It was an easy flying commute but a tough few hours.  After much back and forth and variations on the theme of “so you’re comfortable with this?” from my end, TC decided it was time to depart Michigan and get her trial by fire qualification via a drive from Michigan to Minneapolis.

In theory this was easy on me as I was able to simply fly to MSP from Boston after my redeye from Oakland.  Much easier than trying to get into Marquette or even Duluth.  In practice, it was nerve-wracking at best, thinking about her doing her first no-kidding long drive with the kiddos and without me.

Quick digression, though… I mentioned Oakland, and this was pretty cool.  I had 24 hours there during my second of two trips while gone from the family back in the UP, and was fortunate enough to have a brunch with my parents, my sister and brother-in-law, and all her kids (one home for the weekend from college even!) at my parents’ house.  This is extremely rare, both managing to do this sort of thing under the auspices of work and getting all of those people together at once.  Noteworthy and unforgettable!

Back to Minneapolis.  I arrived there at about lunchtime while TC and the fam were en route.  I was able to track Keeper’s phone’s location, so every half hour I’d keep my angst in check by bringing up the display of Keeper’s face trucking down Minnesota’s back roads toward Minneapolis.  Progress appeared solid, and I grabbed a Lyft to the park at which we’d planned to camp with the intention to scout campsites and check in prior to their arrival.  We had opted for a park on a lake (you need to work not to be on a lake in Minnesota I think) on the west side of town near a good college friend I’d hoped to visit while in town.

My Lyft driver was a very personable, younger Somali gentleman whom I was able to chat with on the 45 minute drive.  My Navy time never took me to the horn of Africa, and my knowledge of the area is more or less limited to Black Hawk Down and Iman / David Bowie, so I wasn’t the best conversational partner.  I did manage to ask him whether he enjoyed Minnesota (yes, but it’s quite cold in the Winter) and whether he missed Somalia at all (NO!).  Um, duh.

Returning to the family, Tacco killed it.

Managed both the gas station evolution (which requires far more pre-planning than it would appear) and a detour through downtown Minneapolis, the thought of which made me shudder.  They rolled in triumphantly in the late afternoon, and we settled into another thoroughly pleasant campground.  The Midwest seems to do these well.

The following day in Minneapolis was devoted to errands, as we’d yet to have such a day.  Eye exams and new glasses for the kiddos, Trader Joe’s for the rest of us, and a bit of mall time in the interim.  Not the Mall of America mind you, but the one in Wayzata is as thoroughly pleasant as the campground was, as is the rest of the town.  I can see why Brandon and Brenda missed it at times, despite their new Beverly Hills digs.  I’m sensing a recurrent “pleasant” theme in Minnesota.

We spent the evening catching up with one of my college roommates and great friends, and his oldest son at their gorgeous house on (another!) lake in Plymouth.  Fantastic.  As often happens, it ended up being the type of thing that was so brief that it makes me wish for a full-on several day visit instead, but still great to see him.  I’m able to do that sort of fly-by visit quite a bit with my job, but I’m finding that we’re doing even more of it than I’d expected we would with this trip, as we keep remembering about people who are in town and/or others who happen to be either vacationing in our area or currently living somewhere in our path.  It’s turning out to be one of the unexpected benefits of this year.  It would’ve been nice to join them on their boat on Lake Minnetonka the following day, but it was time to head West.

Wed (09 Aug) –

After we dropped Flight off at the airport, we headed into Marquette proper to explore. First, we had brekkie at Donckers, Marquette’s premier candy store (they have a delightful deli above the incredible sweets shop), and I enjoyed the best breakfast sandwich I have ever eaten. Seriously. Instead of being filled with peppermint patties and Doncker’s trademark caramels, which would have been equally scrumptious but maybe after dinner, my sandwich was brimming with hummus, goat cheese, tomato, avocado, ham, and topped with an organic egg – all on house-made focaccia goodness. Words cannot do it justice. The kids went for French toast and hot cakes, but my savory choice was perfect.

I’m not sure how I managed it, but over breakfast I convinced the kids we should check out the Marquette Regional History Museum next.   Unsure how well or for how long the exhibits might capture their attention, I was very pleasantly surprised by how much we all enjoyed the experience. The smaller rotating exhibit was on fly-fishing (something we hope to try on our journey), and I was impressed with the amount of information that was easily communicated in a relatively small space. The girls completed a scavenger hunt as they learned about the local area. The bonus was that the museum was hosting a series of day camp groups, which meant there were a group of play actors discussing the exhibits and we were able to listen in. I spoke with one fellow who was portraying the local blacksmith, whose role was loosely based on his grandfather’s life. My favorite (of course) was the discussion of herbal remedies used in the early 20^th century led by a retired pharmacist.

Hungered by our hours of exploration, we sought out another eating establishment to fill our bellies. As tempted as I was to return to Donckers, we instead chose The Delft Bistro, not due to the Dutch connection but because it boasted a great menu in an intriguing venue. Transformed from a 1914 movie theater, The Delft Bistro continues to show movies while providing delicious fare. The kids were thrilled to be able to watch a movie while enjoying their lunch (not something we usually encourage), and their preoccupation offered me the opportunity to plan out the rest of our afternoon and contemplate the rest of our time in da UP sans Flight.

Happily sated, we walked down W Washington St and found a couple of treasures along the way. As we meandered we found Taiga Games and were suckered in by the largest jigsaw puzzle I have ever seen:

 

Apparently it measures 17’x 6’ when complete. !!! We chose one a little smaller, 1/32 the size to be exact, and a roll-up puzzle mat in which to store it. We also spent considerable time browsing in Book World. Each with a Donckers’ treat, a new book, and a goodie from the museum store, we headed to the Suburu and returned to base, still unidentified mission complete.

Thursday (10 Aug)

In gathering research for the homeschooling aspect of our adventure, a good friend shared that it’s important to build in some down time for every few days of experiential learning to allow the kids to process their experiences. Wise advice, one I followed today. We spent the day reading, relaxing, riding bikes, and enjoying some beachtime.

Friday (11 Aug)

Friday was rainy and made for a perfect laundry day – woo hoo! Although there are some larger RVs that have a small washer and dryer aboard, ours does not. Fortunately. I had read in most places that it’s far better use of limited resources (water and electricity) just to go to a laundromat. Where else can you get five loads of laundry done in the time it takes to do one? Works for me. It offered us the time to knock out our homeschool efforts for the day and gave us another excuse to further explore Marquette.

After lunch at Donckers (couldn’t stay away), we retrieved a lost item from the game store before going to the Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum. Although Keeper was less enthusiastic about this part of our excursion (“Mom, this is for LITTLE KIDS.”), the girls were immediately enthralled. Not unlike its cousin a few blocks away, this museum was incredibly well appointed.   I lost track of how many alcoves there were (and occasionally the girls), each with a different subject to explore and presented in an ingenious way. Curious about digestion? You can pretend to be lunch, scale a climbing wall in the stomach and take a slide down through the intestines.   Interested in where stuff disappears to when you flush the toilet? Take a slide down a toilet into a sewer system where you can learn about the water table. Again, brilliant. While Keeper watched YouTube science videos and the girls ardently explored, I chatted with a lovely Yooper who gave us some good gouge on how to spend our remaining time in da UP.

Bribing the girls to leave with a promise to get frozen yogurt, we headed back to W. Washington St. After a quick stop at Taiga Games (Firebolt had left a toy in the game store, which was just where she’d left it two days before), I made good on my bribe.

Our last stop in town was my favorite. The local Co-Op thrilled my foodie self. Having worked our way through much of our last Trader Joe’s run in Detroit, I purchased both staples and sundries to refill our larder and we headed home after a satisfyingly productive day in Marquette.

Saturday (12 Aug) –

Our excursion of the day involved a two-hour drive out to Kitch-Iti-Kipi or The Big Spring, which is near Manistique.   The girls had a trickier time of it having lost the privilege of using anything with a screen. To entertain us during the drive, I asked Firebolt to read Little House in the Big Woods aloud, in preparation for a possible visit to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead in DeSmet, SD, should we opt to go that route when we zip out to Grand Targhee to view the eclipse.

Although finding the “Mirror of Heaven” (title bestowed by early Native Americans) was not unlike completing a treasure hunt without a map (have I mentioned the sketchy cell-phone coverage in da UP?) and unlabeled landmarks, the long trek was certainly worth it. The underwater springs feed this gorgeous pool over 10,000 gallons of chilly fresh water every minute. !!!

After waiting in line for a stretch (apparently we’re not the only ones who chose to visit the springs on a summer Saturday), during which we were enlightened by a very knowledgeable volunteer guide, we boarded the observation craft. It’s a basic pontoon with a large hole cut out of the center to watch both the vast fish population and the springs as they gush, and it is child powered (= brilliant!) to traverse the pool and return.

We opted not to make our way to the nearby mining ghost town for three reasons: 1) Woodsprite could not be convinced that the vacant town was not occupied by ghosts; 2) “nearby” ended up being 45 minutes in the opposite direction from Van Riper SP; and 3) the day was wearing on and we needed to get back to make dinner before the park hosted Showers and S’mores. The staff at Van Riper had a scavenger hunt (two in one week!) to learn about our solar system and the girls made Sky Wheels to orient themselves to the constellations while they enjoyed their s’mores.

The Perseid Shower put on quite a show and, being tucked away in the wilds of Michigan, there wasn’t a lot of ambient light to compete. Chilled to the bone, we trundled off to bed at 11ish at last.

Sun (13 Aug) –

We had a bit of a lie in this morning owing to our late night. This morning I spoke with Flight about his rejoining the family. He is scheduled to land from his last flight into Boston at 6 a.m. tomorrow after a brutal red eye, yet wouldn’t be able to get to us in Marquette until 11ish tomorrow night – and that’s if he made the flight. Hmmmm…

The better options, namely his flying into Duluth or Minneapolis, would have him arriving mid-afternoon. That sounded much better to me, the only problem is either of those more palatable options would necessitate my growing a set of ovaries and driving our 50’+ circus train there to meet him. I think I need to sit with that, maybe review the checklist a few times and do a feasibility study. And drink some scotch. Sorry, Copper Harbor and Isle Royale National Park, we’ll catch you another time, I have to brood…

So I abandoned my family in the wilds of Michigan.

OK, it wasn’t quite so dramatic as that, but I didn’t enjoy leaving them for that long.  Going forward I’m going to have to balance having fewer commutes to/from Boston with having long stretches of time away from the fam.  We all knew this was the deal going into this adventure, but there’s knowing and there’s knowing.  The reality hadn’t hit yet.

There were some positives though.  First of all, as Tacco already covered, Van Riper SP turned out to be one of the better campgrounds we’ve stayed at, despite its being not especially near anything we wanted to see.  That was a huge relief for me.

I was also able to spend a night in our house back in Annapolis and make sure things were more or less in order, as well as knocking out my semi-annual FAA physical with my normal doctor.  Bonus in that I was able to visit a few cousins who happened to be rolling through town.

My commute went well, too, and that was far from a given.  I flew out of Marquette, which is a small airport with only a few scheduled flights per day  [side note: are we the only two who didn’t know that Marquette University is nowhere near Marquette, Michigan?  It’s in Milwaukee, in case we aren’t].  The two that were my only potential players for a connection to Boston prior to my show time both looked full, so I was crossing fingers for no-show passengers or an available cockpit jumpseat.  Fortunately I got the latter to Chicago and was able to get to Boston relatively easily.

Tacco covered our UP time as well, and did a bang up job of it.  She and the kids were, of course, there for much more time than I, so I don’t have much to add.  I will say that, though it’s gorgeous, if I had to choose between the northern part of the lower peninsula and the UP I’d opt for the former.  Pictured Rocks on Lake Superior is stunning, and that red/pink/purple sand is like nothing I’d ever seen.  The park in general, however, seemed like the type of place better seen from the water than the shore.  Unfortunately we didn’t have time to test that theory.

The latest issue involves my commute back, more specifically where I commute back to.  Tacco hasn’t yet done a full uproot-and-reroot-the-family-via-a-long-drive evolution and is rightfully cautious about doing so.  On the other hand, they’ve been in Van Riper for quite some time, and despite my trip ending early in the morning after a redeye, I couldn’t get back to Marquette until late evening, and am dependent on the same small/full flights that I lucked into on the way out to Boston.  An option would be for them to move west to Duluth, where I could reach them by afternoon.  A better option (but much longer drive for them) would be to meet them in Minneapolis.  Not only would it be a much easier and single-leg commute, but it gives us a head start on our bolt across the prairie to the mountains and our appointment with the eclipse.  But…

I’m skittish about this, for obvious reasons.  I was hoping she would be able to become comfortable with decamping-driving-camp setup while I was present, if for no other reason than to provide moral support and peace of mind.  Probably more for me than for her.  It’s not that it’s difficult, it’s just a lot.  And driving through Minneapolis could present challenges that she didn’t get driving through rural Michigan.  But we shall see.

So, in the last post I originally melded two days together and wanted to get my story straight.  Our first night in da UP, we stayed in Grimley State Park on the shores of Lake Superior.  Before we departed, the kind camp hosts recommended we stay in Baraga State Park, which is also on Lake Superior, when we let them know of our upcoming plans.  They both gushed about the park’s beauty and access to Copper Harbor, which they assured me was not to be missed.  We had been up late the last few nights doing research and found that there were only two campsites in the UP that had room for us for all six days of Flight’s impending absence: Baraga SP and Van Riper SP.  We had only a few critical qualifications: 1) we had to be close enough to Marquette to get Flight to the airport to commute to Boston early in the morning to start his next trip; 2) be centrally located enough so that the kids and I could reasonably explore the area in his absence; and 3) be more than 1.1 miles from a maximum security prison.  Baraga State Park fell out of the running for failing to meet all three of these requirements and we happily made our reservations at Van Riper State Park.

From Brimley SP, we got underway and, because we hadn’t clearly discussed who was running what part of the checklist, we made a few rookie moves when we omitted a couple of important steps (NB: It’s good to have a “Getting Underway” checklist, yet it is far less effective if you fail to reference it while actually getting underway).  The most embarrassing of these was when I pulled Davista out of our spot (Flight was driving the Toad until we found enough straight roadway to hook them up) to much fanfare from our former neighbors.  I waved and wasn’t sure why they were making such a commotion until I caught “…STILL PLUGGED IN!!” through the window.  Not anymore.  Yep, did that.  Strong work, Navy, strong work.

The second oops wasn’t too bad (or maybe my pride was still stinging from the first one)…  We pulled up to dump the tanks and a kind fellow (also dumping unmentionables but in the next lane over) let me know that one of our vents was open.  We have three vents that crank open for increased airflow, and, when open, the portal covering of each extends about a foot above the top of Davista.  These wind catchers should most certainly be closed while moving or they might be ripped off in the wind and leave gaping holes in the roof (that’s bad).  Roger, use the checklist.  That’s why we have one.  Appropriate tanks dumped, fresh water replenished, and vents closed, we sheepishly pulled out to begin our journey to Van Riper SP.

Our first stop was at Oswald’s Bear Ranch, a location that rescues black bears separated from their mothers too young to make it in the wild or those from families who have taken them in as pets only to be overwhelmed when they outgrow their expectations. Like that of most zoo-like experiences, my reaction to this place alternated between awe (where else are you going to be able to feed and pet a bear cub?) and a touch of sadness as I projected my (human) perception of their plight.   Moving on…

We stopped again near Pictured Rocks to give the kids (and me) another look at Lake Superior’s shoreline. We were all surprised and enchanted by the red and very fine sand beaches – I had no idea that lined some of the beaches of Lake Superior. My only visual data point of the Lake Superior’s shores was taken from a puzzle our family had done a couple years ago showing a gorgeous rocky shoreline – I guess the coast line varies widely around the Lake.  Who knew?

We also did a short hike through the wetlands along a boardwalk and learned about the entire circle of life in that region.  For some reason, after reading The Martian with Flight and then seeing the movie, Keeper has glommed onto striking his interpretation of “The Fonz” pose at every opportunity.

During the remainder of our trek to our next port visit, Flight and I started second guessing our decision to go to VRSP.  We tried to come up with some specific criteria for staying, but realized we really didn’t have a better option and would just have to make the most of it.  Flight asked if I’d be okay if there was no cell phone coverage in this remote part of the UP, meaning we’d have zero communication during his 6-day absence.  With more bravado certainly than I felt, “Sure – we won’t be at the park all day every day.  We’ll be out exploring. I’m sure we can make it work. And, besides, I can move us to another campground if need be.”  As if.

At last we made our way to Van Riper, noting the turn off to the airport as we’d be seeing that at zero dark thirty the next morning, and breathed a collective sigh of relief.  Our new spot (number (94-2) if you are taking notes) was probably the best one in the campsite.  We were steps away from the new bathhouse, a short bike ride/hike to four different playgrounds (two of which were on the beach), and 4 bars of LTE – WOO HOO!   Flight, you’re cleared for departure…

Sorry Ontario, you get no love this trip.

We solved the problem of where to stay for the next 8 days or so.  I believe I’ve mentioned this already, but this is something we’ve not yet entirely gotten the hang of, as we’re not thinking in terms of weekends / weekdays, and aren’t yet comfortable rolling into an unfamiliar area with a “I’m sure we’ll find something” mindset.  We’re hoping that this will be the last time I’ll need to spend 6 days straight (plus commute) gone.  It shouldn’t have happened this time, but I made a bit of a mistake with my trip bidding, and with August being high season for airline flying as well, there’s not a lot of wiggle room for trading out of trips, dropping trips, and the like.  The up side is that I was able to manage 20 hours or so back in Annapolis to check on the house, run a few errands, and collect wayward mail.  The considerable down side is that, with Tacco (and consequently me) not entirely comfortable marshaling the Davista/Toad beast down the highway, we needed to have a place, somewhere near an airport, where she and the kids could hang out productively for a week while I’m gone.  And airports are in short supply in the U.P.  As are campgrounds during high season with a week of availability.

This all sounds somewhat inconsequential as I type and read it, but quite a bit of time and mental energy was expended trying to work this out, and we’re still not certain we have a good solution.  The plan was to stay a night at Brimley State Park on Lake Superior on the Eastern U.P., then drive across to Van Riper State Park semi-near Marquette, where Tacco/kiddos will homestead for a week.  We know nothing about Van Riper, and are a little concerned by the fact that it had so many vacancies when everything else was booked solid.  We’re not even sure there will be cell phone coverage.  At any rate, though, that’s the plan, and we’ve resolved to resolve these types of issues further ahead of time in the future.  Nothing like resolving to resolve — sort of like having a discussion about what we need to discuss…

Michigan continued to delight, scenery-wise.  The drive up Grand Traverse Bay was stunning, with several towns we would’ve liked to stop in and explore awhile.  The picture above is, of course, the Mackinac Bridge (only one “ack” sound in that), which is quite long and spans the strait between Lakes Michigan and Huron.

There was a noticeable difference in landscape between the lower and upper peninsulas.  The upper was much more heavily forested (mostly evergreens) and has a distinct “remote” feel.  We didn’t see too much of it as we headed straight north to Brimley.

Not a bad spot at all.  Dipped our toes in Lake Superior, did our first real campfire / s’mores evolution, and got a great sleep.

One observation, before signing off.  There has, to this point, not been a night when we didn’t fall into bed, shortly after the kids, completely exhausted.  And the perceived “to do” list hasn’t shrunk to the extent I had imagined.  I don’t know how this is possible.  One of the things I was looking forward to during this year was having the time available vs things I need to get done ratio swing radically to the other side.  Time after the kids are in bed to sit outside and write, read, talk, etc.  That hasn’t happened.  This is not a bad thing, in fact the flopping into bed after a full day feels extremely satisfying.  But I’m intrigued by this idea that no matter how much or how little I need (or feel like I need) to get done, I allow it to fill up my free time.  Either we’re just not in the swing of this lifestyle yet and we’re still in the process of reinventing the wheel, or it’s a deeper issue of time management and mindset in general.  I’m looking forward to tackling this.

 

Things look so much better today.  Called the mechanic first thing and he said he’ll have the clutch replaced by the end of the day.  Weather’s gorgeous.  We’re able to stay at the Holly Rec Area, just need to change sites, which is fine because we have to dump/fill the tanks anyway.  After a few more whiffodils to get our car back and get the rental car returned to the airport, we can head north.

Keeper taught Firebolt to whittle in my absence, and I just had to include those pictures up above, because she whittled… a… hm…  what is that exactly?  I feel like I’ve seen something like that in Washington, or maybe Amsterdam.  Anyway, she looks proud, or at least coy.

And this was great, we’ve tried to make pre-breakfast family exercise of a part of our routine, and it turns out Holly Rec has some decent single-track, so Keeper and I grabbed our bikes and hit the trails.  First time this trip, and maybe only the 3rd or so time I’ve gotten to do that with him.  Hard to explain how much my heart swelled when he was gushing about how much he was enjoying riding through the woods.  “Yes, exactly!!”  That’s certainly something I miss about Anacortes (where we used to live in WA), having trails like that so accessible.  Good, easily accessible mountain biking will be a pre-req for our next house.

We also were able to hit the “inflatable park” out in the lake before departure.  TC and Firebolt opted to watch us from the shoreline, but Keeper, Woodsprite, and I had a blast.

I do want to say this about southern Michigan and the Detroit area.  We really enjoyed it.  I have to be honest and say I didn’t really expect that.  The people we met, every one of them, were genuinely kind and helpful.  This stood out.  No fewer than a dozen people stopped to offer help to Tacco and the kiddos when they were stranded at the side of the road.  The police checked on us 4-5 times and offered anything they could.  The mechanic did a fantastic job, and went above and beyond to get the car running again in a day so that we could get rolling.  And on top of that everywhere we’ve been has been borderline gorgeous.  Lakes and forest everywhere, mild weather (other than the occasional thunderstorm), and lots of flowers and wildlife.  There’s even a solid beer geek scene!  I hear the scenery is even better up north; we’re ready to go!