Traverse City

From Jose

We knew that the northern leg for our trip would not be as fun and exciting as the western part. We do not know many people in Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota or Wisconsin. And there are not as many exciting things to do. All of that ended when we entered Michigan. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

We did not spend lot of time in Wisconsin, maybe a few hours. We entered Michigan at Ironwood in the far west end.

One of the first places we visited was the town of Escanaba. They have a very good bike trail. We went on a long bike ride along Lake Michigan.

From there we went to Manistique and stayed for free at a casino parking lot. They had free electrical hookup and a huge mowed field where the dogs got a chance to run off leash. It's always nice to see the dogs run off leash. They get so happy.

We finally arrived at St Ignace, the city North of the Mackinac bridge that connects Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas. We stayed at the Tiki RV Park.  Here's what their brochure says about the history of the campground:

"HISTORY OF TIKI RV PARK

You have stayed at the Old Indian Burial. Around 1957, gravel was taken from a hill on the premises, and a number of skeletons were revealed. The bones of fifty-two Huron or Ojibway Indians were displayed as a tourist attraction, known as the Old Indian Burial. An anthropologist from the University of Michigan determined that the burial was over three hundred years old. In 1973 the
bones were returned to the local Sault tribe, and were reburied on tribal land. The campground was renamed Tiki Campground. Over the years the name and style of the campground has changed, and now the Old Indian Burial Campground carries the name of Tiki RV Park and Campground."

I did not feel comfortable staying on desecrated Indian Burial Grounds, but I guess we were forgiven.

While in St Ignace we went to Mackinac Island. There is a ferry that goes to the island, and we loaded the bikes on the ferry so we would have a way to get around. Motor vehicles are not allowed in the island and there are bikes all over the place. We biked all the way around the island, around 8½ miles. We saw a natural bridge on the east side of the island.

From there we took the Mackinac bridge.  This is a long suspension bridge, like the Golden Gate Bridge but much longer. We continued along the West side of the lower peninsula on our way to Traverse City. We passed the towns of Harbor Springs, Petoskey, and Charlevoix. All very cute little towns linked by a 26-mile long bike trail. Diane Rode her bike from Petoskey to Charlevoix, about 16 miles. She is taking this biking thing seriously. I drove the rv and waited for her at Charlevoix. After Diane finished the bike ride we all went to downtown Charlevoix. They have a big marina right in the middle of the town and many lakes and ponds. There is one pond with trout in it. I went to take a closer look at the pond and Matilda decided to have a very close look and jumped in the pond. Very embarrassing, very Matilda.

We finally arrived in Traverse City where my niece Miriam, my nephew Cristobal and my sister in law Gladys live. Miriam is a professional singer and songwriter. We saw her sing at a local gathering spot. She is awesome! One night Gladys, Miriam and Miriam's three children (Luna, Gideon and Vida) came to our campsite and we had a campfire cookout with ciabatta bread, corn and salmon that Miriam caught. The children enjoyed having adventures walking around the campground after dark with flashlights and lanterns.

There are lots of bike trails here. One of the nicest, the TART (Traverse Area Recreational Trail) is right behind our campground and we have used it a lot.  People use it not just for recreation but as a means of getting places. My nephew rides his bike to work on the TART every day. I wonder why we don't have more bike trails in Kanab. I don't think I would like to ride a bike on US 89 in Kanab.

I finally met my nephew Cristobal Jose. He is further proof that all the Pico men are exceptionally handsome. (sorry, girls, he is happily married to a wonderful young lady named Elizabeth). They showed us around The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, which used to be a mental hospital and now is condominiums and shops. He plays the drums and works as a chef in a big local assisted living facility. 

I've had a great time in Traverse City, meeting some family for the first time and reconnecting with others after many years. Huge thanks to Gladys, Cris and Elizabeth, Miriam, Luna, Gideon and Vida for your warn hospitality.

Stay tuned.

Duluth

From Jose

Nothing great to report today. The trip is progressing well.

After my last entry we stopped in Bemidji, Minnesota.  It took me some time to be able to pronounce the name. I wonder what it sounds like with my accent. Anyway, the name derives from the language of the local tribe, meaning "lake that traverses another body of water".  Now it is a cute and eclectic little town with some cool restaurants.

From there we went to Deer River, Minnesota and spent the night at the White Oak Casino.  As you might recall, some casinos allow free overnight rv parking, others have limited hookups and charge a fee. But White Oak Casino had free electrical hookup. They were very friendly. There was a big tent on the parking lot and we heard a band warming up. I asked the doorlady and she said they were celebrating the 13th anniversary of the casino and they were having a party with free food and live music and we were invited. At first we stayed away from the party but when the band started playing we decided to go in the tent and enjoy the party. The band was 'Rick K and the Allnighters'. They played oldies rock and they were *great*. Free camping, free electricity, free food and free live music. What else can a guy want?

Next stop, Duluth. We got to see Lake Superior for the first time. It is just as impressive as they say.  Hard to believe it is a lake. We wanted to take it all in, so we drove up the North Shore Scenic Drive to Silver Bay, stopping at each and every scenic pullout, spent the night in Two Harbors, and returned to Duluth the next day after a quick stop at Gooseberry Falls.

In Duluth we stayed at the Lakehead Boat Basin, which is really a boat marina. There was a big metal structure not far away which I took to be some kind of an abandoned factory. Sometime later, as we were chilling in the rv, we were startled by a loud ship horn, a big ship and very close. We quickly unlocked our bikes and pedaled towards the big metal structure, which turned out to be the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge, in the up position for a big container ship going underneath.  It must be a big event, because many people were gathered near the base of the bridge to see. I took a little video of the ship going through and the bridge returning to the down position. You can watch it here.  It is about 5 minutes.

Today we are spending a couple of days near Escanaba, Michigan where we plan to do laundry, clean up the rv a little and rest from the road. Yes, having fun 24/7 is hard work, but we're managing okay.

Yes, you CAN be in two places at once!

Wow! It's been almost a month since I've made an entry to the blog.  Jose already did a nice job recapping the time spent in Fargo so I will only add a couple of highlights:

First of all, some areas of north Dakota and Minnesota are so intertwined that you really have to keep on your toes to avoid being in a state of confusion!   Okay,  corny I know!   Amusingly enough,  I swear that I detected major annoyance and near hysteria from the GPS when several times a day she repeated: "crossing state border! "  If she could use profanities, I wouldn't have put it past her.

If you ever go to Fargo,  the FM Visitor Center is well worth a stop as it has the infamous woodchipper from the movie of the same name.  Also there's a small walk of fame that surrounds a replica of the chipper outside.   Many artists have visited,  the most interesting of all in my opinion is all the band members of Jethro Tull!





Right across the border in Moorhead, Minnesota is the fabulously inspirational Hjemkomst Center.  The documentary will bring tears to your eyes and make you applaud and cheer.  Here is a link with dvd title and purchase information.



Finally,  there are gorgeous bike paths galore in North Dakota and Minnesota.  The Red River intersects Fargo and Moorhead and there are several bridges that take you from one state to the other in a matter of seconds.  These towns are literally a stone's throw across the river from one another!   I took one day and biked the Fargo side which is a meandering wooded path that starts in Lindenwood Park and brings you to downtown.   6 miles round trip.  What a wonderful afternoon it was...and naturally, I crossed the bridges a couple of times just for fun.

Cool artwork in downtown Fargo

Once we got the new truck tires for the NTRPRZ, we were ready to cross the state border into Minnesota for good this time.  I am getting really anxious to hit the east coast with every mile we travel now.  So close!

Fargo

From Jose

At the end of my last entry we were heading to Fargo, ND. In preparation for the arrival Diane made me watch Fargo, the movie about a gory crime and the unlikely police woman who caught the bad guys. This is a great movie but a bit disturbing, like Sling Blade or Pulp Fiction. (so I've heard, I have not watched this last one)

I had the idea that Fargo was a dead, remote, boring town. Boy, was I wrong! Fargo is a friendly, vibrant big city.  Population is about 105,000. As in Grand Forks, there are plenty of bike trails and parks. I imagine it slows down in the winter, they get a lot of snow and it gets pretty cold.

One of the first places we went was the Visitors Center. The have the actual wood chipper used in the movie Fargo. I thought they had used a nonfunctional prop in the movie, but it was a real working wood chipper.

From there we went to the Fargo Air Museum. I got to see a P-51 Mustang and other cool warplanes.

There is a large Norwegian population in Fargo.  We went to the Heritage Hjemkomst Center where we saw many artifacts from their early days. The highlight of the museum is a full size replica of a Viking ship that a local man built and his children sailed to Norway. The documentary of the trip was pretty powerful. Some of the roughest seas they encountered was in Lake Superior, which we will see in a few days.

When I bought this RV the tires were quite worn. I looked far and wide for new tires.  It was very difficult to find the correct size tires for my rv but finally a place in Hurricane found them. The new tires looked like they were low in pressure, but the tech showed me that the correct pressure for these tires was 44 psi, the old tires required 70. The rv felt mushy,  hard to keep in a straight line and the gas mileage decreased from 15 to 13 mpg. I figured it was because of the lower pressure in the tires.  A few weeks ago I noticed the tires were about halfway worn, especially the front ones. The tires only had about 10,000 miles and I was surprised they wore out so fast. I took the rv to a tire place to rotate the tires and they informed me that the tires I had were 4 ply and my vehicle called for 6 ply. Those darn people in Hurricane put the wrong tires in my rv. But I figured I had less than 10,000 miles left on my tip so the tires should make it. A few days later, I noticed the rv shaky at low speed and pulling to the right at higher speeds, so I decided to have the wheels aligned,  which would make my tires last longer. These people also said I had the wrong tires but they were more specific.  They said the tires I had were meant for a passenger car, not for an rv. That's the reason for the lower pressure and why they were wearing out so fast. I asked if they could get me the correct tires and after much research they could not locate any. I left the place wondering what to do next.

Do you believe in omens?

That very night at Walmart there was a knock on the rv door. A gentleman said he had just bought an rv like mine and wanted to ask me about it. We talked for a long time and exchanged good information. I asked him if he knew a good place to get tires for our rv's.  He looked at the tires and also said they are the wrong type, and that it was dangerous to run those in my rv. He pulled his laptop from his car and searched for the right tires. We could not find a dealer but did find a brand and some possible leads.

The next day I got on phone looking for tires. One of the places I called suggested I call a truck place since my rv is basically a truck. After much searching, Interstate Power Systems in Grand Forks found some and could get them shipped in, would take about 3 business days. So after a lot of research and learning I have the correct tires in the rv. The gas mileage went up to 17 mpg.

Stay tuned

North Dakota towns

Entering N. Dakota is not much different than leaving eastern Montana.  It's still open sky, the land simply rolling interminably with slight variation, but it is very important to our nation's agriculture.  You may know that Williston has become an oil boomtown so there are oil pumps and flames burning everywhere.

Dinosaur eggs?

The only solace is making a trip to The Badlands to lose oneself in the pristine area of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  We can only hope that once the oil runs dry and all the transient workers have moved on, the town will work just as hard to revive itself from the pillaging.

TR National Park

During the next few days we continued our somewhat monotonous drive through some non-descript towns.  Suffice it to say, I was bored out of my gourd and thought that re-watching the movie Fargo might liven things up.  It was essential to prepare for Jose for potential quirky encounters upon our eventual arrival.  I had forgotten how shockingly violent some of the scenes are and wondered if Jose was cringing, but the sheriff is so hilarious that I discovered he had enjoyed the dark humor.

Buffalo greetings at TR Nat'l Park

Spending a day in Rugby whose claim to fame is being the geographical center of N. America only adds more fuel to the fire.  there seems to be a lot of controversy about the validity of the claim, but they quickly erected a monument years ago to refute another smaller town's claim and so it sticks to this day. So there ya have it folks!  The only actual claim I can attest to and offer my legs and arms as proof is that there are tons of mosquitoes and gnats here! Bzzzzz!

Being Aunts

A meeting of aunts was held in Kalispell, Montana - it was a small group - just me and Jane (well, Jose too, but he's not an aunt!).  Now Jane is Jody's younger sister, and I met her just once about 10 years ago when Jody and my brother Mike married in upper state NY.  Yet despite the time and distance, I was welcomed with open arms, a big hug, and tenderness.  Jane after all is an aunt with a big heart, and we've shared much loss - family is precious to us.  For me, hanging with and talking to my nieces and nephew (the only one at that!), even if it's mostly over Facebook, is important to me and is the closest I'll get to being a mom - except for being a cat/dog mom!  And I hope they know I love them to pieces even though there is much geographical distance between us.  So hanging with Jane was special because not only is she an awesome aunt, she is a cool person.

And, she has a great Golden named Lucy!  Lucy was welcoming as well to not just me and Jose but also to Matilda and Maguire.  She invited them into her yard and let them inspect the inside of her house and was overjoyed to run with them round and round the fenced-in yard that encircles her house.  There were no spats, and everyone got along really well.

Thanks, Jane, fir such warm hospitality and for taking us to The Docks for fabulous burgers and the spectacular view of the north side of Flathead Lake!