'23/#19 End Of Season Signs

 We are almost three quarters of the way through our workcamping gig. The season is showing signs of the end getting near. There are the weather changes, subtle as they are, but soon to force us to crack out some warmer clothes. The trees are just barely showing the change in the colors of the leaves, and we are looking forward to that. Maine's leaves were beautiful and I am sure Mary will be posting Michingan fall colors soon.

But there are other changes that are unique to workcamping. Hitch-itch, the urge to get the wheels rolling, grows the longer we sit in one place. Looking forward to the next adventure is exciting also. But there is a bitter sweet part to the end of the workcamping season. Celebrating our time with our new friends and having to say goodbye. 

Tracy, one of the workcampers, organized a pot luck campfire at her site. We ate and talked and laughed and shared our plans well into the dark, even knowing we had to work in the morning. Alan would be the first to leave to get his kids back home for school. There was no shortage of interim grandparent/grandkid interactions with his family around. Tracey will be leaving next and little by little the group will disperse to all points of the compass. 

The next day Lynette, the manager, had a mandatory attendance phot-op that none of us would have missed anyway. Again we talked about plans after St Ignace and how we all became a tight knit group, almost like a family. Some talked about meeting up elsewhere in the future while others promised to keep in touch. It was a sign that things were winding down.

Just like any family it takes all kinds and we wouldn't change a single one of them at all.

Well, it is raining so this will be a good day to run errands and get some shopping done . Real stores are at least 45 minutes away so we will make the most of this excursion. I will sign off now from our home in the U.P. because.....

Home is where we park itt,

Frank and Mary

'23/#18 Part II

 In the past I have said that sometimes there just isn't much to blog about. That is when I vanish from the blogging world. Then things get interesting and I'm back. So now that we have caught up with the boring stuff that is part of everyone's lifestyle, even on the road, let's get back to the adventure.

The other day we planned to head up to Sault St Marie and check out the locks connecting Lake Superior and Lake Huron. Coincidentally a young couple, April and Kait, said they were going also and would we like to spend the day together. Boat tickets were bought on line and we all met at the dock the next morning. 

Most of the passengers went to the front of the tour boat but we migrated to the stern and had the whole area to ourselves. We were introduced to their friend Luke and the tour began. This was one of those days where everything was just perfect. The weather we ideal, the company was outstanding, and even when lock traffic forced us out of line for through passage all that happened was the tour was extended and we go to see more of the whole US/Canadian lock system. We had a rare sighting of the railroad bridge lowering over the lock. No train, just a work truck but still pretty cool.

The locks raise and lower boats of up to 1000' the 25' difference between lake Superior and Lake Huron. This helped create a shipping channel from Duluth Minnesta all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. While we passed through the locks there was a 1000' freighter in the next lock over. 

After the boat ride we walked into town and had a great lunch at Zorbas Greek restaurant. The whole time we are talking and sharing and laughing like a group of old friends. We walked back to the dock and took a walking tour on the Museum Ship Valley Camp. The Valley Camp is 550' long so was about half the size of the largest freighters on the Great Lakes and still it was huge. We learned about life on the ships of the Lakes and of the the ships and sailors that perished on the Lakes. The Edmund Fitzgerald may be the most famous of the many wrecks in the Great Lakes and was also featured in the museum. 

We parted ways with our friends at that point to do some grocery shopping in Sault St Marie before heading home. Good weather, great exploring, new experiences, and great friends with whom to share it all. Who could ask for a better day?

Today we get back to work and start making plans for next week? So I will sign off from our home in St Ignace because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'23/#17 Two Part Catch Up

 It has been a while so either one really long blog or two shorter ones are in order. I choose to spread it out. So here goes.

The last month or so has been less than blog worthy. Eventful? Yes. Shareable? Maybe. Mary had to have cataract surgery so that has curtailed a lot of what we would have liked to be doing in the U.P. Surgeries, follow-ups, and post surgery care took up most of our days off. The manager here has been awesome about schedules to accommodate us as have the rest of the crew. It is a good crew and we all try to help each other out whenever we can. 

During this time we also had to work. July and August is peak season here in the Upper Peninsula so it has been very busy. Most of our work is indoors so it was easier keeping dust and smoke out of Mary's eyes. The eye drop regimen was my responsiblity. Multiple drops, multiple times a day, and different schedules due to staggered surgeries kept me on my toes. After all Mary has been through I didn't want anything to get screwed up, especially because I might mess up her eye drops. One eye is done and two more weeks of drops for the other and Mary will be good to go.

Now that the eye thing is just about done we will get back to our adventure. We have some things to take care of today so I will continue blogging later. We are headed back to Sault St Marie next.  This will be more of what this blog is about. So until later from our home in Michigan because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary