Paddling in the UP: Manistique and Au Train Rivers

On Wednesday August 14 we paddled the Manistique River. It was a great day for paddling, sunny and mild. The Manistique passes through the Seney National Wildlife Refuge, and there is no development along the river.  We put in at a highway roadside park at the MI 77 bridge near Germfask and took out at Mead Creek Campground in the Michigan State Forest.

The put-in for the Manistique is about 45 miles east of our camp in Christmas. We doubled back east on MI 28 and enjoyed a fine breakfast buffet at Dogpatch Restaurant in Munising before continuing to the river.

I have the least best view of the river than anyone in our boat

Lynda making a fine draw around a stump

Taking a stretch on the Manistique

White-tailed deer on the Manistique

What are you looking at?

Trumpeter swan at Seney NWR

Checking out the visitor center Seney NWR

The next day we paddled on the Au Train River, only about 6 miles west of camp. The Au Train is unique in that you can paddle an 8 mile section of river, but the road shuttle is only 1.2 miles, because of the way the river meanders.  A few years ago we paddled this river and were by ourselves, and Dorcas walked the shuttle with Matilda.   Today we put in at the bridge just below Au Train Lake and took out at the mouth of the river on Lake Superior.

Put-in on the Au Train River

Passing a beaver hut

Ducks on the river

Checking out the lilies

Lunch break

Approaching the take-out at Lake Superior

Tomorrow we continue westward into Wisconsin.

Photo of the Week -Trumpeter Swans

We drove through the Seney National Wildlife Refuge and stopped at the visitor center.  There we found a pair of trumpeter swans on the pond near the parking lot.  I couldn't decide which of these 2 photos I liked the best, so I posted them both.

I watched these guys for about 10 minutes and never saw both of them with with their heads out of the water at the same time.  It reminded me of the proverbial ostriches with their heads stuck in the sand.

About that time some idiot's car alarm went off, and both swans raised their heads to see what the ruckus was about.  So I snapped this shot.  This was just after Dorcas had gotten tired of waiting for me and had gone back to the car to wait.   We had left Matilda in the car with the windows down and doors locked.  Dorcas had reached through the window and unlocked the door from the inside.  That is when we first realized the Pilot even had an alarm.

Michigan's Upper Penisula

On Tuesday we crossed the Mackinaw Bridge, the "Mighty Mac". The Mackinaw Bridge crosses the Straits of Mackinac and connects Michigan's lower and upper peninsulas.  The Mac is a very impressive structure.  It was completed in 1957 and is 4.995 miles long.  It has the longest span between anchorages of any suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere, and the total shore-to-shore distance is 5 miles. The maximum clearance to the water below is 155 feet. Driving across the bridge is a little daunting. The bridge authority provides a service for those psychologically unable to drive their vehicle across the bridge.

Crossing he Mighty Mac

Mackinac Island from the bridge

I happen to be a bridge nut.  I chose to become a civil engineer because of my fascination with bridges.  However, after taking my first course in structures at NC State, my desire to design bridges was diminished.  Consequently, I changed my specialty to environmental engineering.  So bear with me as I indulge:

Facts and figures (Ref: Wikipedia):

The Mackinac Bridge is currently a toll bridge on Interstate 75 (I-75). Prior to the coming of I-75, the bridge carried US Highway 27 (US 27). It is one of only three segments of I-75 that are tolled, the others being the American half of the International Bridge near Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and Alligator Alley in Florida. The current toll is $4.00 for automobiles and $5.00 per axle for trucks.^[3] The Mackinac Bridge Authority raised the toll in 2007 to fund a $300 million renovation program, which would include completely replacing the bridge deck.^[20]

Every Labor Day, the bridge is open to walkers for the Mackinac Bridge Walk.

Painting of the bridge takes seven years,^[21] and when painting of the bridge is complete, it begins again. The current painting project began in 1999 and was expected to take 20 years to complete because the lead-based paint needs to be removed, incurring additional disposal requirements.^[22][23]

The bridge celebrated its 150 millionth vehicle crossing on September 6, 2009.^[24]

• Length from cable bent pier to cable bent pier: 7,400 feet (2,256 m).^[1]
• Total width of the roadway: 54 feet (16.5 m)^[1]
  • Two outside lanes: 12 feet (3.7 m) wide each^[1]
  • Two inside lanes: 11 feet (3.4 m) wide each^[1]
  • Center mall: 2 feet (0.61 m)
  • Catwalk, curb and rail width: 3 feet (0.91 m) on each side
• Width of stiffening truss in the suspended span: 68 feet (20.7 m).^[1]
• Depth of stiffening truss: 38.1 feet (11.6 m)^[2][1]
• Height of the roadway at mid-span: approximately 200 feet (61 m) above water level.^[1]
• Vertical clearance at normal temperature:
  • 155 feet (47 m) at the center of the main suspension span.^[1]
  • 135 feet (41 m) at the boundaries of the 3,000 feet (914 m) wide navigation channel.^[1]
• Construction cost: $99.8 million (equivalent to $696 million in 2018^[12])^[1]
• Height of towers above water: 552 feet (168 m)^[1]
• Max. depth of towers below water: 210 feet (64 m)^[1]
• Depth of water beneath the center of the bridge, 250 feet (76 m)^[1]
• Main cables:
  • Number of wires in each cable: 12,580^[1]
  • Diameter of each wire: 0.196 inches (0.498 cm)^[1]
  • Diameter of each cable: 24.5 inches (62.23 cm)^[1]
  • Total length of wire in main cables: 42,000 miles (68,000 km).^[1]
• Total vehicle crossings, 2005: 4,236,491 (average 11,608 per day)
• Speed limit: 45 miles per hour (72 km/h) for passenger cars, 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) for heavy trucks. Heavy trucks are also required to leave 500 feet (150 m) spacing ahead.

The Mackinac Bridge looking back from the UP

After crossing the bridge we turned west onto US 2, then north on MI 77, and west on MI 28 to Munising, along the so-called Seney Stretch. The actor Jeff Daniels is from Michigan and is also a musician and an RVer. Several years ago he produced a series of hilarious videos while driving his RV to various venues in the UP on a winter concert tour. One of the segments involved using the RV facilities while driving the Seney Stretch.  Click HERE to view this video.

Finally we arrived in Christmas MI and parked at the Kewadin Casino. The Kewadin Casino has 13 free RV sites with 50 amp power.  Sweet!  We have stayed here several times before, and we know these free sites fill quickly.  But today we were lucky and secured a nice site. There is a very nice National Forest campground, Bay Furnace  directly across the highway, but it was full up.  Our friends Wayne and Lynda managed to snag the next-to-last site at Bay Furnace.

Camp Kewadin

We had happy hour with Wayne and Lynda and then a nice dinner at Foggy's Bar and Steakhouse, just across the road.  Now that we have caught up with Wayne and Lynda, we plan to do some serious paddling in the UP

Our weather has been great on this trip.  When we left NC it was hot and humid with temps in the 90s. Miserable. Since entering Michigan the high temps have been in the low 70s, with lows in the 50s. Driving conditions have also been ideal, with minimal winds, headwind or otherwise.  Consequently, our fuel mileage has averaged about +9.5 mpg, which is a pretty good number for us.

I expect we will spend about 3 nights at Camp Kewadin.

Mackinaw City

On Monday we departed Ohio and entered Michigan. We pretty much ripped through lower Michigan with just a few rest breaks. While driving north through Michigan 3 river otters crossed the road in front of us.

Take my word for it ... there are 3 river otters scurrying across the road

We arrived in Mackinaw City (the tip of the mitt) in late afternoon.  There we settled in at the Odawa Casino for a night of free camping.

Camp Odawa Casino

Mackinaw City is on the Straits of Mackinac where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron join and is at the southern end of the Mackinac Bridge. Note that the spelling of the city and the geographical features are different, but they are all pronounced the same, with a silent "c".  Mackinaw City is said to be the most popular tourist city in the state of Michigan.

We explored town for a while before sunset.  We had fish and chips at Scalawags White Fish and Chips and bought an obscene quantity of fudge at Joann's Fudge.

Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse

 \

Kinda makes us feel a little homesick...

Mackinac Bridge from Mackinaw City

I'll speak more on the Mackinac Bridge in my next post.

The Toledo War

We just passed through Toledo OH and are headed to the UP. This brings to mind a previous post from 2009 where I presented a history lesson about the Toledo War.

Have you ever really looked at a map of Michigan? How did Michigan end up with its Upper Peninsula? By any stretch of logic, the UP should be a part of Wisconsin, not Michigan. What's that all about?

A little known story in American history is that Michigan and Ohio nearly went to war over that little jog in the border over Toledo. The original border between the Michigan territory and Ohio was defined in 1787 by a line from the southern tip of Lake Michigan directly east to the shore of Lake Erie, placing Toledo south of the line and comfortably in Ohio. In 1818, a more refined survey revealed that Lake Michigan actually extended 20 miles further south than originally thought, moving the line southward and placing Toledo in the Michigan territory. When Michigan applied for statehood in 1883, the issue came to a head over what became known as the "Toledo Strip". Negotiations between Michigan and Ohio broke down and in 1835 each sent its militia to claim the disputed territory. Both militias got lost in the swamps near Perrysburg OH and never engaged. Ultimately, as a condition of statehood, Congress offered Michigan most of the Upper Peninsula if it relinquished its claim to the Toledo strip. Michigan reluctantly accepted, and the rest is, as they say, history. Ironically, Ohio was considered to be the winner of the deal at the time, but it turned out that the natural resources, particularly iron, copper and timber, in the UP were much more valuable than the city of Toledo. Michigan 1, Ohio 0.

The Toledo Strip

For more references click HERE and HERE.

In our next installment we will reveal how Florida swindled its panhandle from Georgia and Alabama.

Northbound Again

After the Franklin reunion we began our 2019 Summer/Fall trip in earnest.  The plan is to drive pretty hard until we get to northern Michigan, and then slow down and have some fun. We hope to catch up with Wayne and Lynda in the Upper Peninsula (UP) to do some paddling.  Then drive westward across northern Wisconsin to Ely MN, arriving at Fall Lake Campground on August 19. There we will regroup and prepare for our annual Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness trip.  We will put into the Boundary Waters at Moose Lake on August 22 for 14 days.  After our Boundary Waters trip we will cross into Canada and travel east across southern Ontario, eventually entering the US in upstate NY.  Finally, we will attend a rally with Country Coach International in the Boston area the last week in September, before dashing home to see all our doctors.

From Linville Falls to Michigan we had three primary route options.  The eastern route would take us up I-81 and I-77 through western Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio.  The eastern route would go up I-75 through central Kentucky and Ohio.  We chose the scenic route, the middle route, directly north, primarily following US 23.

Our drive was largely uneventful. Just after crossing into Tennessee an oncoming car flashed his lights at us. This usually means to be alert. Around the next bend a car had just struck and killed a black bear.  A moment later a Sheriff's deputy pulled up to investigate.  When we left home our fuel tank was not full.  In Johnson City TN we pumped 88 gallons of diesel at $2.539/gal.

The view from Benge's Gap Wise County VA

A wonderful day to drive

We stopped for the night at the Walmart in Delaware OH. A block away there was diesel for $2.499/gal, so we topped off and pumped 44 gallons.   I expect this is the cheapest diesel we will see on this trip. On this day we drove 404 miles.

Our camp in Delaware Ohio

Some folks just can't abide by the rules

On Monday we departed with the intention of spending the next night in Mackinaw City MI.  Again our drive today was uneventful except for a major backup in Columbus OH.  There had been an accident blocking 2 of 3 lanes. We were in the worst possible position, but thankfully a kind soul let us cross into the open lane. Overall we lost perhaps 20 minutes in this mess.

A Reunion of My Franklin Kin

On the second Saturday of August each year the descendants of Samuel Franklin and Dorcas Burns Parker congregate at the Linville Falls Community Church for a grand reunion.  On August 10th Dorcas and I were to attend the 87th annual Franklin Reunion, our first in more years than I want to admit.

We left home about noon on Thursday, August 8 for what we expect to be an 8 week fall trip. More on that in the next post to this blog.  Our destination this day was the cul-de-sac at Bob and Donna Benner's home in Morganton.  Our trip was uneventful except for a 35 minute backup on I-40 at US 601 near Mocksville.  However, Google maps suggested a detour that took us around this mess with minimal delay.  The Benner's house is our regular camp when we stay in Morganton, and we always like to visit with our long-time friends the Benner's.  Bob has a regular meeting with friends each Thursday at 4:00 at the Brown Mountain Bottleworks to suck back a few cool ones, and we were invited to come along. My brother Ran was also in town, spending the night with a friend, so I called him to meet us at Brown Mountain Bottleworks.  It turns out that that was exactly where he was when we called.  Go figure.

The place to be in Morganton

Bob Benner and his daughter Dawn

Our camp in the Benner cul-de-sac

On Friday Ran met us for breakfast at Timberwood Family Restaurant where Dorcas and I enjoyed a western omelet with country ham.  Ran and I had recently sold our mother's house in Morganton so we did some business at Wells Fargo bank and at the courthouse.

The historic Burke County Courthouse, with cute Honda Pilot and Bell canoe in the foreground

On Friday we moved up the mountain to the Linville Falls Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway for 2 nights.

Site 37 at Linville Falls Campground

Matilda wading in the Linville River

At 10:00 on Saturday we headed over to the Linville Falls Community Church for the reunion.

Linville Falls Community Church

I am descended from Samuel Franklin and Dorcas Burns Parker, and from Samuel's son David S. Franklin. As far as we can tell there has never been another Dorcas in the family until I married my Dorcas. 

Roots of the Samuel Franklin family

Samuel and Dorcas' monument at Pisgah United Methodist Church near Linville Falls

The reunion featured entertainment including singalongs with the Franklin mountain jug band, and a genealogy lesson.  There were over a hundred Franklin descendants and family in attendance.

The Franklin mountain jug band, with Jesse on guitar and brother Ran on bass. 

And of course there was food.

My cousins

More cousins plus Uncle John and Brother Ran

After the reunion the Wilsons (my mother's family) hung out at the church long after everyone left.  Then the party moved to the Linville Falls Winery where there was live music and local wine.  We closed down the winery and moved the party once more to my cousin Melissa's house and sat on the porch with Melissa's 4 dogs, our dog Matilda and watched her horse in the pasture.  No moss on the Wilson stones

Moses is a 100 pound mastiff rescue.  Moses is cool.

After the all that reuniting and eating and partying Dorcas I headed back to the campground and enjoyed sleeping in the cool mountain air. On Sunday morning we departed about 9:00 and headed north, Minnesota-bound.

And Mama Gets a New Car

I didn't want it.  We certainly didn't need it.  We didn't have a place to park it. But Dorcas just had to have a new car. Since trading the Element, Dorcas has been using the Pilot as her daily driver.  It was too big for her, and she was not happy.  When Mama's not happy, nobody's happy.  So ... since returning from Florida in May she has been researching small economical cars.  She looked primarily at the Toyota Prius and several Honda models.  After much fretting, hand wringing and worrying she finally set her sights on the Toyota Prius Prime.  The Prime is an EV (electric vehicle) hybrid combo.  Kind of a hybrid hybrid.  It has a significantly larger traction battery than the conventional Prius and can run 25-30 miles at 85 MPH on battery alone. Call it a fast luxury golf cart on steroids or a poor man's Tesla.  When the battery reaches about 25% capacity, it can operate in standard hybrid mode. This suits Dorcas fine, because she primarily wanted it to go to the "Y" each day (about 6 miles round trip) with a few excursions to the grocery store and local shopping and dining.

When she finally decided to buy the Prime it had to be Super Sonic red (no shit).   She negotiated at Modern Toyota and Rice Toyota and finally made a deal with Modern on a 2020 that would be delivered in about 12 days.  I think it was the first Super Sonic 2020 Prime off the boat from Japan. When the car finally arrived, we went to take a look and a drive, but were disappointed that the battery was discharged to the extent that it wouldn't let us drive in EV mode, which is what we really wanted to do.  The good folks at Modern let us take it home overnight, where we plugged it in (~5 hours for a full charge on a standard 120v outlet).  After it was fully charged we cruised for about a 30 mile test drive.  I even got to drive it for a while, which hasn't happened since.    The next day we went back to Modern and closed the deal. The Prime cost a little more than the standard Prius, but we expect a $4250 tax credit for qualified EV models, which actually makes it a little cheaper than the standard Prius. 

After driving the car for 3 1/2 weeks Dorcas had 549 miles on the odometer and had averaged 241.0 MPG.  The MPG would have read 999.9 had we not made trips to High Point and to Iredell County, where we had to drive in hybrid mode, getting a mere 55 MPG  As you can see in the photo below the fuel gauge still shows full at 549 miles.  The manual says to put in fresh fuel every 6 months, whether you need to or not.

Now Momma is happy, and I like it too, in spite of all my negative waves when she was shopping.

In related news: we really don't need three cars and a motorhome parked at the house.  My brother has been lusting after my Ranger for some time, and I had promised him dibs if I ever let it go.  So now Ran has a sweet new-to-him 1999 Ford Ranger, Super Cab 4-door pickup, a real cream puff in near mint condition with only 92K miles.  Now Bro is happy too.  The Pilot is now my daily driver, and I like that fine.  Life is good.