plan was to get on the road by about 10 am since we had about a 5 hour drive ahead of us. Well, it ended up being more like 1:30 pm before we finally got out of here and on the road headed north. Deciding which way to take to avoid construction was difficult. We decided to take I-94 to I-75 and head north that way. Things did not start off well and Magnum threw up within 10 minutes. I'm sure it's got a lot to do with him being nervous about the car ride and this is the first time he has been in the van with all of us. We get to the I-75 exit and northbound is closed. GREAT! We go southbound and hope we can turn around and get on northbound at the first street. Yep, northbound here we come!! First we stop at a gas station and clean up from Magnum. We head onto the freeway and traffic is stopped, down to one lane. GREAT!! Magnum throws up again! We make it a littl ways and all lanes are open again. Then we are detoured off the freeway and it takes us WAY out of the way down the worst part of 8 Mile Road through Detroit. FINALLY we make it back to I-75 and on our way. We make it about an hour away from home and my oil pressure needle drops to nothing. My van is ticking loudly! GREAT!! Magnum has thrown up yet a third time and has the saddest look on his face that I have ever seen on a dog. We make our way off the freeway and pull into the first gas station we come to. I get Magnum some water and clean up after him again.
At this point things are definitely NOT going well! We just sit there for about 10 minutes and let the van cool off. When Rich starts it up again the oil pressure is way up there where it should be. We make it all the way home without issue. Rich plans on changing the oil pump since this same thing happened about a month ago and he changed my oil sending unit. We figured that was what it was since it worked fine ever since. Rich's brother agrees to help him and they work on the van till 1 am and decide to quit. The oil pan will not come off. They ended up having to take off motor mounts and one did not want to come off. Anyway, it was late and they needed to sleep.
Monday August 7, 2006
Back up at 8 am to finish the job. All the while we hope that they will be done soon and we can be on the road again. Finally at about 6 pm they get finished. WOOHOO!! Northern Michigan here we come!! The trip there went off without a hitch and we arrive at our campground at about 11:30 pm. I hated to be one of THOSE campers who comes in during the wee hours but there only one other camper at the campground anyway and we tried to be very quiet. We set up minimal stuff, just enough to sleep for the night. Much to my surprise Magnum came in the camper and slept. He woke me in the middle of the night with his nose in my face just making sure I was still there. He slept on the couch right next to me all night.
Tuesday August 8, 2006
We sleep in till about 9 am and finish setting up camp when we get up. I finally get to set up Magnum's crate. He is so much more comfortable when he is in it since he's so afraid of everything. He feels very safe in there. I also brought a chain since there is no way I could trust him not to run away if he was loose. He doesn't much care for the chain since he's never been on one before but them's the brakes LOL. Rich also made a tent to go over Magnum's crate just in case he refused to come inside the camper. We had to have some type of shelter for him in case it rained as it usually does. Rich goes fishing at the lake for a while and I head up to get some firewood. We didn't have to worry about that last night since we arrived so late. It's illegal here in Michigan to transport firewood because of all the invasive pests so we have to buy when we get where we are camping. There is tons of kindling and smaller pieces of wood in the woods but I need some REAL wood for my fire LOL. We really didn't do much today except hang out. I took Magnum for a bunch of walks around the campground and down by the lake. The other campers that were here left so we have the whole campground to ourselves. Just the way I like it! I made walking tacos for dinner tonight. It's our usual first night meal when we camp. Quick and easy, and yummy! Magnum was on his chain and went towards his crate. His chain rubbed up against the tarp that is over his crate and the noise scared him half to death. He tried running behind the crate and bent the door of the crate backwards and nearly bent it in half. Luckily we could straighten it back out. In the morning we will move his chain so he can't get near the tarp. He is still looking at it with fear in his eyes. We call it a night early since we are all tired.
Wednesday August 9, 2006
Jordan and I LOVE to go sightseeing when we go camping so we always set aside one day where all we do is drive to see the sights. Today is that day! We decide we will drive up the coast of Lake Huron along US 23 and go wherever we end up. First we head into Barton City and have breakfast at The Bear Claw Grille. Wonderful food!! I had homemade corned beef hash and eggs. Man was I full!! The guys had eggs, home fries, toast, and sausage. Our first stop is Sturgeon Pt. Lighthouse in Harrisville. We have been there before but that's okay because we love going there. We tour the lighthouse and buy a few things. Then I ask if it's okay to take our dog down on the beach. They say sure, that's fine! I get Magnum out of the van and we head down to the beach. There is a point there and we walk out on it. Magnum is terrified of the waves washing up on the sand. Every few seconds one comes in and he jumps a mile! He finally calms down a bit after he realizes they are not going to get him. We spend about an hour down there skipping rocks, hunting for cool rocks, and just enjoying the view. We head off down the road again and come to Alpena.
Magnum has made himself quite at home on the couch in the back seat next to Jordan. I don't usually allow my furkids on the furniture but he seems more comfortable and confident there so I suppose I'll live. There is a little fun center and we stop there and play miniature golf and ride the go-karts and have some ice cream. It's not too hot out so Magnum is fine in the van in the shade. On the road again heading north to wherever we end up. Our next stop are the Presque Isle Lighthouses, both the old and new. The old one was built in 1840 and the "new" one in 1870 LOL. We just walked along the beach at the old lighthouse since we had been to that one before. After that we head down the road a mile to the new lighthouse. It's one of the tallest lighthouses in Michigan. It's also one of the few that still allows you to climb the tower. Wow, 133 steps to the top! An exhausting climb but the view was magnificent! Jordan is a bit freaked because he's afraid of heights but he goes out onto the catwalk with us anyway. It's now about 4 pm so we head back to camp. I start a fire right away and just cook hot dogs and hamburgers because they are quick and easy. After dinner we sit by the fire for a while. We plan on watching meteors from the Persied Meteor Showers but it's a very cloudy night and we can't see anything. We hit the hay by about 11.
Thursday August 10, 2006
Today is Rich's day where he can take the van and go wherever he wants to fish. He loves going to the 5 Channel Dam near Glennie. Jordan and I just hang out at the campground. It turns into a rainy, drizzly day all day so we don't do much of anything. Jordan and I watch birds and other animals with our binoculars. It's not raining hard so I take Magnum for walks so he doesn't have to just sit there on a chain all day. He's still not quite used to it and keeps getting his foot tangled in it or heading off into the forest and getting caught on some little saplings. Rich had a wonderful day of fishing at the dam too so he's happy. I make my famous chicken dish that Jordan loves so much for dinner. Not much else going on tonight. Still too cloudy to watch for meteors but at least it stopped raining. We turn in kind of early. Camping is exhausting work! I LOVE it though! At around 11 pm 3 cars come in and set up camp. This is the most activity we've seen since we've been here. It's just been us here out of 35 sites for the entire week. My SIL and her hubby stop by the campground to say hello. They live about 15 miles from here in Lincoln. She is coming to show us her Mustang convertible that her hubby bought her for their 25th anniversary. Wow!
Friday August 11, 2006
It seems like it will be a nice day today! We hang out at camp for a while, Rich fishes in the lake as usual. At around noon I tell him if he wants to go fish at the dam we can drop him off and Jordan and I will go find something to do. He's all for that! We drop him off at the dam and Jordan and I drive north towards Glennie and try to find Alcona Park since there is a sign pointing us towards it. First we come to a scenic overlook and go see what it overlooks LOL. Beautiful view of the Au Sable river where there is another dam. We head off to try and find that park. When we get there it turns out to be a modern campground and the name of it is Alcona Park. Well so much for our day of hanging out at the park LOL. We turn around and head back towards the dam to see if we can find some other sighseeing things. Nothing to speak of so we just go back to the dam to hang out with Rich. We stay there for a few hours while he fishes. It's quite a popular fishing spot up here. After we are done it's about 6 pm. We decide to stop and eat somewhere since it's so late already and by the time I get a fire going and cook our meal it would be bedtime LOL. We stop at The Bear Claw Grille again since it's not too far from camp and we know the food is good. It turns out it's all you can eat cod night. The line is hanging out the door! GREAT!! I didn't think there were this many people in the entire area LOL. We finally get a seat and it was well worth the wait. Back to camp! What a beautiful evening it is for our last night at camp. I finally get to see a few meteors and they are spectacular!! I'm all set LOL! We are heading out in the morning so we call it a night early.
Saturday August 12, 2006
We get up at around 7 so we can drink some coffee before we have to pack up everything. By the time we get camp all packed it's about noon. I had hoped to be on the road by 10 but that never works LOL. We head out at 12:20 for the ride home. We stop in Standish at A&W to eat. It's become a tradition LOL. They have telephones inside the restaurant and you order by phone. Kind of cute! We get back on the road again and make it home by 4:30. That is GREAT time since we stopped to eat too. Yuck, now comes the part we all dread, unpacking the van and camper. All in all it was a great time despite our rough start.
No comments:
Post a Comment