2014 Western Camping...Day 7...Monday, June 9, 2014

The weather is not cooperating this morning. I'm up around 7:00 for coffee...under dark and cloudy skies with a light rain falling. Roger cooks up a “skillet breakfast” inside the motor home...potatoes, onions, eggs and sausage...all scrambled together. We plot our “strategy” for the day...no sense renting a boat if it's raining, so we decide to wait until 10:00AM to see if the weather breaks. By 10:00, we see a few patches of blue in the sky, so we are mildly optimistic. But it soon clouds over again and the light rain resumes.
At noon, we make a “command decision”...no boating trip for us today...time to pack up and get back on the road. We figure that we'll drive four hours or so to the town of Warroads, Minnesota and camp there for the night. Naturally, the weather breaks once we get on the road...a sunny, but long, drive.
In Warrorads, we stop for gas. We could camp here for the night...or...we could drive another 160 miles to Bathgate, North Dakota and camp at the home of one of Roger's best friends, Garyl. We opt to drive on.
It's a “tough” three and a half hour drive and, when we at last arrive at Garyl's, we are all pretty “beat”. Garyl is an excellent host...and we soon set up camp with electrical hookups. We set up chairs in Garyl's driveway and enjoy a few cocktails before dinner. Garyl and Roger worked together for several years, and there are many amusing stories of their times together.
A light dinner is consumed...and more than a few bottles of wine are opened...and emptied.
Another long (very) day and another early night.

2014 Western Camping...Day 6...Sunday, June 8, 2014

The usual “morning ritual”...up early for coffee and breakfast. Then, we are on the road once again. It's a long drive today...north out of Cloquet up to Voyageurs National Park...way up in the northern part of Minnesota near the Canadian Border.
Voyageurs National Park is almost exclusively a “boaters” park. Their are a series of lake and rivers comprising the park, and most of that is accessible only from the water. We arrive late afternoon and drive to one of several Visitor's Centers. The ranger is not particularly helpful, but we get a “guide” to the area. We are at Lake Kabetogama, and there is a choice between camping at one of several National Forest Campgrounds or private camping at one of the many resorts and lodges on the south shore of the lake. We opt for sites in a small resort on a secluded cove. It's too late to do much today, but we plan out our activities for tomorrow...rent a pontoon boat, bar hop around the shore of the lake, dock at one of many small islands for lunch. It should be a very fun day.
Afternoon “cocktail hour” begins...Roger splits some logs with his “splitter ax” for a nice big fire. A “snacking dinner” of nuts, chips and salsa, cheese dip, some smoked whitefish.
It's been a long day...and we have our “big day” tomorrow. Off to bed before 10:00PM.

2014 Western Camping...Day 5...Saturday, June 7, 2014

Another early morning of coffee...and a very light breakfast.
Leaving Munising, we stop at a small grocery for more pasties. Now we have a drive of several hours to Minnesota...to a KOA Campground just outside of Duluth in the town of Cloquet, Minnesota. Along the way, we stop a few times for fuel (I'm only getting 10-11mpg towing the camper, so my “cruising range” is only about 200 miles or so). At 12:00, we stop at a roadside park for a lunch,,,enjoying the pasties we bought in the morning.
Late afternoon, we arrive at the KOA in Cloquet. My cousin, Bill, and I camped here last year, and it was a pretty nice campground. But...not so nice this time around. First, they bill the wrong bank card for my stay, and I get “dinged” with an overdraft fee...so my $30.00 site becomes a $60.00 site. It's rained here, and the campground is really muddy. Their Wi-Fi is not working, so no Internet access.
We grill some bratwurst and bacon for dinner...open a few bottles of wine...builsd another fire in our wet and muddy firepit.
We get out our atlas to plan our trip for tomorrow. We decide to head north to Voyageurs National Park. I had to skip that stop last year, so I'm excited now to get a chance to visit a “new” National Park.
A few “bourbons” around the campfire, but it's windy and cold.
Yet another early night.

2014 Western Camping...Day 4...Friday, June 6, 2014

Another early morning with Roger...coffee, followed by another “monster” breakfast, supplemented this morning with several pieces of French Toast.
Around 10:00AM, we pack up and head out on the road again. On the way out of town, we pick up a few “pasties” for dinner. A few hours later, we have arrived in Munising, Michigan. There's a city-owned campground, so we check in there. It's got a nice view of Lake Superior, but layout of the camping sites is not very well thought out. The water hookups are at least thirty feet away...the electric even further. We have to use every water hose and extension cord that we have.
We are right near the historic “Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore”, and there are boat trips available. Everyone recommends the “sunset cruise”, so we book that for tonight. There are no taxis in Munising, but there is a guy who ferries people around in a small bus for $5.00 a trip. So, after a late afternoon “snack” of pasties and red wine, we head to the docks for our boat rip. It lasts for 3 ½ hours, and the views...caves, lots of colors, majestic cliffs...are most impressive. We all get a lot of great photos.
A little before 9:30PM, we're back at the docks, and our bus driver takes us a mile or so up the road to an American Legion Club. We're the only patrons at this hour, so we enjoy a few quick cocktails and head back to camp.
Another long day...another early night.

2014 Western Camping...Day 3...Thursday, June 5, 2014

Roger and I are both “early-risers” and, this morning, we're enjoying our first cup of coffee at 6:30PM.
It got down into the very low 40's last night so, before I climbed into bed, I turned on the furnace in my camper for ten minutes or so to warm things up. Then, nestled under my down comforter, I was plenty warm for the rest of the night.
Roger cooks up one of his classic breakfasts...Nueske's bacon, sausages, eggs, toast, milk and more coffee. Thus fortified, we grab a shuttle bus from the campground to the ferry docks for our ride over to Mackinac Island for the day. The ferry ride is nice...it's a sunny ride of twenty minutes or so. On the Island, we immediately head for the first bar that we see for Bloody Marys and beer...then across the street to the “Pink Pony” for another round.
And so...for the next five hours or so, we hike around town...stopping for more beers, a little shopping, and a bite here and there. I get some whitefish “fingers” that are excellent. And, towards the end of the day, we find a nice little wine bar where we all enjoy a glass of really excellent California Cabernet.
By 3:00PM or so, we've had enough of “bar hopping”, so we get back on the ferry and return to the campground for more cocktails.
We've eaten well during the day, so dinner consists of some sliced salami, a few pieces of cheese and crackers...and, of course, more wine. At sunset, we build another big fire. But...it's been a long day...and, by 9:30PM, we have all retired for the evening.

2014 Western Camping...Day 2...Wednesday, June 4, 2014

At 6:00AM or so, I'm up after a good night's sleep. My new camper is insulated well, so I've gotten through the night without having to turn the furnace on. Inside, I set up my coffeemaker and brew a pot. Over the next hour or so, I enjoy my coffee and a morning cigar while I check my emails.
Later, I hike for an hour around the campground before returning to camp for breakfast. I made about two dozen pieces of French Toast before I left home, so I heat up a few of those along with more coffee, a glass of orange juice and some milk.
Cousin Bill would like to have my “Go Anywhere” portable toilet for his camper, and I don't need it anymore because I now have a toilet right inside my camper. I had intended to mail it to cousin Bill before I left home, but things got busy, so I brought it with me to mail from up here. I drive 30 miles or so to the FedEx office in Petoskey where they dutifully pack everything up.
I head back to Mackinaw City for lunch...a little family place with good whitefish. I enjoy another big platter of fried whitefish and finish things off with a very large piece of coconut cream pie.
Back at camp, Roger and Gretchen have arrived. I help them set up camp. Later in the afternoon, we settle in for cocktail hour. I break out my bottle of “Eagle Rare”, and we put a pretty good “dent” in that. Roger rustles up a great dinner, and we enjoy that with some wine...a lot of wine.
As night falls, we build a big fire and settle into comfortable chairs for warmth and more wine...a lot more wine.
By 10:00PM, we're all pretty beat, so off to bed.

2014 Western Camping...Day 1...Tuesday, June 3, 2014

The “plan” was to leave on my camping trip yesterday, but a fehead out on this, the “best” day of the year for me. I pet each of the cats, then i'm out the door. It's about five hours to Mackinaw City...overcast skies, but light traffic.
Around 1:00PM, I get my “conference call” from Florida. There is money to be distributed. I have my ideas on distribution...they have theirs. I'm “tough” in the negotiations, and my ideas prevail. But I'm also careful to make some strategic concessions so that everybody can walk away a “winner”. I am very glad when the call is finally over.
The rest of the drive goes by quickly and, around 2:00PM, I'm pulling into the “Tee Pee” Campground. The owner is a friendly guy, and he puts me in one of the best camping sites in the whole park. Other than some playground equipment, I've got a great view of the bridge...and I'm close to the restrooms.
I set up camp pretty fast...I just have to hook up to electric and water. A couple have just been married, and the wedding party is getting photos taken on the beach under cloudy skies.
Around 5:00PM or so, I pour myself a healthy shot of Eagle Rare Bourbon on the rocks and relax at my picnic table. At 7:00PM, I walk about a 1/3 of a mile up the highway from the campground to the Blue Water Grill for dinner...another bourbon and a big platter of fried whitefish...very good. I chat with a guy at the bar...retired 101st Airborne. He just moved up here from Kalamazoo and bought 50 acres o0f land with a nice house...he's enjoying the solitude.
Around 8:30PM, I hike back to camp for a few beers before bed. It's cold, but I'm prepared. Last year, my cousin, Bill, and I froze our rearends off up here. So...this winter, I shopped sales on the Internet and bought down vests, jackets and other “cold weather” gear. Tonight, it's down in the low 40's, but I'm nice and warm in a down vest, fleece vest and flannel-lined jeans.
Around 10:00PM or so, I'm pretty tired...so...off to bed.