HEADIN' TO DA NORT WOODS
Day 1
Despite plans to spend the first night in Wisconsin, Bill decided it wasn't that far to the Porcupine Mountains, so up we drove to the Union Bay campground. (The Porkies are about 300 miles from Madison.)
We had a great campsite, but warning: when using the Michigan State Park reservation system, be prepared to cough up $8 for the privilege in addition to the $25/day site fee. This time of year we probably would have been money ahead just driving in and taking our chances.
For a new campground, Union Bay was a little disappointing - crowded and open. Fortunately, people who camp at state parks are really nice folks, and are fun to talk to. I tried to start a campfire the first night, but the wood was wet and the kindling scanty - Bill finally convinced me to have mercy on the neighbors and douse the smoke signals before I smothered everyone nearby.
Day 2
My main objective was to see Lake of the Clouds, so we set off to drive the 7 miles up to the observation area. Bill was making snide remarks about 'the mountains' and I gently suggested he stuff it. The lake lived up to it's reputation - beautiful and virtually inaccessible to any but the hardiest rock climbers and hikers. Obviously this was why it was so pristine - look ma, no personal watercraft!!
After taking about 112 pictures of the Lake of the Clouds, I suggested we go to the Summit Overlook, the highest point in the park. When we arrived, we discovered that we'd have to scale half the mountain to get there and immediately returned to the motorhome. The rest of the day was spent roaming the campground and reading. (No tv, wifi, or cell service in the state parks.)
