Tawas City

     We left Grand Harbor and headed to the eastern coastline of Michigan to the tiny village of Tawas City. It reminded me of Newport, OR. Kind of an artisan town mixed with the flavor of a fishing village. We found a quiet little campground where we could stay over the Memorial Day holiday. We encountered a slight problem when the lady at the check in desk sent us the wrong direction to our site. We encountered an "S" turn that was lined by fir trees. They had trimmed the trees such that, had we gone the opposite direction on this section we could have passed. Since we were going against the grain (so to speak), we got a little stuck and scraped a tree branch down the length of one side of the coach. We were also facing the wrong way to back into our slot. After some interesting and entertaining movements, we nestled in to our home for the next few days. Several of the folks in the campground watched in amazement as Barb and I worked to position our rig. One of them came up later and complimented us on our teamwork saying her and her husband could never do what we did. She was amazed at how we maneuvered the coach like it was a "sports car" and how easily we got parked. Now I didn't feel that way but I smiled and accepted the compliments.

The Offending curve from the "correct" direction

Nestled in for the weekend

     The campground was a nice serene park primarily inhabited by seasonal folks who lived there for the summers. There were a few spots saved for "transients" like us. There was a nice meeting hall and covered picnic shelter next to a fire ring where bonfires were a common occurrence. In the back they had a neat little pond, with its own island and lighthouse. You could hike back there and just hang out and enjoy the peace and quiet.

     There was a large Farmers market and Craft Fair set up for the holiday weekend. Lots of crafty things were for sale. The sign pictured at the top of this blog entry was one of our purchases. The lady in the booth had these pre-made up with the little sign, chairs, and motorhome in white (she also had ones with travel trailers and fifth wheels). We got to pick the color for the chairs, the information printed in the campsite sign and along the bottom of the sign itself. We emailed her a photo of our coach and she accurately replicated it on the sign's motorhome! All of this she did by hand while manning her booth. In about an hour's time we returned and she was done. I was impressed and it looks really good.

     While at the Craft Fair, a little storm blew through. As you can tell from above, we could see it coming and when it hit, we all ran for the cover of the closest Craft booth. The squall lasted only a short time and we were soon back out walking the Fair.

      We drove around the area and came upon the River Road Scenic Byway. Along this river during the early 20th century, timber was harvested by lumberjacks and then floated downriver to Lake Huron to be shipped to mills for processing. There is a fascinating little museum maintained by the Forest Service that details the life and times of the lumberjacks and those associated with the lumber industry.

Hiking down to the springs there are several natural waterfalls

Monument dedicated to the Lumberjacks who made the area their home

     In the photo above, use your imagination. During the winter, harvested trees were drug by horse teams from sites inland to the top of the hill. Then the logs were allowed to roll down the hill and neatly piled up.  Here they were collected and bundled together.  When spring came and the river was flowing, they were skillfully released to float on down river. Today you can hike along the top of the ridgeline and then run (or roll yourself or small children) down the hillside and end up in the waters below. True story...we saw several folks doing just that.

     I spent most of the next day working on rubbing out the scratch that we received when we came into the park. Using rubbing compound and good old elbow grease I think I got most of it out.

     Next stop is just a short drive up the road...Mackinac.