Blog update starting Aug 1 2010

To the blog,

I have also posted pictures here with descriptive captions.
Here is another picture link with descriptive captions
Please view these as they will help understand just where we have been.

I have used links to some of these locations because I do not have the time and the talent to properly describe them.


Aug the 1st found us in Bennett Springs state park, a Missouri state park located about 20 miles north of Lebanon MO built by the CCC during the 1930's. Along with us was our friends Paul and Jean McClure from Lake Livingstone, TX and Jim and Fonda Hatfield from Shongaloo, LA. We had a nice site with services and a private front yard. We were planning to spend 5 days at the park. In the evening hours we would attend the 42nd annual Brumley Sings at the convention center in nearby Lebanon.
Bennett Springs is a popular fishing lake that has a fish hatchery and is fed by one of the many springs in MO. Many folks come from all around the US for the Fly Fishing school held on the river.

Aug 9th we stayed at the Lake Michigan State park at Zion, just north of the Great Lakes Naval Base. We spent a few minutes at the navel base visitor center. At this point we were traveling north on the west side of Lake Michigan through Chicago, Il Milwaukee Sheboygan, and then toward Green Bay Wi. Our target was the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the home of the YOOPERS'. There we would spend about a week. Our overnight stops were Green Bay, Carney Lake State Forrest near Iron Moutain, Marquett, and then the National Forrest Bay Furnace campground for 6 nights. We met up with friends and visited historic Christmas, MI, and Munising. We really enjoyed our 6 days around this area. We met several folks in the Bay Furnace campground that became our special friends. These were folks that know the area well and gave some of the secrets of the area. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is full of scenic waterfalls, museums, and things to do. The town of Iron Mountain was the home of a Ford Motor assy plant that converted during WWII to building the CG4A cargo glider, one of the only remaining ones is at the Silent Wings Museum in Lubbock. We spent the morning touring the Iron Mountain attraction. We went down into the mine shaft for a close inspections. I spent the afternoon at the Cornish Pump Museum, featuring the largest Cornish pump in the US and many other exhibits. We also took a trip south on park road 13 to the historical town of Fayette, MI. Fayette was founded in 1867 by the Jackson Iron Company. It was once a busy industrial town that produced pig iron from raw iron ore. It is now a Michigan Historic site.

We had the pleasure of meeting Peter Bensing and his friend Melody. Peter has worked at the local hardware store for 40 years and has a talent for great outdoor nature photography. He also has connections all over this area, therefore he can go anywhere to take these pictures. He gets up early and works late for some of the special shots. I will place, with permission, some of his pictures on our Picasaweb site at a later date. We met Ron from Tennessee. He fell in love with the UPPER early in life and still comes back each summer to spend time in his playground. We met Kathy and Mike from Florida who grew up in the Detroit area, buts come back to the UPPER to fill up on the magic found in this area. Mike and Kathy picked a lot of wild blueberries around the area and made a blueberry pie. In addition to the blueberry pie they made an apple/rhubarb and an apple then invited us to their site for pie and ice cream. The pie night was enjoyed by all. We met Tom who retired early from working at a Chicago Power Provider and has since found life on the road very satisfying. Tom has an mailing address at the Escapees in Livingstone TX, but winters in Mexico and travels the UPPER during the summer.

Munising is a interesting port town on Lake Superior that served as a iron and coal port during during the early 1900's. We spent time there visiting the local sights and points of interest. Great Lakes shipping was important then, as it now.

From the Munising area we traveled to Andrus Lake State Forrest where we met up with Mike and Kathy again. She had saved a great camp site for us on the Andrus lake. The next day we attended the annual Wild Blueberry Festival in Paradise, MI. We traveled to Whitefish point to the Shipwreck Wreck Museum and spent most of the day there. Then off to the blueberry patches for more berry picking, what a day.

That is all for this update...
The next update starts at Sault Ste Marie, Michigan... (Sue St. Marie) The location of the Soo Locks...