We first awoke at around 6AM to a sunny morning on the trip which, an hour later, was replaced by a dense fog. By 8:30, the sun had returned and we were anticipating a great day … with one possible nit. It seems the site we were put in yesterday was very wet and the soil soft. As a result, we found our RV stuck in a set of muddy ruts
from which we had to be pulled out by an obliging campground staff.
Once on the road, we continued north and around the “thumb” of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. The towns we passed through varied from rural farms
to vacation communities along the Lake Huron shoreline.
Enroute, we stopped to “top off” our gas tank … a new record for us at $323.68!
Between Port Austin and Bay City, we had to brake hard for a wild turkey which decided to meander across the road directly in front of us and were surprised to see a number of rocker-arm oil pumpers scattered in many farm fields.
On a short, mandated detour, we were turning a corner and suddenly there was a new, unfamiliar and somewhat concerning noise, although we couldn’t locate its source. After I climbed on and under the vehicle, Debbie found a piece of a thin “belt” underneath. Coming up with no cause, we got underway again verrrry slowly. Fortunately, the noise never reoccurred and nothing seemed amiss with the vehicle. When we reached our campground, another inspection underneath produced what appeared to be the rest of the belt. After checking with our RV dealer back in PA who looked all over the engine of a similar model, it was determined no such belt should be there. So, for the moment, the mystery will remain unsolved and we’ll hope for the best.
Driving down the road leading to our campground, we were mystified by a number of men aiming their bows and arrows into a canal running beside the road.
It turns out that this weekend we’re dead center in the heart of the annual Great Lakes bow fishing tournament with literally hundreds of teams entered. One of the participants told us it was probably “the largest collection of red necks outside NASCAR.”
They are after carp and any other unregulated fish they can shoot. Prizes are based on the total weight of the fish shot during the two-day contest and that it would probably take more than 3,000 lbs. to be in contention for first place. At 12-15 lbs. per fish
That a lot of fish!
Walking the half mile path from our campground to the shore of Lake Huron, we passed through
A trail lined with Phragmite, a tall,
invasive and aggressive wetland grass which reduces both plant and animal diversity and now found in all fifty states.