Moving Day and Back in Time

 Monday, November 24, 2025

The sun was up before us this morning but not by much. It was only 49 degrees when we first got up but when I opened the door to take this picture I could already feel the sun's warmth. It is a beautiful start to another day of living our dream.

\

Below are two of the Saguaros that have died in this area since we first started parking here. 

Both these pictures are of the same Saguaro.
I could not find the first picture I took of this guy. The one on the left
 I believe I took in either 2022 or 2023. The right is from today.
I could not find the original so no exact year.

The one on the bottom right I tool this past week.
The bottom left and top one were taken back in March 2019.

Saying goodbye to our spot. The place we have called home
for the last few weeks. It is always bittersweet leaving a place
we have enjoyed and we did enjoy this spot.

The good news is friends Kim and Ken have arrived safely and have parked within feet of the spot above we vacated. They said they could see where our carpet had been...lol We all agree this is a pretty good spot to spend some time relaxing and just enjoying the peacefulness of the desert.

We are now parked and calling Park Place RV home for the next month. Kim and Ken drove in for Happy Hour at Patsy and Bill's site and since we are two sites down we were able to just stroll over to join the group. It was nice to get together with everyone The conversation was as always lively and certainly not boring. 

Left to right: Tom, Bill, Ken, Kim, Patsy with Gibbs posing
nicely by her feet.

It is different for us to be in this area and in a RV Park but sometimes it is good to mix things up. We are looking forward to this time here and being near friends. 

A Little Trip Back in Time to Sunday, September 14th and Monday, September 15th.

After spending 9 nights at the UP Fairgrounds in Escanaba it was time pack up, pull in the slides, and get our wheels rolling. We arrived at the Wayne County Fairgrounds on Monday and it was home for 2 weeks. This time was spent visiting with our grandkids and their parents.

Between Escanaba and the Bridge there are several opportunities to catch a glimpse of Lake Michigan as we drive through the forest which is a big part of the wonderful beauty of this place we call home. 

The sun was making the lake sparkle as we left today.
Escanaba is across the way.

There were a few times when the lake was so quiet it it almost 
looked like glass.

Honestly we expected to see more color today but there were
just a few touches here and there of reds, golds, and oranges

Lake Michigan sparkling in the sun.

The first sighting of the Bridge.

Then there is the Mackinac Bridge.
A sight we never get tired of seeing.

We have started across the bridge.
The Upper Peninsula is in our rear view mirror.
Then the Lower Peninsula comes into focus aswe reach the other end.
Lake Michigan in on our right  and Lake Huron on our left.

I do not think I have ever shared any information about this beautiful bridge. What can I say today is your lucky day😎.

The Mackinac Bridge is currently the seventh-longest suspension bridge in the world by total suspended length, and the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere.  The bridge opened to traffic on November 1, 1957, connecting two peninsulas linked for decades by ferries. At the time, the bridge was formally dedicated as the "world's longest suspension bridge between anchorages". It remains the longest suspension bridge between to anchorages in the Western Hemisphere. The length of the bridge's main span is 3,800 feet (1,158 m), which makes it the third-longest suspension span in the United States and 29th longest suspension span worldwide. It is also one of the world's longest bridges overall.

(I will save more information for the next time I post its picture.)

Tom and I both remember when the "Mighty Mac" opened. As a family my mom packed a picnic lunch and we made a day trip to see it. Tom remembers his family doing the same thing. It was a big deal and many of our friend's made that trip, also.

On I-75 heading South.
We spent the night at the Walmart in Gaylord, MI.
It is a familiar stop for us.

Leaving in the morning a few miles down the road a familiar
sign. One I have taken and posted more than once.

We are seeing a little more color in this area.

Still not a lot color. Just a few spots here and there.

A Little Farther Back in Time

Sometimes everything lines up and you get a lucky shot. This for me was one of those moments. When heading back to Escanaba after crossing the Mackinac Bridge we make a left turn and head west on US-2. After not that many miles we drive along a beautiful stretch of sand beach along Lake Michigan. We were in the Jeep, Tom pulled over, and I got out to take a couple of pictures as the sun was heading down. This is one of them. 

July 2024

If you have enjoyed the pictures I have put out there 

or the words I have added that makes me smile. 

If you have time to leave a comment they are always special to read. 

No matter what I am glad you stopped by!

Catching Up: Our Stop in Mackinaw City and We are Back in the Upper Peninsula

I cannot believe it is almost the end of June and I have still not caught up blogging about  our time at the end of May. It is amazing how fast the time flies when we get back to the UP. Before I catch up with what we have been doing since we been back here I am going to finish up about our time in Mackinaw City and the our drive along Lake Michigan in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 

May 25 through May 29, 2023 (Five nights at the KOA in Mackinaw City)

Turning into the Tee Pee Campground in Mackinaw City it looked like a really nice campground. The campground itself is on Lake Huron though none of the sites are and we could see the lake through the trees. Even though it was not a full hookup park we were looking forward to being able to walk out to the lake and take some walks along the shore. We had chosen this campground for that reason. Knowing Memorial Weekend is a popular camping weekend I had made our reservations back on March 3rd. Also, knowing many of the older campgrounds are not set up for big rigs I was very clear about the fact that we had a 40 foot motorhome with slides. Registering then checking out our assigned site we knew immediately it would not work. When we went back to the office she told us according to the length of the site we should fit. Tom had paced it off and we did not agree. Plus, the ground towards the back of the site seemed soft. (One thing we have learned, and it only took once, if we do not feel comfortable pulling into a site we do not do it.) It looked like they did have at least four sites, possibly 6, we may have been comfortable pulling into but they were taken. They did refund our money minus the one night deposit. I would like to be clear it was a very nice campgrounds and if we had a smaller rig we would have stayed there and been happy with our choice.

The big question now was what do we do. So we headed to the rest area to talk about it. Tom decided to try the KOA and see if they had any openings. We have stayed there in the past and as we recalled we would fit in the majority of their sites. I must say I did not hold out much hope for the whole five nights but as luck would have it they had one site left we could fit in. Decision made. 

We spent a very slow paced leisurely five days parked here.There is a lot to do and see in Mackinaw City and St. Ignace, which is across the bridge, if you are so inclined. Plus, of course, you can take a ferry from either town and spend the day or several on Mackinac Island. We have visited and stayed on both sides of the bridge and visited Mackinac Island more then once but for this stay it was mostly about not doing much of anything and we accomplished our goal. We mostly just enjoyed our time relaxing at the Stinger "B". We did visit one of small parks on Lake Huron which gave us the opportunity to spend some time along the water. There are, of course, several cute shops in Mackinaw City and we did visit a couple and managed to leave a few of our dollars behind. Plus, Tom did buy some fudge. We ate at two restaurants we are familiar with, Darrow's and Scalawags Whitefish and Chips, and one new one, Rusted Spoke Brewing Company. Plus, we did a take out pizza from Mama Mia's Pizza. The food was delicious at all four. 

 Below are some pictures I took while we were out and about on the different days.

Mackinac Bridge

Across the water of Lake Huron from this spot we can see the
Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.

Mackinaw City

A late lunch of Whitefish at Scalawags always delicious.

Mackinaw City

Mass at St. Anthony of Padua in Mackinaw City.
Bottom right our Lady of the Straights.

Side Chapel including a statue of St. Anthony, bottom right.

 Tuesday, May 30, 2023

We pulled out of our site at around 11:10AM and after stopping  up front to hook up the Jeep we pulled out of the KOA Campgrounds around 11:30AM and merged onto I-75 heading north. We came through the toll both on the north side of the Bridge and were back in the UP at Noon. We exited I-75 and turned west on US-2. We made two stops one for lunch just west of St. Ignace at a rest areal overlooking Lake Michigan and a second in Manistique for Diesel. About four and half hours after merging onto I-75 we were parked in front of our daughter's home unhooking the Jeep and then parking it where we will be for the month of June.

Below are  pictures of that ride. (We will be making this drive two more times this summer to and from our son and daughter-in-laws down in Grosse Pointe City. My goal is to try and post different ones and not to many of each of these drives. At least that is my goal.)

Going over I-75 on our way to the entrance to the Interstate

and in  the distance we can see the top of the Mackinac Bridge.

I do not think we have gone over the bridge and
not seen this sign except in the winter.

Lake Huron

Lake Michigan

and the construction.

Almost to the toll both

where we stop and pay the toll

then we are in the UP.

 

At this point we are about 133 miles from our destination. In less than a mile we will exit I-75 and merge onto US-2 heading west which for the next 128 miles will be two lanes. The good news is there are 12 passing lanes and the traffic will move right along. Unless, of course, there is construction.

Just a couple of miles down US-2 we decided to pull over at a rest area to eat lunch.

Our view out the front window as we sit and enjoy lunch.

We are up a bluff and after I was done eating I decided to take a
walk and take a couple of pictures. of the lake.

A  few miles further and we pass by Lehto's Pasties. The sign
says they have been there since 1947. A sure sign we are in the UP.
There are quite a few pasty shops in the UP and we have stopped
at several but not this one. Not sure why we haven't.

Lake Michigan looks really calm today.

A nice size pond just next to the highway.

Looks like they just finished up the construction along here.
In the summer when we go past here vehicles are parked all
along the lake side and they are out enjoying the sun sitting in
the sand or swimming in the Lake. 

I did mention in the last blog we have trees and water in Michigan.

The Cut River Bridge. There is a rest area to park by here and 
you can take a walk out on the bridge or you can take the path
down to the river. 

I did capture this picture as we were going over.

Smoked Fish, Pasties, and Fudge this store has it all.

As much green as there is in the UP along US-2 and in other
areas you pass by several areas of dead trees. 

Causes for the loss of trees varies. There are invasive pests causing damage, environmental issues, highway construction, and change in the water table were some of the listed issues. Plus, the fact that some trees have shorter life spans was also mentioned in one article. 

Manistique East Breakwater Light.
This is the Manistique Harbor. The Lighthouse was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 2005. 

Our last stop for diesel, this Adventure, in Manistique.
$3.999 basically $4.00 a gallon. 

Forty-three more miles and we will be parked at our daughter's.

With a few small white caps on the lake 
it was sparkling in the sunlight.

Entering Delta County 

Leaving the Hiawatha National Forest.

The Whitefish River is a beautiful blue today.

We are back on four lanes and this is now US-2 and US-41.

Coming into Gladstone this is Little Bay de Noc.
In the winter this area is filled with Ice Fishing Shacks.

Turning on to M-35 and we are almost to our destination.

We are now back home with our home on wheels. Life has been good to us and we know it. We Thank God everyday to be living Our Retirement Dream.  

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.