Like the Lake District but Somehow Different

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Carla: Delete as appropriate: “I am astounded / amazed / bored / exasperated to find that the Holden Pilsworths have written yet ANOTHER instalment of their weekly blog”. This week the theme is lakes and also escape; from heat, flatness and thunderstorms. We loved Madison, which was an oasis of right-thinking in the mid-western desert (vegetarian food, organic supermarkets, green concern etc.), and it had four lakes, including Mendota the one Al, George and Ruby swum in, but we needed to get away from the daily temperatures of over 100F and the constant rumble of thunder in the distance. We drove north on Thursday afternoon with the idea of getting as close to Canada as we could without actually going across the border. If we put just a lake (Superior) between us and cooler climes then we might get some relief from the heat. We headed for Oshkosh (yes, where the baby clothes come from) and stopped for lunch at Beaver Dam (a nice little Wisconsin town based around a lake). We were smug that we had found the perfect lunch spot with space to park, picnic benches, a playground and a lake view, when what should happen? Thunder and lightning rolled over and we ate lunch in the van. We managed our post-lunch cup of tea outside though when the rain had passed. When we reached Oshkosh we found that a massive airshow was in progress and that hundreds of people, light aircraft, tents and R.Vs had descended on the town. We were impressed by the sheer size of the gathering but we couldn't find a space to park our van so we moved onto a town further north for our overnight stay. The following day we drove along the west shore of Lake Michigan and left Wisconsin as we entered the UP (Upper Peninsula of Michigan). People there call themselves Yoopers (as in UuuuPpppers). The drive was scenic and we passed a great many desirable holiday homes along the lake shore. We were also pleased that the weather began to turn cool (getting down to 65F at one point) and a sprinkling of normal summer showers laid the dust to rest on the road ahead. We made our way north across the UP to the southern shore of Lake Superior, driving along dead-straight roads lined with the dense woods of the Hiawatha National Forest. We got to the small town of Grand Marais in the late afternoon and the sun was shining but the air was fresh and cool – 'mission accomplished' we radioed to base. (How geeky am I?). On Saturday morning we were quick off the mark as the campsite was one that divvied out pitches on a 'first-come-first-served' basis and when we had arrived the night before all the official pitches were gone. However a friendly camper accessing his WiFi on a bench near the gate told us that we should park on the road-side grass and then grab a pitch in the morning when people started to leave. Alex was very professional at this and went round on Friday evening noting all the pitches where people were due to leave the following morning and writing them on a plan of the campground. On Saturday he got us a perfect, lake-side pitch with a beautiful view of the lake and beach through the trees, well done Pilsworth! The Woodland Park Campground gave onto 'agate' beach and, as I have already said, was in the town of Grand Marais. The town could be described as a 'perfect' small town. I've already mentioned the beach – which was beautiful, sandy and pebbly and quite empty even on Saturday afternoon – the houses were well-kept, wooden and freshly painted, many with wraparound porches sporting wicker chairs, sofas, swings and even a chest of drawers. There were two grocery stores in town (the main one of which had so many useful things in there we spent an age on Saturday morning re-stocking our RV), two small art galleries and jewellery shops and, best of all, a micro-brewery with restaurant and pub attached. To add to the atmosphere the white-wood Finnish Lutheran church opposite the campsite chimed the hour every hour and played a little tune at 6pm every evening. It would not have surprised us if we'd come across Doris Day and Mickey Rooney living in the house on the corner. That day, we spent all day on the beach and swam in Lake Superior (the sixth US lake we've swum in so far) which we kept forgetting was not the sea; Ruby flew her kite and a holiday feeling fell upon us all.

Alex: After our lazy Saturday, it was time to do some exploring of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, around the southern shore of Lake Superior. First stop was Sable Falls. A short steep walkway led us down through the woods to the falls. Just half a mile in the other direction were the 'Grand Dunes'. These were massive golden sand-dunes on the edge of the lake, and were really difficult to walk across. The sand was very soft underfoot and the dunes were steep, and although the walk wasn't long it really gave your calf muscles a workout. George and Ruby clearly didn't find it so hard as they ran up and down the dunes with ease, and despite the growing heat, played jumping down the dunes and running back up. George made plans on how he was going to survive living off the sand-dunes, fishing in the lake and sleeping in a hammock. Further along the lake shore we came to the 'Log Slide Overlook', a site where the loggers in the late 19^th century let their cargo slide down the dunes to the boats on the lake to be transported. The dunes at this point were over 100m high, with near vertical drop down to the water. As the dunes are continually moving, there is nothing left of the original log-slide except a slight crease in the sand. Some tourists (not us) ran down the log-slide to the beach at the bottom, which according to the signposts takes just a few seconds. However the climb back up (there is no other way) can take over an hour, and the rescue service is regularly called out to pick up stranded tourists. We stopped for a picnic lunch on Miners' Beach, a beautiful sandy white beach. It was quite busy with locals and tourists. Around us, groups turned up with canoes, kayaks, multiple sun umbrellas, chillers for food, chillers for beer, deck-chairs, baby-cots, radios, inflatables etc. One old man was heard complaining this was his 3^rd trip up and back to the car park. As soon as he sat down it started to cloud over. We giggled but luckily for him, nothing came of it and it turned out nice in the end. After lunch we went to Miners' Castle, the best place (other than from a boat) to see the Pictured Rocks. They are multi-coloured (reds-browns-yellows) flat lying layered sandstones. Streaks on the face of the cliffs come from the groundwater leaching out of the rock.With it come iron(red), manganese (black-white), limonite (yellow-brown), copper (pink-green) and other minerals. As the water evaporates, these minerals leave streaks of colour. Erosion carves into the rock, leaving arches and vertical stacks poking out of the lake. Miners' Castle is one such stack. In the evening we went to the Lake Superior Brewing Company Brew Pub, just a few hundred yards from the campsite. The beer made on the premises was the best I've tasted so far in the US, and the food was delicious as well - white fish (caught from the lake) and chips. We had enjoyed Grand Marais so much we decided to change our plans and stay an extra day. It would mean a few days of long journeys afterwards, but we all agreed it was worth it. I went out for a run early in the morning, and ended up in the hills above the town running down a dirt track in the woods. Carla had told me about a photo being brandished local shop owner of a bear she had recently spotted in her back garden. I was just think about that when I saw something brown walk out of the woods about 500 yards up the track. I stopped running and watched, as it moved towards me. I was trying to remember what I should do (walk slowly away, run, make myself look big, make a loud noise?), but then realised it was a man dressed in brown, walking his dogs in the woods – phew! We spent another day playing on the beach by the campsite, until in the late afternoon it clouded over again. We watched as a storm moved south towards us across the lake. When it arrived, you could see it travelling like a wave; we were standing in the campsite, there was no wind or rain, but you could see it coming in only a few hundred yards away, travelling towards us. Then it hit us and we were soaked in seconds, the sun shade had blown up like a sail, the chairs were blown all over. And it all happened in less than a minute. Our RV was in a small pond of it's own and we were considering how we would ever get out tomorrow. But the rain stopped quickly and the ground dried out straight away. By evening, everyone was out around their camp-fires as if nothing had happened. By Tuesday it was time to leave Grand Marais and the shores of Lake Superior. We were heading towards Niagara Falls, and if we could travel via Canada, we could take a short cut, but as it is we had to take the long way round, south through Michigan, then round through Ohio, Pennsylvania and into New York state. We drove to the north shore of Lake Michigan, then crossed the Mackinac Bridge, a 8038m long suspension bridge, that spans the link between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. We stopped briefly at Mackinaw (or Mackinac) , a town founded in 1715. We considered an educational stop at the town museum and fort, but we were all happy to have a quick look in the gift shop and continue our drive although not before purchasing some of the local delicacies – pasties – the area is famous for them, apparently. We arrived in Gladwin, MI and set up camp for the night. Within 5 minutes of arriving George and Ruby had a gang of mates, in the campsite pirate ship (one of whom thought they were faking a British accent). It is odd how in some campsites they make friends in minutes, whereas others, like the site in Grand Marais, despite lots of children being there have less playground socialising. Our theory is the grandparents to parents ratio. Grand parents seem to stay in the RV and let the children roam free in the campsite. Whereas parents keep their children with them and do things 'as a family' during their quality time on holiday. I guess we fall somewhere between.

Carla: When Al says we fall somewhere in between, he means he falls somewhere in between. I am strictly in favour of the grandparent approach! Anyway, continuing our eastbound trajectory (again escaping from the heat of the mid-west) on Wednesday morning we drove out of Michigan and headed for Homerville (yes indeedy!), Ohio. As we drove along the country roads out of Gladwin we saw two Amish carriages with 'proper Amish' people in them (in the old Victorian clothes and everything). It was very exciting and we peered around to see if Harrison Ford was there helping to raise any barns, but we were disappointed. A dull day of driving was enlivened briefly on occasion; twice by going through towns called Brighton (one in Michigan and one in Ohio), once by going through Milan, OH, the birthplace of Thomas Edison (and a quaint old place to boot), and finally by encountering another two Amish carriages as we arrived wearily at Homerville. (Were they the same ones, I hear you ask? Well we'd driven nearly 400 miles since the morning, so probably not. Unless they are very very big cheats and no-one has discovered it yet). Oh and the final thing that happened which rendered the day less dull, was that in our rural campsite in Ohio I was walking past the swimming pond to collect George and Ruby for tea when I saw a real live beaver! I have never seen one before and I was very pleased indeed. We spent Thursday driving the four hundred miles to Niagara Falls from Homerville and we are now getting ready for a 'proper guided tour' tomorrow. En route we visited ANOTHER lake, Lake Eire. So it WAS officially Lake Week this week.

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Comments

[Len and Marion]

Leaving Cowboy country fpr softee east
The lakes seem awsome to use that over the top American expression. We were glad you found cooler climes. We could do with a bit more heat here so can we exchange some cool for some sun! The 'lympics are going well and we are off to see Teamg GB Women's Football team play Canada today at Coventry. Chris, Megan and Katie are going with us. We'll let you know the score! Lots of love, Nanny and Grand Pope