Door County

     Door County is on the peninsula that forms the "thumb" of Wisconsin. Green Bay serves as kind of the entryway to the county. It is long and narrow and is the home to several small harbor towns and several large dairy farms and orchards. The towns are artsy in nature and loaded with artisan shops selling things like hand made furniture, paintings, local brews, wines, and a wide variety of cheeses, fudge (no surprise), and olive oils. It is a major tourist destination and a place for Green Bay'ers to escape the heat.

     While driving on Highway 42 through Sister Bay, we came upon Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant.  Inside were all manner of things Swedish. The food was fantastic too! But notice the roof of the restaurant in the photo above. Those are goats on the sod roof. Seems many years back one of Al's "friends" played a prank on him and put a goat on his roof. Al turned that prank into a marketing gimmick and now there are usually five goats that hang out on the roof (weather permitting) all summer long.

     Wisconsin is know for its cheese and you can't really have cheese without cows. Just about a mile from our campground was a huge industrial dairy farm. Here you can watch them as they milk the 500 cows in the herd, 3 times a day, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

     Not sure who or what makes the decision, but at some point the cattle line up in a pen outside of this room. They are funneled into a chute and enter the above contraption in single file. A computer chip around their neck helps the machine keep track of the individual animal. 10 at a time they march in and wait their turn. The guy in the middle cleans and sanitizes them, then hooks them up to the computerized milking machine. The machine tracks their output and when the output reaches some magic number, it disconnects from the cow automatically. When all 10 have been milked, the worker applies a sanitizer and balm to the teats. When finished he raises the barrier to the right of the cows (can't see it in the photo) and they file out of the area. The worker then turns his attention to the row opposite and repeats the process. Meanwhile he hoses down and cleans the line previously vacated and gets it ready for the next set of 10. This goes on 24/7/365! All of this milk is then sent to Land O'Lakes Creamery where it will become the butter or cheese or other milk product that shows up on your grocer's shelves.

Mackinaw City and Surrounding Area

     After a couple of nights in a remote campground (the last 1.5 miles of road was so bad we could not exceed 10 mph without jostling everything loose in the motorhome!!), we drove to a nice campground and set up on our site along the shores of Lake Huron. A short walk behind our campsite and across the road afforded us the view that you see above.

     Our campsite. In the center of the photo you can see Lake Huron... we were that close! Nice level site with trees separating campsites.

     The next morning, we boarded a shuttle to the docks in Mackinaw City and got on a ferry boat to take us to Mackinaw Island. This particular ferry is known for its jet motors that throw up a spectacular rooster tail of water as you ride over to the island. We departed early enough that our ferry went under the Mackinac Bridge. This bridge connects lower Michigan to the Upper Peninsula and marks the dividing line between Lake Michigan (to the West) and Lake Huron (to the East).

     Pretty big bridge. Here, as we approached, are two big motorhomes with their tow vehicles in the line of crossing traffic.

     As you near the island docks, you are met with the view of the Grand Hotel. Another thing of note, there are only a few vehicles on the island and they are strictly maintenance and emergency vehicles. Otherwise there are no cars to take you around on the island. You get around by bike, walking, or.....

     Yes, by horse. There are over 500 horses on the island and they provide transportation for tourists and residents alike. There are large multi-passenger wagons like the above for tours. You can call for a taxi (which is a horse drawn carriage). Even UPS delivers via horse!

Taxi for those staying at The Grand Hotel

We saw the UPS guy jump off the wagon and deliver to the store

     Now I don't know what it is about this part of the country but there are more Fudge shops per capita than anywhere else in the world! You can't throw a rock without hitting a Fudge shop. All of them make their own fudge and it is pretty fascinating to watch. You can also sample in each shop until you find just that right flavor. Our guide told us that if you were to eat samples from every fudge shop on the island, you would consume about 1 1/2 lbs of fudge (for free)!!! Yes, we did our share of sampling but we also bought more than our share. It was all just too good!

     That weekend was the beginning of the Lilac Festival. All of the Lilacs were in bloom all around the island. They come in a variety of shapes and colors and the fragrance permeates the air. Barb was in heaven.

     The Grand Hotel has established a neat little museum dedicated to horse drawn carriages. These carriages have been restored to their original glory and, in some cases, have been extensively used on the island throughout their history.

     The museum is housed in their new stables along with the horses that pull their taxis. The horses are all Percheron Draft horses. Some are the iconic grey color but others are pure black or variations thereof. As you can see from the photo above, they are not small horses! I stand right at 6' and that still doesn't reach the top of this guys back. (The horse's name by the way is Mario. His pulling partner in the stall next to him was named Zelda.)

     We enjoyed our stay on the island and picked a fantastic day to tour it with. After a couple of days wandering around and seeing what the shops had to offer, we set off for our next destination. Door County, WI.

Disaster Strikes

     For some reason, south Texas has been plagued with exorbitant amounts of rain over the last year. Up until now our property has been saved the ravages of water. Well, in mid-May, central Texas just north of Houston received 17" of rain in less than a 24 hour period. This, followed by repeated rains in the center of the state and unprecedented release of water from upriver dams, led to record high waters. The photo above was taken just before we left in April.

     This photo was taken at the end of May! It shows our neighbor's place and ours under about 6" of water. As of this writing the waters have receded and damage assessments are being done.

     These were interior shots of the Casita pre-flood. What we know at this time is the carpet is ruined. In fact we have been in touch with the folks at The Preserve and have had them remove all floor covering in both Casita and Spa. The other items on the floor are showing signs of water damage but we only have pictures to go by. ServePro folks are scheduled to come out next week and give it a detailed once over. We have decided to cut our summer plans short and will head down to Houston at the end of June. Meanwhile ServePro will take the steps necessary to dry out and clean/disinfect the interiors of both buildings. When we get there, we will spend July (OMG July in Houston and we have to work outside!!!) repairing damage and getting thing livable again.

     NOT the way we wanted to spend this summer but at least we are in a position to be able to change plans and attend to this matter.

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.

Grand Haven, MI

Not clear in the photo, but our front wheels are off the ground!

          Our next stop was in Grand Haven, Michigan. The campground left a bit to be desired. First of all, our site was sloped significantly downwards. To get level, our jacks brought the front end off the ground by several inches! (A quick call to Tiffin to verify that this was OK made us feel a little more comfortable about it.) Then the water hookup was waaayyyyyy on the right of the coach. Our 50' water hose was about a foot short. The electric pedestal was waaayyyyyy to the left of the coach. Again our cord, plus a small extension, plus the surge suppressor barely reached. The roads were narrow and were very challenging for a 39' motorhome. We saw folks in fifth wheels and travel trailers that had issues with parking and maneuvering.

      On the bright side, we drove into town and walked along the seawall boardwalk. The day was magnificent and the lake was relatively calm.

     A little closer to our campground was a small hike that took you over the "mountain" that divided  the shoreline from the interior. The trail wound through the woods and eventually came out on the sandy coastal plain. The trail in the center of the picture above eventually ended up on the beach.

The trail was well groomed and easy to walk

Looking back toward the hills from the shore

Eventually you reached the beach

     We had lunch at a little local brewery that also memorialized people and their pets. All along the walls were photos of dogs and their owners. Many of the chair backs were emblazoned with the name of a favorite pet. In the picture above you can see the menu board in the shape of a dog bone. Cute!

A Little "Hiccup"

At least it was a really nice campsite!

     As we were preparing to leave our campsite and move on to our next destination, we followed our usual process of bringing in the slide outs. Barb usually does this from the inside while I am outside disconnecting the water/sewer/electric lines. As I was doing my chores, I heard a rather loud questioning inquiry and a call for my immediate presence. Upon arrival Barb asked me if I knew why only one side of our bedroom slide was moving! After a quick check of fuses and wiring, I could see no reason for the problem. We tried to manually push the slide in with no luck. A call to Tiffin service and we determined that one of the two motors that retract the slide was bad. Either a connection wire had come loose or the motor had died. With the slide stuck out it was impossible to quickly and easily  determine which problem it was. We immediately checked with the campground owners and they could accommodate us staying for another night or two. They also had the contact information for a mobile repair guy who could come out and provide further trouble shooting. We called and he came out that evening. The general consensus was that the motor had failed and that it needed replaced.  The next morning we called Tiffin again and found out a few things:
     1) The motors were still under warranty so they could be shipped at no expense to me.
     2) Since they were a warranty item, Tiffin would pay for the repairs. I only had to send them the bill.
     3) Subsequent to my coach being built, the motors in this particular slide have been "upgraded" with stronger motors. Now that the onsite tech had determined that the motor was to blame, Tiffin would send me two of the newer, stronger motors to replace the existing ones.

     The folks at Tiffin also agreed to ship the motors to me "overnight" to limit my down time. As this was Thursday, the parts would arrive Friday afternoon and the techs planned on coming out first thing Saturday to make repairs. So, once again we checked with the campground to see if we could stay through Saturday and luckily they had openings. Had this occurred the coming week, it would have been Memorial Day and the park was booked up!

   Things happened as planned (for a change!) and bright and early (7 am early!) Saturday morning the techs showed up. Surprisingly to me, the motors are reached from the inside of the coach. In the picture above, the guys have moved the mattress and are removing trim around the edge of the slide. As the trim was removed the motors were easily visible. The offending motor was removed and upon closer inspection, the wires came loose from the motor!

     I was surprised at the small size of the motors considering the size of the slide that they have to move. Above are the two new motors. The object at the bottom of the picture is a normal ball point pen.

     The motors were replaced and we ran in the slide. A couple of things happened:
     1) The slide began to come in and both motors were working.
     2) At about 3" of travel the right side stopped working and the left side continued.
     3) If we released the extend/retract button for a moment, then continued the operation, the slide retracted as normal and aligned itself upon closing.
     4) The same thing occurred on going out, except the left side stopping and the right continuing.

     It being Saturday, Tiffin service was not available. We put our heads together and, since the coach was movable, we would continue on to our next destination and call Tiffin on Monday.

     The move was uneventful and after talking with Tiffin, it was determined that the computer controller for the slide motors was defective. Tiffin has mailed it to our campground in Sturgeon Bay, WI and we will get it when we get there on June 6th. In the meantime, we can function and continue our journeys.

Elkhart, IN-- RV Ground Zero

     In and around Elkhart, IN a large number of RV's are manufactured. From motorhomes to pop up trailers and everything in between. Also in Elkhart is the RV/MH Hall of Fame. Here RV's dating from the early 1900's through today are exhibited. There is also an extensive library containing an unbelievable amount of information about RVs. As the name suggests, individuals who have played an important role in the RV industry are recognized and honored along the wall of fame.

The unique Blue/Black paint scheme is accurate on this old Ford.

One of the oldest known RVs still in existence 

Barebone Luxury

Once used by Mae West while on location to film movies

The interior of the Mae West RV

Retro Chic

     While in the area, we also visited the Notre Dame University campus. Specifically we went to the large cathedral on site. We got there just as they were closing, but a very nice security guard let us in and we took a few pictures. Very impressive and very kind of the security guard to let us stay!