Big Bone Lick State Park, Kentucky

We left Peru Indiana on Monday, and headed to Union Kentucky to Big Bone Lick State Park, I know, I laugh every time I say it!  When we got here we were pleasantly surprised to find two things....  The park was almost empty, and it was buy one night, get one night free!!  So normally it is $23 for one night, but we paid $23 for two nights, that's $11.50 per night!!!  Wooo Hooo!!!


We picked out a nice spot, and set up camp

 

We were loving it!!  It was so quiet, compared to the last place due to the fact that it was the weekend and the campground had like 300 sites, and it filled up quick.  Our neighbors were interested in playing loud music, all kinds of music, until wee hours of the morning, we found that distasteful!
But this place only has about 60 sites, and there were maybe 5 spots full when we got here.

The weather has been AWESOME!!  All sun, no wind, mid 70's.  So nice that I chose to watch The Voice outside by the fire!  Now who gets to do that on a Tuesday night?

We found that this park had quite a few trails for us to hike on, and they have a herd of Bison, and lots of historic information due to the salt springs that are here. 
So first we thought we go check out the Bison, we drove a little distance down to the Museum, and headed out on the trail that led to the Bison pen, it wasn't very far.

They had about a dozen Bison including some babies, they are trying to repopulate the area with them, as the Bison used to come to this area regularly to drink from the river and lick the salt from the spring.

We continued on down the Bison trail, and cut off onto another trail that looped us back around to the parking lot, it was only about a mile for today.  After that we headed back to camp to have dinner, drinks, and a fire.

The next day we took the trail down to the lake, there was an access to the trail right across from our campsite.  Now when I say "HIKE" I mean HIKE!!  These trails were for real, some parts of them look more like deer paths or water run offs, up hills and down hills, many rocks, roots, and mud.  It was challenging but keeps you more interested in the hike.
We got to the lake, it was small, almost looked man made

Jemma took a little dip, and then we were back to it. 

We also came across a dead deer, right in the middle of the trail, which I found to be eerie!!  It looked fairly fresh, but was starting to bloat slightly, we couldn't find any signs of how it died, and it was a pretty big doe, looked healthy, so we decided maybe she fell down the hill and broke her neck.  Then we decided it best to keep moving, as we had heard coyotes the night before.  We hiked about 2.5 miles on this treacherous trail, we were pooped, but then we had to walk back up the hill to the campground, HOLY CRAP!!  It was a doozie!

We decided that we were having so much fun here that we wanted to stay for another night, so the next day Shane went to pay for another night, and it was still buy one, get one, yay!!  So we are staying until Friday!  I was totally fine with this, it is very nice here.  In our down time we got all the vehicles washed, the laundry done, and I got to clean the inside of the house, so we were quite busy.

We went back to the museum the next day, to check out the other trails over there, but this time we hiked from the campground from a trail that was at the back of the campground that leads down to there.  The museum was cool, they had a little gift shop, and lots of historic bones that they have found here. 

They had these swampy areas that looked like ground, but was watery, and mucky underneath, so the prehistoric animals would fall in and die, and that's why they are finding all these bones.  They had this creepy little display that tells about, it was interesting.

We walked along the river and back, and decided to head back to camp, as we were walking along, I saw a snake up ahead, and wigged out.  I made Shane throw some sticks at it to see if we could get it to move along, but it wouldn't move, we thought it was dead, and then we noticed that it was stuck in this ridiculous netting they had placed on the ground to try to keep the run off from washing down debris. 

I was upset that this poor snake was stuck in a man made device, so I insisted on trying to help it, and yes I even touched it, ewwww!!  But for some reason I just couldn't let it sit there and die, so I ran back down to the museum and explained the situation to the park ranger, who was more than happy to come and assist. 

He brought some scissors, and started working on trying to free the poor snake, it was a black rat snake, so nothing dangerous.  After quite awhile of scissoring through the net, he finally got him free, and the snake was off.  I think he even looked back to thank us, LOL!!

Well we are headed out fairly early on Friday, and we are headed to Buckhorn Campgound in Buckhorn Kentucky, we will stay there through the weekend and probably until Monday.  I will update when we get there!

Leaving Michigan

Well....  we have left Michigan!!  It was bitter sweet, as we were excited to get on the road, it was sad to leave my Mom and Ken!

We had a great time up there!! I got to spend time with some family, and friends, and I enjoyed it!!
We did a few funny memorable things.... Like the "Redneck Party Wagon" we decided to make to take over to my cousins house, hauled by the four wheeler. 

 

 

Shane and I decided to take a yard wagon and decorate it like... well, like a redneck party wagon!! Complete with a covered wagon canopy look. I made strings of beer cans, and plastic cups to hang from the sides, we put some rope lighting on it, threw some lawn chairs in it, and rode in it down the road, it was hilarious!

Mom and Ken decided they wanted to ride in it on the way home, Good times!!

Got to hang out out with my bestie Missy quite a bit, she came over with her new boyfriend a few times, and we had cookouts and bon fires.

She loved Jemma!!  Also got to hang out out with another friend Nikki, and her very cute son, Gavin.  I just love her, she is so awesome!!  She is the dog lady

 

We played washers almost daily with Mom and Ken, and drank lots!!  We had bon fires every weekend.

 

 

 

We went to the Demolition Scramble at Eagle Days

 

We spent a few evenings at there favorite casino in Battle Creek, FireKeepers, didn't win anything but had a good time trying!

 

Got to see my Aunt Donna, Uncle Dave, and cousin Leslie.  They came over one evening to hang out, and my Uncle brought the boat that he hand made from scratch, it was awesome!!  And Aunt Donna surprised us with a Beautifully decorated cake that she had made from scratch, that we were just in aww over.  She had so much detail on this cake, I was very impressed, thanks again Aunt Donna for your thoughtfulness and time, and of course the cake... It was yummy, even though I hated to cut into it!

 

And shortly before we left we saw this beautiful rainbow, we could see the whole thing, and the colors were so vivid, it was inspiring, made me want to go look for the pot of gold, ha ha ha!

All in all, we had a GREAT time here. and I cant thank my Mom and Ken enough for letting us stay and entertaining us while we were there.  I will miss them very much, and cant wait to see them again.

We left here on Sunday September 15th, and headed back to Elkhart Indiana, it was late and raining when we left so it was a long stressful drive, but we made it fine.  We stayed the night in the parking lot of the RV Museum, they allow one night stay over.  The next morning we headed 10 minutes down the road to the repair shop.

Let me just say.... If you ever need work done...  DO NOT take it to RV Capital, THEY SUCK!!!!
We were here in June, and the things that they couldn't fix then, they were supposed to be fixing now, they had some parts they were supposed to order and have ready for our return. Of course we called 2 weeks before leaving to schedule our return, the person we dealt with was no longer working there, but we spoke with another person, who assured us all would be taken care of.  We then emailed the new guy the list, along with some pictures of the things that needed repair.
We also called again, 1 week before our departure, and again was told, everything will be taken care of, and all is in order.  So we drop it off on Monday, and go out to find something to do, come back around closing, and we are told that everything is going well, and no problems, but they are not done yet.  They allowed us to stay in the parking lot so we didn't have to go anywhere, so the next day we pack everything in, and head out, we had breakfast at Cracker Barrel, and the visitor center was right behind the cracker barrel, so we stopped in to get the tour cd for The Heritage Trail.  If you are ever stuck in Elkhart, I would highly recommend doing this, it is a 90 mile drive, guided by the cd, they take you through some places you would never even know is there without it.  Also gives you info on the histories and the lifestyles of the Amish, as this is major Amish country.
Anyways, when we got back we noticed the camper was still in the same spot it was when we left, so Shane went in to talk to them, and sure enough, they hadn't touched it!!  To make a long story short, they had no parts, they had not gotten prior warranty approvals, they had no idea where to even begin!!  I was so pissed, if they weren't ready for us, they should have fricken told us that when we called twice before showing up!!  They were supposed to be replacing my stove, but couldn't get approval for it, so they were trying to fix it, and dented it in two different spots, with the paint chipped off, UGGGGHHHH!!!  they fixed like maybe 3 things, out of our list of like 20 things, and that is only because Shane had to go over the list with them twice a day, every day, otherwise I don't think they would have touched anything.  After 5 days of this BULL, we had had enough and decided to just leave, and have them send the parts to a different repair shop further south.  We will try again when our patience allows it!

We left Elkhart and drove about 2 hours south, to Mississenewa Lake Campground, in Peru Indiana.  We have been here since Friday, just trying to get things back in order.  Decided to stay Sunday night also, so we could watch the race.  We will leave on Monday, and head to Kentucky, I will let you know when we get there!

 

 

 

 

Michigan Lighthouse Tour 2013

Sooooo..... So much to tell.  It is the end of August, and we took our trip, and here is how it went:
We left on Monday August the 12th, and our first stop was about an hour and a half away in Holland, MI.  The first stops were along the west coast which is the Lake Michigan side.  We stayed two nights at Holland State Park, the park is directly across the street from Lake Macatawa, which is also a beautiful lake.

  I made a big boo boo and didn't realize that we only had electric and no water.  We did not figure this out until we were already set up in our site, oopsie!!  It was fine though we had just enough water in our tank to get us through the two nights. 
The park was decent, sites were wooded but right next to a busy road which always sucks due to the road noise, it takes away from the "camping" feel of it.  The bathrooms were  nice, the showers were in individual rooms so you got a very private shower room all to yourself.

 

 

The next day we set to hike the trail that went to Mount Pisgah, where i was sure there would be beautiful views.  The trail lead to the towering dune east of the Holland State Park, with its apex 157 feet above Lake Michigan, the boardwalk culminates with breathtaking views of Lake Macatawa, marinas, Lake Michigan and Big Red, the light house.

 

 

 

This was a very nice hike through the woods, and then down a boardwalk to the top.  After our hike we took a drive to see some of the other near by light houses.  our first stop was to Grand Haven where the light house was a slight disappointment because it was under construction but still a nice beach and pier.

Our next lighthouse was in Muskegon where they have the lighthouse and the breakwater lights

 We decided to walk out on the pier.  The wind was blowing and it was a brisk 65 degrees that day so we were a tad bit cold but it was worth the walk, very nice views.

Then we headed back to the campground to relax for awhile before dinner, fire and bed.

The next day we headed out to our next stop in Mears, Silver Lake State Park where the dunes are that we had been to before.  This has always been on of my favorite places, the dunes are awesome!!

Our campsite here was very roomy, we liked it, fairly quiet campground

While we stayed here we  of course went to see Little Sable Point lighthouse, right here in Mears, it has been my favorite one so far, made out of brick, and kept up very nicely. 

They allow you to go in and up to the top for $2.00 per person, but of course they don't allow dogs!!!!  So we didn't go, we just admired from here.

After this one we took a drive to Ludington to see the lighthouse there, you could access the 1.5 mile trail that leads you to the lighthouse from Ludington State Park.  This was an awesome park!!  Huge!!  It had 3 campgrounds in it, although the sites were small and the park was crowded, it was still one of my favs.  Not only was it right on Lake Michigan, but it had Hamlin Lake on the other side, so it was surrounded by water.  They had many trails and paths, including a boardwalk on the lake.  It was nice but not sure if our big rig would fit in the campgrounds.
So we headed off on the trail to see the lighthouse, nice trail but not much shade

We took a side trip through some dunes to get down to the water, even though they are Extremely strict about "NO DOGS ON BEACH", Jemma needed a pool break bad!!  So I just carried her down to the water.  They also stated that there was remains of an old shipwreck on the beach at this spot, but we didn't see anything, just nice views of Lake Michigan.

After the detour we headed back onto the trail and finally made it to the lighthouse.

This one they do not let you up in but they have a little store/museum here, with restrooms, and a story about a really tree.  Jemma was happy to take a little break.

The entire hike was 4.8 miles, so we were pretty tuckered after that.  We then headed to one more light house that was on our way back to the campground in Pentwater.  Unfortunately we couldn't get close to this one because of course, no dogs on beach, and you had to cross the beach to get to the pier.  We were fine with due to all the walking we had just done, so we parked as close as we could get and just enjoyed the views from the truck.

When we got back to Silver Lake we headed over to the Fox Barn Market to taste some of their locally made wine, and browse the shop, then back to the campground for the evening.

The next day we headed to our next stop in Traverse City, at Traverse City State Park.  We made it there no problems, and got set up.  I guess I forgot to take a picture of this site, oops, sorry.

The next day we headed out to drive around the Sleeping Bear Dunes area to see what we could see!  I was of course navigating, and got us on a dirt road that turned into a seasonal logging road, YIKES!!  Thank goodness we had 4 wheel drive, because we needed it.  It was very sandy with some muddy spots, but we made it out ok, and it was actually pretty cool.  There were many trailheads that crossed this road for the ATV's and the snowmobiles.

Once we got out of here the first town we came to was Frankfort

Along the way we passed by many of Michigan's beautiful lakes, They are breathtaking!!  So big, and sooo blue!!

Crystal Lake

Long Lake

And then e were entering the Dunes area, we took a side road off to what looked to be a very popular tubing area on Platte river.  We accidentally forgot our kayak on this trip, which was a bummer because this would have been a perfect spot!!  They have a few different put in spots, and then rivers down and into Lake Michigan, where the take spot is, it was really nice

  

I saw a little salamander here on the river bank, he was cute

And then back on journey.  We did not stop at the Dune walk simply because.... well.... we had already walked plenty of dunes, and decided it wasn't a must do. 
Then we came to the Point Betsie lighthouse, and this was nice area too, it is down a road that dead ends into Lake Michigan.

We decided to hang out here and eat sandwiches we had packed for lunch, and Jemma could play in the water

Very nice views here also!

Then we headed back to camp, there were a few other places I really wanted to see but they were a good distance away still and we just couldn't bare being in the vehicle much longer.  Oh well we will see them next time!

The area that this campground was in must have been like a soup bowl, because it was super smokey all around from every ones fires, we decided we would just head in and watch a movie rather than adding to the smoke bomb!!


The next day we headed out to Mackinaw City, to Mill Creek Campground just a couple miles from the Mackinaw Bridge.  Our campsite here was directly across the road from Lake Huron, and if you walk out to the water you can see the bridge from there.
So here is our campsite, and the view from the rear window of our rig

And here is the view of the bridge

This campground was HUGE!!  And we got here fairly early so we had time to leisurely walk around and check things out.  Along the shore of Lake Huron they had fire pits here and there so if you wanted to enjoy an evening fire while watching the sun set you could

Lake Huron has a rocky bottom as opposed to Lake Michigan which is mostly sandy, so you have weave your way through the rocks to get to the water.  It didn't stop Jemma from taking a dip

We decided to grab some chairs and a glass of wine and sit down by the water to wait for the sunset.  As we got a few glasses of wine in us we decided to walk back to the water where Shane proceeded to entertain himself by writing my name in rocks, we got a good laugh over it, and I thought it was sweet, he can be very funny, especially after a few glasses of wine!

Then we watched the sun set and headed back to our site for a fire

This was also the evening of the blue moon

The next day we bought our tickets for the ferry that takes you over to Mackinac Island, and I was ecstatic to find out that they allow pets on the ferry, and the island is very pet friendly, so Jemma could go with us!!  So we boarded the ferry around 1:30pm, we figured it might be a little less crowded if we didn't go first thing in the am, and it was!

This boat was a Hydro jet boat, so as it moves it shoots a giant rooster tail of water back behind it, it was pretty cool

Jemma was a little nervous at first but she managed to keep her cool as long as she could be on daddy's lap!

After about a 25 minute ride we arrived at the island

For those that do not know, Mackinac Island has full restriction of anything motorized, so the means of transportation is horse and buggy, bikes, or walking.  The island is 8 miles around so there is allot to see.  We started walking, and passed a beautiful hotel

Then we decided to take the 1 hour and 45 minute horse and buggy tour, we figured it was the best way to see all that we could see.  Jemma was scared of the big horses of course but she warmed up to them later.

In the summer time there are more than 300 horses on this Island, used for transportation.  Most of them are Percheron's, and seem to enjoy there jobs for the most part.  They also seem to be very well taken care of.
Along the tour they explained many things about the horses and how they live on the islandfor the summer, then they boat them back to the Upper Peninsula, mostly because it is cheaper to do that than to continue to boat the food over to the island for them.  But there are about 100 horses that stay on the Island year round, and about 500 people that live there year round, brrrrrrrrrrrrrr, is all i got to say about that!!
We passed by the Fort, where they told us the stories of how it was taken over by the French (which is why it is spelled with a C instead of a W) then taken back by us, then the French, and so on, and so on!

Pretty interesting stuff, then we passed by a church that they said holds 100 weddings a year

And a hotel that was built by hand back in the 1800's, and I don't know if you can see it, but they painted the ceilings of the balconies blue to keep the birds from nesting there, I thought that was also interesting, and it looked like it was working.

Then we had to change buggy's!!  From a 2 horse one to a 3 horse one, they get many breaks throughout the day and only work one day then get 3 days off

That's when we learned that the shoes that they put on their front feet are made of a polymer plastic, helps better with grip and is easier on the feet.  The one tour guide called this one "her spare tire" and let us all see it, lol!

Then we stopped off at a scenic area where they believe this to be the mouth of a cave that eroded away after time.  They also told us that there is only 2 foot of dirt on the island, and under that is slate rock, so when they get a storm and the wind blows really hard, they say you can see the ground moving like a wave from the tree roots.  Crazy huh?

Then the tour was over and we were walking back through he main drag, we decided to stop and grab some dinner before we got back on the ferry, so we stopped at the Mustang Lounge and ate on the patio.  Then we had to hit a fudge shop, because I couldn't leave the Island without it!!  So I got some Michigan cherry moose tracks fudge

It was delicious!! But not as good as it used due to the fact they can no longer use the syrup from the trees because they abused it and almost wiped them off the island. 
Back at the ferry we found out that the 6:30 boat drives under the bridge, so we got on it, and were headed back.

We just relaxed when we got back to camp.

The next day we decided to take a drive over the bridge into the U.P.

I don't know why, but this bridge scares me!!  I guess its a combination of the sides are not very tall, it is extremely windy due to lake effect, and the center lanes are grated, so if you are driving on it and stick your head out the window (like I did) you can see straight down to the water!!! 
We decided to stop at a little park and walk out on the pier to the light house

Along the walk we learned about Mooring Dolphins, pretty interesting!!

And we learned that this park was used way back in the day as a docking station for the boats that brought over railroad cars, they had to pull the boats right up to the shore where the tracks started and push them off, also interesting stuff!!

Then we passed by a spot we could get down to the water, I decided to check the water temperature; as we traveled along Lake Michigan, I found the water to be tolerable, but when I stuck my foot in Lake Huron in the U.P........  IT HURT!!!  It was so stinking cold, I couldn't believe it!!  It was shockingly cold!!

After that we decided to go do some hiking at Straights State Park, here they had a nice little trail that started at the top of an overlook for the bridge

And then descended back down towards the water

When we got to the water, we were not surprised that it was beautiful, and the water a little more tolerable.  We spent quite a bit of time here, letting Jemma run around, she had a blast

After awhile we got back on the trail and followed it around a small boardwalk

Then back to the stairs that w had come down.  After all.... What goes down, must come up???
LOL

After that we called it a day and headed back to camp for dinner, fire, and some drinks!!

The next day we headed out to our next stop in Alpena at Campers Cove.  It is right on Thunder Bay Lake.  We had a pretty nice spot here on the water.

We made a grocery run after we got set up, and then just chilled for the evening.  Next day we decided to rent a pontoon and check out the lake.  We rented it for 2 hours, the lake is not super huge so this was plenty of time. 

We came across a little island so we decided to stop and let Jemma get out, and we could eat our lunch.

Then we went back to camp, I decided to lay in the sun, and read a book for awhile, while Shane just hung out and relaxed!  It was a good day!

After this stop we headed to Essexville, at Finn Road Campground.  This is near Saginaw Bay.  Very nice campground, where we got an tire wheel borrow full of wood for $5.00!!!  That was a great deal.
I guess I didn't get a picture of this spot either, bad me!!

We headed out the nature trail that winded through the woods, and back, and then another trail that led right down to the bay

It was another 5 mile day with both these walks but we had a good time doing it!! 
This was our last stop, and we were headed back to my Mom's house.

Shane has contacted Howard (from the blog he reads) about joining their weighing team.  This is a team of people that go to different rallies and set up a weigh station and weigh peoples rigs, and answers questions about it all.  So they have asked us to meet them at a Rally in Atlanta, GA on October 16th to talk about it.  We thought this would interesting, it will take us places we may not have gone otherwise, and give us an opportunity to meet others living this lifestyle.
So we have decided to leave Michigan in September 15th to start heading that way.  There is a campground in North Carolina that is all about the dogs, that I want to go to, so we are leaving a little early so we can do that and make it GA in time.

So right now I am catching up with old friends, Shane is finishing up some projects for my Mom, and we will slowly be getting ready to leave on Sunday.  Our first stop is going to be back to Elkhart, Indiana to get some final repairs done to the rig.  I will post again after that and let you know where we are headed next.