Driving along looking at the Countryside!!??

Hello Fellow Wayward Travelers!!!!

Today was mostly a driving day! I didn’t want it to be, but that’s the way it turned out. I had no museums on my list, but I wanted to see some countryside!!! I was prepared to stop at every view point in Western Michigan!!! But, as I have said before, the east coast must not believe in view points or interesting stops, because there are so few of them!!! Also, where I thought I would be driving on a two lane road, it turned out to be a freeway!!! Tomorrow, the road goes along the Lake Michigan Coast, so my views my get a lot better – I hope!!!

So anyway, I left the RV Park in Allendale, Michigan this morning to beautiful weather!!!??? Of course, when I got up at 8:00 AM the temperature was already climbing!!! In fact, when I left the RV Park at 9:30 AM, the temperature was 88 degrees!!! The way I was perspiring, I think the humidity level must have been at 80-90% or more!!! The temperature kept climbing to about 92 degrees and stayed between 86 and 94 the rest of the day depending were I was at!!! Like I said, in an air conditioned pickup, looking outside, the day looked just beautiful!!! I just didn’t move outside too much!!!

I did get some photos from the moving truck!!! They’re not the greatest, but at least they show some scenery!!!??? Here they are ---

 

I got a little tired and decided to stop at a Rest Stop!!! This turned out to be a very nice rest stop and it had a “View Point” as part of it!!! I don’t know about you, but I was excited – a real view point!!!

First, at the rest stop I had to walk through the woods on decking to get to the rest rooms!!! I thought that this looked really promising!!! See what I mean ---

 

 Then I saw the sign for the scenic view trail ---

 

Then I saw the trail itself and it was a nice trail covered in wood chips – looking like “The Yellow Brick Road”!!! See what I mean ---

 

Then I saw the tower and thought, “This is really looking good!!!” ---

 

So, I climbed the tower (totally forgetting that I had a fear of heights), and this is what I saw ---

 

As you can see, the trees have grown up and now the view that someone though was spectacular is almost completely blocked by the trees!!! Now, I think this is funny!!!! Of course, the two German couples that drove to the view point after me were not impressed nor did they think it was funny!!! I think I may be glad that I don’t understand German!!!

So, anyway, I continued to drive and made it to my RV Park. It is the Traverse City KOA just outside of Traverse City, MI. I have settled in for the night and I have put together a plan for the tomorrow and I will stay the night in Mackinaw, MI. I will be tackling the fear of heights as I drive across the Mackinac Bridge on Thursday!!! I wonder if I can close my eyes as I drive across --- no, I don’t think that will stop my fear of heights!! Oh, well, I guess that I will just “Do It!!!”

Well, it looks like I am done rambling for tonight!!!

Oh wait!!! I went to the store yesterday for some food and there in the fruit department was some Rainier Cherries from Washington State!!! Well, I bought some!!! They’re not as sweet as the ones you buy from the trucks alongside the road, but they are still good!!!

Oh, and another thing!!! When I pulled in to the KOA today, a man sitting just outside the office asked me if I was from Everett, Washington. I said, no, I’m from Marysville, Washington. I know he saw my truck license plate that says “Brian Ford, Everett, WA.” I figured he wouldn’t have a clue where Marysville was!!! Wrong!!! He asked if I was from Smokey Point and I said, no, I live just above the golf course in Marysville. Then he said that he plays golf at Cedarcrest all the time and that he lives in Lake Stevens!!! He’s doing the same thing I am, driving around the country!!! Then he pointed to some tents and said that they were from the Kent area!!! The spot I got for my trailer parking turned out to be near all the 3 or 4 different families from the Seattle area!!! None of us know each other, but we just happened to show up here at the same time!! One fellow and his family are travelling here to take a job in the area – and he is in the Coast Guard!!! Is this strange or what!!!????

So, with that, I will go for now, but I will see you all again tomorrow.

Again, to quote that great comedian, Red Skelton, "Good Night and May God Bless!"

Happy Trails ---- Jon