9/27/08 - THE END

Captain’s Blog

THE END
We traveled 3553.3 miles in the Motorhome and another 712 miles in the Jeep.
Hint: if you would like to see a larger picture just click on any image.If you have not been able to follow along with our updates the BLOGGER is actually set up from new to old so you will need to select the BLOG ARCHIVE to the left of the screen.

9/26/08 - Letchworth State Park, to Raynham, MA

Captain’s Blog

The plan today was to get out of Letchworth early and on to Watkins Glen http://www.nysparks.com/parks/info.asp?parkID=105

for the big hike of the day then head out and get as close to home as time would allow tonight.
However, after speaking to the nurse at the nursing home about my Mother we decided to head straight home. Mother is not doing well and did not want us to know.

The ride home will be long since it is well over 400

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRBy7iOhuaY

miles and the weather is lousy. Pouring rain and windy conditions make for slow going. We cannot complain because for the last month we have had great weather and sunshine.

Arrived home around 6 PM in the pouring rain and were surprised at how muggy the air wasWe started to unload the RV but by 9:30 pm were too tired to continue. Will finish in the morning.

At 9:45 pm we noticed flashing red lights outside our front windows. Upon investigation there were several cruisers and the Raynham ambulance at the house next to us. It turns our someone was on our neighbor's porch with only his underpants on. The rest of his clothes were on the porch beside him. I guess he fell off the porch down several stairs and was knocked out. Our neighbor called the police and the guy was revived and brought to the hospital. Supposedly the guy had some wisdom teeth pulled ealier in the day and then had some alcohol - not a good mixture. He became confused and ended up next door???? So much for our quiet little cul de sac.

9/24-25/08 - Letchworth SP, NY

Captain’s Blog

Before leaving Four Mile Creek State Park we walked the park with Jewel. It is definitely a place that we would return to. There are tons of weeping willow trees in the park that are huge and spectacular.

We arrived at Letchworth around 2 pm. We had hoped we could get the same site we had on our last visit here but since we have a dog now we were banned from that area of the park. There are very strict pet limitations here and three of the six loops are doggy banned. This was the only place besides the border crossing into Canada that we had to show proof of rabies vaccination. We had a light lunch and headed out to tour the park.

Once again we were not disappointed in the park. It is beautiful here and a place to wind down and enjoy the outdoors and wildlife. We saw many deer, squirrels, raccoons and one lone red fox.

Again, Ron set Jewel free in the many fields only to find that she would return covered in sticky birds. Cleaning her up without hurting her took some time. She is a patient dog and lets us do just about anything to her so eliminating all the sticky birds from her fur was not too stressful for her or us.

We did our daily mandatory hikes to the three waterfalls in the park that did not disappoint the second time around. We returned to the Middle Falls by the Glen Iris Inn after nightfall to view them when lit. They were beautiful but

Check out the video.

unfortunately Ron did not put the camera on night lighting so the pictures did not come out.
We spent our last night at Letchworth by the campfire reflecting on our trip and how much we enjoy life on the road. Tomorrow we plan on visiting Watkins Glen, a gorge with guess what- almost one thousand steps with only one way up and down. We have climbed and descended so many steps this trip that we do not need to buy stair-stepper. Climbing stairs is not a problem for us anymore and we do not even get winded – I think we are finally getting into some sort of physical shape. Of course when we get home we’ll have to force ourselves to continue to exercise –

HAH!!!

9/23/08 - Youngstown, NY 4 Mile Creek State Park

Captain’s Blog

Ypsilanti, MI KOA to Youngstown, NY 4 Mile Creek State Park

We got another slow start to the day today leaving Ypsilanti around 11 am. We drove through Detroit and crossed the border back into Canada saving us 100 miles to our next destination Four Mile Creek State Park in NY.

The ride through Canada although shorter was very boring much like the I –95 corridor to Florida. We finally arrived in NY around 6 PM and we were losing light fairly fast.

Four Mile Creek State Park

borders Lake Ontario and is one of the most beautiful state parks we have ever seen. The park has acres of spectacular green lawn and all of the campsites are grassy – no dirt or concrete. We tried to get a site on the lake but to no avail. Those are the first sites to go and there are only a few.

We did get a great picture of the sunset over Lake Ontario and it was awesome. Even more awesome was that you could see the outline of the city of Toronto across the 53- mile lake.

Jewel loves the grassy fields and since the park was almost empty we broke the rules and let her run free. She took off like a rocket ship and when she spotted a squirrel she opened her afterburners and chased it up a tree. Boy can she move fast. As soon as we spot people she is back on her lease and not to happy about it.

Tomorrow we will be heading into Leicester, NY to spend the next two nights at Letchworth State Park.

9/22/08 - Ypsilanti, MI KOA (Visits)

Captain’s Blog



We woke to an overcast day that soon brightened and turned into a beautiful first day of fall. I did get in touch with my brother and to my surprise his wife answered and is in MA visiting her sick Father. My brother is in MI and we did visit him for a couple of hours this afternoon. He is doing well despite all of his medical issues. My brother has two dogs and a lizard so we brought Jewel with us. She was very enthralled with the lizard named Curious and had a great time playing with Prancer and Cinnamon.

I left a message with my niece Brooke but never heard back from her. I know she is pregnant and is due real soon so it is possible she is in the hospital. Darcy’ number is no longer in service and I don’t have her new number so I guess we miss out on visiting her too.

Later this evening we had dinner with the Solomans and had a great time visiting with them. They are a great family and very interesting and entertaining.
Tomorrow we head out and will travel through Canada into New York cutting about 100 miles off our travel.

9/21/08 - Sleeping Bear Dunes to Ypsilanti, MI KOA

Captain’s Blog



Today was a travel day – a very long travel day. We made a few stops at rest areas with some fantastic views. One stop required several flights of metal stairs. Jewel was timid about climbing the stairs but with some coaxing she made it to the top. The view from the top was beautiful and overlooked Lake Michigan and far beyond.

Walking down the stairs was a real challenge for Jewel. She was very nervous and had to be coaxed and praised all the way down. The brave little dog made it. !!!

SEE VIDEO...

We pulled into the Ypsilanti KOA around 10 pm. It was too late to call anyone so will wait until the morning.

9/20/08 - Elk Rapids, MI Sleeping Bear Dunes

Captain’s Blog


We left Elk Rapids around 10 am, a lot earlier then our usual start time. The campground at Sleeping Bear is on a first come first serve basis and since it is a Saturday we thought we should hustle along.

On our way we stopped at a place called Woodland Creak Unique Furniture Store. The place was huge and the furniture and household items were very different. There is a bed made out of tree trunks and branches that would give me nightmares. Other items such as lamps, chandeliers, mirrors and nick knacks were stunning.

Store in Travers City MI

We arrived at Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore and secured a site for the night. The sites are paved with 50 - amp service. No other utilities though. The campground was close to full. We both have National Park Senior passes so the site with electric was only $13.00.The weather was warm and sunny and a great day for checking out the dunes to see how they compare to those on Cape Cod.

We took the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive with several designated stops along the 7- mile route. Pierce Stocking was a lumberman in the Michigan forests. He loved the woods spending most of his spare time there. He would walk the bluffs above Lake Michigan and was awed by the views of the dunes. He wanted to share the beauty of the area so conceived the idea of a road to the top of the dunes. In 1967 the road was completed and opened to the public.

The first stop was a covered bridge – unusual for this part of the country The bridge was much like those scattered throughout the New England area.

Next was an overlook of Glen Lake. Glen Lake used to be connected to Lake Michigan because glacial erosion carved out both lakes during the Ice Age. In post-glacial times, a sandbar developed separating Glen Lake from Lake Michigan.

The Sleeping Bear Dunes cover a four square mile area and the Dune Overlook gives one a good perspective of how large that dune really is. The view from overlook encompasses North and South Manitou Islands, Sleeping Bear Bay, Pyramid Point and Sleeping Bear Dunes.

Along the drive are stops to take in the cottonwood trees and the beech maple forest. There are several trails available to hike but we did not have time today.

The origin of Sleeping Bear Dune is explained by the Chippewa Indians.

Long ago, along the Wisconsin shoreline, a mother bear and her two cubs
Were driven into lake Michigan by a raging forest fire. The bears swam
For many hours, but eventually the cubs tired and lagged behind. Mother bear
Reached the shore and climbed to the top of a high bluff to watch and wait for
Her cubs. Too tired to continue the cubs drowned wit6hin sight of the shore.
The Great Spirit Manitou created two islands to mark the spot where the cubs disappeared and then created a solitary dune to represent the faithful mother bear.

Sleeping bear Dune is estimated to be about two thousand years old. It is classified as a perched dune because it sits on top of a plateau, high above the lake. For a long time Sleeping Bear Dune stood at about 234 feet, today it is at 132 feet due to erosion.

The dune is impressive and a challenge for the many hearty soles who choose to run down the dune and then try to climb back up. The angle of the dune is very steep and the beach sand makes climbing even more difficult. There were quite a few people attempting to climb back up

<---- not ants thay are pepole.

the dune while we watched. This was one event we both decided to pass on.

Some local residents told us that frequently the town of Empire rescue team has had to come out to get the people who can’t make it up the dune. They now do it by water and the rescued must pay the tab on the cost of their rescue. They also told us that several people have suffered heart attacks while trying to conquer the dune.

Watch Video.........