Morty's trip into Spring 2011

The coming of the February thaw (aided by the cleaning up of the new year's bills and taxes) means that the time is ripe to set out on the highway again seeing the USA in our Chevrolet. Morty's preparations went smoothly except for the tire pressure check. This essential procedure again resulted in a sliced open finger from one of the two remaining decorative wheel covers – man, do I hate those things. Every time I have checked the air pressure, I have come away with a sliced finger from those buggers. Now, I am beginning to see that those sharp edges need to filed down before I next insert my precious digits. The current synthetic oil would have 53% of its life remaining if it were non-synthetic. Does anyone know how that all factors out? The water holding tank is full to just under the two-thirds level. The batteries are at their level best. The dump tanks are empty. The gen-set is working with its oil topped off. And, the hole and crack in the roof vents are temporarily sealed with package tape – something which I know will blow off sooner or later, but is a good fix while it holds.

The weather is cool-to-warm, but cloudy and misty as we traverse Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas. But soon after crossing into the Lone Star, the skies clear and the temperature rises to the upper 60's. The gods are unquestionably smiling on this dash to better climes.

Bee-Line Alignment in Columbus

I was a little concerned about Morty's tires before the last trip, so I took him to a national chain tire store for his oil change and asked them about the tires. They could do the oil change, but didn't know much about the tire situation. What? Tire is their middle name!

Now Morty was starting to show a little cupping on the front tires so I called R&S Tires about checking the alignment and they suggested Bee-Line for that work on a truck chassis. I called and they had me bring it over. Wow! Another great service experience. They got right on the alignment and suggested that a tire rotation would be necessary to stop the excessive wear. Starting the rotation job at 11:45 meant that the tech would have to delay his lunch break. No problem. He got the job done in a half-hour and that included balancing both the new front wheels. 

I couldn't have asked for anything more from these guys. Plus, both jobs were completed for what I was expecting to pay for the alignment alone. Morty is one happy RV camper again.

Ms Garmina Gets Glamorous

One of the inter-trip rituals, is downloading new maps for the Garmin Nuvi 200 that we use to find our way. That process can be very frustrating unless you remember to switch your browser to Internet Explorer. My favorite browser is now Google Chrome, but using that one lets you do a three-hour download that seems to be unable to run. Unfortunately, there is no prior warning about this requirement on the Garmin site.

I finally got the new maps loaded onto Ms Garmina and then noticed that there was a new program which could also be loaded, so of course, I did that. Then I noticed that there was an "Extras" choice on the menu screen that was available for user-content. After digging around a little on the net, I found a site which has numerous point of  interest files available for such things as campgrounds, museums and photography. This is a real gem for travelers like us. The site is POI Factory -- pretty amazing. Before I knew it, I had downloaded a couple of dozen files with 6,500 points of interest into that little GPS. I don't think there is any way to tell how much space is left -- snooping while attached to the computer shows no storage at all. Must be magic. Anyhow, the new availability of things like seaside campgrounds in the Southeast should be very useful.

6500 Miles and Morty is Home

Morty rolled us another 400 miles today and we are back home for the next month or so. This has been the trip I've always dreamed about. It was even more fun than expected.

 Now to figure out where it's good to go in April!

Return to Sam Houston Jones St Pk, TX

We have returned to an old friend of a state park in Sam Houston Jones in Louisiana. We had a nice couple of days here on our trip West. Tonight it is just a break in heading home. The last time, we were probably ahead of the curve representing the flight of most snow birds. This time we are smack-dab on the curve of the returnees. We got here around 2:30 on a Sunday, but were surprised by the large number of campers already here and arriving in a near-continuous stream. We were lucky to get in without reservations. Evidently, the $9 reservation fee mentioned on the first stop was working in our favor.

One of the things we should have remembered from the first stop is that the power boxes on the sites around the outside of the camping area are really too far from the parking spots for the standard RV power cord. This time however, a kind neighbor offered to loan us his 25 foot 30 amp extension cord. We were really grateful for his kindness and assured him that we would use only four feet or so of the total available length.

This park is especially memorable in that it is by far the most inexpensive campgrounds with full services that we have yet experienced. We get water and electricity with excellent WiFi and good restroom facilities. Recommended again.

Today we have a few pictures from the ferry crossing leaving Galveston.



Tomorrow we head to our first camping experience in Mississippi probably near Hattiesburg if all goes well. We will let you know how it goes.

Die Hard Batteries at Sears in Port Arthur

Poor Morty! His coach batteries were showing signs of failure from the second day of this trip back in January. Yesterday, we wanted to start the generator to microwave lunch, and it was just too much for the two-year old cells to handle. We could start the truck and that would provide starting current for the generator, but we would still be without continuing power for the refrigerator electronics and other things like the power step when we were disconnected from "shore" power. So we checked the internet and found a couple of Sears locations on our route home. While on the ferry leaving Galveston we called The Port Arthur store and, while I didn't know the size Morty needed, we at least established that they were open and stocked with batteries.

We pulled in a little before noon, and got the paperwork done for a marine/RV deep cycle set of Die Hard batteries that had a three-year warranty. Then while waiting for the technician to become available, we went across the road to gas up. Then we had a little lunch in Morty. The tech then started on the replacement of the batteries in the step well while we watched from the dinette. Soon, I was running the acid test: starting the generator from only the new batteries. In practically no time we were all hooked up again and on our way in the time it takes to stop for lunch most days. You can't find any better service than that, anywhere. Oh, and a word about the Sears auto manager and tech -- they were both black ladies who knew their stuff and got the job done efficiently and expertly -- very impressive! Throw in the security of a warranty from Sears -- priceless!

Yuma, Arizona

Marking our one-month milestone, we are by most measures, due to be turning around. It seems like the weather at Yosemite, is just a little too nasty for this trip. After three days relaxing in the California desert, Morty was feeling the need to roll out some east-bound miles. We checked and rechecked the AAA book listings for openings on Sunday in El Centro or Winterhaven, but none were to be had. So we started looking in Arizona, and found a modern, clean and mostly paved park called Las Quintas Oasis RV Resort. Here the discounted rate of $36 per night gets full hook-ups, including cable TV, WiFi, heated swimming and spa pools.

From Casa Grande, AZ

Little Morty is in a pull-through site that is big enough to hold five more motor homes of his  size -- pretty amazing to realize again how much stuff some folks consider essential for their road-time.

Desert Boondocking

Welcome to California desert spring camping -- where all the folks come to enjoy the early desert wildflowers! The desert is more beautiful than I ever imagined, and lots of other campers are thinking that too. For the first time in longer than I can remember, Morty is being squeezed out of a site by prior reservations and the entire hook-up area is full at Anza-Borrego. That means we will have to move to a dry camping, no-hook-ups area, or as RVers say, boondocking. So we topped off our water tank to just over two-thirds full, checked the generator for oil, and will move at check-out time of noon.



Speaking of the generator, we got a phone call from Marvin who sold Morty to us. He had found a DVD describing the care and maintenance of the generator and wanted to give it to us. Boy, was he surprised when we told him we were talking from the middle of the California desert, sitting in the our RV. He thought it sounded like we were right next-door.  He was also curious about whether we had been to Alamogordo, New Mexico where he served in the Air Force in 1948! So we told him how to find our blog to see how his old RV was making out as the new Mortimer Turtle.

Some of these pictures show the first time use of the close-up function of the Canon S90 -- pretty good for just walking and biking around. By the way, the boondocking area still has restrooms and showers and I'm hoping that it is WiFi range.

Quartzsite, AZ

Quartzsite has no state parks, so we are at 88 Shades, a commercial park selected from the AAA campground guide -- click the link for another view. The park is still recuperating from the Quartzsite Annual RV Show that runs the last couple of weeks of January.

There are mostly permanent residents here now, along with a few travelers like us. One characteristic of the permanently moored RVs are the swamp coolers -- simple air conditioners that work by just water evaporation. There are still a passel of RV dealers and support operations here, and a few gas stations, restaurants, and RV parks, so the rates are very reasonable: $25 per night. The amenities are a little wear-worn, but otherwise fully acceptable.

Pensacola

Yesterday we finally left Gahanna -- still in a freeze. The icicles hanging from our front roof broke all records going back at least 24 years. But it was dry and bright so that we were able to get out the garden hose and fill Morty's water tank -- something that I was expecting not to be possible in those conditions.

We left at 2:30 PM and drove to Tennessee, stopping at 10:30 -- about 400 miles -- but still in a hard freeze. It was a little distressing to find Morty's furnace suddenly dysfunctional. On top of that the coach batteries were dead from running the tank heaters all day -- something that I thought was supposed to be handled by the engine charging system. That makes two things needing some attention.

Today, we were up and at it at the crack of dawn, driving another 400 plus miles to the Naval Air Station at Pensacola. When we stopped for lunch we were dumbfounded to see McDonalds stuck in a time-warp and still serving breakfast. Who knew that Alabama observes Central Time.

We were headed for the Naval Aviation Museum aboard ["on" would not be proper navy-speak] the base, but saw that there was a family campground on the Gulf there also. We pulled in and were lucky enough to get their last available site. Also lucky enough to look like we might fit in well enough with retired military to garner a sponsorship from the campground hosts -- otherwise the camp is not open to civilians.



The weather here is delightfully mild -- mid 60s to mid 50s. Still, everyone here is pleased with the warming trend, the same as we are. Rain is forecast tomorrow, so we plan to give the Museum a thorough going over. Today's quick look was very favorable. We took turns sitting in simulators for helicoptors and transports and were amazed at the work-loads involved in each. This is the home of the Navy's Blue Angels.

Between apetizers and dinner, we walked down to the beach, and in the near-darkness saw a Great Blue Heron swoop in down to the water's edge looking for a good fishing spot. More amazement from the Canon S90 in extremely low light

Casita Trip Archive from 2000

To Stratham NH to visit my sister and her family. Our second trip in our 16 foot travel trailer. The first had been to Winter Haven Florida for Cleveland Indians Spring training. We pulled Casi with our new Honda Odyssey known as Mesabi because of its Mesa Beige exterior. This was all recorded one hand-written letter at a time on my Palm Pilot-like Handspring PDA. The software is supposed to recognize you printing as long as you adhere to the rules of graffiti -- or as we say in the real world: not so much.

From Casita

New England Camping July, 2000

Saturday 7/15 to Salem, Ohio
Mesabi pulls the Casita, with little complaint, except at the gas pump where highway mileage is cut in half from 30 to 16 mpg. Navigator lady does a good job with the routing, but we had been there a time or two before. The big news is that we are finally on vacation, without any trace of jet-lag. We hook up to 20 amp electricity in the Mother's house, and find that needing the air conditioner to dry out the humidity, that is sufficient.

Sunday we set out east at 7 am, after dealing with Navigator Lady's lack of knowledge of local streets. But then all is well. Our stops are a lot more frequent than the 500 plus miles that would normally come with the 20 gallon tank in Mesabi, but with no jet-lag, that is a minor inconvenience.

Sunday afternoon, Lynne gets familiar with the AAA Camping Guide, by directing us to the Huesatonic State Park campgrounds in Northern Connecticut, while thinking that it was only a mile from I84 in the southern part of the state.

Site was far from level, and after many tries, we pulled in a couple of places down slope, and had a fine time.

Leveling the camper is critical to refigerator function, and I read that a little stationary operation without being level, can cause a major repair experience.
 England 7/16-18 Sunday

Needing hook-ups, we head further north yet, to East Canaan and the Lone Oak Campground arriving around 5. Rates are a pricy $39, but that includes a lot of amenities. Met a friendly Ann Forrester, running the store, and camping there also. Just recently retired, they had crossed the country twice already, and were settling in for a spell. Need to look for them on the Compuserve RV forum. Tried to reach Mary on the cell phone from the campground, but the hassel of roaming credit-card calling proved just a tad too difficult, and who-knows-how expensive.

Up early on Monday with showers and yogurt. Only have a couple of hours travel to the coast. Drove through some of the prettiest towns of the Berkshires on the way to the Mass Turnpike.

Finally reached Mary on the cell while driving. Actually a suprisingly clear connection.

Got to Mary's a little after 1, Danny was napping, but Julia and Mary had a bite of lunch for us.

Shel-Al Campground in North Hampton was found by Navigator Lady getting close, and Lynne, figuring out the rest. Nice quiet place  under the shade of big maple trees. Had to try a couple of times to get level, but then all was fine.

To the Lobster Pound for dinner. $8 per pound, really increases one's shellfish appetite to about 2.5 pounds. Unquestionably the best taste ever.



New England 7/22-23 weekend

We arrived at the Gloucester Cape Ann Camp site right on time, and so did Barbara. We toured the city, the had dinner, and walked the small beach. On Sunday, we saw Rockport, and the most famous Motif Number 1 fisherman's shack decorated with lobster trap floats. Really enjoyed the walk through the fillage shops. Saw som scuba divers coming up the rocks with the several large lobsters. Given the local prices and freshness, it is difficult to understand the appeal or cost effectiveness of this practice, but they did seem to be enjoying themselves. They even had the proper tool to place the heavy ruberbands on the claws.

Went on the Yankee Spirit whale watch and  saw 17 humpbacks lounging about after a morning of filtering out their ton of food for the day. Some mothers and babies along with a unwelcome escort that had the mother trumpeting her blows. Barbara saw more than ever before, even though it had been a staple in the vistor itinerary of hers for years.

New England 7/24 Monday

Draggin from a busy pace over the weekend with Barbara. Set out for the Rusnik Family Campground in Salisbury, Mass.

Looked over Seabrook NH with its rusted out nuclear reactors. Beach towns were quite ghetto-ish. Saw the entrance to Plum Island and Newburyport, and understood how its Martha-Stewart-ness appealed to Barbara.

Stopped in downtown Newburyport for lunch, and marvelled at the efeciency of a quaint but touristy small town. Cops on cell phones keeping traffic out of the construction. Lots of places to eat, but Angies is where the locals and observant tourists stop. The county sheriff has a $75m anti-graffitti rig staffed with two deputies and three "workers" who look more than able to take care of themselves.

This is a very effecient and secure camping area. Gate access is controlled with coded cards. Everything is clean and tidy. Will swim as soon as the sun dips a little.

Back on the Road Again

After five weeks of tending to the administrivia at home, Morty headed southeast for some sun and surf. He was a little balky about getting loaded again, consequently it was three PM before the big wheels were a turnin'.

A small giltch was also encountered that could have added to the delay -- the electric step was stuck in the closed position. Upon inspection though, it was determined that a yellow birch leaf was interfering with the magnetic sensor. This little gizmo can tell when the door opens and sends the step out to meet our feet. It's just a little difficult to envision just how sensitive it must be if a freshly fallen leaf can trick it into missing the comings and goings of the door.

We took the route to the North Carolina shore that we used to travel twice a year, but this time due to the late start we made it to only the half-way point -- Wyethville, VA. We will spend the night in the Flying J parking lot and get an early start in the morning. As usually reckoned, this was a 333 mile day -- something that is necessary when there is a window of only three weeks or so for tripping. We are aiming for our first destination of Wilmington, NC -- the next big city south of our old haunts at Atlantic Beach.

Winterization

This is the coldest October I can remember. Can someone please ask Al Gore what is going on with our global warming? The new sandals are still working for me. This evening's forecast is for below freezing temperatures. We are still about a week away from heading out on our next trip -- which will be to warmer weather. So this meant that it was time to inject the anti-freeze in Morty's plumbing.

I got the water drained with no problem, setting the master control valves to the tank-fill position. Then I placed the anti-freeze bottle into position and turned on the pump. It promptly sucked in my entire supply of two and a half gallons. Holy Smokes, there isn't that much piping in there! Then it occurred to me that not setting the valves to the winterize position meant that the pink stuff was going into the water tank. So I headed out to the store to get a couple of gallons more. On the way back, it further occurred to me that all I had to do was pump the water tank through the kitchen faucet back into the empty bottles, and all would be not-too-bad.

So now Morty is ready for the cold, and my supply of pink anti-freeze is up to the three and half gallon mark. It will be so nice to be following the Sun soon.

On to Dearborn

Friday dawned cloudy and cooler, so Morty drove a bit further to be in position to spend Saturday joining up with an old friend at the Henry Ford. We made it to the Dearborn area around 3PM as the skies cleared and temperature rose.  We even switched on the cab air conditioner for the last few miles.

We picked the closest campground which turned out to be the Wayne County Fairgrouns. The first drawback was that they were hosting a couple of dog shows and had only 20 amp sites available -- no problem, it wasn't hot enough to require the coach air conditioning. The deal that wasn't mentioned was that they are improving the road around the campground, grading and rolling the dirt/stone mixture. Most likely only a small inconvenience, except that they started this process at 7PM, and are still at it as of this writing -- 9:45 PM -- HUH?

We meet our friend at 10 at the Henry Ford. Should be fun.

Van Riper State Park, MI UP

On Friday, September 11, 2009 Morty meandered from the South side to the North Side of the Upper Peninsula, about 115 miles. I had expected the roads in this very sparsely populated and remote area of the state with a pretty severe winter climate to be below par. But I am really surprised to report that they are indeed in prime condition – smooth ribbons of asphalt with no potholes or frost damage. In Ohio, even the interstates are not in as good condition. Morty just loves being able to cruise along at 60 MPH with no hassles at all, and he shows it by increasing his gas economy to 9.8 miles per gallon, a pace he has held since departing Cheboygan. I’m thinking he deserves a switch to synthetic oil to encourage this improving performance.



Getting into Van Riper campgrounds had a few difficulties. Seems that someone made a reservation for tomorrow instead of today. Fortunately they still had a couple of open spots when we arrived around 3PM. The ladies at the check-in were no better than I was at reading the tiny on-screen print of this notorious system, which continues to charge a 36 % premium for making a one-night reservation. The grumbling on this point continues.

This park is famous for being in Moose Country. This was the locale of an airlift of entire moose families from Ontario in 1985. They are thriving just a little northwest of the park. I set out on bike to spot some, but ran out of decent biking trail before the moose ran out of habitat.

The reason for the full park this weekend is the celebration of Halloween. Wait, you say, that holiday is still seven weeks off – but we fail to realize that in terms of parties, decorations and developing traditions, this is now our most important holiday of the year. Here at Van Riper, the celebration – including trick-or-treating -- runs for three solid week-ends at the end of September. That’s ideal then for everyone to pull up stakes and take the celebrations home for the month of October – what could be better?

Sunsets were again quite photogenic so several are in the picasa album for you. The lake here is Michigamme. If you, like I, thought that was a football game with the Buckeyes at the end of November, you now have a new piece of knowledge.

Orchard Beach State Park, Michigan

Relentless in his determination to make it to the UP, Morty went further north on Thursday, September 3, 2009 to Orchard Beach. We could have stayed longer in Muskegon, but now have an impromptu mini-class reunion date in Painesville OH on the 24th, so excessive dallying is now not on the program.

Lynne made breakfast, and generally got us ready to clean up and hit the road. This process exposed some peaches with bad spots that were just purchased yesterday.

And that was all it took to put out a general quarters alert to all the fruit flies in two and half counties. We promptly disposed of all suspect fruit at the sanitation station on the way out of the park, but that still left about three dozen or so fruit flies who now thought of the bathroom as their weekend get-away. We tried opening the bedroom window as we drove to encourage them to look elsewhere.

As the anxiety over the propane indicators grew, we finally passed a dealer who was open and pulled in. A couple of ladies in the office, said that there was no one there to work the equipment - all the men were out training - but another dealer was just a couple of miles up the road. So we found the second dealer, with even more office personnel holding down the fort. Here there was also an operator, but he was occupied in selling a furnace to an extended family that all seemed to be present and mightily involved in the buying decision. So it was nearly a half hour wait for that sale to be completed. I busied my self with a damp dishrag mass extermination of fruit flies that had set up housekeeping in our little bathroom. The little buggers were inordinately drawn to the plastic mirrors, and that made the process pretty easy. In any event, the flies were mostly dispatched by the time the propane pumper was ready to pump. Our six-gallon tank, that was indicating both 3/8 and 2/3 full on the exterior and interior meters respectively, took 3.9 gallons. That leaves 2.1 gallons left in the tank. This means that the accuracy award goes to the exterior indicator since 2.1/.375=5.6 while 2.1/.66=3.2!

Before the propane anxiety could recede adequately, reservation anxiety was taking center stage. The new campground had space available for only one night. So we picked a spot, and settled in, then promptly got online to find a site for the beginning of the holiday weekend. Must avoid the disgrace of camping in the Wal-Mart for the holiday. Our first choice, Traverse City, was full, so we tried Interlochen.  Success, we had to book two nights, and pay a slightly exorbitant reservation fee of $8, but that job also got done. So now it's fairly certain that we will be at that park on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Cell phone service here comes and goes, so there is some question about when we can post this update. At least we are not stranded here, not that there's any thing wrong with that. Today's beach walk was awesome; it was down about four stories of extremely steep stairs from our campsite.  The sand was brown and rough, with extremely many pebbles to keep your feet on their feet. The pictures are fairly accurate. The water was mostly very clear, certainly not what you expect of a lake in which the water comes, and doesn't leave for over 100 years.

Turns out the fruit fly campaign was less successful that initially thought. Lynne, though came up with the ingenious solution of using the handi-vac to suck them up to release on the outside. Now we are making real progress...

Ionia State Recreation Area, MI

Last night we tried out the furnace for the first time as the temperature plunged to 40 degrees - in August! If global warming is real, then what about this part of the globe? At least the magical propane tank continues to  fuel the three appliance that we need it for - refrigerator, hot water heater and furnace. Still have yet to turn on either the range or oven, since the microwave does such a good job at minimizing the hassle of food prep. The tank gauge is showing  more than 3/8 full, while the coach lights indicate 2/3 full.

Today, we found the Ionia - the Holy Grail of camping. A perfect campground, sparsely occupied, in an absolutely beautiful setting, with perfect weather, state of the art plumbing, and we are situated just off the end of a country landing strip with sail planes. We almost ditched this destination when we found another casino was just about as far for today's jaunt. But Lynne pointed out that I was probably more interested in the buffet than the gambling, and she was right. So we continued on our original plan to Ionia.

Along the way, we detoured through Grand Ledge to pick up supplies at a Meijer. Wow, event that was an experience. Much bigger store that what we are used to in Ohio, with larger selections, and very noticeably fresher, cleaner, and better organized. But then we are getting close to home base for the Meijers's. Here is obviously where the brightest and fastest rising stars in store management come home to roost.

We bought a 3 liter box of Chardonnay wine for cocktails and dining. This replaced a somewhat strange chillable red that, at 5 liters, seemed to be lasting a really long time. We also took advantage of a half-price sale on Lean Cuisine - a welcome change from the steamer meals that had been a regular. Then just had to stock up on the orange pumice hand cleaner. The $3 bottle was on sale, but so was the $5 dollar jug, then we found the keg for $6. Lynne dutifully un-shopped the smaller bottle so I could have a 15 year supply right at hand in our traveling garage.

To set up camp here, we pulled just about everything out from Morty's garage: the recliners, camp chairs, bikes and helmets. Then we rode down to the lake and looked around a the fishing and picnic area - deserted. Then we pedaled on over to the beach and found some other users. The 800 foot sandy beach, had one couple and a single taking a little sun in basically street clothes. The college intern who checked us in to the campground was on his last day of vacation before returning to school to study natural resource management - he might have just been filling in while the regular was out to lunch. We saw him again mowing the grass around the bathhouse at the beach.

I am anxious for darkness, so that I can work on some more dark sky photos. The sky has been perfectly clear today, and I am hoping that it will hold into the night, even though we are supposed to plunge back into the forties again. It's starting to look like we will want to spend another day here before moving on to the western shore of Lake Michigan. At least here, we have a local propane dealer right in town if we suddenly find out that we have to be a lot more pessimistic in interpreting our propane gauges! He might even make house calls.

Ann Arbor

On Saturday, Morty took us to Ann Arbor. Lots of traffic. Could they already be in session? No, not that much. We parked on South State St at a meter and a half, just about at the main entrance of the UM Museum of Art, and indeed the main campus itself. The collections and buildings were impressive, and I mean in a good way. Many permanent collections. Conservators and curators that obviously are at the top of their game.  Sadly, OSU has nothing in this league. Took way too many photos, so will share a few with you.  I still need to photograph museum exhibits in order to properly enjoy them. Without the picture, I forget 99% the same day -- of even what I really like. I also think that the pictures are better than the original in many cases.

Later in the afternoon, we headed further north to the land of Green and White. Pinckney Recreation Area Bruin Lake campgrounds is about three quarters full, but we are in a large quite corner that is still close to the showers so now everyone is happy - except for the fact that tonight it is too cold for showering. Once again, we find ourselves walking to the boat ramp and along the shore, but this is only about a twenty minutes of actual exercise. Well, we did cover two buildings including six floors of the museum for two hours of walking earlier.

Thinking about heading northwest now. Ionia rec area is about halfway to Manistee casino and commercial campground on the shore of Lake Michigan. We will stay at Pinckney until Monday.

By the way, if some of my wacky references are not clear, it's just me having fun. Anyhow, we're always happy to elucidate, as my younger sister says. Just ask.