DATE:  Friday, August 23, 2013

TIME:  9:00 AM TO 4:00 pM

WEATHER: Low 90s, sunny

WATER CONDITIONS:  Variable units

LOCATIONS FISHED:  White River, immediately below Bull Shoals Dam

FLIES USED: #14 Superfly, #20 red/silver midge pupa

ROD USED:  9 ‘ 6-wt Winston BII

HATCHES: Midges, occasional caddis

OTHER: John Simank invited me for fishing the White River on Friday, which I eagerly accepted as I wanted to learn to fish high water. John is the best boat fisher with a fly rod I know, and today proved it again. With varying water discharges and levels, he caught fish when no one else was even getting a bite. I did not fare as well, catching only half a dozen fish. It was hot, and he had prepared a gourmet lunch (mainly for his out of town guests who were fishing with a guide). 

We left Rend Lake about 8:00 AM, driving south on I-57, crossing over the Mississippi River at Cairo, Illinois. At Sikeston, Missouri, we left I-57 switching to US Highway 160/US Highway 67, and then just US Highway 67 into Arkansas to US Highway 62. At Imboden, we were in familiar territory, headed west. We arrived home just after 2:00 PM, and fund everything lush after the 13+ inches of rain that fell in the last 5 weeks.

We spent the rest of the day unpacking and getting settled back in to the house.

As previous blog entires stated, we really enjoyed some parts of Wisconsin and Michigan, and found others to blasé. Surprisingly, the ones we enjoyed most were ones with our lowest expectations, and conversely, the ones for which we had the highest expectations proved to be our least favorite. Door County, Wisconsin, was definitely our favorite.

Leaving Indigo Bluffs was a mixed bag as we really enjoyed the luxury RV resort and met two very nice couples with whom we very much enjoyed visiting. We also liked Traverse City and all the surrounding villages and towns. There were opportunities to do lots of things. But, we also needed to drive south.

Our experiences with Michigan roads has been less than positive. It seems like some of the highways are good, and then in the cities and small villages, the roads turn to pot…holes. It is especially bad in our RV, as we can feel every bump in the washboarded roads compared to a very smooth ride on non-concrete roads. Consequently, we took a longer, but smoother route.  

We arrived at Sunny Brook RV Resort shortly after lunch, checked in, and set up. It is rated as a 10/10/10—a perfect score— by Trailer Life, but we would rate it more somewhat lower based on the facts that RVs are lined up in rows, with very little vegetative screen between them, and we had a couple of dogs close by that barked constantly. The internet was sporadic, but the pool and hot tub were great. We’d stay there again, but only when passing through. As for South Haven, the downtown area and Lake Michigan shoreline were nice, and lots of folks were making their way to the beach for the sunset. Otherwise, there doesn’t seem to be too much to do.

Having exhausted the list of things we wanted to do in the Empire, Michigan, area (mainly Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Traverse City), a free day presented itself for some exploring. We opted to drive south, along the Lake Michigan shoreline, to Manistee, Michigan. The drive proved uneventful for the most part. A large open-air arts and crafts show and sale was taking place in Frankfort, Michigan, and folks were parked in every available space.  urther south, a pullover along the route provided a spectacular view of Lake Michigan’s western shoreline, and a viewing platform that must have been 200 hundred steps high provided an even more spectacular view. Much of the area, particularly closer to Empire, is used for apple orchards or corn fields. Manistee is an old fishing town, and many of the town’s buildings have been or are being restored. It also houses several buildings of the Little River Tribe of Ottawa Indians. It was apparent that the area was more “blue collar” in its culture, and tourism had not yet taken over as the main industry. We quickly drove through, turned around, and drove back out, stopping for a burger along the way. Both coming and going, we noticed that fall is quickly approaching as evidenced by the increasing number of trees with changing leaves, and some of the maples now have brilliant red leaves.

At Indigo Bluffs, we enjoyed a quiet rest of the afternoon, and then were invited next door to the Parker’s for hors d’oeuvres. Frank and Dianne are from Gravette, Arkansas, and have traveled extensively, both via land and sea. We really enjoyed getting to know them better, and hope our paths cross again—and surely they will since Frank and Dianne travel through much of northern Arkansas over the course of a year with their Good Sam’s club.

Tomorrow, we head home, driving south to South Haven, Michigan, for the evening.

It’s so comfortable here at Indigo Bluffs that we had another late morning before starting today’s tourist activities.

We drove to Sutton’s Bay on Lake Michigan where Kay dropped me off and she drove back down to tour Traverse City. The 15-mile Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation (TART) Leelanau Trail began near the bicycle drop-off parking lot. This proved to be a spectacular ride along a former railroad corridor through rolling hills, forests, orchards, vineyards, cornfields, and meadows, and past streams, small lakes, and ponds. The trail was well marked, and had a water station about halfway between Sutton’s Bay and Traverse City. Benches were placed about every two miles, and several adjoining landowners had signs on their property adjacent to the trail stating that they loved bicyclists; it definitely made one feel welcome.  he trail was well marked and had mile markers every mile. The first 5 miles were mostly uphill, but the slope was gradual enough to allow maintaining a relatively high speed (for an old man). Along the way, trees were showing evidence of early fall as leaves were already changing colors. About halfway, at Mile 8, a pear orchard was right next to the trail with beautiful reddish yellow pears ripening on the trees. Further along the trail, at the edge of an orchard, skeletal remains of a couple of old buildings lay adjacent to the trail.

We had pre-arranged a pick-up point in Traverse City, but grossly underestimated the miles, thinking the Leelanau Trail was 28 miles long. As Traverse City came into view after only an hour or so, I texted Kay about our miscalculations and that I would keep riding. At Traverse City, the trail runs along the Grand Traverse Bay waterfront and beach, and it was a busy place as people sunned, played volleyball, threw Frisbees, etc., but few people ventured into the cold waters of Lake Michigan! Maneuvering through Traverse City was a challenge with all the traffic signals, sidewalks, and trail tunnels.

After traversing along the lakeshore, riding through a tunnel under US Highway 31, and crossing into the heart of town, another trail, TART 2, began started, and ran east and north for another 10.5 miles. This TART trail was a paved urban transportation corridor traversing from Traverse City to Acme Township. It was rather mundane after the other trails we’ve ridden this week, and had a number of washboarded sections. Near the end of the trail, I texted Kay regarding a pick-up point, but we miscommunicated—and previous texts with my status and directions never made it to her phone. An hour and a half later, she picked me up at the intersection of US Highway 31 and Bunker Hill Road. The 25-mile ride was invigorating, and the first 15 miles (Leelanau Trail) was the best I’ve ridden.

We had a late lunch at Georgina’s, Trip Advisor’s #1 rated restaurant in Traverse City. This authentic Asian & Latin Taquería is a a fusion of Asian and Hispanic food. Sitting only 18 people, one can easily view the chef(s) preparing their meal, and there was no reheating; everything was prepared from scratch. The young Chef owner is half Cuban and one quarter Chinese, born in Nicaragua. The food was priced reasonably, with most dishes costing $13—not bad for a gourmet meal. Most impressive about the food was the ability to taste each ingredient as you take a bite—yum yum good—and we each had half our meal left for later.

At Indigo Bluffs, we took advantage of the pool to ease muscle aches and pains. It was supposed to be heated to between 85 and 90°, but couldn’t have been much over 80°. It’s all relative, however, as some youngsters from this part of the country jumped in and said it was warm—it’s all a matter of perspective!

We’ve about wrapped up our time in the area in and around Empire, Michigan, with some free time tomorrow to explore.

Our travels today took us only 150 miles from Mackinaw City to Empire where we had reservations at Indigo Bluffs RV Resort. This is the last leg of the trip before starting home.

We arrived at Indigo Bluffs, checked in, and were escorted to our site in the ritzy “owner” section. It exuded luxury, with stamped concrete pads and adjoining patios, fire pits, well manicured lawns, wildflowers, cascading rock pools—you get the picture. It was so nice we almost felt guilty. Set-up was easy, with no leveling required, and electrical, water, and sewer hook-ups were easily accessible. The satellite dish had a wide open view of the southern and southwestern sky, and found the satellites quickly.

After a quick lunch, we drove to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Visitor Center, talked to a seasonal ranger, and picked up maps, etc.  he 7.5 mile Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive was our first foray into this National Lakeshore. The drive was mostly through thick forests and was up, down, and around steep hills. We couldn’t believe the large number of people visiting the area—almost bumper to bumper—and predominantly from Michigan. A wide-open view of Lake Michigan appeared at the first major overlook. The next couple of overlooks provided views of vegetated sand dunes as far as the eye could see. And the last stop on the drive proved the most awesome of the trip, with dunes extending from the shore of Lake Michigan upwards to a height of 500 feet at about a 60° angle. Many folks were slipping and sliding their way down the steep sand slope while many others were trudging back up after making the quick descent. It was a pretty awesome sight, and photos cannot do it justice. I walked down a short distance and ascending the slope really stressed my hip joints.

From the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, we made our way a short distance north to the Dune Climb, where many kids were enjoying the biggest sandpile they had ever seen!

We wrapped up the afternoon by driving along several natural lakes and through many small villages along the National Lakeshore area. The countryside contained many orchards, vineyards, and corn fields, and reminded us of Door County, Wisconsin. Of course, Door County is only about 50 miles to the west, across Lake Michigan! We were amazed by the clarity and turquoise color of Lake Michigan, and of the natural lakes in the area.

Indigo Bluffs RV Resort hosted a “meet and greet” in the evening, meant to provide a very low key sales pitch; and it was so low key that we were never approached, nor heard anyone push sales of the luxury RV sites. We met most of the couples occupying sites in the park (some owners, others renting either seasonally or by the night). We really took a liking to our next door neighbors, from Magnolia, Texas. He’s a beginning fly fisher, and they are quite active in their large Methodist church in The Woodlands in Magnolia. I volunteered to provide fly casting instruction to him when schedules permitted. Two other couples with whom we became acquainted were from Quincy, Illinois, and Conroe, Texas, respectively. By the way, heavy hors d’oeuvres were served and included dips, chips, cheeses, pastry, and pork barbecue sliders with wine, beer, and/or soft drinks—dinner!

With one more day in Mackinaw City, we both stated our desire to pack up and depart for new horizons. Regretfully, we have reservations and a schedule (a lesson to be learned). Digressing a bit and waxing philosophically, we’ve done most of the RV-related items on the bucket list, except for Washington and Oregon. I’m at a point in our travels, and life, where it’s great just to take the RV somewhere for several weeks, establish semi-residence, and really experience the area; I think Kay feels the same way. And we like spending time at home and with family, particularly in the spring, early summer, and early fall. This might account somewhat for our “hitch itch.” Having said that, Door County, Wisconsin, really struck an accord with us, and it’s a place to which we definitely want to return, perhaps for 6 weeks or so.

Last evening, wind from the northwest began after the partly rainy day, and continued through the night.  It was in the low 50s this morning, and winds were gusting at 15 to 20 miles per hour, making it seem even colder.  Isn’t there a happy medium somewhere?  We drove south again today—our third time—for Kay to further explore Petoskey and Charlevoix, and for me to ride Michigan’s Little Traverse Wheelway. The Little Traverse Wheelway is a paved bike path extending from north of Petoskey south some 23 miles to Charlevoix. Locals reserved much of the waterfront in the 1880s and 1890s for a walking and bicycling path before the railroad claimed it for a railway after the turn of the century. Then when the railroad abandoned it, locals reclaimed it and converted it into a great bike trail. The Little Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan (shown above) shoreline is visible from much of the trail. Just before Petoskey, we pulled onto a side street, unloaded the bicycle, donned helmet and day pack, and bid each other farewell. The trail through Petoskey was awesome, with the high seas crashing against the shore. Winds on the order of 20 miles per hour were forcing the 4 to 5 foot waves directly onto the rocks, and made for spectacular views, but made for very difficult riding when the bicycle trail changed directions and the wind blew directly towards me.  Bicycle traffic was heaviest near Petoskey and Charlevoix, but sparse in between. There was little foot traffic. Though only 16+ miles, this was an incredible ride, taking about and hour and a half. It’s definitely worth doing. Kay had just pulled into a parking space at trail’s end as I arrived—great timing.

Kay’s exploration and the bicycle ride ended our activities in the Mackinaw City area. Back at the RV, the tanks were emptied,  the RV interior cleaned, and most items stowed for the short trip to Empire, Michigan, tomorrow. That leg of the trip will end our Wisconsin and Michigan tour.

P.S. Michigan has some 1200 miles of bicycle trails, and those we’ve ridden have provided an enjoyable riding experience. They also have a large number of campgrounds, and their residents take advantage of the camping opportunities. We saw lots of young families camping here, in Munising, and in Copper Harbor, and the family units are large by our standards, with each young couple having 4 or 5 children. The Little Traverse Bay area of Petoskey, Charlevoix, and Bay Harbor exude wealth and affluence, and one can only guess that the large houses are mostly summer places for Michiganders (almost all license plates in these places were from the state of Michigan) since there are lots of exclusive golf courses, the summer weather is coo, there doesn’t appear to be any significant business enterprises except for tourism, and the weather here is very cold and snowy from October thru mid-May!