Michigan and Road Trip Wrap-up

Michigan - What a beautiful state!  A few sites and visits along the way.

Bond Falls

In 2011 we met RV'ers Joe & Opal in FL.  We've seen them several times in different states and they are from MI and spend their summers in Ishpeming.  We had a great lunch with them after hitting the MI high point.  Thanks for the visit!

Soo Locks, Sault Ste. Marie

Lake Michigan

In 2012 we met Jake Acton on a mountain in Washington and we've enjoyed keeping in touch and catching up in FL and AZ as well.  He's from Michigan and his parents still live here so we had a great time finally meeting Jim & Laura and getting the feel of the great little town of Ludington.  

Road Trip Wrap-Up:

• 14 days
• 5,102 miles driven
• 7 State High Points - Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan (our #38-#44)
• 10 states we drove through (all of the above as well as PA, OH and IN)
• 4 National Parks - Badlands and Wind Cave (SD), Theodore Roosevelt (ND) and Voyageurs (MN)
• 1 National Memorial - Mount Rushmore in SD
• 1 Memorial - Crazy Horse in SD
• 4 Great Lakes - Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake Erie
• 1 pooped puppy

What an adventure!  Where will we go next year?!

Til next time...Happy Trails!

High Points #43 and #44 - WI and MI

On Monday we accomplished our goal of bagging 7 state high points on this road trip!

Wisconsin - Timms Hill - 1,951 ft. - #43

Michigan - Mount Arvon - 1,978 ft. - #44

That's the end of our high points for 2016.  We only have 5 more to go (not including Alaska):

Nevada - Boundary Peak - 13,140' (hope to get this one in the spring of 2017)
Utah - Kings Peak - 13,528' (hope to get this one in the spring of 2017)
Montana - Granite Peak- 12,799' (2018 or 2019)
Wyoming - Gannett Peak - 13,804' (2018 or 2019)
California - Mount Whitney (the plan right now is Aug, 2020 at the completion of the John Muir Trail)

Til next time...Happy Trails!

Minnesota

Voyageurs National Park - This little gem is tucked away in the northern part of Minnesota.  It is a boater and fisherman's dream area as the only way to really visit the park is on the water.  After a stop in the Visitor Center for our NP Passport Stamp we were taking pictures down by the dock.  A gentleman in a boat waved us over and said we couldn't just take pictures from the shore and that we should hop in for a quick ride to take some really nice pictures (what timing!).  Doug and Mary Lou are from Iowa and have been coming up here to their cabin since 1970.  Thank you so much for this priceless little tour of the area!

After the park we headed towards the coast of Lake Superior for a night of camping before our next high point.  

Eagle Mountain - 2,301' and our 42nd high point!  This high point is considered the 9th-most isolated high point in the US.  It was another spectacular 7 mile round trip hike.

Lake Superior

Til next time...Happy Trails!

The Dakotas

In between the high points we took in the incredible scenery, a few National Parks and Memorials.

Badlands National Park

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Crazy Horse Memorial - We were fortunate to be there for 1 of 2 days each year when they have an evening blast.  It was an incredible show (but unfortunately not photographed).

Custer State Park and Wind Cave National Park

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Til next time...Happy Trails!