So before we left Gasstrom Farms there was a county fair in town, so Marty and I went over.. The place was packed. All kinds of rides, games and food. There were a couple of bands playing. Music was really good. They even had karaoke, but I couldn’t talk Marty into singing.. I know that’s totally unlike him. We enjoyed the festivities for a while and returned to our campsite.
Next morning, we packed up Bella Rhea and headed to Black Widow Winery in Olcott NY.
So on the way Marty and I wanted to take the scenic tour by Lake Ontario. Unknowing to us there were stone bridges on the highway that had 11′ 1″ clearance. As we are just getting on this scenic highway I noticed the first bridge I kinda said loudly Marty what in the world.. So he stopped got out the RV climbed up on top to make sure we would clear. So we take our 13′ RV on through because the center was tall enough. I have to admit that was scary. There was NO way to turn around or backup. Thank the Lord we could make it under. It was a beautiful ride. Lake Ontario is beautiful. A must place to visit.
We had planned on staying for 2 nights, but the temperature was high and we didn’t have any way to hook up to electricity. So we stayed the 1 night. I must say though, this place was wonderful. Really great wines and appetizers. Which of course we enjoyed. So we left the next morning and headed to Niagara Falls and stayed at the KOA there.
It was an absolutely a wonderful place to camp.. We set up our site. Met really nice people and just had an amazing stay. We visited the falls. Took tours. Walked and walked.. The falls were breathtaking and we learned about 20 or so persons are pulled out the falls a year from drowning intentionally. I thought that was such a waste and my heart was filled with a sadness.
We left the KOA and headed to Jefferson Ohio. We stayed at another Harvest Host called Emerine Winery. Again it was just a beautiful place with a charming owner.. She was very hospitable and informative. We sampled the wines and had a bbq chicken dinner. The wines were good and the food was eatable. Still a nice place to visit.
After leaving there we went to visit friends in Bellevue Oh. Debbie and Jeff.
We finally arrived at Debbie and Jeff. They have a gorgeous home with lots and lots of space, so they allowed us to park the RV in their drive. We got to tour around the towns with Debbie while Jeff was working. We cooked out by their pool. Did I mention how awesome their backyard is.. Oh my something out of Better Homes and Garden. We really had a wonderful visit and was able to get some rest as well. Then after 3 nights we are back on the road again.
This time we are heading to Michigan to visit with some of our grand kids for an afternoon. It was a long day, but it was so great to see the kids. Then, we are getting back on the road for another long trip to Alpena Mi to meet up with Steve and Lynda.
They have a cottage on Long Lake. It is absolutely one of my favorite places to visit. We had so much fun with them. From campfires at night to long walks and bike rides during the days. We went to a park called Rock Port, Steve and I climbed up this huge rock pile and just stood looking at Lake Huron. Words cannot describe the beauty and total serenity. Then we went to Presque Isle where toured around on our bikes. It truly is an awesome place. We saw light houses that were just amazing and Steve actually locked a couple out. Lynda and I just happened to be on the ground outside when we heard yelling We responded and found out they had been locked out. We went and found Marty and Steve to let them know Marty said he couldn’t make it back up the stairs So Steve did go and let them out.. We all got a big laugh out of that one. The place had a deli where we stopped and had lunch.. The sandwiches and wraps are delicious. As with most things our visit had to end. Steve and Lynda were heading back to Ga and Marty and I were heading to the Upper Peninsula (UP) to visit Jill and reflect on Joe, one of Marty’s deceased brothers who actually lived there.
While making our way to the UP we went across the Mackinac Bridge it just happened to be 9/11 and the towns people were having a tractor parade going across the bridge. There must of been hundreds of tractors. All different colors, sizes, shapes.. American Flags proudly on display. Even saws Trump flags for 2024. It really was awe inspiring to see such patriotism. We made our way towards Rapid River Mi where we would spend 4 days. We passed the North shore Lake Michigan. The beaches were so beautiful. The water so clear and clean looking. It seemed like such a long ride to our destination but it was definitely worth the time spent on the road.
We got to our campsite and made our selves ready for night time. Marty and I were extremely tired and in need of rest. The next morning we awoke early and made ourselves ready for another long day of traveling. Jill had sent us the names of towns where Joe had worked. Joe served in the Coast Guard and was stationed at Sault (SOO) Ste Marie. It was about 250 miles from where we were but we knew we were going to make this trip. We set out. On the way we stopped in Grand Marais to view the scenery. First stop was at a waterfall. We hiked our way to see the beauty and it was. Just an awesome side trip. Then we headed to see the Pictured Rock. Again, nothing can quite describe the beauty of God and His nature. From here we set out again and went to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. If you are into shipwrecks, you really need to visit here.. Whitefish Point Light Station.
From the museum, we headed towards Soo Locks Park in Sault Ste Marie. We were lucky enough to see a huge and I mean huge tanker going through. It was something to behold and then knowing Joe worked there very surreal . We had looked for a place to have supper and found a seafood place. They had a Manhattan chowder that we super good and we shared a fish dinner that consisted of White fish, Walleye, and fresh water Perch. Marty liked all the fish I on the other hand didn’t really care for the Walleye Reminded me bass Which I do not like. So we enjoyed our meal and knew we had to head home.
Marty thought it would take us about 3 hours to get back… Try 5 hours and it was late and we were tired again. The next day we kinda chilled out and Jill hadn’t made it back to town so we were kinda of glad to be able to sit around and do nothing.
So Jill gets home and we hook up with here and she had to show us as much as she possibly could. Our time was being limited but we did manage to stay and extra day. Had a most wonderful visit with Jill. We look forward to going back in 2023 because we’ve already made plans for 2022 lolSo saying our good byes to Jill and the UP we set off for Minneapolis stayed 1 night at the KOA then off the next morning and stayed at Wilde Prairie Winery. They had an interesting building, beautiful landscape and wine and beer. They had a strawberry rutabaga wine and slushy Marty really loved this. I on the other had enjoyed there beer.
We then set off the next morning for Murdo SD This is where we stayed at the Pioneer Auto Museum Really a neat place to visit.. So much history about our auto industry. Really enjoyed the museum. On the way there we stopped in Wall SD to see Wall Drug Store.. You really need to google this place read the history and plan a visit. It is a neat place.
The next day our destination was Mount Rushmore. We got to the KOA about 2 pm. We really kinda rushed to get set up so we could take a ride to see where everything was so we’d know what we could do each day. It really turns out that was a great idea. So much more to do that just seeing Mt Rushmore which is absolutely astonishing. We went to Crazy Horse one evening to see the museum and the laser light show. If you ever make to Hill City SD you really need to check out this place. It has so much history. We visited the Custer state park and got to witness the buffalo round up. that was amazing. So packing up from Mt Rushmore we made tracks to Spearfish KOA in Lead SD.
We went through Deadwood and would have stopped but there wasn’t any place for us to park our RV. So we finally get to the KOA get set up had a nice dinner and went to bed fairly early. Next day we road around and went to Sturgis and had a late breakfast at Uncle Louies Delicious thats all I can say about this place.
We then set off for Wyoming where we stayed at Sage ridge mill and critters for a night. Very neat experience. It’s an Alpaca farm. It has all kinds of different animals. We bought Angie, our daughter, a bunch of raw, home-made, alpaca yarn.
We also stayed the next night in Billings Montana as we are making our way to Yellowstone park.
Next blog will be about our Yellowstone park adventure. Take care everyone and please keep us in your prayers.. Love to all RV