Blogs from Michigan, United States, North America

We left our base in Ohio to head to Kalamazoo for nephew Addison's marriage to his love Kari. It was a lovely ceremony and reception. Fun time with some of our family before we head west. Kalamazoo, which means "boiling water" or "reflecting" is the original home of the Upjohn Co., Stryker Corp, Checker Motors Corp. (cab maker), and Gibson Guitars. We camped at Markin Glen County Park. We enjoyed a walk around the lake and the sound of trains on a nearby track.... read more

I am hitting the road again tomorrow (more on this in my next blog). But, while I spend the day cleaning, organizing and packing it made me think about how often people ask me what and how I pack. As you might expect, I pack more clothes than I need since I like to be prepared. But, I thought you might be interested in the items I have learned to bring to make life a bit easier in a developing nation. Making Packing Easier: Reusable Ziplock Bags: after having regular ziplock bags rip on me during travel I now travel with lots of reusable ziplock bags. They keep items from leaking but they also keep my items more organized Liquid Travel Pouches: It took me awhile to find travel pouches for liquids that are actually leak ... read more

The drive to Wells State Park was rainy through forests of fir trees. Upon arrival, we felt like we were back in civilization. This is a nice campground with walking trails right along Lake Michigan. The camp hosts, Don and Jen (local people), offered free coffee and hot chocolate every morning... read more

This campground was located right next to the Tahquamenon River. The first night we drove up to the Whitefish Point lighthouse and saw the Northern Lights off of Lake Superior. There are two beautiful but separate waterfalls. The water is amber color like root beer due to the tannic acid of the hemlock trees. We tried to bike a local foot trail but had to turn around after it became too difficult to traverse. Our camphosts, John and Karin (from Texas) and camp neighbors Holly and Jodie (from Michigan) were delightful neighbors.... read more

On the way to Brimley, we left the RV in a Meijer parking lot and drove the Jeep up to the Locks. There is an observation deck right at the Locks. We watched a Viking Cruise ship, the Bergen, slowly pass through with about a two foot margin on either side. A Canadian freighter, the Maumee, about two football fields in length also passed through. We enjoyed a great (albeit expensive) lunch at the Wicked Sister Café.... read more