We managed to stay on our current campsite until 10:30AM knowing we had to dump our waste tanks, then get gasoline, before heading 90-miles south to our next campsite.
Just 30-miles from our new campground I found a place with a view to pull off the road and kill some time eating lunch.
After depositing our lunch trash into a waste can in the park it was time to get back into the I-75 traffic and wait our turn to pay our $8 toll ($2 per axle) to cross the bridge.
As we left the Upper Peninsular of Michigan behind at the center of the bridge we took the very first exit we saw at the bottom of the bridge and continued on to our campsite.
Just 25-miles later we arrived at Wilderness State Park in the Lower Peninsular of Michigan.
With all the efforts to kill time between campsites we still pulled up to the check-in station at 2:35PM, 25-minutes early. There was a sign which stated to remain in your vehicle until you reach the front of the line and then come inside to check-in.
There was already a truck and travel trailer in the right hand lane so I pulled in behind them and waited my turn to get to the front of the line. That's not a problem, it's actually pretty smart. Only one party at a time inside the small check-in office and that way there's no arguement about who's next in line to be served.
Just as I put ROVER into park the people in front of me pulled away, so I moved up and went into the office with my drivers license (to prove who I am), my licence tag number (to prove I brought the right truck) and even my campsite number, to hopefully speed up the whole process of checking in so the people now behind me in line don't get angry.
I walked up to the young person behind the desk and was asked, "Can I help you"? I said, "Yes, I'm here to check in to my campsite". They casually looked over their shoulder at the big clock on the wall and informed me check-in time isn't until 3:00PM, it was exactly 2:38PM at the time.
I then asked, "May I stay parked where I am for the next 22-minutes"? Their response was, "No, No, No, that's not how it works here". They then thanked me for "pre-checking in" and tried to send me on my way back to my truck.
I asked, "Is there someplace where I could fill my fresh water tank inside the park to kill a little more time"? I was told where to find it and that I would have to make a tight u-turn to access it (because it's set up for people leaving), then I should park in the Ranger Station Office parking lot across the street until it was time.
We filled the fresh water tank and looked across the road to the Ranger Station Office and saw there were already several RVs there and not enough room for another.
I then drove the 100-yards back towards the check-in office as slow as I could, made another tight u-turn and this time got into the left hand lane, as instructed to do so when I tried to check in earlier.
It was 2:58PM when the young person came out empty handed from the office to the truck and asked if I was checking in? "YES, the Kelley's on Campsite #551", I responded. She turned and went back into the office and after several minutes came back out empty handed again and asked if we were on Campsite #541? "No, #551", I said.
She returned to the office again and a few more minutes came back out with what I hoped was our camping permit in hand and then tried to explain how to get to our site. I told them I picked up a map earlier and could find it myself.
We pulled away at 3:10PM, with about six more RVs in line behind us waiting their turn to check-in. This is our third, and thankfully final, Michigan State Park visit in the last month and I'm sorry, but Michigan you're 0 for 3 in my opinion when it comes to providing a pleasant visit.
This is not the first time I've written about this kind of check-in experience, however it always seems to be at a state park. Why is that?
There are basically two ferry services with transportation to the island. They are very similarly priced, within $3-$4 round trip, but Shepler's Ferry (which we chose) takes a slightly different route between the mainland and the island.
Each one of the Shepler's morning ferries (which depart every 15-minutes) between 9:00AM and 10:30AM from Memorial Day to Labor Day, takes a pass under the Mackinac Bridge en route to the island. That sounded pretty cool to us and gave us the chance to take a few extra photos of the bridge from a perspective that we wouldn't normally be able to get.
MACKINAC ISLAND
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Again, we were the first ones to board the 9:00AM ferry and now we're almost ready to go.
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Here we are departing the Mackinaw City Marina enroute to Mackinac Island.
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"Mighty Mac" spans the Straits of Mackinac, which connects Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.
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Right now we're in Lake Huron as we approach the bridge from the east...
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..., but once we pass under the bridge we're now in Lake Michigan.
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Cameras up everybody!
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And just like that we're back in Lake Huron again.
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It wasn't long before we were passing by the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.
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Entering the safe harbor of Mackinac Island Marina.
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The ¼-mile long downtown section of Main Street was quiet at 9:30AM.
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This horse wanted to eat Tricia's camera before she petted him on the nose.
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We were seated behind our Romanian medical student guide for our 1½-hour carriage tour.
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This is Market Street which is one block behind Main Street.
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The Grand Hotel opened on July 10, 1887, after taking a mere 93 days to complete.Notable visitors include five U.S. presidents, inventor Thomas Edison and author Mark Twain.
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Halfway through the tour you change carraiges to a 3-horsepower model.
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This is Skull Cave inside of Mackinac Island State Park.Any idea why they call it Skull Cave?
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Arch Rock which was created over 10,000 years ago when lake levels were much higher.
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Fort Mackinac was built in 1780 by the British, but the British did not relinquish the fortuntil 13-years after the end of the American Revolutionary War.
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The fort sits 150' above the island's shoreline.
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A couple of the "privately owned" residences on the island.
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We found out while eating lunch at the Pink Pony that today and tomorrowMackinac Island serves as a check-point for a sailing race around the Great Lakes.
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This is one of Star Line's Ferry Service boats that are much faster than Shepler's.
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Back on the mainland, after our visit to the island, we saw this place.Come on guys, you have to admit, that's a mighty big weiner!
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At 9:00AM we packed all our dirty laundry into ROVER's back seat and headed towards Darrow's Family Restaurant, it's located across the street from the only laundromat in Mackinaw City.
After enjoying what was probably the best breakfast we've had in several months we got to the business of cleaning our dirty laundry. Let's just say, when you're the only laundromat in town, you can charge whatever you want to use your equipment.
It was $32 in quarters to wash our clothes and bedding, plus another $7.75 to dry them. Yes, the equipment was top of the line Maytag, Speed Queen and Whirlpool, but that's still our most expensive laundry day in recent history.
While laundry was finishing, I went online and found a local Cinema that was offering a $7 matinee showing of the newly released movie Twisters.
No spoiler alert needed here, but let me just tell you, if you liked the 1996 film Twister, you'll love the 2024 film Twisters.
After the movie we ate a late lunch at Wienerlicious, that's right, the building with the big weiner on top.
Dan McDonough, a 9-time World Champion Logroller, emcees an hour long show between two professional lumberjacks who compete head to head in five events, Chopping, Sawing, Axe Throwing, Log Rolling and Speed Climbing. It was definately different than our usual afternoon activities!
Since we were already over on the Sunrise (east) Coast of Michigan we drove down near the town of Cheboygan, MI to collect another "Knee Deep in the Great Lakes" water sample, this time from Lake Huron.
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