September 29-30 - L’Anse Twp Campground

We found a gem of a campground. Only have electric but the view of Keweenaw Bay is gorgeous. 

On Monday we drove farther north to Keweenaw National Historic site to get a stamp for my Passport book. This area was a huge copper mining business but now Montana produces more copper than this area. You can take a tour of the mine but decided that we had already been down in a WV mine so didn’t need another one.  

We continued on north to Copper Harbor, a small town at the tip of the Upper Peninsula. Stopped for a beer at Brickside Brewery before starting back to the campground. 

Sunset from our campground 

Monday we drove 11miles on a well maintained gravel road to Point Abbye, the tip of Keweenaw Bay. So worth it. A nice drive and a beautiful spot to sit and have lunch. 

After this we tried to find some water falls but all we saw were more backroads. 

Made it back to camp safely for a fire, smash burgers, and time to read. We had some delicious smash burgers at a brewery in Marquette so Bill decided to try making some. We made chili smash burgers that were yummy. 

Sunsets across the bay were beautiful. 


Tomorrow we start the trek back home. The Gourd Farm will be our next stop near the Mackinac Bridge. 

September 28 - Biking, Flat tire, Brewery

From Otter Lake Campground, we drove back into Marquette to bike on their trail system. We started

Out on the same one but went north through town and continued on through woods. It was another beautiful fall day, blue skies with temps in the low 60s to mid 80s. 

Everything was going along great till Bill’s bike had a flat tire. 

I was amazed that Bill remembered how to change a tire. Looked complicated to me but he has the tire off in a couple minutes. We were fortunate that where the tire blew was about a quarter of a mile from a bike shop. I called and they had a tube the size we needed. So Bill jumped on my bike and road to the bike shop, picked up a new tube and was back quickly. Unfortunately, not everything was right so back to the bike shop. Finally had what he needed, changed the tire and we were back on the trail again. I had planned to stop at a quilt shop in town but they were closed by the time we were finished. But the brewery wasn’t. That’s where we went. Two brews and everything was good again. 

The brewery had one of the largest pumpkins I’ve ever seen. 

Back at camp we had a fire and s’mores for

Our last night at this campground. 

Tomorrow we will drive farther up the UP near Cooper Harnor. 

September 27 - Quilt Shop, Hike and Falls

We’ve stayed at Otter Creek  campground because it’s central to a lot of steering. Today we drove to Grand Marais, east of Munising and the end of Pictured Rock National Lakeshore. 

We hike through woods and down 168 steps to view Sable Falls, a 75’ cascade. 

Once back in Munising, I visited a quilt shop that had topper Fabric and they were having a shop hop so fabric was 25% off. Of course I had to buy some for the memories!

Then we stopped by By George brewery   IPAs were tasty. A winery was just down the street so of course we tried a flight of their wines. 

Back at the campground, we had some cheese and crackers by the lake. A relaxing end to our day. 

Sept 26 - Marquette and Pictured Rocks Boat Ride

We decided to drive about 44 miles west  to Marquette, MI to ride their Iron Heritage bike trail. Was worth the drive. We ride about 16 miles along Lake Superior. 

Our first stop was at the recreated iron furnace. 

Rode to Presque Isle where we turned around. 


A stop at a brewery in town before packing up the bikes to drive back to Otter Lake Campground. 




After our bike ride, we dropped the boys off at the RV to take naps and we drove back into town for our Pictured Rocks boat ride to see the colorful sandstone cliffs. The name Pictured Rocks comes from the streaks of mineral stain decorating the face of the cliffs. 

September 25-Otter Lake Campground, Munising

Drove across Mackinac Bridge into the Upper Peninsula. 

The drive was scenic with mostly trees, which are beginning to change color. 

Once we got to Otter Lake Campground and setup, we drove to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. We hiked to Miners Falls and Miners Castle. 

Tomorrow we are driving to Marquette to ride bikes and then a boat ride to view Pictured Rocks from the Lake Superior. 

September 24 - Mackinac Island

Although it’s a gray day with the possibility of rain, we still decided to take the ferry across to Mackinac Island. Since there are no cars allowed on the island, we had hoped to take our e-bikes but at this time no bikes with a throttle are allowed so we just planned to walk around the island. 

The ferry boat was a little rocky over the water but no one got sick 😁. Water would splash up on the side of the boat from time to time. It’s about a 20-minute ride to the Shepler Docks. 

Once we arrived, we got our bearings and decided to see the fort first, following Ashley Cummings’ recommendations. 

Once we climbed to the top of the fort, the view of Lake Huron and Mackinac was impressive. 

The fort is an 18th-century fort and fur trading village, reconstructed based on historic maps. We walked around the fort and through the buildings, reading about the history. 

From the fort, we hiked to Arch Rock, another recommendation from Ashley. It was a nice walk through woods and the botanical garden. 

Arch Rock was formed over thousands of years by wind and water. It rises 146’ above the water and spans 50’ at its widest. 

Walking back towards town, it started to rain a little. We passed beautiful large houses, hotels and bed and breakfasts. 

We decided to eat at Michigan’s most historic  tavern, the Mustang Lounge. We ate soup on the porch and had a few beers. We met a young couple from Chicago and enjoyed talking about where we and they have traveled. 

Since it was still raining, we decided to take the ferry back to our RV. 

Tomorrow we drive to the Upper Peninsula. 

September 23 - Anniversary and Biking

The drive north toward Mackinaw City was sparsely populated and very little traffic. We were lucky to get a  campsite at Wilderness State Park right along Lake Michigan. The park is well maintained and about 11 miles from Mackinaw City where we need to catch the ferry to Mackinac Island. 

We drove into Mackinaw City to check out the ferry and to stop at a brewery. There is only one ferry running now because tourist season is over and the ferry stops around October 30. 

A stop at Rusted Spoke Brewery before going back to the campsite. 

Our campground has lots of hike opportunities so we took the bikes on a 12-mile ride along Lake Michigan. 

Yes Lenny and Banjo were with us. 

Sunset over the lake was beautiful. 

It gets chilly here at night plus there isn’t much ambient light so this spot is one of the dark sky areas to see the stars shining brightly.   

We are on the west end of the eastern time zone so it’s dark in the mornings till about 7:15. Good sleeping. 

September 21-22 — Fan Tail Farm

Fan Tail Farm in Bezonia, MI, was our next stop. They give wagon rides and sleigh rides. Another peaceful stop about 30 minutes from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park. 

First day here we took a scenic drive around and through the park. Stopped at Lake Michigan so Lenny could play in the sand. 

Stopped at the dunes. High hill of sand. No

Our second day here we got the bikes out and rode about 28 miles on the Sleeping Bear Dunes Heritage Trail. This was our first ride with Lennyband Banjo in their baskets. Lenny kept his head out watching where we were going the whole time. Banjo slept. We were glad they liked to ride because we really enjoy our new e-bikes. 

It rained a little on us as we were getting back to the truck. But it was still a good ride. 

Tomorrow we are going to Wilderness State Park to stay for a few days so we can explore Mackinac Island.