Ionia 10/14/07

 
 
A spur of the moment trip on a nice October weekend. The weather is finally fall like. Decided we would head over to Ionia for the night. It is nearby and I do like the park. Got a nice spot without reservations, however the place was nearly full! Discovered this is the last weekend with water on at this park, as there were signs on the bathroom that the water would be shut off at 1pm on Sunday. Guess I will have to start paying attention to that. It was about 6 by the time we got there.. we popped up quickly then ran in town to get some pizza. Also picked up some wood. There is a house about .3 miles from the Campground on Jordan Lake Rd (go straight when leaving) and they have BIG bundles of wood for $5 or HUGE for $10. Nice split hardwood that burned great and provided some heat on a night that dipped into the low 40s. Very clear night with lots of stars out. With the electric heater, the camper stayed nearly 70 and was very pleasant for sleeping.
On Sunday got up and made Mountain man breakfast in the dutch oven. Then we went on a walk. They have nice trails around the lake. It started to rain but we kept on.. not really getting wet under the canopy of the trees. It only rained for 10 minutes or so and we did not get wet. The lake was pretty and it was a nice walk in the woods. There are lots of swans on this lake and we watched a family that went in front of us and were feeding on the weeds.
A nice trip for a quick excursion.

Deep Lake Oct 6, 2007

 
Another unseasonable warm weekend. It was in the 80s in October! Went to Deep Lake for the 3rd time this year. Not busy at all.. we were in our normal spur, and finally got one of the big sites at the end on near the Lake. It was almost too hot.. very humid and somewhat uncomfortable.. felt more like August than October. Went over to Gun Lake both days and went swimming... Swimming in October.. IN Michigan... wild!

Rifle River 9/24/07

 
 
Rifle River 9/24/07
It was suppose to be a nice weekend and Amy wanted to do some fishing so we headed up to Rifle River. We left first thing on Saturday and arrived around lunch time. There were a fair number of people there but we had no problem getting a spot without reservations. We were first at this park earlier in the summer and really enjoyed it. As a bonus we had very warm weather. We went swimming on Saturday and I got the Kayak out and paddled around Grosehaven lake. Later in the evening I went on a several mile hike. There are great trails all over this park and also cheap wood near by. Swimming, trails and wood are the 3 thing I judge a park by :)
On Sunday it was a bit chilly in the morning and there was steam coming off the lake which was a really cool effect. We went over to one of the other lakes to do some fishing. I could see the trout in the water but they were not interested in what I was offering. After Lunch Amy & Mitchell went out fishing again.. Morgan and I went swimming again. I was nearly 4 before we left for the 3 hour trip home.. but a *very* enjoyable weekend.. Can't believe we were swimming this late in the season!

Herrick Park

 
 
 
Herrick Park
Isabella County
Sept 14, 15, 16

Spent a weekend at Herrick County park. This was our first time at a county park. We were meeting some friends from HS. They come here each year and invited us along. It is a nice little park there are several spurs set up. Only downside is there is just one bathhouse so depending on where you camp you might be close to the bathroom, or quite a hike. The bathhouses are clean. In the shower you push the button for the shower to come on and it turns off after a minute or so.. so you have to keep pushing the button. On the plus side the water was hot.
This was a nice park we selected a site on the lake, there is also a playground and swimming pond. Overall this was an enjoyable weekend.