This week (10/24-10/30/2016) we had to spend a couple of days in Decatur, IN for an RV fix and so from there drove east into Ohio. We decided to come to Cuyahoga National Park in between Cleveland and Akron. The park is a patchwork of land with 22 miles along the Cuyahoga River - an Indian name for a "Crooked River." In 1827 the Ohio and Erie Canal opened in the valley, forming an artery between the East Coast and Midwest and acting as a critical means for development in Ohio. In the 1860's though, railroads replaced the need for a canal, but in 1974 Congress created a recreation area preserving the canal and historic significance it played in developing the area. We've come at a beautiful time when oaks, maples and yellow birch are bursting with color and Ohio residents are sporting colorful red and blue clothing, proudly cheering for their Cleveland Indians in the World Series. The park offers several fun ways to see the natural features, wildlife and historic canal locks. One day we hiked in the forests to the beautiful 60 foot Brandywine Falls and the Ledges area - interesting rock ledges and a nearby cave. The next day we biked along the canal tow path to a farmers market held each Saturday in the park with over 60 vendors. It was a delight to buy local salad, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, cheese and cilantro. We biked around the popular beaver marsh and then north on the tow path which runs near the railway line. The park runs the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway daily with 9 stations in the park. You can purchase a ticket ($15.00) and hear an audio tour about the history of the Cuyahoga Valley, or you can ride one way on the train and take a hike with a ranger. Another very popular way, especially on the beautiful sunny 75° F Saturday we had, is to bike one direction and take the train back to your vehicle ($3.00) which we did. Other attractions in the park include visiting the outdoor living history museum, Hale Farm and Village, viewing canal lock demonstrations, listening to summer concerts, taking a full moon ranger-led hike or a 2-mile lantern hike where you encounter characters that bring the past to life on an Underground Railroad experience, or taking special train rides like Christmas season's reading of the Polar Express. The park doesn't have any RV camping spots (just a handful of walk-in tent spots) so we are camping in the nearby town of Stow at Silver Springs Campground. Managed by the town for 40 years, this little park has electric hook-ups and multi-day special rates and for our stay is costing only $8.00/night. Since we're so close to cities, we've been getting lots of TV channels, and Terry has enjoyed watching the World Series games. For me it's been fun to hear our neighboring campers hoot, holler, and blow their horns after two of the Cleveland Indians wins. Since Halloween is nearly here, I had to find a haunted house and we went into Akron to the Haunted Schoolhouse (held in an abandoned school) and Laboratory. We opted to attend both attractions for $26.00/person. As it turns out, one would have been sufficiently scary. I'm not sure why I want to go through these every year, clinging to Terry, pushing him to go first, and screaming at the frightful characters who jump out of the dark corners. But it's something I want to do every year. On Halloween night, we'll be in the town campground which closes the next day for the winter so we won't do anything eventful that night. This morning, Sunday 10/30, we're watching the Redskins play the Cincinnati Bengals in London. I haven't been heckled for wearing my Washington jersey in enemy territory, but many of the campers are packing up and rain is coming. It's the first time I've eaten breakfast while watching an NFL game, and I made a critical error. While heating the oil for hash browns and paying too much attention to the TV, flames burst above the pan when I poured the potatoes in! After a split second pause, my brain kicked in and I turned off the gas and removed the pan. But for a moment I thought I'd burn down the house! For those campers still asleep, fire alarm quickly remedied that. Tuesday morning, we'll need to decide whether we head north to Niagara Falls (weather dependent) or east into Pennsylvania...perhaps we'll take a day trip to Cleveland to visit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. More and more campgrounds are closing for the season, and we want to be with my parents in Clarksville, VA by Thanksgiving so will decide day by day which direction to head; but, Cuyahoga Valley has been a nice destination.
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Last week we left the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and headed for the lower part of the state where we've been for twelve days. We stopped in Traverse City at the state park on Lake Michigan and planned to stay one night but ended up staying three. The TART bike trail backs up to the park and we rode that to the Leelanau Trail which took us along Lake Michigan through Traverse City, farm fields and neighborhoods on a cool overcast day that made for good biking climate. We rode a total of about 36 miles, and it was a good workout. On the bike trail we stopped to inquire at an auto service center about checking out our Subaru. We feared it needed new struts after the beating it's taken on washboard backroads we like to explore, and it's accumulated some interesting knocking sounds. So we stayed another day to have it diagnosed. Turns out it doesn't need new struts, and the mechanic fixed one of the knocking sounds. Next we headed west to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Seashore and the DH Day Campground, recommended to us by another camper a month ago. Sleeping Bear Dunes is a really cool place on the shore of Lake Michigan with massive dunes protected by the national park service. Our first afternoon there we went to climb the dunes and hadn't read the literature. We took off our shoes and started up. UP, UP, UP we went for about 20 minutes when we came to a post with the number 3. At this point we thought the lake shore was just on the other side of the dune, a few minutes away. But a woman with her three grandchildren coming back told us there are 27 markers on the trail to the shore and it would take about 45 minutes one way. We didn't have any other place we needed to be (the great joy of this journey), and didn't mind spending a couple of hours on the massive dunes, but it did come as a surprise that there was so much sand between us and the surf. Many people climbing the dunes left their shoes on, and I'm still undecided whether that would have been the best idea. (We loved feeling the sand between our toes, but the next day hiking elsewhere in the park I got blisters on my toes which hasn't happened after hiking all year, and I think it's because of gripping the sand the day before with my toes.) Some young people we met hiking back had even taken a dip in the 62°F water which isn't such a bad temperature for swimming as far as we're concerned, but it was really breezy, and a long chilly walk back to your car or bike. We didn't take the plunge. From the massive dunes near the beginning of the trail you can see Glen Lake to the east and dunes reaching to Lake Michigan on the west side. One thing we love about this park is that dogs are allowed on most of the trails (not the ski trails during winter), but they aren't allowed on the dune climb nor swimming beaches. As we've traveled up and down Lake Michigan, we can see why folks here don't need the ocean beaches. Having grown up on the East Coast, I've often contemplated how hard it would be for me to live in a landlocked state. One of my favorite environments is the beach, and I've spent many, many hours basking, running, swimming, and playing on the beaches of NC, SC, VA, GA, RI, DE, MD and FL. But the Great Lakes are huge, and the beaches sandy and warm, the waves both calm and large enough for body surfing, depending on the weather, and Michiganders have no need to travel east or west to the coasts to play in the water. There is sensitive Piping Plover habitat on Lake Michigan, home to 78 nesting pairs where about 20 years ago there were only 17 on all of the Great Lakes. So in the Spring dogs aren't allowed on these beach areas to protect critical nesting habitat, but we found plenty of places to take Rocket who has become an avid swimmer chasing sticks. (When younger he barked at the sticks until Shady retrieved them and he could steal from her mouth once on shore). At Sleeping Bear Dunes there are 2 campgrounds, DH Day is a bit more primitive - no electric or water hookups and no asphalt pads for your camper. But we like that, and the sites are private. Both campgrounds are on the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail which is a hiking/biking paved path that runs about 30 miles. I loved taking Rocket on leash as I rode the bike a few miles each way, stopping for him to cool off in the lake, allowing both of us to get some exercise (admittedly, he did most of the work). Terry and I also used the trail to bike to hiking trails nearby, and one day we biked to the Alligator Hill trail which has several connecting loops. The published hiking guide book though failed to put the bike-in trailhead on the map, and we spent an hour trying to find where our bikes were since they weren't at the marked trailhead and parking area on the map! But the trails here aren't very hilly compared to many we hike, and the leaves are changing so they're pretty to look at. Also along this trail are several opportunities to look out and see the Manitou islands in the distance or views of nearby Glen Lake from the hilltops. Since we've been in Michigan though, we've seen a lot of rain. At times we were concerned we'd be growing mushrooms in the coach since there is so much moisture, and mushrooms and shelf fungi are everywhere in the forests. We've been enjoying watching the squirrels eat the mushrooms, and the chipmunks scurrying to prepare for Winter. One day while listening to the Redskins vs Eagles on ESPN radio (no local bars have the NFL ticket and so only carry the Lions or Packers games), an albino squirrel foraged around our campsite at Sleeping Bear Dunes. We saw him on two different days, and apparently there are three living in the campground. We spent five days at Sleeping Bear, and one rainy day Terry hiked with Rocket while I went to Sutton's Bay, a quaint town about 30 minutes northeast. I went to see a movie, THE DRESSMAKER, which I enjoyed very much and then stopped in the countryside to taste some wines. There are quite a few wineries in this area of the state with the lake effect providing a favorable micro-climate that allows for a longer growing season than in most of the Midwest. We left Sleeping Bear and landed on National forest land in the Manistee National Forest which abuts the Nordhouse Wilderness Area where we hiked yesterday. (We got lost on the serpentine trails in the forest that intersect frequently with trails on the dunes and beach), but we found our way back. This area is a couple hours south of Sleeping Bear and also nearby Lake Michigan. We are camping in a free spot off a dirt road with only a couple of cars a day passing. The oak trees are plentiful and Rocket and Shady can roam outside off leash chasing the squirrels (no albino ones here). One morning when I let them out without looking up, two whitetail deer bounded off among the trees. Tonight is Friday so we've decided to take in a Friday Night Lights high school match up between the Manistee Chippewas and the Newaygo Lions football teams - go Chippewas! Soon we'll head out of Michigan and into Indiana, but probably not before the Redskins take on the Detroit Lions Sunday when I may be able to actually see a game televised instead of listening on radio via my iPad. Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!!
The Fall colors in the UP change differently depending on whether you're in the central part of the peninsula (earlier) or the northern part close to Lake Superior (last to change). Last Sunday (10/2) we moved towards the central part of the UP and hoped to hike in the Ottawa National Forest. In the forest we found a lovely camp spot on Bob Lake the week before and Sunday moved to Sparrow Rapids, right on a river. Our move was prompted by bears. Not that we saw any, but right next door to our Bob Lake campsite was a group of men from Illinois who came to hunt bears. As we left the campground and these hunters behind, on the forest road leaving we counted 8 pick-up trucks with dogs in the back, plus each truck had at least 2 hunters. It's bear season and apparently hunters put radio collars on their dogs who go in search of the bear. When the bear tires of the chase, either treed or cornered, the hunters come in for the kill. We wanted no part of this, but sadly our next campground in the forest (Sparrow Rapids) was on a forest road where we saw more rifles and dogs. Our idyllic search for Fall colors, wildlife, and great hikes in the woods here ended. There are 19,000 black bears in Michigan, and 85% live in the UP. It's always on our minds that hunting season ushers in Fall, and we choose carefully where we will camp. So we weren't surprised we had to move. And we moved not just for our safety but to protect us from the mental anxiety we feel when people pick up arms and plot to kill wildlife. So we left a beautiful area where colors were peaking and came back north towards Lake Superior, hoping fewer hunters would be searching for bears. We camped in a Hiawatha National forest campground (Bay Furnace) right on the lake in the tiny town of Christmas which is 5 miles northwest of Munising. There we stayed for 5 days and made side trips into Munising and nearby Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore which is managed by the national park service. This area was designated the first national lakeshore in 1966 set up to preserve the natural beauty of the seashore, cliffs, beaches and dunes. The park hugs the shoreline of Lake Superior for 40 miles and extends inland to a buffer zone encompassing 73,000 acres. The name Pictured Rocks comes from the streaks of mineral stain that decorate the face of sculpted cliffs. Tourists flock here to take a boat to tour the lake beside these colorful sandstone formations or kayak around them. We chose to hike into and above the cliffs and enjoyed forests, beaches and cliffs. Unfortunately hunters can hunt here also, but rangers said it was uncommon during bear season, especially near the trails we planned to hike. There's been a lot of rain here and the forests are crowded with mushrooms of many varieties. And also the chipmunks have been busy preparing for winter and several nearly ran into me as they scurried along the forest floor eating seeds and mushrooms in a frenzy. We didn't see any bears but did see lots of chipmunks, squirrels, ravens, and one day saw 2 deer. Also this week we biked the bike trail on Lakeshore Drive around Marquette to Presque Isle park which was lovely. (Marquette is about 40 miles northwest of Munising). It was a bit windy and cloudy that day. But we stopped along the way to watch a bald eagle feast on fish at a small island just off shore. Here we met a local man who explained the ore docks we saw - places where iron pellets and ore are loaded into train cars and then put onboard ships and transported down Lake Superior. These massive structures stretch out into the Lake in 2 places along the bike route (only 1 is operational), and apparently ships hauling the ore can hold 25,000-30,000 tons! There are a lot of bike trails in Marquette and one called the Iron Ore Heritage Trail is a 47 mile interpretative trail offering information about the rich history of the Marquette Iron Range. One rainy day we got laundry done and watched movies. In Munising, I restocked our horror collection of DVDs from the thrift store, in anticipation of Halloween. We also decided to go to the American Legion for the public fish fry on Friday night. All of the fish was caught on Lake Superior fresh that day! Terry had Whitefish which he enjoyed, and I thoroughly enjoyed my healthy serving of Walleye. The American Legion hall also has a shuffleboard table, just like the one we had in our basement in VT, so we even threw down a few pucks. A benefit of our journey across the country is sampling local fare. I like to try local brews and found a good one from Pictured Rocks Brewery - the fruit wheat beer. At Bay Furnace campground (and all around the UP), there are many wild apple trees. Shady has always loved eating apples and used to troll our front yard for the small green ones that fell this time of year in VT. Each day on our walks at Bay Furnace, I gathered a handful of wild apples for her. In addition to the plentiful apples in the UP and the wonderful bounty from the lakes, another popular food here is the pasty (pronounced with a soft a - like Patsy Cline). These are doughy filled meals that can include meat and veggies or just veggies and their recipes were brought over with Cornish miners in the 1800's. In Munising I went to a deli that declared they were winners of the best pasty on the UP. I got one served hot filled with broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cheese and potatoes. It was very yummy and certainly better than another pasty I tried in a different town. A pasty is sort of like a samosa which I love, but spices are different and the dough is not fried. Before we leave the UP we're spending a couple of days in Grand Marais, MI (we also stayed in Grand Marais, MN) and Taquamanon Falls - both places people have recommended we visit. The colors here in the northern section of UP are starting to peak and the temperature is dropping into the 40's at night. Campgrounds are closing and folks are preparing for winter just like the chipmunks. So later this week, we'll head south with the geese for warmer temps before the snow flies, and along the way we'll look for more Fall colors as we put the bears and their predators behind us.
Last few days of hiking on the UP...LOTS of mushrooms here! |
AuthorFormer documentary film producer, wife and mother of one...I'm taking time off to see the US with my husband Terry. Here's where I'll write about our adventures RVing until the money runs out! Archives
August 2021
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