Sleepy Hollow -- First Trip of 2008

 
 
Our first camping trip of 2008! The kids are on Spring Break, and I had planned to spend it at Taylor Beach Campground, but the water does not turn on until April 15, so we dedided to hook up the camper and go! I was over the week before to flush the water system, and check everything. Good thing I did, because the safety chains were too short.
We decided to go to Sleepy Hollow North of Lansing, the water was on there, and it was close enough Amy could visit.
Amy and the kids went over to the camper Sunday afternoon.. a beautiful sunny day. I came over after work, and we spent the first night in the camper. So far so good! It was really nice to have room to move and all the conviences of home. Next morning we woke up early and had breakfast. It was suppose to rain that day, but it turned out great. Got the trailer hooked up and took off. Stopped to put some air in the tires and got on I-96. The GPS took a different route up M52, and that saved about 20 - 30 miles over going to Lansing and heading North. So we arrived at the campground by 11am. Mitchell and I filled up the water tanks and Amy scouted for agood site. Not too hard as there were only a few people there. She found a site at the end of a loop where I could pull around and basically back straight into the spot. It worked great and with her direction got it backed in without problems. A few minutes of setting everything up and we were in business! Monday was a perfect day, warm, sunny. The wind picked up in the afternoon, and by evening it was cooler. We spend the night inside and that was great... XM radio playing, heat on. The kids played for a while and then went to bed, and I stayed up for a while reading.
Tue morning it was cold outside.. we had breakfast and just hung out.. the kids played and I laid in bed until after 10 reading. In the afternoon it cleared up a bit and we went for a walk around the Island. In the evening we had dinner in the dutch oven and the first campfire of the year.
The Campground had just opened on Friday and there were only a few people there including people in tents (first night was 38 degrees, second night RAIN.. gotta hand it to people in tents). Everything was gray, and did not see any DNR people around. The campground was fine, the bathrooms were open... and while I saw workers here, I am still not sure if they have been cleaned since last year. The campground is only 1/2 open. The ground is still quite wet, but not too muddy.. just soft.
Tue night/Wed AM we had RAIN.. thunder lightening and LOTS of rain. I got up at one point and realized we had no power.. went back to bed but got up at 4am to went out and reset the breaker and we were in business again. The rain stopped but then became very windy. We got up and got our stuff packed up. Hooked up the trailer with minimal problems and headed back to Taylor Beach. This was the part I was worried about.. pulling in throught the trees and backing up with only the kids to help. But it went fine... took about 20 minutes.. but no problems. I just went slow at it to make sure I didn't run into any trees.
Over all we are very pleased with the new camper. Everything took longer than it should.. but it is a learning process.. Sunday I realized the fridge was running on gas.. after about 30 minutes of trouble shooting.. trying to figure out why that outlet had not power and most of the rest was fine.. I discovered the GFCI breaker in the bath was tripped. Little things like that, which took some time (and instructions) to figure out, but next time we will know.
Very pleased with the truck.. we finally got to use it to tow a camper which was the reason we bought it. It performed great. The brake controler I wired the week before was great! Mirrors were helpful, but still trying to get the passenger one adjusted just right.. and the Swift Hitch camera system I bought was great... highly recommended!
This was the first in what I am sure will be many adventures in the new camper.

New Toys for 2008

 
 

On to 2008!

Our quick trip to Ionia turned out to be our last camping trip of 2007. Although we didn't realize it... it would also be out last time in the pop-up.
We had a good camping season for 2007, starting on the first weekend of Spring back in March and going up to October. We camped over 40 nights and traveled over 2000 miles. It was a lot of fun but also a lot of work.
We had talked about getting a larger camper but there were lots of problems with that idea. We would need a larger vehicle and a place to put it. But we did like the idea... the popup was great but for the amount we use it there was a lot of work involved.... packing, unpacking, and constantly moving things in the camper while we are out. The table folds down to be one of the beds, and we need to put our bags somewhere. It would be nice to find something where everybody had their own bed and a place for all our stuff.
In January we bought a 2002 Avalanche... Four doors of leathered luxury, and most important 7100 pounds of tow capacity. We started looking at campgrounds last fall and didn't find anything we liked. We had also started looking at campers last fall, and went to the camper show in Jan. But nothing really grabbed us... they were too big or too small or over weight. It seems most campers are set up with only 1 bed. Then there are couches or tables that fold down. But I wanted everybody to have their own bed.
My wife found something on Craigslist that looked promising, a 2005 Zeppelin. We went to see it and it was just what we needed. Bunks in the back, bed, bath, couch.. not too big... not over our tow limit.. and not too expensive. It was just what we needed. Then as a huge bonus the campground it was at was perfect. Taylor Beach Campground near Howell. Nice layout by a lake, with trees. It is family oriented with lots of activities for the kids. It has been family owned for 50 years and the people we bought the camper from had nothing but good to say about it! I have since spoke with the owner Alan Taylor and he impressed me as someone who really wants to make sure people enjoy themselves, in a fun safe environment. The campground is accessible year 'round, so we have been over several times to take stuff to the camper and learn more about how everything works. The water will be on April 1, so that is when the camping will begin. This will be a slightly different type of camping this year. More like a cabin you drive to and enjoy. That will have a lot of appeal to all of us. But there will be times when I will want to go "camping" and I can still hook it up to the truck and head North!
We are looking forward to new adventures and new fun in 2008!

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.