11 August 2015
Before our departure from the motel, we try to call ahead for National
Forest campsite reservations in Minnesota on Friday and Saturday. We
are told they are all “first come – first served.” So… our
plan is to get up to the upper peninsula of Michigan today with a
more leisurely drive along the western shore of Lake Huron. I also manage
to upload some of my blog and some photos to Tumblr. I’m trying to
get the hang of it.
We have an early lunch at a coffee shop called Higher Grounds. Again
everything is delicious. We are entertained along the road by the
signs and some of the names people have attached to their vacation
homes along Huron’s shore.
The Shorts have a large cut-out of a pair of red polka dotted shorts. The
Butlers have a life sized cut-out of a very proper appearing butler
holding a tray. The Brewers have a large mug of beer. There is a camp
called Change of Lattitude. Another is called Group Therapy, and one
called Luna Sea (no, they were not neighbors.) We also like the one
called Muah-ha-ha.
We cross the 45th parallel at 1 pm. By 4 pm we are at the National
Forest Lake Michigan campground. We are hoping for clear skies this
evening so we can watch the Perseid meteor shower. We secure campsite
13. For some reason no one seemed to want that one. Dinner is quickly
prepared, and we finally have an opportunity to break out our box of
chardonnay. All the PA campsites were dry – those Pennsylvanians,
so Puritanical, (?Amish, ? Mennonite)
We have friendly neighbors, Ed and Nancy, up the hill. They have been on the road camping for at least 14 years. They sold their condo when they realized they were only home 50 days out of the year. They seem pleased to find “newbie” kindred souls and wish us good travels.
We walk down to the shore of Lake Michigan and watch the sunset. It is
getting chilly so we return to the car for extra layers. By 10:15 the sky is
finally getting dark enough for a clear view of the stars. We are
gazing south and realize the meteors are coming from the NE. We go
further towards the shoreline and turn around to look to the north.
Although we do not see many meteors, the ones we do see are
spectacular! Their tails linger a few seconds in the sky after the
meteors pass. We are in bed by 11:30. It is refreshingly cold.
