We’re off on another road trip. This one, up until yesterday, was just a week blocked out on the calendar, with no other plans made. We left that up to the whims of the weather. As the departure approached, the weather here in Ohio along Lake Erie appeared to be the best, so it chose the direction for us.
We already had quite a bit of stuff in the RV from our overnight kayaking trip last week, so when this morning rolled around, we just stuffed the remainder of what we needed in the proper spots and took off. Our six-week trips require much more careful planning--food, clothing, tools, etc., but a week? Piece of cake. Just throw some stuff in and go.
We managed to take off at 10am. Good driving weather, not too hot, not too cold.
Piloting a RV through downtown Ann Arbor is not the most pleasant experience, as the streets are narrow and parking is hard to find. The sandwiches must be REALLY worth it. And they did not disappoint.
Next stop was Sterling State Park in Monroe, right off Interstate 75 on the way to Toledo. I’m not normally an interstate person, but after the streets of Ann Arbor, I appreciated I-75, construction zones and all.
At Sterling State Park, we parked the RV in a massive but virtually empty parking lot and unloaded the bikes. I can’t imagine what this place must be like if this parking lot is full. The little black and white dots are cars. No, I didn’t take this picture, I lifted it from Google Maps.
The River Raisin Heritage Trail connects with the trails in this park, and we rode into Monroe, to the River Raisin National Battlefield Park. This is the site of the Battle of Frenchtown during the War of 1812, the deadliest conflict recorded on Michigan soil, and the highest number of Americans killed in a single battle during the war of 1812.
The bike trail was even worse than the roads, pocked frequently by roots which pushed up the pavement into jarring speed bumps. Part of the trail was falling into the river, as erosion did its thing and undermined the trail. It was also quite overgrown, but it appears that the seasonal help has just started trimming the branches hanging into the trail. Nevertheless, it was a pleasant ride, with a little history thrown in.
We stopped for dinner at the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge along State Highway 2 and also walked the trails for a bit. Lots of trails, lots of wildlife, we’ll have to spend time actually hiking here sometime or taking the nature drive. This time we spent most of the time in the parking lot, enjoying the Zingerman’s French bread and a bowl of soup.
Our destination for the night was a private backyard, where we will be for a couple of nights as we explore the Bass Islands. When we drove up, our host waved us into his backyard, and told us to park anywhere that was level. It was *all* level, so we just stopped in the middle, and shut off the engine. JJ, our host, was jovial and friendly, and even offered the use of his car if we didn’t want to move the RV tomorrow.
We unloaded the bikes and rode the short distance to East Harbor State Park, right on the shores of Lake Erie. Pleasant evening for a bike ride, and some great views of Lake Erie and the islands off the coast.
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