(this is one of series of posts of various campgrounds we have been to over the years... I am going through my files in alphabetical order and posting past camping trips in my blog.... something to do over this long long winter---- sigh)
This is a narrow skinny park along the Lake Michigan/Green Bay waters. It is just over the border in to the U.P. of Michigan along M-35 that runs along the water between Marinette, WI and Escanaba MI. Just south of Cedar River. There are five campgrounds in this area, and we normally just drive up and see who has an opening. We camp here usually one or two times a year. Especially when it’s very hot and humid, the land along the lakeshore is cooler and usually a breeze. Plus it is one of the few that have electrical hookups, in case we want to use the air-conditioning on such a scorcher weekend.
We enjoy this park because it is very dog-friendly, and also had a great beach area for the dogs to play on. The beach for swimming is further over, but the area where dogs are allowed is right near the campsites. Many times we see dogs off leash on the marshy beach, so we follow suit. But once we reach the campsites, CLICK on go the leashes.
This particular weekend, we had first pulled in and parked way down in site number 1. It was a busy park and just about every site was full. We backed in, set up and relaxed in our chairs. For only a bit…..
In the site next to us was one tent. But soon came a influx of cars, pickups, more tents, boomboxes, big party awning with a table filled with liquor bottles. Soon the spread of lawn games, party flags, loose dogs and wailing kids was eeking over into our campsite. I think they had 8 or 9 vehicles for one campsite. One particular camper was a VERY loud female with a raspy voice that just grated on you. She did NOT shut up! The drunker she got, the louder she got. Then up drove a car with her sister and her son, ALL with the same gravelly loud noisy voices! LOL But enough was enough.
So we talked to the nice host (who also had the unfortunate placement of being so close to these folks) and he said sure, we can move to another site. Just drop a note in the pay-fee tube that we moved to a different site with the host’s approval. So we walked back down the way to scope things out. One site along the lakefront just happened to open up! I rushed over there with the dogs on leash, and stood there till Steveio packed up our rig and drove it over to the better spot.
(later that night the sheriff was called in to quiet the other folks--- and in the morning they were all hungover and quiet down that way. They later packed up and left by noon)
The site we moved to was FANTASTIC – so perhaps it was a blessing in disguise.
Hard to see, but yes, that is the lake in the background. It was a very hot and hazy day.
The water here is clean and clear… with the waves rolling in the sound drowns out any road noise from behind the campground. It is such a peaceful place along the water.
This is a county park, and they have nice sites, but very strange firepits!
It was so hot, that we decided to cook supper outside over the fire. It sure was a challenge to get a fire going in that ring. But finally it was time to put on chow. We always bring along our cooking grate, and never depend on there being one at a campsite. This is a perfect example of a firepit that doesn’t have a grate and unless you haul along a portable grill, you would be cooking indoors.
We cook with Steveio’s grate over the fire…. (these are pics from other times using it, but I included them here so you can see how it works)
The main stake is tilted on an angle when you pound it in the ground. Then the grid piece holds onto the stake by the gravity with the weight of the handle and is adjustable up and down. He made this and it works GREAT! A Great Grate?
We cooked out BBQ ribs… which the extra sauce need to be burned off before the grate is cooled and put back in a bag for storage. We keep this in a compartment under the motorhome in a very heavy plastic Fleet Farm bag. Lays flat and doesn’t take up a lot of room.
This weekend was a very hot and humid one. We were happy to have electrical hookups to run the air conditioners in the rig. The trees are along the outside of the campground, but not along the shoreline beach sites. Guess you can’t have everything!
Before it got too hot, we took the dogs down the beach a ways to play with the frisbee…. Duke loves it, Ducky just chases him to roll him over, she has no interest in the frisbee!
Duke would play frisbee till he would drop dead… so we had to call it quits before he got too overheated. He hates to see us put it away and pouts about it.
Our dogs sure enjoy camping with us, and they get lots of attention in the campgrounds. Everyone asks us if the little dog (a Shetland Sheepdog) is the baby of the big dog (a Collie) We say no… they are just COUSINS! LOL Sometimes little girls come and ask if they can brush them. Have at it! Other times, if not too busy of a campground, we let kids take our dogs for a walk. We should charge them for the fun-- Rent-A-Dog!
The air is filled with gulls, and the soft lapping waves are peaceful and relaxing.
They are really scavenger birds, as pesky as raccoons in a campsite. The dogs had fun chasing them away each time they came too close to our picnic table.
We hauled out the binoculars… watching the big ships coming into the port of Green Bay, or across the water to see the shoreline of Door County (the tall skinny finger of Wisconsin)
The waters of Lake Michigan have been receding over the years. What once was a huge sand beach and dunes, is now overgrowing with marsh and cattails where it is not used continuously. Someday if the waters come back up, the marshes will disappear.
Each day we camped here, it was hotter and hotter. Our awning was wonderful for sitting in the shade each afternoon. After our walks on the beach or frisbee throwing for the dogs, a cool beverage was in order. Our campsite was all grass, no gravel parking area.
He has “relaxation” down to a science!
Because we are on the western shore of Lake Michigan, we don’t get the sunsets... just the sunrises. Early mornings are delightful with the sun glinting off the water, streams of golden light flickering into the rig’s big windows. I kept all the mini blinds up during the night, just to be able to be awakened by the morning light. I got up in time to take some of these pictures.
The mornings were so quiet and peaceful. The air was damp but cooler, with the sounds of the gulls in distance. I took the dogs for a nice walk before it got hot again. The sand was sticking to my feet from the early morning dew. By the time I got back to the motorhome, Steveio had coffee going. What can be more wonderful than sitting out under the awning, looking at THIS:
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