VAN – CHAPTER IV – MICHIGAN, WISCONSIN, MINNESOTA (Part II)

[Headnote (vs. footnote): We are home now and think we’ve finally solved the very frustrating computer glitches–mostly about transferring photos. Bless Gary for his persistence! There are still some spacing issues, but we’re doing the best we can. Thank you once again for your patience.
We had some amazing experiences during the rest of our trip and look forward to sharing them with you over the next week or so.]

October 6, 2024 from Kansas City, Kansas
We spent 2 nights in Ann Arbor and then we started the second half of our Van
Adventure by heading south and west to the only National Park in Indiana called
Indiana Dunes. That was the hardest drive so far—on Interstate 94, the main
route between Detroit and Chicago, where there were lots of trucks, many miles
of construction (and my favorite cement k-rails…not!) and the last 60 miles in pouring rain.
The drive took over 5 hours instead of the expected 3, so we were
very pleased to stay in a lovely forested campground in the nearby State Park
where we could finally relax and enjoy the much-needed serenity.
We’re glad there was a good introductory film at the Visitor’s Center because
most of the features in Indiana Dune National Park are accessible only by hiking
and we hadn’t allowed time for that. We did enjoy some of its beaches (15 mile
shoreline along the south end of Lake Michigan, with 2 giant steel mills in the
middle!) and were a bit in awe of its diversity—sand dunes, forests, swamplands,
prairies and beaches, with hundreds of species of birds, plants and butterflies.
AND, it’s the first time we’ve ever seen a sign for Turtle Crossing! We also drove
to the southern edge of the Park that borders GARY, Indiana, so we could of
course take a photo of Gary.

We then headed up the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, stopping at two of our
favorite marinas where we had stayed on our America’s Great Loop
adventure—Manistee and Leland. The marinas were both pretty much deserted (below),
in contrast to the mid-summer chaos of tourists and of Loopers preparing for the
journey through Chicago and down the rivers to the Gulf of Mexico, etc., but it
was very fun to revisit these places and eat at some of our favorite cafes. It was
also a good reminder that traveling by boat along the shoreline is a very different
experience from driving town to town. On the water, you have no idea what
lies inland, and it was a joy to drive through so many forests and fields and see
all the fruit stands selling blueberries, pumpkins, peaches and apples among the
orchards. It was all quite beautiful and so were the many inland lakes that we
passed along the way—some of them surprisingly large. We also saw a bit of fall
coloring midst the amazing variety of trees. All the roads were good and there
wasn’t much traffic as we made our way to Charlevoix (another favorite marina
stop near the top of Michigan), where we took the ferry over to visit with another
favorite Looper couple on Beaver Island in the northeast corner of Lake
Michigan.

Beaver Island is a haven unto itself and we love BEING here with such special
people. We visited 2 years ago after we finished our Loop and our friends now
live here year-round—right on beautiful Lake Geneserath, surrounded by forest
lands (above right). We got to go on a 2-hour pontoon boat cruise around this lake one
evening with some neighbors, and we loved seeing the beavers, loons (below left) and
another beautiful sunset. The next day Gary helped mill a cedar log, turning it
into a beautiful 5” square beam! It was so nice to chill for four nights in a row in such
a nourishing environment, with delicious food and good conversations.
It was all very good for the soul!

After Beaver Island, we had the privilege of taking an historic steam-powered car
ferry, the SS Badger, (that used to ferry railroad cars) from Ludington, MI across Lake Michigan to Manitowoc, Wisconsin. This is the first time we’ve taken a ferry where the crew loaded and unloaded our vehicle–below right). The 5-hour crossing (60 miles) across the middle of the Lake was very relaxing (we DO love being on the water!), and then we spent a delightful 3 nights with another of our favorite Loop couples. They are both extraordinary artists and it was fun to see their
work spaces and enjoy their welcoming home with a wondrous view of Lake Michigan, just a few blocks from the Manitowoc Marina where we had docked on the Loop. They took us to Hennings Cheese Factory “out in the country” where we sampled and bought several yummy cheeses. We also stopped at an awesome restaurant on the way back where we had the best fried cheese curds ever (below). At dusk we went to a pond near the zoo where there were over 100 sand hill cranes
enjoying the waters and each other. This was our first experience hearing the sounds of the cranes, which we videoed for our and your enjoyment (click last photo below). We had such a good time with such a wonderful, fun couple.

We then drove across the state of Wisconsin to a campground near the border of
Minnesota called Willow Lake State Park. We passed through many forests and
thousands of acres of green grasses and cornfields plus dozens of dairies, very
pleased it was a divided highway the whole way—an easy drive. We were able to
check in early at a hotel near the U. of Minnesota football stadium where we
attended the USC v. Minnesota game Saturday night. The day before I spent a
wonderful afternoon with a NAPO colleague and good friend I’ve known since
1996 who lives in nearby Plymouth. On Sunday, before heading to Des Moines,
we had a delightful brunch with the widow of a dear Colorado College classmate
of mine near her home in Edina. It’s nice to stay in touch with good friends!

The University of Minnesota’s Huntington Bank Stadium is half the size of
Michigan’s, seating 50,805 and sometimes called “The Bank.” We’re very glad
we attended the Michigan game in The Big House (probably a once in a lifetime
experience for us), but the Minnesota game was frankly much more enjoyable.
It felt more like a real college football game with a stadium that felt more
intimate…where it was easy to see what was going on…where the fans were just
as friendly but not nearly as loud (no screeeeeaming!!!)…and the only time we
looked at the Jumbotron in the end zone was for a replay. We also had four very
fun “grandsons” behind us (students at St. Thomas College, below) who adopted
us as their “Me-Maw and Pe-Paw” and bantered with us all night…lots of laughs! The whole
experience was very fun and a nice way to end our time in Michigan, Wisconsin
and Minnesota. We were disappointed that USC lost both games we attended,
but we certainly created lots of wonderful memories with lots of special people.

Next we make our way to Texas, driving almost directly south through Des Moines, Iowa, plus Kansas City & Joplin, Missouri. We’ll stop in Arkansas at Hot Springs National Park and then we have some fun times planned in Texas. We haven’t seen a lot of these places before, so it will be fun to have you with us as we drive along! (Hmmm….I do use the word “fun” a lot! Why not?!?) Cheers!