7/25 Michigan Update: Sterling State Park, Frankenmuth, and Traverse City

Yes, I have been terribly lazy lately, but much of my two weeks in Michigan in July were taken up with visiting relatives and friends, and most importantly, taking care of some frustrating, but important, motorhome repairs.  

• The first major problem was that I had been noticing that the motorhome radiator hose that was replaced in February in Phoenix and repaired in Colorado, was still leaking, but much more slowly than previously.  Getting mechanical work done on the engine of a motorhome is not easy because regular car and truck repair places don't have the facilities to work on what is actually a medium-duty gas truck.  Nor do the big diesel truck places want to deal with a motorhome.  I finally found a Ford dealer in Traverse City that had just opened a new commercial truck facility, and was able to get them to look at  it.  Since it was a Ford part, it was covered under a warranty, so no charge.  Only problem was they had to order the part, so this took a couple of days.  Made an appointment for a Friday to get it put on.
  
• The second major problem was that my water heater quit on me, and resulted in my having to take showers by heating water up on my stove and pouring it over me in the shower.  Not much fun.  
• I managed to get that fixed in Traverse City, but as soon as I did, my water pump quit, so that I had hot water but no way to get it from the tank to my shower!  This happened on a Wednesday, so I made an appointment for Friday, which is amazing considering how busy RV service places are this time of year.  (Note this appointment was for the afternoon of the same Friday that I was scheduled to get radiator hose put on.)
  
• The radiator hose was replaced on time on Friday, and I drove off, except I made it only 5 miles before the radiator hose came apart and blew fluid everywhere, causing the engine to overheat and smoke.  I called dealer and they sent technician who admitted he had realized he had put it on backwards!!  So he brought another hose and put it on, but by this time, I missed my water pump repair appointment time.  
• Spent the weekend at two full-hookup sites where I could hook to city water and take nice, hot showers and do dishes!!  Yea.  (Finally got new pump on Monday, and got out of town fast, before something else broke!)
  

 Anyway, here are some of the places I stopped on my way from Ohio to northern Michigan:

First stop for a few days, was Sterling State Park.  This is a place I often stay at while visiting friends and visiting places in the Detroit area as it is the closest state park to the city.  I was here on a weekend, so it was very busy, but I like to choose a spot with a view of Lake Erie. 

 

 

Next, I headed north to the small town of Frankenmuth to stop at one of my favorite bakeries at the famous chicken dinner place there--Zhender's.  Unfortunately, it was very busy and the bakery counters were mostly empty.  I need to get there earlier next time!!

Next stop, was Traverse City to visit my niece, but i have been there many times and did not take photos of the city.  Last time I was here, I stayed at the state park, but it was horribly crowded and the place needs some serious updating because of small spots, unpaved sites, and just being too difficult to get into and out of.  

This time, I decided to try the camping area at the nearby Northern Michigan Fairgrounds.  It is a pretty basic place, but it has water and electric at a lot of the spots and was pretty empty. I met some nice  people there and felt very comfortable and safe there.   And because it is not very close to the highway, it was extremely quiet. 

Had a good visit with my niece and stopped at one of the cherry shops and bought some cherry barbecue sauce, which I really like.   

Next stop was Mackinaw City. 

6/29 Columbus Zoo

Unfortunately, today was a lot hotter and more humid than yesterday, though there was less Canadian smoke in the air.  I had to work this trip around several schedules, so I really had no choice in the weather, but if I come here again, it will be on a cool fall day, and I will rent a power chair to help me get around more easily.  I had a major birthday recently, and I find in the last couple of years that I simply have to rest more often.  Even with a lot of resting, we were all sweaty and sticky by the end of the day.  

In addition, because I drive a large motorhome, I had to park way back at the end of the spaces where buses and other RVs were parked.  This meant a very long walk to the park, and back when we were done.  No shuttles that went anywhere near here, unfortunately.

And finally, the hot weather meant that most of the animals were hiding from the sun by disappearing under rocks and shrubbery.  The result was that I did not take very many photos. I will go in cooler weather next time.  

One of the things I did not realize until I had done some research was that the Columbus Zoo also  includes a water park and an amusement park of sorts.  I guess they make more money this way, but I think the space could have better been used for the animals. 

Typically, my granddaughters were about 40 feet in front of me because I walk more slowly. 

First stop was the aquarium. It was OK, but I have seen bigger and better in places like Monterey, CA.  One of these days when I am driving through Atlanta, I will need to check out their aquarium. 

Then we headed over to Africa because we were hungry and were trying to find the inside seating, air conditioned, supposedly full-service restaurant.  Passed some warthogs that reminded me of the Lion King musical.

And a couple of cheetahs. 

We found the restaurant, and seating was inside, but I would no way call it a full-service restaurant.  Basically, they had five items on the menu, you ordered through a line, and got your meal on a tray.  One nice thing, however, was the view out of the big windows.  There were giraffes, some elephants, and some other African savanna animals.  The only problem was that they were a long way away. 

A wish I had stayed longer to watch the bats. 

Most of the elephants were inside, and frankly, I was very disappointed in the size of their area inside.  Too small, and dull.

This elephant had her head resting against the post, and I think she was sleeping.  Not sure, however.  Felt it was a bit strange. 

Lots and lots of walking from one area to another.  We got lost several times, and I think the maps and signage could have been better. 

An interesting gorilla exhibit.  I always find gorillas interesting because they are so much like us.  Lots of places for them to explore and climb on in this exhibit. 

Hard to take a good photo, but here is one of the gorillas.  Rest were napping in hammocks.

It was a long day, with expensive and not very good food, so we were happy to get back to the campground and dinner. 

6/28 The Wilds, Columbus Zoo

The Wilds is the large area where the Columbus Zoo keeps a lot of its grazing animals.  It is about 10,000 acres of land that is about 70 miles east of the Columbus Zoo, so you probably do not want to go to both places on the same day.  I took my two granddaughters, and the night before I had tickets, we drove to Salt Fork State Park and spent the night there.  We then had only a 45 minute drive to the Wilds the next morning.  

The land was originally farmed, but then strip-mined for coal in the late 20th century.  After the coal was exhausted and the mine closed, the mine owners had to regrade the surface and replace topsoil so it resembled the original farmland.  A problem, however, is that the land could no longer be farmed because there was not enough topsoil, so they planted grass and some shallow-root shrubs, and donated it to the Columbus Zoo.  

It took a few years for the plants to get established and for the zoo to add fencing and electric gates to keep the various species separate.  Additions included a welcome center, gift shop, hotel, and restaurant, as well as animal barns for the winter and other facilities for animal care.

I was disappointed in the welcome center, so did not take photos, but there was a tiny gift shop and the shuttle from the parking lot brought you up here to register and board open buses like the one below for the two-hour tours.  Note that most of my photos are very hazy and seem out of focus.  Actually, this is not a camera or weather phenomenon, but a result of smoke from forest fires in Canada.  I think it would have been easier to see the animals on a crisp and slightly colder fall day without the smoke!

Some very sleepy painted dogs. 

Some Grebes zebras. (You can tell by the very narrow stripes.)

These are some of the winter animal barns and veterinary facilities.

Rhinos!

Some Pere David deer.

Long distance view of part of the pasture and ponds.

After The Wilds, we drove an hour and a half to Alum Creek State Park near Columbus for the next day at the Zoo. 

 

6/25 Status of State Parks

I haven't been posting much lately because I am in Ohio, staying in various state parks near my youngest son’s home, and catching up on doctor and dentist visits.  Last week, I had an x-ray of a finger on my right hand to determine why I had pain there.  Unfortunately, it is arthritis.  I had hoped two little painful bumps could be easily removed.  Also had a couple of cat scans to check out some long-running issues.  No changes, so that is good news.  Then I saw my dentist and scheduled a tooth implant—not fun to look forward to, but glad to get it done in next few weeks.  Also, spent some time with grandkids and am now working on doing some deep cleaning and reorganizing of stuff in my motorhome. I am embarrassed to say I washed my privacy curtains for the first time in 11 years!!! They were marked "dry clean only" but came out fine after being washed in cold water.

In between all of these things, I have had some conversations with people about the condition of state parks.  As you might know, I nearly always stay in federal, state, or county campgrounds.  They tend to be less crowded than commercial campgrounds, with sites farther apart and a few animals running around. 

The problem in this country is that with only a few exceptions, most state parks were built several decades ago, in an era when most people stayed in tents or relatively small RVs.  A few decades ago, most state parks added electric and sometimes water hookups to sites.  They also usually laid down some asphalt for RVs and cars to park on. 

Unfortunately, RVs have gotten bigger, and many require 50 amp hookups instead of the older 30 amp connections that most state park still have.  In addition, trailers and motorhomes have become a lot longer and a few inches wider over the years.  Also, campers expect more amenities such as showers and flush toilets these days.  The problem is that when it comes to state budgets, recreation is an easy thing to cut, which has been common in the last couple of decades.  The result has been delayed maintenance and few improvements made in most state parks over the past 20 – 30 years.  This means that asphalt is crumbling, electrical hookup boxes have been backed into a few too many times, and utility systems have degraded, plus many sites are too narrow and too short for modern big rigs.  Since Ohio can be a rainy state, a narrow site means you step off your stairs into the mud!!

(I won’t even get into another of my pet peeves in campgrounds—the fact that whoever laid down the asphalt pads 40 years ago were clearly not campers and often did not realize the importance of sites being even reasonably level.  I call these sites “ski jumps”!)

COVID caused a lot of people to cancel hotel and cruise-type vacations.  RV dealers had banner years during COVID as people bought trailers and motorhomes as safer means of vacationing.  This was exacerbated by the large numbers of baby boomers who retired, bought RVs, and took off for the open road.  Places where you could always get a last-minute camping site are now booked weeks and months in advance. 

Some states have started to make improvements, as evidenced by the State of Ohio replacing about 10-15% of the older sites with full hookup sites last year.  (A full hookup site has electric, water, and sewer.)  Most importantly, these new sites Ohio constructed have new concrete and asphalt, are wider and longer, and are much more level.  They also have concrete patios, which reduce the mud and the mats campers put down to have a clean place to put chairs on.  They also have put the hookup utilities on concrete pads, which means you do not have to get muddy feet or wade through a puddle to plug in your electric cord!!  Yea!!!

Unfortunately, there is a lot of infrastructure like underground electrical wire and water systems that still need to be replaced in a lot of state parks, and there are still too many “ski jump” sites that need to be replaced.  As an example, the campground I am currently staying in has only 20 amp sites, except for two handicap and two ex-camp host sites.  This means that you cannot run an AC unit in an RV on hot days.  Last winter, they put in underground wiring for 30 and 50 amps, but installation of the electric posts were delayed until this coming October because they could not delivery of the posts before the busy summer season.  (I got one of the old camp host sites, so I am lucky to have AC if I need it.  I know camping with AC might sound silly, but I am getting older and without AC, every recreational vehicle soon resembles a tin can on a hot day.)

I have mentioned RV sites, but I have to add that tent sites are even worse in a lot of places.  In the two places that I tend to stay at while visiting my son, tent sites are just opening in the woods, with a driveway nearby to park a car.  Newer state and federal campgrounds will have tent pads that are slightly raised and consist of fine gravel on top of coarser gravel with the materials held in by a wooden barrier of some sort.  This means that campers will have a dry or at least well-drained surface on which to pitch their tents—a considerable improvement over mud or wet forest ground.   

I am using Ohio as an example, but it is pretty typical.  A friend of mine sent me a list of the improvements the State of Michigan is planning for its state parks, and it totals $15,962,000 over the next couple of years, much of which is coming from Biden's American Rescue Plan.  Here are two articles:

·        https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/about/newsroom/releases/2022/06/28/arpa-funded-state-park-infrastructure 

·        https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/places/state-parks/arpa-funding/project-list

I looked through the second item, the project list, and I am especially glad they are replacing the sanitation system at Traverse City SP.  The existing dump station is a terrific example of poor design, so I hope they are relocating it or at least relocating some of the campsites near it. I assume it was built when few campers had tanks to dump because it is located at the end of a line of camp sites. This is a very large campground in a very popular place, so there are so many RVs that line up to dump each day that they have to station a camp host to direct traffic, plus the line ends up forming down the roadway so that it blocks in several campsites!! Can you imagine being stuck in your camp site for several hours each day by RVs lining up to dump their sewage tanks??? It really needs to be located away from where campers are camping.

I know that Michigan has spent a lot of money on Wilderness SP near Mackinaw City over the last couple of years, redoing most of the campsites. Like most other state parks, it is packed at least six months of the year. I remember staying there 11 years ago, and the sites were so close together and the roadway so narrow that most campers had their vehicles parked hanging out into the road. I remember people having to move trucks before I could leave!!

In reality, all this good news is just a small amount of what really needs to be done to catch state parks up with the needs and wants of campers. If you look through the Michigan list, you will see that a lot of the changes will not be immediately noticeable to campers because many of the projects involve replacing electrical and water systems, but it is a good start and will eventually make camping easier and more pleasant for a lot of people.

6/13 Dam East on Carlyle Lake

I made it to Carlyle Lake in central Illinois after three days at Bloomington East in Missouri and two long day's drive.  In between Bloomington East in Kansas and here was Arrow Rock SP in Columbia, MO.  I did not take any photos of either place because frankly, they were not terribly interesting places.  

Bloomington East campground was packed because it was the weekend, but I got four loads of laundry done, which is a real accomplishment.  I had not done laundry for over three weeks, so not only had I run out of clothes, but I had a ton of towels and bedding.  So, all is now clean and will last me until I get to Ohio in two days.  One of the really nice things about Ohio and Florida is that almost all the state park campgrounds in those cities have washers and dryers in each restroom.  

But back to Dam East, where I am now.  I have spent two nights here to rest up from the two driving days to get here.  This is a very large lake, and this is the third campground I have stayed at in this Corps of Engineers recreation area--Dam West and Boulder Beach are the other two.  Dam West is obviously west of the dam and Dam East is east of it.  Boulder Beach is on the east side, but quite a ways north.  This campground is pleasant, and I am getting two out of three DISH satellites, which means I am getting nearly all of the available channels, even the locals. 

 

Very nice, large, paved campsite.  It is nice to be able to walk around on your site and not get muddy!  

 

A few too many trees for my preferences, as I like open areas so I can get satellite TV. But, as with almost all COE campgrounds, this one is clean and well-taken care of.  Also, it is cheap for seniors because we get a 50% discount for all federal campgrounds. 

 

A couple of days ago, I spent an hour putting my new bike cover onto my bike which is on a rack on the rear of my motorhome.  It was tightly wrapped and the cover was fastened with about a dozen long elastic ties.  So, today, I decided I wanted to take a bike ride to do some exploring, so I had to take all my work apart and then put it back on when I was done.  

I was a little shaky since I had not ridden my bike for a while, but I managed to ride a few miles without falling.  Below is the beach area near my campsite.

 

Strangely, this lake has two dams.  This is the smaller of the two and is close to Dam East campground.

 

 

 

 

This is the second and larger, main dam.  I rode down the lower road, than turned around and rode back and down the upper dam road.  Way down at the end is the spillway. 

 

 This is the bottom of the dam and the spillway. 

This is the top of the dam, directly over the spillway and dam controls.  It has recently rained, so they were dumping a lot of water today.

 

 

The spillway.  

 

It was an amazingly long ride on the top of the dam.  I would have continued to ride farther, but it was very windy and I was afraid of getting blown over. The Dam East campground is at the far end of the dam, and towards the lake.

Enjoyed my bike ride, but I need to build my confidence up a bit.