On The Road Again

The events of the last few days have made for a lot of plan changes and a departure several days earlier than originally planned. Of course, who knew we would have to squeeze a funeral just ahead of a major road trip.  In order to make all the timing work out, we had to create a bit of a travel house-of-cards.  If everything works, we will still make it to the houseboat at Voyageurs National Park at the same time, having gone across the country and back in the mean time.

So the plan originally was to slow-travel through the Upper Peninsula to Voyageurs, meeting our friends there for some time on a houseboat in the National Park.  Now that my Mom has passed away, a whole bunch of stuff got inserted into that slow-travel time.  Now it’s not-so-slow travel in the RV to the Duluth Airport.  Leave the RV in long-term parking there and fly out to Pasco, Washington and rent a car to drive the hour or so to Zillah, where the funeral will be held. Attend the funeral on May 31 and then fly back to Duluth on June 2, arriving at midnight. Pick up the RV, continuing to drive to the National Park for our houseboat departure on June 4.  We chose Duluth because it was on the original route to Voyageurs. And it was a place where they had ample surface parking for an RV over Memorial Day weekend.  Try that in Chicago.  Score one for small airports.

We had already been packing the RV so we just had to pack it just a bit differently.  Like putting enough clothing in a suitcase for the trip to Washington and stowing the two suitcases under the bed.  When we reach the airport, we’ll pull them out, stow some toiletries in them, and be on our way.  Fortunately, we will probably not be needing much cool weather clothing so it won’t be so bulky.

We left around 9 this morning.  Since we had a little time we made a side trip to Ebel’s General Store in Falmouth.  We’ve seen signs for this place and Deb read about it online so we took the 15-minute detour.

Ebel’s did not disappoint.  Their meat department was extensive and there were some very good prices on some meats.  Too bad our refrigerator was full and we are on the road for over two weeks.  That limited our purchase to two smoked whole chickens.  Otherwise we would probably have bought out the store.  The Alligator Sirloin Fillets looked amazing.  And only $18.99/lb.  We’ll have to come back here some time.

Deb spotted another sign for a discount grocery store on the way to Ebel’s.  So we made the two-mile detour to check that one out also.  This is Amish country and this store was an Amish store.  Complete with the battery-operated lighting and the large bulk food section.  I wonder how the charge all those DeWalt batteries at the end of the day...

This store is quite a bit smaller than the gold standard Amish grocery store, which is E&S Sales in Shipshewana.  We came away with a box of crackers, some inexpensive cereal, and a half-gallon of chocolate milk.  We really can’t fit much more.

We stopped in Lake City at a tiny park along Lake Missaukee to make lunch.  We were parked right on the water and had a great view of the lake.  Sunny day, mid-70’s, super pleasant with the windows open.  We cut into one of the smoked chickens and made sandwiches with bacon and cheese.  Great sandwich. Looking forward to more of this stuff.=

Who can resist taking a picture of the Mighty Mac bridge when crossing it?

Traffic seemed heavier than normal, but this would make sense because this is the Friday before Memorial Day.

US Highway 2 along the north side of Lake Michigan is always a great drive and we looked for a place to stop and walk the beach for a while.  We found that place at the Cut River Bridge.  We’ve come by here a few times and last time wanted to check it out a little more, but we got there after dark.  This time it was mid-afternoon on a beautiful day.  This is a nice parking area with a trail that leads down along the Cut River to the Lake, and then loops back up a flight of 280 steps.  Looking online, a lot of people have commented that the trail offers a unique view of the bridge.  Indeed the view from underneath is rather unique and photo-worthy.

The beach walk was pleasant also.  Just what was needed for someone who has been driving for several hours.

We linked up with M-28 through Munising and enjoyed the views of Lake Superior along this route.  Like US-2, it is right on the shoreline at times and offers great views of the lake while driving.  We stopped at one of the many parking areas along this route and walked the beach for a while.  It’s not often that you can touch two Great Lakes in a single day.

The weather was perfect for beach walking.  Sunny and probably just a bit hot, but the breeze coming off the lake envelops you with a delicious coolness and the sound of the gentle lapping of the water just adds to the pleasure.  We didn’t really want to leave, but we are not on slow travel mode right now.

We finally stopped for the night in the parking lot of the Ojibwa Casino just east of Marquette.  We joined three other RV’s boondocking here for the night.  We covered 441 miles today.