Day 21, 3 weeks on the road

Today we are back on the road.  +213=3686 miles  Traveled thru New York.  Didn't get very good photos but thought it was an interesting drive.  Drove 213 miles east through farm country.  For a while it turned hilly.  Had some steep climbs.  Stopped at a farm stand for corn, berries etc.  

Our trip took us through the Finger Lakes region, beautiful old towns and lots of lakes.

 We are camped at Verona, New York.  Just east of Syracuse.  This is a nice RV park.  We are backed up to a small pond.  The ducks came to greet us, left as soon as they decided we weren't going to feed them.  Had a beautiful sunset out our back window.

Day 20 Niagara Falls, American Side

It was an amazing day at Niagara Falls.  We saw the placid river, then rapids, the falls from several perspectives, the class 6 rapids below the falls.  Can't say enough about how spectacular this site is.

These are the rapids above the falls.   The river divides and flows around Goat Island.  The falls then become 3, American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Horseshoe Falls.  With American and Bridal Veil in the US and Horseshoe in Canada

 We walked quite near Bridal Veil Falls.  A view of the falls and then me touching the falls.  That was fun, and of course you can see, we got wet.  It was worth it.

We took a ride on the boat, Maid in the Mist.  Again we got wet.  Candy was enjoying the view.  We got up quite close to the falls.They have earned their name.  Niagara means thundering water.

Here are the class 6 rapids below the falls.  The waves can get 30 feet tall.

Just below the rapids is a giant whirlpool.  The river makes a sharp right turn and on it goes.

Day 19, July26 Niagara Falls

We started the day celebrating Kens birthday with breakfast together.  We ended the day with Kens birthday cake in Canada  

We spent the morning in Lockport, NY learning about the Erie Canal.  We went to the Discovery Museum to learn about who, what, when, where and why of the canal.  then walked to the canal and viewed both the old locks built 1825 and modern locks that are used today.

looking down river through the old locks.  The tow path that was used by men and mules to pull the boats up and down the river is on the left in the distance  

 On to Niagara Falls.  This is just up stream of the falls.  These rapids are trechious  and beautiful.

 This boat, Maid of the Mist goes near the falls.  Tomorrow we will ride this boat.

 We went to Table Rock where we could view the falls up close.  Ponchos were supplied.  Here we were getting quite wet.  But you can tell, we were enjoying the view.  It is warm here so didn't mind being in the mist of the falls.

 There are 3 main falls.  On the left, American falls because they are in the US.  The small falls on the right is Bridal Veil Falls.Then Goat Island.  The photo below is Horseshoe Falls, in Canada.  they all line up but takes a wide wide angle lens.  That is why I bought postcards.

 We went up the Skylon Tower, very similar to the Seattle Space Needle.  From there we had beautiful 360 views.  Also, we were there after dark, when they shine colored lights on the falls.  Amazing beauty and power.

 Water goes over the falls with great speed.  Can't imagine going over this in a barrel!

Travel days

We had some days of travel and I didn't take any photos. We left St Ignace and moved on to Frankenmuth, MI  It was a fun Bavarian town.  Gary and I visited there about 20 years ago when he was working at Toledo, OH.  Gary remembered the fried chicken restaurant we ate at so we tried Zehnders again.  Great all you can eat chicken dinner served family style.  The other claim to fame for this town is Bonners Christmas store.  As big as 1 1/2 football fields.  All things Christmas.
Next night was in Angola, IN.  Another state on the map. The Circle B RV park is 1 happening campground. We joined the all campground beach party.  Over 300 sites so lots of people, many seasonal residents.  They all have golf carts they drive around the campground.  Our first sighting of fire flys on this trip.  We sat out watching the bugs flash but later realized there were also mosquitos.
On to Cleveland,OH.  Lots of corn and soy beans.  And boy can it rain.  This was our first experience with toll roads.  Now I understand why we call them 'free' ways.  Decided to take an alternate route and save the toll.  Well, I did a poor job of navigation and we ended up on a road under construction.  Thought we would shake loose everything in the trailer.  The next time we came upon a toll road we decided to pay the toll.  Much more direct route and not that expensive.
Finally we have arrived at Niagara Falls, NY.  Checked into the RV park, started laundry and once again the rain came down in buckets.  Made plans for the next few days.  The weather promises to be better tomorrow.

SSV Niagara

While in St Ignace for lunch today we spotted this tall ship, the SSV Niagara, from Erie, PA  It has quite a history.  The original ship was significant in the War of 1812.  It is now the state ship of Pennsylvania and used for Coast Guard training. There is some question as to whether it is considered a replica or a restored ship.  It has had so many restorations there is not much left of the original ship.   It is a beautiful ship and the comment we made to each other was how many ropes there are.  It would take some work to learn what they all are for.
Now a word about lunch...we had pizza at a great little spot recommended by the clerk at ACE Hardware.  The Pizza was great but the best part was the dessert pizza, smore pizza.  I think the crust was filo dough with chocolate filling and toasted marshmallows on the top.  Need to learn how to make this when I get home.

St Ignace

From the RV park we walked to the beach so Gary could swim in Lake Michigan.  I decided to stay on shore and be the photographer.  That water is cold.
In the evening we drove a short distance to view the bridge after dark.  There are many lights on the bridge and it was a spectacular sight.

Mackinac Island, MI

 The bridge between the Upper Peninsula, Yoopers, and the Mitten, Down below, is called the Mighty Mac.  It is 5 miles long.  Maybe I will try to explain the difference between Mackinac and Mackinaw.  We encountered both spellings and were using different pronunciations.  We learned that Mackinac is the French spelling and has a silent 'c'.  The english spelling is phonetic ending in ah.  So there are 2 spellings but all pronounced the same.

 The Mighty Mac divides the waters into Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.  Here we are with our feet in Lake Huron, the 3rd lake for us.

Today we took a ferry to Mackinac Island.  There were light houses along the way.  On the island the only motor vehicles are for fire and police.  All transportation is by foot, horse, or bicycle.  Lots of all 3.  We took a carriage tour so that we could see much of the island.  This man is feeding his team after delivering freight.  He is getting ready to return to the dock for another load.  The top photo was the view from our lunch table.  Enjoyed watching the busy harbor and docks.

Day 12 +118=2470 miles

 Checked into Lake Shore RV Park on lake Michigan near St. Ignace, MI  We got here in time for lunch by the lake.

Waded in Lake Michigan

 Went to the Taste of Upper Peninsula and bought Yooper beer.  Learned that you have to be born a Yooper, someone who lives on the Upper Peninsula

 One of the specialties of this area is pasties.  That is PASS, not PASTE.  They are made with pie crust filled with beef roast, chicken, vegetables, including rutebega.

Wild rice is harvested in these northen states.  Got some to try the next time I cook dinner for the group.  

Drove into town and walked the boardwalk.  Then bought tickets for the ferry to Mackinac Island and a carriage tour.  More about the island tomorrow.  

Day 11 +222

Minocqua WI to Nahma, MI  Started with gas, groceries and our Winconsin quilt shop and licence plate.
Some bumpy roads.  Decided Alaska doesn't have the corner on bumpy roads.
The campground we headed to is called Upper Peninsula Golf and Lake Resort.  Sounds great huh?  Well, turns out their challenging course with lots of water hazards has so much water that they haven't opened the course yet this year.  Gary and Ken were disappointed that they didn't get to golf.  Then as for lake resort, turns out the RV park is built on the sight of an old saw mill.  The "lake" was mill ponds.  The office is in one of the old mill buildings.

Garnet is enjoying a glass of wine after finally getting settled in this lovely spot.  Each camp site has 45 feet of water front.  

This is the burner that was used to burn the unwanted parts of the logs and sawdust from the mill.  Beautiful sunset and moon reflected in the pond.  

We had also been told there was good food at the casino.  No casino, so we had tacos which made for a relaxing evening on the pond.    

Day 10+306

Duluth MN to Minocqua WI
This turned into quite a day,  It was 150 miles from campground to campground.  We decided to add 50 miles and take the scenic route to see the Apostle Islands.  It was a beautiful drive and enjoyed our first sight of the Great Lakes.  We drove along the shore of Lake Superior.  Had lunch at Bayfield at a nice restaurant called Maggies.  It was recommended in the book Road Food that Carol gave us for this trip.  Tried White Fish and really enjoyed my meal.  At the visitors center for The Apostle Islands National Lake Shore the ranger  asked where we were headed.  Turns out there was a lot of flooding in Wisconsin last week and all the roads heading south and east were washed out.  We went back nearly to Duluth before finding a road to continue east.  That added about 100 miles to the day.  We have now learned to check the DOT website each day before heading out.

As you can see, There has been a lot of runoff of red dirt into Lake Superior  

Candy and I put our feet in Lake Superior  

Day 9 +166=1824 Miles

This is a nice slow day.  We drove 166 miles this morning.  This afternoon we spent enjoying the fresh air sitting outside the trailer.  We are parked along the St Louis river south of Duluth, MN.  Some of us napped, others looked at maps.  It is nice to have this respite afternoon.  Too much fun!!!Garnet and I got our Minnesota licence plate at Floodwater.  This campground was flooded last week so there is something to this flood business.

Day 8 Bemidgi, Minnesota

This is Paul Bunyan country.  Bemidji is a pretty town on Lake Bemidji.  We enjoyed our drive through town and spotted Paul and Babe along the lake shore.  This was also our first sighting of the Mississippi River.  Found fresh corn on the cob from a street vendor.  Made for a wonderful dinner.  This is beautiful country.  Lots of other people think the same.  RV reservations are difficult to get here.  We got the last 3 spots tonight and will be in an overflow area tomorrow near Duluth.

Day 7 Enchanted Highway

We enjoyed the Enchanted Highway in North Dakota  This country road has 7 large metal sculptures  This one is the largest.  See Gary at the base?

The Tin Family  They range from 45 to 23 feet tall.  All the sculptures are made from recycled materials.  

Here is the worlds largest buffalo in Jamestown, North Dakota  The people are very creative here in their ways to get you to stop in their towns.  

Day 6, Medora, North Dakota 1060 miles

 This bison posed so well.  Spent the day at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

 Beautiful herd of wild horses

This land is beautiful, but not very hospitable.  The native americans had the name right.  Bad Lands.

Days 4-5

These were travel days.  Lots of rain and wind.  Did some group trip planning, decided to add 10 days to the original itinerary.

 We stopped in Vida, MT.  My parents pastored this church from about 1985-1990  The inside looks just the same as when they were there.  I could picture my Dad at the pulpit and my Mom at the piano   Here we are, all three rigs lined up.  Not long after we left here we had a blow out on our trailer.  The guys easily changed it and we got a new tire in the next town.  Back on the road.

Part of the reason for our particular itinerary this trip is to complete the map on our trailer.  Today we added North Dakota.  As you see we have several left to go!

Day 3 Glacier National Park

A beautiful day in Glacier.  The group started by looking at big horn sheep on the ridge across the valley.  Moved on to walking up the trail to Mirror Lake.  Lots of snow on the trail.  Gary and Rich were rewarded for their hike in the snow with a close up encounter with several mountain goat families.