Day 4: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

 June 29, 2021

Vanlog, Hiawatha National Forest boondocking site

Today unfortunately was a rainy and overcast day for the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I started my journey from the east side at Grand Marais. First stop was at Sable Falls. Here, you can also look out onto the Grand Sable Dunes on the southern edge of Lake Superior. Not far down the road is the Log Slide, where in the olden days loggers used to slide the timber down a steep 500 ft embankment to the ships waiting on the Great Lakes. You can climb down if you want, but be warned that the ascent is no joke!

On the western side of the park near Munising, there is the famous Miner's Castle rock outcropping. Last Saturday, 200 ft of its cliffside fell into Lake Superior and it made the local news. You can see from this photo why it is called Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. A short way down the road lie Miner's Falls and Munising Falls, both of which are reached by a short muddy hike. 

At 5 PM, I took the two-hour scenic boat tour of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore to Spray Falls. On the boat tour, I met someone I had talked to earlier on the trail so it was good to have someone to talk with. We passed features such as the Painted Caves, Miner's Castle, Chapel Cove, Chapel Rock, Lover's Leap, Grand Portal, and Spray Falls. If you have a Michigan quarter, the image ont he back is of the lone pine tree on top of Chapel Rock. It rained on the ride back and I parked up in the Hiawatha National Forest back some muddy forest road. Only two cars passed by all night. It rained on and off all night. 

Day 3: Mackinac Island and Tahquamenom Falls

 July 28, 2019

Vanlog, Tahquamenom Falls SP

This morning, I woke early at my Cracker Barrel campsite and drove 2-plus hours to Mackinaw City, where I caught the 9 AM ferry to Mackinac Island in the Straits of Michigan. Mackinac Island is a quaint tourist island 3 x mi wide where there are no vehicles allowed. The only modes of transportation ont he island allowed are by foot, bicycle, or horse drawn carriage. The island has a fort named Fort Mackinac, the Grand Hotel, many Victorian homes, s famous landmark known as Arch Rock, and literally a fudge store on every corner. You have to sample the fudge if you go to Mackinac Island. I did! (No surprise there). I took the ferry that takes you under the five-mile long Mackinac Bridge that connects lower Michigan to the UP (or Upper Peninsula). 

Once on the island, I walked past the fort and through the woods on a bike path about half a mile to Arch Rock, returning to town along hte shores of Lake Michigan. 

After my fudge sugar rush, I strolled the Victorian streets in the opposite direction until it was time to board the 12:30 ferry back to the mainland. I then crossed over the Mackinac Bridge in my van and continued onward for several hours to Tahquamenom Falls SP, where I booked a last-minute campsite. 

Tahquamenom Falls used to be the land of the Ojibwe Indians. It is here where Hiawatha built his famed canoe from Longfellow's poem. There is an Upper Falls, also known as the Root Beer Falls because of the brown color due to tannins in the water. Four miles downstream there are a series of five cascades collectively known as the Lower Falls. 

I would have to say that the Upper Peninsula certainly lived Up to its name!

Day 2: Lots of Sand Dunes

 June 27, 2021

Vanlog, Cracker Barrel, Traverse City, MI

I left my campsite at East Harbor State Park in OH at 7 AM and drove for over four hours in overcast and occasionally light rainy weather to Saugatuck, MI, arriving at Saugatuck Dunes State Park at 11:45 AM. Despite it only being 76 degrees and overcast, I found the 0.6-mile hike to the dunes and the beach of Lake Michigan to be a bit of a challenge. I guess my legs haven't been used to hiking much and were just sitting in the van most of the last two days driving. 487miles on Day 1 and another 476 miles today! Single driver. 

After an hour and a half at the dunes, I drove another three-plus hours up the coast of Lake Michigan to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. I got my America the Beautiful pass there and drove the scenic loop. However, it was very foggy and there really wasn't much to see. I did meet some other vanlifers in a Sprinter van who are from New Hope PA. Then I drove on to Traverse City and slept overnight at the Cracker Barrel (this is called crackerdocking). Tomorrow is Mackinac Island. 

Day 1: And We're Off

 June 26, 2021

Vanlog, East Harbor SP, Sandusky OH

I left Lancaster this morning at 6:45 AM for a 44-day roadtrip across the country. For the first three weeks, I will be alone (which I hate) and then Jessica and Rachel will fly out to SFO on July 17 and join me in the van. After a week in Yosemite, Rachel will fly home and Jessica will spend the next two weeks driving back east with me. 

I drove four hours west to McConnells Mill State Park. I had never been. The road in was potholed and had very steep turns. I almost got into a sticky situation in a small filled parking lot and had to cross over hte covered bridge, make a three-point turn, and then recross the covered bridge before finding a suitable parking area. The old mill was built by Daniel Kennedy in 1852 and burned down and then rebuilt in 1868. Today, the water still turns the machinery inside and you can take a self-guided tour of three stories of the mill. Right behind the mill is a large dam breast and it overlooks the McConnells Mill Covered Bridge, built in 1874 using the Howe truss design. While in the park, I also hiked to Kildoo Falls and had a picnic lunch. 

Then it was back on the road again for three hours until I reached East Harbor State Park near Sandusky, OH. I checked into the campground there and drove to the beach area. It was a hot 82 degrees so I changed into my suit and jumped in the lake to cool off. After drying off, I lit a charcoal fire right there by Lake Erie and cooked a tin foil meal for dinner. 

Then I drove 5 mi to Marblehead Lighthouse State Park. The lighthouse was built by William Kelly in 1821 and stands 50 ft high. 

I returned to East Harbor State Park and sat by the bay watching a heron in the trees just offshore in the bay as the sun set. It was a quality first day.