All posts by exploRVistas

We are full time RVers on a mission to find America's story. We feel that by moving our house to a location and living among the locals for a bit, we allow ourselves the opportunity to understand that area's people. Our motto is "Don't just see it...BE it"©
Florida, Fulltime RVing

Melbourne Beach, Florida

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Back in August, Diana’s mom was doing well enough that we thought we could possibly spend the winter in Florida.  We put a deposit down on a campground in Malabar, Florida. We also purchased two round trip tickets for Diana to fly back and tend to her mom every few weeks. As time wore on, we realized that Mom’s deteriorating condition would require us to stay, so we planned on spending the winter in Michigan. A special thank you to Southwest Airlines for refunding those non-refundable tickets!  When her mom passed December 1, there was no longer a need to remain in Michigan.  Our friends from Wild Cherry, Rod and Mary, have a home in Melbourne Beach, just across the Indian River from Malabar.  Rod had spotted a place he thought we would like better, right on the beach.  Problem was, they didn’t take reservations!  Well, knowing we had a place in Malabar definitely helped, so we made a dash to get here, in hopes that they still had a spot for us.  They did indeed, and our new home for the next few months is Melbourne Beach Mobile Park!

  

Our first morning was greeted with a beautiful sunrise.  The previous 4 days was all driving, so we were ready to sit still.  🙂

  

Our site is big enough for both of our vehicles; something that is fairly hard to find in Florida…especially near the beach.

  

The park spans the entire barrier island, from the Atlantic Ocean…

  

……to the intercoastal waterway known as the Indian River.  There is good fishing to be had off of their dock.  A1A, the famous coastal highway, divides the beach side of the park from the main portion of the property.

  

There are plenty of pelicans, cormorants, egrets and heron that frequent this side of the island.  It is also a great place to watch a sunset.

  

We took a walk to the ocean side of the park this morning and strolled the beach.  The gentle slope of the sand reminded me a lot of Daytona.

  

There was a sea bird convention going on along this portion of the beach.

  

A good portion of these birds were Royal Terns.  Diana also took a video of a group of Sanderlings that you can view here. They were very entertaining to watch!

  
There were a few Turkey Vultures feeding on dead fish.

  
This Atlantic Ghost Crab popped out of its hole to pay us a visit.

  
We saw several Portugese Man o’ War on the beach.  Good reason to stay out of the water…and be very careful where you are walking!

  

  ,
This Great Blue Heron was fishing in an eddy.  We were able to walk within a few yards of it when we passed by.

  
While Melbourne Beach Mobile Park may not be the newest or fanciest park in the area, it appears to be fairly well maintained.  We are looking forward to being able to just relax and enjoy the area, along with visiting friends and relatives.  Cape Canaveral is just a little ways north of us.  The Keys are just a few hours south of here.  It is just perfect for what we need right now.  🙂

Fulltime RVing

Brakes and Breaks

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Sometimes life sends a lemon or two your way.  Best thing to do, of course, is to make lemonade!

We started our trip south on Tuesday.  Our destination was not too far; my aunt’s place in Donaldson, Indiana.  If you recall our post from last year, Paradise in a Corn Field, my 91 year old aunt is a nun who lives at one of the most unique places you would ever expect to find in the middle of northern Indiana’s farmland.  Her brother, (my 89 year old uncle), lives in their independent living facility.  We hadn’t seen them in awhile, so we thought it would be wise to check in with them before we headed south.  The sisters allowed us to park our rig at their transportation facility.  

 

Pretty nice campsite, if I don’t say so myself!  Water and electric included.  Plenty of room for Diana’s Escape, also!  🙂

So not long after I took this photo, we headed out.  Diana left ahead of me, and my plan was to stop and get fuel at the Pilot station on US-30, just east of US-31 at Plymouth, Indiana.  As I pulled up to the pump, I hit the brakes and heard the low rumble and grind of metal-to-metal coming from the front brakes.  I fueled up, pulled around back to the truck parking area, grabbed my flashlight and started inspecting the calipers.   Sure enough, the inside pad on the left front brake was bad.  I had just had these brakes done in Florida a little over a year ago, so this should not have happened.  On top of that, I had just had The Works done at my longtime Ford dealer on Thursday in Grand Rapids…a service that includes a brake inspection.  I was not told there was an issue.  Needless to say, after voicing my displeasure to them,  I have a refund coming for that work.  :). Anyway, there I was in Plymouth, trying to find someone to work on the truck.  No one was able to get me in, so I called the good folks at NAPA  Pilgrim Auto Parts and located a set of brake pads.  I limped over there by downshifting and using the trailer brakes only (Diana was already 1/2 hour south and sitting tight by the time I had realized what was going on) and the woman at the parts counter had my pads waiting for me.  I bought a heavy duty set of jack stands and a bottle jack, and she directed me to an empty former Kmart parking lot.  I put my high school auto shop skills to use, installed the new brake pads and was back on the road within two hours!  Fortunately I had all the tools I needed, short of the jack and the stands.

With a fresh batch of lemonade in the fridge (so to speak), we were rolling.  Previous to our departure, I had been emailing the destination we had planned to stop at that night; Singing Hills RV Park and Campground in Cave City, Kentucky.  The owner, Eldon, came across in his emails as being a very nice gentleman.  I really wanted to push hard and make it there, so we both navigated around Indianapolis and Louisville and made it to Singing Hills at dusk.  We were not disappointed. Eldon was a very kind man, and he was very proud of his small campground. It was quiet and peaceful, except for the rooster that woke us at sunrise.  :). We decided to stay for two nights, so Diana could work on thank you notes for her mom’s funeral….and so we could catch our breath.

  

Eldon and his wife had decorated the campground for Christmas, which was a nice touch after a long day.  🙂

 

Thursday revealed the inviting rural setting. Later in the morning, we tried to make arrangements to meet up with Kelly and Bill from bkamericanodyssey, after she saw a post I had made on Facebook about being in the area. They are working over at Amazon in Campbellsville, about an hour from where we were.  We also wanted to see Peg and Michele, who we had met at the RV-Dreams rally last year.  Scheduling didn’t work out, so we opted to make the effort to meet up in Florida.

After Diana had finished up what she wanted to do for the day on the thank you notes, we did a little exploring in the area.  Singing Hills is a couple of miles from the entrance to Mammoth Cave National Park.  We had been in the cave in the early 1980’s.  Quite frankly, caves aren’t exactly my thing, so I wasn’t in a hurry to go back down there.  Diana had scoped out a couple of places for us to visit.  The first was Chaser’s Kentucky Chocolates, which specializes in bourbon balls and other liquor-infused delights.  We had an interesting conversation with the owner about how they got their start in South Bend, Indiana, selling bootleg bourbon chocolate to Notre Dame students.  :). Indiana liquor laws ended up forcing them out, and they decided to move their business to Kentucky. We both came away with some fudge. Next up was an Amish store that was on the opposite side of the park, so we drove through to get there.  Along the way, we were surprised at the beauty of the Mammoth Cave NP above the ground!  The hills and the trees were amazing….even without leaves on the trees.  We also noticed that they have a crushed limestone bike path throughout the park.  We will keep that in mind for the future.

Along the route, we came to the Green River ferry.

  

  

This free of charge gem takes vehicles back and forth across the river in less than five minutes.  The vessel rides along cables that are strung high above to keep the boat from floating down the river.

  

In the image above, you can see the cable system.  The low winter sun on the trees was something to see. Now knowing how beautiful this area is in the winter, we will be sure to stop again in warmer weather.

We arrived at Detweiler’s Country Store and spent 1/2 hour checking the place out.  I kept my camera stowed, out of respect for the Amish not wanting their photos taken.  We enjoy perusing the multitude of goods available in these types of stores.  Living off the grid, they are usually lit by gas lights, and this establishment was no different.  But I did notice that they also were using LED lights, which are powered by a diesel generator.  We find it fascinating to see the Amish and Mennonite communities in action, as they are so self sufficient.  We also notice that their interpretation of which modern convinces are acceptable varies between communities.  Some allow indoor plumbing and some don’t.  A few will use cell phones, and others will use a landline telephone mounted on a pole by the road.  Horses and buggies are the mode of transportation…unless a non-Amish neighbor is driving them somewhere in a 15 passenger Ford Econoline van.  Whatever the case, it all seems to work well for them.  And while I am grateful for the modern convinces that make our lives what they are, the Amish always cause me to reflect on how technology can tend to overtake us.  In leading their lives the way they do, they provide a reality check for those of us who prefer to embrace modern ways.

Friday morning, we woke up to snow flurries.  Our plan was to only drive 200 miles to northern Alabama, but we ended up going 300 miles to Birmingham, so as to try to find some warmer temperatures.  That last 50 miles is turning out to be too much for us, so we are going to try to put our upper limit at 250 miles per day in the future.  On the subject of driving in two separate vehicles, it is working well for us.  Diana is able to drive ahead and scout accessibility for the rig.  Once at the campgrounds, we are able to keep the truck and trailer hooked up and run our errands in the Escape.  That is a huge deal.  The walkie talkies work well when we are within a mile of each other, but a quick phone call seems to work better overall.

That’s it for the first part of our journey to Florida.  We will reveal our winter destination, once we reach it.  While we have been to the Sunshine State countless times, this will be the first time we will have spent an extended period there.  Stay tuned and safe travels!  🙂

Family, Fulltime RVing

Preparing to Head South!

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C’mon baby, drive south…with the one you love…

Suzy Bogguss

Before we go any further in this post, Diana and I want to thank all of you who sent your thoughts and wishes our way after her mom’s passing.  Our family is very appreciative of the outpouring of love and good will that was wrapped around us. We are fortunate to be surrounded by such wonderful friends and family. Again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

So here we are, well prepared to face another winter in Michigan.  The fifth wheel is skirted and El Niño is keeping Michigan’s temperatures in the low 40’s and snow free.  Should we just stay here or should we find our way south?  That question can be swiftly answered with a statement Diana’s mom used to use on me:  “Boy, you are nuts in the head.”  Time to open the tool box, grab my utility knife and get that skirting off the rig!

When Diana’s parents retired, and they were able to spend winters in Florida, her dad called and advised us not to wait until we retired but rather to move to Florida right then. We responded that we had jobs and were working toward retirement. He still thought we should just pull up roots and not spend one more winter in the cold. We are sure he is very pleased that he gets to be with mom again, and we are finally escaping the snow!

The time since returning to Grand Rapids from the funeral has been spent wrapping up loose ends and preparing to make the trip south.  While we have technically been fulltime RVers for over a year now, this is really our official launch of being able to head out and see where the wind takes us.  That prospect still hasn’t totally sunk into our minds yet.  As one can well imagine, this is a bittersweet time for the two of us…as we grieve losing Mom.  Fortunately she had a stellar sense of humor, and we don’t have to dig too deep to bring a smile to our faces with one of her quips.  🙂

Part of our preparation for heading out has been to get both vehicles ready to go.  Yes, we’ve decided to keep our Ford Escape.  That vehicle was the biggest item on our ‘pros and cons’ list.  This very subject came up at the RV-Dreams rally in September, 2014.  Howard and Linda travel this way, with Howard driving the truck/fifth wheel and Linda in their Jeep Liberty.  One would think that the economics of having two vehicles would be cost prohibitive.  That actually is not the case, as the fuel and maintenance savings of driving a much smaller vehicle at our destinations makes the money aspect a ‘wash’.  Howard has crunched those numbers for 10 years now and has proven that to be a fact.  Fulltime RVers travel an average of 5000 miles a year between destinations. If we limit the truck travel to that and some short travel to lakes and bicycle trails (the kayaks and trikes ride on the truck), we will save a bunch on gas and maintenance, while extending the useful life of our much more expensive truck.  Plus, the Escape is much easier to park.  This makes it more fun in resort towns, beaches, and even going to the grocery store. Our biggest con is not getting to ride together between destinations.  Some might see that as a pro, but we really do like riding together. :).  Part of the fulltime lifestyle is limiting our travel to about 200 miles a day, so we won’t be having the long driving days of past vacations. When we went to dinner with Howard and Linda in October, they reminded us that they use walkie talkies to stay in touch.  As a result, we have purchased a set of Midland two-way radios to accomplish that.  We will see how it works out.  The one point that Linda made that struck home was this:  We own the Escape.  She suggested to try traveling with two vehicles and see if we like it.  If not, we can sell the Escape at a later date.  Linda has a knack for seeing the forest through the trees.  🙂

So the past week for me has been oil changes, new Goodyear Wranglers for the Escape, new RV compatible Garmin GPS units, and finishing up our drawer and door lock projects.  Diana has been busy with wrapping up her mom’s personal business.  We hope to pull out of Grand Rapids by the middle of next week.  We are donating our skirting to our next door neighbor in the campground.  In a rare moment of regret….something I just don’t do very often… I lamented to Peter at Life Unscripted that I should have waited on skirting the trailer.  He reminded me that I made the best decision with the information available to me at the time.  That meant a lot, Peter…thanks!  Although Mom was having a rough go of it, her track record of fortitude gave us every reason to believe that she was going to be with us for awhile.  Quite frankly, I wish we still needed the skirting.

So there you have it.  We will reveal our destinations as we reach them, as fulltime RVers have a motto : Our plans are set in Jello.  For now, all we are saying is: stay tuned and…..
C’mon baby, drive south!


Family

Mom

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Just a quick note to let everyone know that Diana’s mom, Joyce Halstead, made her journey to Heaven this morning.  While we will miss her earthly presence, her spirit will always be with us.

Diana and Jim

Fulltime RVing, RV Maintenance and Upgrades

Working on a few projects and upgrades

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Once we arrived back in Grand Rapids to be with Diana’s mom, we thought we would take the opportunity to get a few maintenance issues with the rig taken care of, along with a few upgrades we had wanted to accomplish.  Grand Rapids is Michigan’s second largest city, and everything we need to get the job done is here at our fingertips.

The first order of business was to get the leaking steering box on the F-350 replaced.  Turns out that there is a huge back order on the part, and no one seems to be able to get one.  Mark up at Uncle Rod’s in Elk Rapids even did a search for me, to no avail.  Of all the vehicles I’ve had over the years, this is my first steering box issue.  I am amazed that they are that hard to get, as was Mark.  The mechanic at Ford told me it wasn’t leaking too bad, and to just keep an eye on the power steering fluid.  Meanwhile, I’ll keep searching….
The next project was to install the skirting on the trailer again.  What took me a good 4 days to do last year was whittled down to 2 days this year.


Not only was it faster, but I also was able to do a better job of it.  Not what I would refer to as a ‘thing of beauty’, but it gets the job done in a big way.  The temperature sensor was at 45 degrees under there this morning, and the outdoor reading was at 22.  The electric heater underneath will not kick on until it reaches 41 degrees, which it has yet to do.

Inside the trailer, I put 3M window film on the windows.  While it doesn’t totally eliminate the condensation on the aluminum frames, it greatly reduces the moisture on the windows and cuts down on the drafts.

Once that was done, I was able to concentrate on two sets of improvements I had wanted to tackle:  new drawer glides and cabinet latches.  Having spent my career in the cabinet industry, I was impressed with the quality of the doors, frames and drawer boxes in our fifth wheel when we first saw it.  The  drawer glides were standard epoxy-coated glides, and I had always planned on upgrading them to full extension drawer glides.  I’m in the process of doing that now.  In conjunction with that, I am installing new cabinet latches.  A year ago, I purchased a couple of sets of Tot Loks.  There were several glowing reviews of them on the RV forums, so I thought I would try them out.  We had a few issues where our cabinet doors and drawers popped open as we were going down the highway, and these locks will prevent that from happening.


With the red lever flipped forward, the latch remains open for everyday use.


With the lever flipped back, the latch pops open.  When you close the door, it is closed and latched.  The only way to open it is….


…with the included magnet.  All you have to do is set the magnet near the location of the lock on the front of the door and you can hear it unlatch.  Open the door, flip the lever forward and you are good to go.  Nothing is visible from the outside.

With that being said, installation is a little tricky.  The latch requires a hole to be drilled in the back of the door that comes within 1/8″ of the front.  I am using a metal over-the-bit depth gauge on my drill bit that is set to 5/8″ deep, so I have confidence I won’t pop through the front.  The company that makes the Tot Lock has answered customer concerns about this by developing a new lock called the Safety 1st Magnetic Locking System that doesn’t require a deep hole to be drilled in the door…only the smaller pilot holes for the mounting screws.  Reviews seem to be as good as they were for the Tot Lock, without the installation complaints.  Though both were designed to keep children out of the cabinets in a home, they work great in keeping the contents of the cabinets from flying out while going down the road in an RV.  We haven’t road tested them yet, but I’m not able to open the door by pulling hard on the knob.  I’m sure they will work well for us.

Family, Fulltime RVing

A Time For Mom

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I thought I’d write a quick update to let everyone know what our winter plans are.  We came back to Grand Rapids for the month of November, hoping to find an opportunity to head to Florida for the winter.  That all hinged on our assessment of Diana’s mom’s health.  Not long after our arrival, she took a turn for the worse. It became obvious that we needed to be here.  Mom is now on hospice, and even though she is a fighter, her health is declining.  But beyond that, we just want to be with her.  She lights up when she sees us, as do we when we are with her.  It’s a tough time in the circle of life, but also a very sacred time.

So beginning tomorrow, the skirting goes back on the trailer, as we prepare to face another West Michigan winter.  We are supposed to get measurable snow here on Saturday.  I am going to find myself referring to my own blog posts from last winter and taking my own advice!    I sure hope it’s good advice! 🙂   If I come up with any new ideas, I’ll be sure to pass them along.  We will be posting from warmer winter locales in due time.  For now, it’s Mom’s time and turf…and that is a pretty special place to be.

  
Diana and her mom on Mom’s 80th birthday last April. 

Fulltime RVing, Grand Rapids, Michigan, TerraTrike

Rail Trails of Grand Rapids, Michigan

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On November 1, we relocated back to Grand Rapids, Michigan to be near Diana’s mom.  We are evaluating the situation and trying to make the best decision regarding where to spend the winter.

Our first week back, we have been fortunate to have had some great fall weather.  For three consecutive days, we had temperatures in the low 70’s, and we took advantage of the sunshine and checked out the local rail trails.  The Grand Rapids metro area is home to an extensive collection of recreational trails, and each year brings more miles of paths onto the region’s map.

  
The above image shows the trails marked in red.  As you can see, it is quite possible to ride a very long distance!  🙂

On Monday, November 2, we drove to the southern terminus of Kent Trails in Byron Center. This asphalt pathway was paved in 1992, and is the oldest rail trail in the region.  It runs on the rail bed of the defunct Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad, which first ran on this portion of land in 1870.  At its peak, the railroad ran from Cincinnati, Ohio to Mackinaw City, Michigan, and was the route that Ernest Hemmingway took on his excursions to Northern Michigan from Chicago.

  
Coming north out of Byron Center, the trail runs between the two halves of Railside Golf Course.  There are two of these graceful golf cart bridges over the path.

  
A few miles north, the trail goes under M-6, otherwise known as the South Beltline or the Paul Henry Freeway.  We purposely are not political on this blog, but Mr. Henry’s legacy bears mentioning.  Paul Henry was a Republican U.S. Congressman who oversaw the same district that Gerald Ford held when he was a congressman.  From that office, Ford moved into the vice-presidency and then the presidency.  Mr. Henry was known to vote with his conscience, even if it meant that he went against the rest of his party and President Reagan, which was quite remarkable in such a heavily Republican district.  We had the pleasure of meeting him as he passed us at an outdoor cafe in Grand Rapids, and he was a true gentleman who was well respected on both sides of the aisle.  He ended up getting a brain tumor and passing at age 51.  During his tenure, this much needed highway was in the planning stages.

  
When we got to the five mile mark, we discovered that the trail passed by the new Cabela’s store in Grandville.  We stopped for a little bit, then headed back the five miles to our truck.

On Tuesday, we rode on the northern portion of the Paul Henry Thornapple Trail.  This particular trail is still under development, and runs along a former railroad between Grand Rapids and Vermontville to the southeast.  When complete, it will be 42 miles long.

  
We started on the outskirts of town and rode north into Kentwood, a southern suburb of Grand Rapids.

  
The trail was very nice.  We did have to cross a five lane portion of 52nd Street, but it was at a traffic light.  There was a nice city park with restrooms near that intersection.

  
We came to an intersection with the East-West Trail and continued north on the Paul Henry Trail.  The neighborhood started to get a little too urban for our taste, so we backtracked to the East-West Trail and checked it out.

  
This is a fairly new route that runs along a series of high tension power lines through a Consumers Energy corridor.  It’s definitely a suburban route, and is a great use of the land.  This particular raised wooden path over a swamp was first rate!

  
Kudos to Consumers Energy for partnering with the community on this trail!

On Wednesday, we decided to check out one of the premiere trails in Michigan: The Fred Meijer White Pine Linear State Park.  This trail runs along the same Grand Rapids and Indiana corridor that Kent Trails runs on, only the White Pine is from Grand Rapids north to Cadillac…a distance of 92 miles.  

  
The southern 22 miles is asphalt, with the rest being a hopscotch of asphalt and crushed limestone.  We started out in the town of Belmont and headed north.

  

In the parking lot, we had met this fellow TerraTrike owner who constructed this sidecar for her doggie. That was one happy puppy!
  
The trail ran near the Rogue River, and there were several deep ravines.  This particular portion of the railroad grade dates back to 1867.

  
Just prior to passing under 10 Mile Road, the route crosses an old bridge over the river.

  
It then runs through the quaint town of Rockford.  Longtime readers may recall our post from this town last December called ‘A Small Town Christmas’.  On this beautiful November day, the town was packed with people enjoying the sunshine.

  
We had a trailside lunch at Ramona’s Table, which was delicious!

From there, we continued north for a bit.

  
Pretty soon, Diana pointed skyward…

  

….and the leaves appeared to be raining out of the clear blue sky!
  
We ended up pedaling to 12 Mile Road, which was six miles from our starting point.  We headed back and called it a day.

These pathways are just a small sampling of what the area has to offer.  We look forward to exploring more of West Michigan’s trails in the future.

Fulltime RVing, Leelanau Conservancy, Michigan

Houdek Dunes Natural Area

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The last of the Leelanau Conservancy preserves we visited for the year was Houdek Dunes Naural Area.  We went there after completing our hike at Whaleback on October 19th.

  
Looking at the map, we hiked the entire outer loop, except the Ridgeline Trail, as we were pretty tired from the combined hikes.

At 370 acres, this property is one of the largest preserves owned by the conservancy.  A portion of the land was farmed over a century ago by Charles and Isabelle Houdek.  In 1998, the conservancy purchased it for $680,000 from a developer who intended to turn it into a golf course.  After visiting, we are so happy that did not happen.

  
The first portion of the trail went through a heavily forested back dune.  This is the area behind the main slope of the dunes that face Lake Michigan.  With the carpet of fallen leaves, we had a hard time making out the trail in some spots.

  
There was every color of the rainbow!

  
The maples were intense, with reds, yellows and greens.

  
There was fungi…

  
…and more fungi!

  
Really cool mosses……

 
…and more cool mosses!

  
One really amazing feature of Houdek Dunes are the giant white birch trees.  Normally a ‘transitional’ tree between a juvenile and mature forest, these birches have survived for over a century.

  
And a favorite spot for photos is this 100 year old maple.  Diana is doing her best to hug it, but that is a huge tree!

  
It is rumored that you can occasionally see wildlife swinging from its’ branches!

  
Farther along the trail there is an overlook at Houdek Creek, which is the largest tributary into northern Lake Leelanau.  Notice how clear this spring fed steam is. The sand bank is fragile, so access to the creek is discouraged.

  
In 2011, the descendants of Charles and Isabelle Houdek funded and built a deck overlooking the creek.  Are those glasses of wine?  Well…it is the Leelanau Peninsula…..  😃

  
The last part of the trail passes across a blowout dune, where the wind is winning out over the vegetation.

We thoroughly enjoyed our hike at Houdek Dunes, and we can’t wait to go back and hike the Rigeline Trail sometime in the future.

Well that wraps up our summer in Leelanau County and at Wild Cherry Resort.  We had a fabulous time!  

  
  Stay tuned to see what vista we explore next!

Fulltime RVing, Leelanau Conservancy, Michigan

Whaleback Natural Area

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On Monday, October 19, we decided to check out another one of Leelanau Conservancy’s preserves, Whaleback Natural Area.

  
To truly appreciate why mariners referred to this bluff as ‘whaleback’, you must first view it from Good Harbor Beach to the southeast.  From that vantage point, it appears as a giant sea creature on the horizon.

The starting point for the trail is just south of the village of Leland, just off of M22.  There is a spur trail that snakes between two private parcels of land to reach the 40 acre glacial moraine. 

  
At 1.6 miles, this is not a tremendously long hike, although there is a steady elevation change as you crest the whale’s back.

Click here to see the wind whipping through the trees on our hike.  We had a steady 30 mph breeze that day, coming straight out of the southwest.

  
 
One of the challenges we faced on this hike was the amount of acorns on the spur trail.  They were like walking on ball bearings!  🙂

  
We passed this fallen tree that was covered with bracket fungi.

  

It wasn’t too long until we came to the Good Harbor Bay overlook.  The wind was pretty much hitting us head on.

Click here to see a short video of the bay.  We saw something in the distance across the water, but we couldn’t make out what it was.  I suspected it was a freighter tucked into the bay to escape the wind and waves.  More on that later…

 

This photo is typical of the landscape on the crown of the bluff.  The high canopy of the trees created a very pleasant space on the forest floor.

  

The ravines off of the summit were steep and were absolutely gorgeous! 
  
  

The sun through the trees created a surreal scene.  🙂 
After we left the preserve, we decided to drive down to Good Harbor Beach to see if we could figure out if we were seeing a freighter or not.

  

Sure enough, it was a sizable ship.  I checked the Great Lakes Seaway and Shipping website and discovered it was the 844 foot tug/ barge combination Joyce Van Enkevort/Great Lakes Trader.  Turns out, this wasn’t the only ship seeking refuge in the bays along Lake Michigan.  I noticed another one on the website farther north in Little Traverse Bay near Petoskey.  Even though were on the leeward shore of the bay, the wind was blowing the tops off of the waves, as seen in Diana’s video here.

Whaleback really was different than anything we had seen on the Leelanau Peninsula.  If you are in the area and get a chance to hike it, we think you will enjoy it!

 

Fulltime RVing, Leelanau Conservancy, Michigan

Clay Cliffs Natural Area

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As stated in our previous post, we recently explored three of the many natural areas that are managed by the Leelanau Conservancy.  The first place we visited was Clay Cliffs Natural Area, located just north of the village of Leland.  It sits on the 1/4 mile ribbon of land that separates northern Lake Leelanau from Lake Michigan.  Our friends Lane and Patti had recently visited here, and based on their recommendations we wanted to check it out before we left Leelanau for the year.

  

We went there in the evening on October 14, grabbing the last sliver of blue skies between the end of our shift at Wild Cherry Resort and a weather front that was moving in from the southwest.

Arriving at the parking area, we spotted the orange notice on the sign board.

  

Below is an explanation as to why they allow hunting on this particular land.

  
 

This particular area is open to hunting.  Michigan’s deer archery season is currently open, so we put on our hunter’s orange fleece vests as recommended.

Diana took a photo of the map on the sign. Lane taught us this little trick.  🙂

  
 

Not only is there 1700 feet of Lake Michigan shoreline in the preserve, there is also the corresponding amount of Lake Leelanau frontage.  The meadow on the southern edge of the property was farmland prior to the preserve’s establishment in 2013.

  

The first part of the trail was fairly wide as it twisted through mixed hardwoods.

  

To our delight, the trails were a bit more primitive than the trails at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.  There are 1.5 miles of trails on the 100 acre property, with an elevation gain of 150 feet.  As you are able to see in the photo, the leaves were still very green on October 14th on the peninsula.  Just 10 miles inland from the lakeshore, the trees were well into their colorful autumn cycle.

  
 

There were a few wildflowers in bloom.  I attempted to photograph them with my iPhone, but I wasn’t very successful.  This area is said to be full of trillium in the spring.

  

We spotted this large beech tree and were intrigued by the twists and turns it has had to make in its struggle to seek sunlight throughout its life.

  

Diana gave the tree a big hug in honor of David from the blog In the Direction of Our Dreams, who is currently struggling with health issues.  He loves to wrap his arms around tree trunks, and Diana has been wanting to send him her best wishes for awhile now.  If you get a chance, send David a little love through your favorite tree.  🙂

  

Upon reaching Lake Michigan, the observation deck appeared along the trail.

  

The deck extends out over the clay cliffs that the natural area are named after.  While this is a glacial moraine like the rest of the peninsula, the sculpted clay formations here are different than are found at other locations in the area.  The typical composition of the land that makes up Leelanau is sand and gravel, while clay is found in high concentrations at this preserve.

  

Looking southwest, the line of fast approaching clouds signaled that we made it just in time!  🙂

Click here for a short video of the overlook.  North Manitou Island is seen to the right, and South Manitou is off to the left.  Both islands are part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, and are within Leelanau County’s borders.  Interestingly enough, 86% of the county’s 2532 square miles is water… the second highest percentage of any county in the United States. Top billing goes to Keweenaw County, Michigan at 91%, primarily due to the amount of Lake Superior between the mainland and Isle Royale, which is part of the county.

  

Once the front came closer, the sun created several beams of light over the lake.  Looking at the radar on my phone, I saw that there was rain in those clouds.  We decided to skip the southern loop of the trail and head straight back the way we came.  Lane and Patti had taken the southern route a few weeks before us and found some huge puff mushrooms, where the trail transcends from forest to meadow.  We will have to look for those at another time.

  

 We did take note of the green ferns in the forest, though.  Most ferns in Michigan are brown by October.
Clay Cliffs opened up an entirely new facet of Leelanau that we weren’t aware of.  We look forward to discovering more of the areas being protected by the Leelanau Conservancy.