Day 33-August 13

Photos from Days 33

Wawatam Lighthouse, St. Ignace, Michigan.  Mackinac Island is in the background

"Mighty Mac is the world's 24th-longest main span and the longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the Western Hemisphere.

Photos from Days 34

The Mohawk River

Photos from Days 35

Joni and the Red Lion

Home

Comments for Day 32-35

For our last day in the U.P. we decided to just take it easy and minimize our driving.

Wendy made a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, pan fried Taylor pork roll, and English muffins.  We then packed a lunch of PB&J sandwiches, chips, and drinks, and headed back to one of the nearby beaches on Whitefish Bay where we spent the afternoon enjoying the serenity of the Great Lakes. 

For dinner we returned to The Inn in Paradise where we had lunch on the previous day.  There aren't many dining in the UP, but this is a good one.  Joni and I shared poutine for an app,  and followed it up with a turkey BLT for Joni, and a Yooper Dip ( a hot roast beef sandwich with gravy for me).

During our dinner the skies opened up, dumping buckets of rain on the UP.  Fortunately the downpour ended quickly and on our drive back to the campsite we were treated to a full rainbow.

Returning to our campsite we sat by the river enjoying a spectacular and constantly changing sunset.

On Friday morning we packed up our gear and headed 330 miles south, to West Bloomfield, Michigan, where Carl and Wendy live.  The highlight of that drive for me was crossing the Mackinac Bridge. I do not like heights, and I especially do not like high bridges.  In 2016 when we last visited the UP, Joni drove our van across the bridge, and I sat in the back with sheet over my head, and music blaring in my earbuds.  

However, I was determined to overcome this fear and I did!

We arrived at Carl and Wendy's home around 5:30 PM, took quick showers, and were ready just in time for dinner.  Wendy's son, Scott, and his two sons, Ryan and Evan, joined us for dinner, which was Detroit style pizza.  We have not seen Scott  for 4 years, and we have not seen his boys since June, 2013, so it was a thrill to see them all. 

On Saturday morning, Joni and I said farewell to Wendy and Carl, and hit the road just after 7 AM.  We had campsite reservations at Caroga Lake State Park, near Gloversville, NY, 632 miles away.  Most of these miles were on interstate highways, but the last 20 miles took us through the verdant rolling farmlands of central New York.  We arrived at Caroga Lake, which is in New York's Adirondack Park, around 7 pm, with enough time to set up our campsite and prepare a yummy dinner of hot dogs and beans.  Being a Saturday night, the campground was jumping with lots of weekend warriors who partied well into the night.  We were just happy we were able to get a campsite.

Our final day of travel on this odyssey was an easy one.  We left the campground at 7AM, stopped for an elegant breakfast at the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, and arrived at our home in East Sandwich at 1 pm.  

We travelled 8,415 miles in 35 days.  

We witnessed the effects of climate change every day.  We endured early morning temps in the 40°'s and afternoon temps as high as 100°.  The blue skies of Montana were continually filled with smoke, and like the presence of sharks on Cape Cod, I'm sure forest fires will be with us for years.  

We also shared the joy of camping with so many of our fellow Americans who were thrilled to be able to escape the restrictions of the pandemic.  

We love to travel, it is so enlightening. Mark Twain said it best, 

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”