Out in the Middle of Nowhere - Tues., Sept. 30, 2014

There is a sign on an old building on U.S. 41 that says, "The Edge of the World." It sure felt like it. The Keweenaw Peninsula juts out into Lake Superior, with Copper Harbor as the northernmost town, and only the hardiest of the hardy live there. Everyone else heads south for the winter, but with gorgeous days like these we are happy to be here for fall colors.

 

In yesterday's blog I told you about U.S. 45 starting in the U.P. and ending in Mobile, Alabama, a distance of 1330 miles. Today, we found the following sign relaying information about U.S. 41 which starts  in Copper Harbor, Michigan, and ends in Miami, Florida, a distance of 1990 miles. So even though the Keweenaw Peninsula feels like it's in the middle of nowhere, it's actually the beginning or terminus of two different U.S. highways!

Ft. Wilkins State Historic Park was our campground of choice. Pull-through site 142 in the west campground was the perfect size for our 5th wheel and truck. It was mostly level too! Electricity is the only hook-up in your site, but there is fresh water as well as a dump station along the entrance road. There are also restrooms and showers. This park is so dark at night that without a lantern or flashlight you can't find your vehicle. (Remember what I told you about the number of bears in the Upper Peninsula? I wasn't planning to go outside without a light.)

Ft. Wilkins Historic State Park Campground

Site 142, West Campground

Our weather on Tuesday was great. No rain, 63 degrees. From the campsite we could hear the buoy bell out on Lake Superior. Oh, I forgot to mention that our campsite was directly across the campground road from Lake Fanny Hooe. Very pretty.

As soon as we were set up, we walked to Ft. Wilkins Historic State Park, once an active U.S. Army post built to keep peace in Michigan's Copper Country. It was abandoned two years after it was started. The park has a restored 1884 army military outpost with 19 buildings open for tours. At this time of year there are no interpretive programs on the grounds.

Bob in the powder magazine

Looking past officers quarters toward parade ground

Parade ground looking over Lake Fanny Hooe

The fort hospital

Looking toward the fort hospital and mess hall

Cabins

This is where I would have worked

Bob trying his hand at playing a drum

The sutler (store)

Which way do I go now, which way do I go?

 
From Ft. Wilkins, it was a short walk across the road to a viewpoint of Lake Superior and the Copper Harbor Lighthouse.

                                                          

The ship John Jacob Astor wrecked on this point in September 1844.

When we got back to our site, Bob did some marathon training while I tried my darnedest to get a fire going so we could roast hot dogs. The campfire wood was pretty wet and wouldn't keep burning. I had a nice blaze going for a while, but it died out. There were just enough coals to cook our hot dogs.

"Day is done, gone the sun..."

Travel Bug out.

Early on the Road - Thurs., Sept. 18

Talk about early birds...that usually isn't us. But this morning we made an exception so we could ameliorate our commute through large cities. A week/work-day rush hour can mean stop-and-go traffic.

At 4:40 a.m. we were headed north toward Austin, Texas. At New Braunfels, the lightning storm was our entertainment with its streaks, flashes, bolts, and octopus-like fingers reaching toward the ground at one time, and jutting skyward at others. Wow. Then came the deluge. We were heavily rained upon. Thankfully, traffic was light.

Our first sign of a slow-down was south of Austin around 6:00 a.m. However, that cleared relatively quickly and we breezed through downtown.

Bob drove through the heavy-duty construction areas along I-35 north of Austin. The 5th wheel bucked and swayed over the bumpy roads. I was sure we'd go back in the 5er and find cupboards popped open with books spewed all over the floor. (Everything was fine.)

Onward we pushed through Ft. Worth. Again there was some road construction, but we made it through Ft. Worth around 9:30 a.m. Seemed like most people were at work for the day so the traffic moved along at a good clip in most places.

I drove through northern Texas into Oklahoma. Black storm clouds loomed ominously in front of us. The wind picked up and swayed the 5th wheel a bit. Then the rain started; however, it was a much different rain than what we experienced in New Braunfels, more steady; not so much a deluge.

A scenic overlook was coming up and we exited the freeway. Couldn't see anything because the clouds were hanging low,fog-like. We used the facilities in the 5th wheel, made almond butter and jam sandwiches, fed the cats, and changed drivers. Bob drove the rest of the way to our destination for tonight: Arcadia Lake's Central State Park in the City of Edmond, Oklahoma. The park is easy to access from I-35. Take Rt. 66/2nd St west 3.5 miles. Arcadia Lake's Central State Park will be on the right. (You'll pass Edmond Park first - no camping there.)

We found a nice pull-through site, but I must tell you many of their sites are uneven. We were able to position our 5th wheel in our pull-through site so it is level, but there is a slope in front of and behind us in the site. The park is beautiful but you have to choose your site carefully. Some pull-throughs were available next to the lake, but we didn't think our 5th wheel would do too well with some of the sloped sites. Instead, we chose a larger site in the middle of the park away from the water. Week-night rate $24. [Note: This park is right in the flight path of the Oklahoma City airport. Thought you'd like to know that.]

Central State Park, Arcadia Lake

View of center campground (not on lake)

Our picnic area and fire ring (to left)

As you can see, we left the storms south of us and have hot weather here with not a cloud in the sky. We debated doing the capital Volksmarch this evening, but it is just too hot. Instead we will be up early again as we can start anytime after 5 a.m. Sounds like a plan to avoid downtown traffic during rush hour and to have a much cooler temperature.

We will then head north, stopping in Topeka, Kansas to do another capital Volksmarch and continue on to Lincoln, Nebraska to spend tomorrow night. We may run into T-storms again in Lincoln.

I'm going to back up a little. This week I worked two days at the insurance office.

Tuesday night, Bob and I went to dinner at County Line Bar-B-Que. We had a certificate that said it was good for two dinners and two soft drinks ($25 value). Hah! The County Line Bar-B-Que on the River Walk in San Antonio is good, but they charge a lot. One dinner runs $16.99 and up. The food is good, but we thought it was over-priced. Lots of reasonably priced BBQ to eat in San Antonio.

Interior of County Line Bar-B-Que

On the way home from dinner, we were treated to an active, stormy sky...

Looking west from San Antonio, toward the sunset.

Beginnings of a sunset over San Antonio

Here are the fur-kids, looking adorable:

Yes, Bowie is sleeping on top of Sunnie.

Sunnie's like, "What did I do to deserve this?"

Bowie had to move. Sunnie is king of the box.

So far this afternoon has been very relaxing in our air-conditioned 5th wheel. When it cools down, Bob plans to do a marathon training run of 8-10 miles this evening. I plan to sleep so we can walk very early and get on with our day.

Safe travels to everyone moving about the country or even just your neighborhood.

Ahhh...Relaxation, Sat., July 20

Remember all those things we were going to do today? We did all of them except go to see the Mexican free-tailed bats. Tomorrow night is when we anticipate seeing the bats.

After going to the Visitor Center, walking to Upper and Lower McKinney Falls, and going grocery shopping, we were in mellow vacation mode.

McKinney Falls State Park

Upper Falls Swimming Hole

Upper McKinney Falls swimming hole--dry falls.

Upper McKinney Falls swimmin' hole cypress trees.

Visitor Center at the park.

At the Visitor Center, we saw man-made chimney swift towers. Chimney swifts historical natural nests used to be hollow old-growth trees. However, since most old-growth trees were logged years ago, the swifts adapted to man-made structures. The towers are for birds to roost and nest in.

Chimney swift tower.

Short walk to Lower McKinney Falls. Can anyone identify the flowers? The photos aren't very good.  The first flower is white with yellow center. The second is like a jack-in-the-pulpit. There's a pod with a very small purple "head" poking out.

Swimmin' hole at Lower McKinney Falls.

We can't wait to go swimming!

Interesting potholes in the rock.

For dinner, I fixed herbed chicken breasts and caramelized red peppers served with coleslaw.

Bob finished reading "The Madoff Chronicles," by Brian Ross which he enjoyed. (Thank you Mona Liza of The Lowe's Travel Adventures!) I've been catching up on blogs because I'm way behind reading them.

After Bob finished the book, we started a campfire so we could make s'mores. It has been a very long time since we've had a campfire. The s'mores were yummy. When we finished those, I also had a turkey hot dog because I really wanted a campfire-cooked hot dog. So tasty.

The campfire and our new roasting sticks.

On the right, a s'more waiting to be eaten.

Just a gooey, melted marshmallow.

We sat outside by the fire and talked for a bit before heading inside for the night. The moon is so bright we can see our shadows! And we never did receive more rain this evening. The storms must have parted and gone around the campground.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Safe travels from Travel Bug and Bob. Over and out.

McKinney Falls State Park, Austin, TX - Sat., July 20

Easy peasy two-hour drive was accomplished this morning from San Antonio to Austin, Texas. When we reached McKinney Falls State Park at 11:45 a.m., a sign informed us the campground is sold out. Good thing I made reservations four weeks ago!! We will be here for four nights.

Back-in site #27 was assigned to us, but the ranger told us if we didn't like it we could drive around and find a site we do like, then call to find out if it's available. Site 27 had no appeal for us whatsoever. We drove around and found a pull-through site we liked, called the office and were approved for the pull-through site, no extra charge. So nice here; but hot and sunny. Here we are, all set up.

Our home for four nights!

Nice and spacious.

We have a fire ring and no fire restrictions!

Did I ever tell you all how much I love nature? Just a few minutes ago, a deer ran by our 5th wheel and a squirrel is hanging around outside our door.

In our 18 months of full-timing we have never had a campfire. Either we were in RV resorts where there were no fire rings, or there were fire restrictions. Tonight will be our first campfire with s'mores while on the road!! Can't wait.  We used to do s'mores all the time when we took the kids camping years ago.

More blog and photos to follow later this evening. We're so happy to be on the road, if only for a short while.

This afternoon we plan to check out the visitor center and see the waterfalls in the park. Grocery shopping is high on our list for marshmallows, Hershey bars, and campfire sticks to cook marshmallows. We may have to get some turkey dogs to cook too.

Downtown Austin is our destination this evening to watch Mexican free-tailed bats fly out from under the Ann Richards Bridge.

Life is good on the road.

Travel  Bug out.