Category Archives: State Park

State Park visited or camped here

August 18, 2013 Marenisco, Michigan

Today had us leaving the northermost point of Michigan and heading south to Lake Gogebic State Park. This very small state park struck us as being more like a county park than a state park. We found a nice shady spot overlooking beautiful Lake Gogebic.

The first day we discovered a leak in the tire stems of the tires on our tow dolly. Lake Gogebic is in a pretty isolated part of Michigan, so we had to spend the day driving 30 miles into Bessemer to get the stems repaired at a small combination Firestone tire and service station. We drove around the town while the work was being done and then drove back to the park. Just goes to show you this lifestyle is not all a walk in the park!

The next two days we drove to Porcupine State Park to do some hiking. We fell in love with this park about 45 minutes from our campground and actually drove there twice to do some hiking. They also introduced us to a new form of geocaching called “letterboxing” and we enjoyed doing that both days. We were both very impressed with this well kept, user friendly park that had wonderful steps around falls and different scenic areas, with numerous benches to rest while hiking. The waterfalls were very nice, but we had definitely been spoiled by the splendor of Tahquamenon Falls.

Lake of the Clouds

View from Lake of the Clouds

Another new trail we hiked on!

Never saw a bear but we had a whistle and were on guard

one of 3 falls

Very nice suspension bridge that took us over to a little peninsula, almost like an island

View from the top of the tower

Steps, steps and more steps, doesn’t even include all the steps we climbed to get to the tower.

Typical walkways found in the park…they really did a wonderful job of buidling walkways and stairways.

August 13, 2013 Copper Harbor, Michigan

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Still marveling about the marvels of Picture Rocks and the surrounding area, we made the drive to the remote area of Copper Harbor, Michigan where we stayed at Fort Wilkins State Park.

We toured Fort Wilkins which was actually a Fort established in the early 1840’s when a copper rush took place in the area and the government was concerned about possible unrest and violence in the area. The fort was only open for a couple years before the copper rush faded. Today they have buildings showing military life during that time and some limited re-inactments.

We decided to do some geocaching since that seems to be the way to see out of the way breathtaking sights. We rode along Lakeshore Road and the highlight of the day was a drive up Brockman Mountain. The sights were breathtaking and the geocaches for the most part easy.

It was windy as you can tell by my hair!

Bill finding a geocache on top of Brockman Mountain.

Joshua’s Falls

Fresh blueberries were abundant in the woods and forests of Michigan. August is prime blueberry picking time in Michigan and when they have their blueberry festivals.

Copper Harbor was beautiful, though a little less remote and isolated than we expected and a bit touristy. We found the end of US 41 which goes from Michigan to Miami. Bill has now been at both ends!

August 3, 2013 Paradise, Michigan

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We arrived in Paradise, and Michigan was certainly living up to the name! We settled in at Tahquamenon Falls State Park, a very nice state park with tall trees and green grass. The weather while we were there was cooler than we expected, and a little wet. We did have some beautiful weather the day we went to Tahquamenon Falls, our main reason for going to Paradise. Tahquamenon Falls are two different waterfalls on the Tahquamenon River near Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula. The upper falls which is 200 feet across and with a drop of 48 feet, is the most spectacular. During the spring runoff the river drains as much as 50,000 gallons of water per second. The brown color of the falls is due from the tannis leached from the cedar swamps which the river drains.

We lost track of the number of steps we went up and down at the Upper and Lower falls. Let’s just say….A LOT!

We hiked and did geocaching on part of this trail.

Bill was glad he could add another trail to his list!

The lower falls are a series of 5 smaller falls cascading around an island. They had rowboats available for rent so you could row across to the island. It was pretty windy that day and we were tired from the climbing of many many steps to get to the upper and lower falls, so we decided not to rent a rowboat.

Lower falls not as spectacular and grand as the Upper.

We met a new friend, Bullwinkle!

Tahquamenon is in Longfellow’s “The Song of Hiawatha”. Years ago, the Ojibwa Indians lived, farmed, fished and trapped along the Tahquamenon River.

Also while we were in Paradise we drove up to Whitefish Point Lighthouse on Whitefish Bay overlooking Lake Superior. There they have a lighthouse and mariner museum. We found there are MANY lighthouses in Michigan! This lighthouse is the oldest operating lighthouse on Lake Superior and is at a critical turning point for entering or leaving Lake Superior. The current tower was built during Lincoln’s administration! Whitefish Point is known as the Graveyard of Ships since more ships have been lost here than in any other part of Lake Superior. Hundreds of ships, including the famous Edmund Fitzgerald, lies at the bottom of the bay. The lighthouse is at the end of an 80 mile stretch of shoreline known as Lake Superior’s Shipwreck Coast. The many rocks that line all the coasts of Michigan definitely explains why. It is too detailed to go into here, but if you have time, research more about the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The light from the lighthouse had shone without fail for 150 years until the night of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

On the way back from the lighthouse we decided to do a few geocaches in the area. We knew we were in a wilderness area of Michigan, but one geocache took us down a road that went from gravel to dirt to sand. When the sand reached the hub caps we realized we were about to become stuck and barely managed to back up without getting stuck. We did find another road and did grab the geocache! We won’t easily forget that one!

July 29, 2013 St Ignace, Michigan

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We left Cadillac and continued to be in awe of the Michigan beauty as we arrived at St Ignace, Michigan for a 5 night stay at the Tiki RV Park. As we passed from the lower peninsula into the upper peninsula of Michigan, we crossed the beautiful Mackinac Bridge. We were told that the Upper and Lower peninsulas were like two separate worlds. The people in the Upper Peninsula call themselves “Yoopers”. We were also told that in the last 30 years the Upper peninsula felt so different from the Lower peninsula that they wanted to become their own state.

We had heard so much about Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw) Island we were eager to visit so that was first on our list. We had to take a ferry over to the island which is located on Lake Huron. We took our bikes since we heard we could bike around the island. After a 30 minute ferry ride we arrived at the island and it seemed we went back in time. No vehicles have been allowed on the island since 1898 so the only transportation is on foot, by bike, or horse drawn carriage. The day we visited the main street was busy with throngs of people on foot or on bike. It was strange to see people’s luggage being taken off the ferry and loaded onto bikes or horse drawn carriage to be taken to the hotel. The main hotel and parts of the island were used in the filming of the movie “Somewhere in Time”. We visited the information center for a map of the island and quickly left the center of town for a quieter part of the island. We had to walk the bikes up a very steep hill to get to the fort which was the site of 2 battles during the War of 1812.. Once there we rode around the upper part of the island and saw a scout barracks with a statue of Gerald Ford. These barracks are used by boy scouts and girl scouts on alternate weeks. They have served as Mackinac Island Honor Guards since 1929 and Gerald Ford was once an Honor Guard scout.

We also saw Arch Rock , a natural limestone arch that stands 146 feet above the shoreline. We viewed it from the top of the island and then later from the lakeshore while bike riding.

We were hungry after all that hilly biking so we rode back down into the town and had lunch at a local bed and breakfast. They cooked lunch for us outside on a grill and then we sat on their veranda and ate our lunch and watched the people walk and bike by. We spent the afternoon biking around the island lakeshore where it was level and much easier to bike. We also spent time doing quite a few geocaches on the island as well.

View of the island

We so enjoyed this bike trail along the lakeshore!

We appreciated the free air on main street!

Bill along the bike trail. A nice wide bike trail with a gorgeous view!

It was common to see buggies and horse drawn carriages on the island, mainly to give rides to tourists.

I will say we did see one ambulance on the island and I imagine they also have a fire engine or two for such emergencies. One downside to the island was the effects on the roadways from having all those horses pulling wagons and buggies and carriages…..need I saw more?

We enjoyed our day on the island and took the ferry back to the campground with many happy memories of our time on the island.

The next day we decided to make a quick visit to Castle Rock which was located fairly close to the campground. We climbed many very steep steps to get to the top and were rewarded with a great view. Not to mention meeting Paul Bunyan and his blue ox!

On another day we drove to Sault Ste Marie, the oldest city in Michigan and the third oldest in the country. It was our first glimpse of Lake Superior, the largest lake in the world by area and the third largest in volume. Our main reason for going there was to see the Soo Locks. We lucked out and arrived in time to see a ship enter the locks. Very interesting!

July 20, 2013 Holland, Michigan

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We left Monroe and headed to Holland. It was going to be hard to beat the incredible experience of the Ford Museum and Deerfield Village. We were hoping for a break in the heat. A storm had knocked out power the evening before and when we left Monroe, the power still had not been restored at the campground. The new morning brought continued heat and we were glad to be leaving the campground with no power. The heavy rain during the night and lack of AC in the RV had kept us from having a restful night.

We arrived at Holland State Park, our home for the next 4 nights. While driving into Holland we were excited to notice the paved bike path along the roadway on one side of the road and the beautiful Lake Michigan on the other side. The Great Lakes contain nearly 20% of the world’s surface fresh water and is the largest connected freshwater system in the world.

The weather had changed and we had gusty winds which were refreshing after the stifling heat of the past several days. We walked down to the beach and the wind was blowing so hard it had covered much of the parking areas and sidewalks. It was hard to tell where the sidewalks ended and the beach began. We actually had to put on jackets while out on the beach.

The blowing sand reminded me of snow drifts.

Holland lighthouse known as “Big Red”.

Tranquil scene common in Holland.

One day we decided to ride the bike trail into the town of Holland from the state park….a ride of over 12 miles round trip. We were tired, but saw some beautiful scenery.

Bill showing off his shirt from his retirement party.

Holland, Michigan known for windmills and tulips, as well as beautiful beaches.

July 18, 2013 Monroe, Michigan

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We joyfully passed over the Michigan border and stopped at the Michigan Visitor Center. A very nice worker there filled our bag with all kinds of brochures to fill our days in Michigan. It was rather overwhelming to look at all the possibilities stretched out before our eager eyes. Our first campground reservation was at Sterling State Park in Monroe, Michigan. It was dreadfully hot and we found the major difference between campgrounds in Michigan and those in other states we were familiar with, was that most of the Michigan state park campgrounds were not full hookup facilities. It was common in Michigan to have electric only sites. We realized quickly that for most of our stays in Michigan we would have to plan accordingly and ration the water in our fresh water tank and monitor the amount of waste in our sewer tanks so we would not have to move during our stay for water or to dump.

We set our early the next morning and drove to Dearborn, Michigan to see the Henry Ford Museum. Little did we know what a treasure of information and sights we would discover there. It turned out that in addition to the Ford Museum, there was also Greenfield Village next door. Greenfield Village is an outdoor village with several historic districts featuring Ford, Edison, and the Wright Brothers. Henry Ford spent a great deal of money buying and reconstructing important buildings and events in history. Due to the extreme heat, we chose to walk through Greenfield Village first since all the exhibits were outside. We figured we would save the air conditioned Ford Museum for afternoon and in case of afternoon thunderstorms. There is no way to describe Greenfield Village or the Ford Museum. The easiest way to show you is through pictures.

Greenfield Village:

This is the 150th anniversary of Henry Ford’s birth.

This is the bicycle shop owned by the Wright brothers in Dayton, Ohio that was reconstructed in Greenfield Village.

This is the front room of the Wright brothers bicycle shop.

Room in the bicycle shop where the Wright brothers repaired bicycles.

This is where the Wright brothers built their glider.

The Wright brothers lived in this house in Dayton, Ohio which was reconstructed in Greenfield Village. They had a small play on the steps with actors portraying Orville, Wilbur and their sister.

Bill with a statue of Henry Ford.

Henry Ford home.

As a retired teacher I especially liked this quote on the blackboard in Henry Ford’s schoolhouse.

Bill standing outside the original Ford Motor Company.

Henry Ford’s first attempt at building a car.

Train rides were available on this train. It was built in 1877 and sometime in the early 20th century Ford bought it and began a makeover of the engine.

Bill and I rode in a Model T car. This particular model T was actually used in days past as a taxi.

Bill is shown a demonstration of a working single piston gasoline engine by a guide in Greenfield Village.

It was common to see Model T ford cars throughout the streets of Greenfield Village giving tours.

Also common to see people in period costumes.

Bill with statue of Thomas Edison.

Edison’s workshop.

Edison’s workshop.

Of particular interest to my Charlottesville family and friends, as well as my teacher friends.

The McGuffey school was constructed in 1934 in Greenfield Village as a memorial to William McGuffey. It was built of logs from a barn on the farm in Washington County, Pennsylvania where McGuffey was born in 1800.

The home of Robert Frost was was purchased by Henry Ford and moved from Ann Arbor Michigan to Deerfield Village.

Noah Webster house moved from New Haven to Deerfield Village.

A quote about Noah Webster on the wall of his home. The home had on display some of his first dictionaries.

After grabbing a quick lunch in Greenfield Village, we gratefully walked into the refreshing coolness of the Ford museum.

The actual chair Lincoln was sitting in at Ford Theater when he was shot.

An “exploded” view of a Model T….what it would look like if it was taken apart.

Franklin Roosevelt’s presidential car.

Rear of Roosevelt’s car.

Eisenhower’s 1950 Lincoln presidential car.

The car Kennedy was riding in when he was assassinated. The bubble top has been put back on the car.

Oldest surviving school bus.

Second car to cross the United States.

The actual bus Rosa Parks was sitting in when she refused to give up her seat in 1955.

Bill sitting on the Rosa Parks bus.

Rear of the Rosa Parks bus.

The end of a long and busy day. What an incredible experience!

While doing some quick geocaching in Monroe we came across this statue of General George Custer.

Born in New Rumley, Ohio, George A. Custer grew up in Monroe in the home of his half sister.

Statue of General George Custer in downtown Monroe. Unveiled June 4, 1910. Also known as “Sighting the Enemy”.

July 12, 2013 Richmond, KY

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After traveling through the beautiful hills of Tennessee and Kentucky, we arrived at Boonesborough State Park. We found a lovely site with grass and trees, but the campground was very crowded as it was one of 4 weekends of the year where campers could come and sell their various yard sale treasure. Riding our bikes around the campground was a true test of nerves as we dodged cars, RVs, campers, and many children playing and riding bikes in the street. Our biggest complaint was a water treatment plant in the park which ran 24 hours a day and made it impossible to sleep with our windows open at night, despite the cool temperatures.

We toured Fort Boonesborough where we imagined walking in Daniel Boone’s footsteps and learned about frontier life. They had reenactments and people dressed in period clothing. It reminded me somewhat of Jamestown and Williamsburg, but on a much smaller scale.

Next on our list was Natural Bridge where we rode a sky lift to the top. The views were amazing and we walked a few trails at the top, one of which took us to the bottom of the bridge. Kentucky’s Natural Bridge doesn’t really hold a candle to the one in my home state of Virginia, but on the positive side the Kentucky bridge is much less commercialized, and the view can’t be beat!

Sky lift to the top. An amazing view!!

We hiked down to the bottom of the bridge. We had to shimmy our way through very narrow passageways between rocks to get there.

We also drove to Lexington, the horse capital of the world and a beautiful area of the state. We spent time doing some geocaching.

It was suggested that we go to a restaurant near the campground that made great Hot Brown sandwiches and fried banana peppers. Let’s just say, everyone should experience them once, but once is enough.

July 6, 2013 Lake Guntersville AL

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After staying overnight in Greenville, Alabama, we arrived at Lake Guntersville State Park. Our first week on the road had been great except for the torrential rains that had dogged us since we left Clearwater. We were rather tired of setting up in the rain, preparing to leave in the rain, hooking the car to the tow dolly in the rain, and unhooking the car in the rain. As we listened to rain pounding the roof and keeping us awake, we longed for sunny days, but also realized we were so very lucky that we didn’t have to set up a tent, take down a tent, cook and run to the bathhouse in the rain!

Lake Guntersville is beautiful and seemed even more so after sunshine finally greeted us on our arrival. We did have some mud to contend with, but we found a good site to park the RV. We were both surprised at the lack of trees in the campground. We found out that the tornado that tore through the area in April, 2011 destroyed many of the beautiful trees in the park. We noticed that many new trees had been planted but it will take many years before they can begin to provide shade and give the campground the appearance of a real park. We were also told that the campground is still cleaning up from the devastation and not all of the campground has reopened.

Our main reason for visiting Guntersville was to see some of Bill’s relatives, and we had a very nice visit with them while in the area.

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July 3, 2013 Niceville FL

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On July 3 we drove to Niceville FL and stayed at the Rocky Bayou State Park. Our main reason for stopping in Niceville was to spend the 4th of July with our dear friends June and Randy. It was raining heavily on our rather long drive. It reminded me of just how long and wide Florida really is! We had reservations at an RV park that was 30 miles from June and Randy’s, and really wanted something closer. We decided to cancel our reservations at the one RV park and take our chances at Rocky Bayou. It was a risky move on a holiday weekend, but because of the weather forecast calling for continued torrential rains for several days, we took our chances on a cancellation at the state park. As luck would have it, Bill’s instincts paid off and we were able to secure a site for our 3 day stay. June and Randy’s 4th of July beach party had to be moved indoors, but we had a delightful time eating barbecue and playing dominoes. We also enjoyed meeting and visiting with June’s brother and his wife, and Randy’s brother and his wife, as well as Randy and June’s son and grandson. June had decorated the table beautifully for the 4th of July. June and Randy are such gracious host and hostess!

July 1, 2013 St Joseph’s Peninsula FL

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After spending our first night at Manatee Springs State Park, we arrived on July 1st at Port St Joe FL and stayed at St Joseph Peninsula State Park . As you can see from the pictures, even in the middle of summer, the beach is not at all crowded. It doesn’t look like it, but there were strong winds while we were there, so they had red warning flags flying during our stay. Beautiful beach and gorgeous sunsets! Who could ask for anything more!

Through the Eyes of the Selphs

Bill and Diane's travel notes and pictures

Category Archives: State Park

August 18, 2013 Marenisco, Michigan

August 13, 2013 Copper Harbor, Michigan

August 3, 2013 Paradise, Michigan

July 29, 2013 St Ignace, Michigan

July 20, 2013 Holland, Michigan

July 18, 2013 Monroe, Michigan

July 12, 2013 Richmond, KY

July 6, 2013 Lake Guntersville AL

July 3, 2013 Niceville FL

July 1, 2013 St Joseph’s Peninsula FL