Well, it is with utmost sadness that I must say the Rockies are behind us, not that the Great Plains and Lake States don’t have their redeeming qualities, like endless sky and straight roads. But, the voracious mosquitos and stable flies are not our idea of hospitality, and they’ve pretty much dominated, perhaps dampened, our three-day dash across Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Last night, in Munising, Michigan, gateway to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, we camped out in a motel, safe from insect pests and affording enough free time to post this little blog entry.
To recap the past few days, we left Waterton Park three days ago and camped at Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds in Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota before landing at Porcupine Mountains State Park on Lake Superior last night. We misjudged the mosquito situation and spent the whole evening in the camper. Luckily we had an electrical hookup and were able to run the air conditioner to keep ourselves comfortable in our fortress.
Last night, we were fortunate to get a room, as all the campgrounds and motels were almost totally booked for the high-season weekend. After much searching, we ended up in a cheap, clean, three-room suite, with two televisions, a living room, bedroom and wet bar, for an AARP discount price we couldn’t refuse. Today, we head down to the Mackinaw Bridge and into the Lower Peninsula, to a destination called Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. This place was recommended by our new friends from Glacier Park. So far their recommendations have been good, except for forgetting to tell us about the kamakazi mosquitos in these wetlands. I guess we should have known.
Here are a few photos of our brief stay in Waterton Lakes, along with a shot of the area where we stayed in North Dakota the other night. Quite a contrast…
That’s it for now. I’ll publish a photo retrospective after we get home next week.