Wauseon OH
Monday (the 27th) was sort of a hectic day. We slept in till 9, as usual, then rushed around to hitch up. Then it was south down US-41 through the arcade of trees. We couldn't help but be impressed with the high proportion of red and yellow leaves, as well as the yellow leaves blowing across the road.

At Calumet, about an hour down the road, we stopped to refuel and restock our larder. Because we now were within cell phone range, Bobbi checked all our voice mails, and while Bobbi was shopping, Lew downloaded the email. He had a few minutes to try once again to phone an old high school classmate who lived in Houghton: Lou Ellyn Alexander Helman. This time he was successful, and made an appointment to meet her on our way out of Houghton (her home actually in a suburb to the south, Chassell).

Bobbi returned to the Airstream with the goodies and we quickly stowed them inside. Then it was down US-41 through Hancock and across the lift bridge, through Houghton, and on to Chassell. We met at the appointed place and took our rig a couple of blocks to Lou Ellyns lakeshore home. We easily pulled into the circular drive and went inside. When her husband Ron arrived a few minutes later, they quickly put together a substantial lunch, and we all sat around conversing about both the "good old days" as well as more recent accomplishments. Lou Ellyn had a surprisingly vague recall of events before her high school graduation. She remembered the art museum and its Swiss room well enough, but did not remember her third grade teacher, did not remember Mary Carole Spence at all (Shirley Renz had said they were close friends) and was unaware of the ethnic neighborhoods that characterized Toledo in our childhoods. She explained that they had three children: a daughter who was a family practitioner, another daughter who was an artist in Colorado, and a son -- and several grandchildren. We took photos of the two of them.


After a couple of hours socializing, we resumed our trek down US-41, MI-28, and MI-77 until we once again arrived at the Higgins Lake Family Campground and took up residence in the same lot.

Tuesday (the 28th) was boring rather than hectic. Up at 9 again, Lew walked the dogs while Bobbi prepared breakfast. We ate, cleaned teeth and dishes, stowed the few things that were out, and were on the road again by 11:10. Down MI-77 and US-2, nothing worth telling happened before we once again crossed the beautiful Mackinaw bridge. But things became more remarkable in a negative way going down I-75 and US-23 to Higgins Lake, with stops at Indian River for lunch, and Gaylord for "Wally World" -- remarkable for the humid heat that was building up. At least the vistas still were mostly wooded, and the traffic light.

We pulled into exactly the same lot at the Higgins Lake Family Campground, only at a different angle so we didn't have to bother to level the Airstream. The humid heat was stifling, so the first thing we did was to turn on the air conditioning. We were not in Copper Harbor any more, Toto.

Only after supper did we stick our heads out the door to walk the dogs and shower. But after sundown the heat and humidity abated enough for us to turn off the AC and open up the Airstream, so we had a wonderful night's sleep.

Wednesday morning (29th August) Lew actually managed to sleep in until 10! So it was a rush to walk the dogs, breakfast, stow property, disconnect, and hit the road before 11:30. But we did, and proceded down MI-103 to US-23 which we followed through the wooded landscape we so appreciated. Unfortunately, it soon was replaced by urbanization, traffic, and heat which all increased in density rapidly. And this trend continued until we turned west on Central Avenue in west Toledo. This once rural two-lane road has become a four-lane commercial madhouse where traffic barely crawls.

But the madhouse transformed fairly quickly into rural. We passed out of Lucas County into the rich farms of Fulton County, and after several miles turned south at a sign that announced "Sunny's Campground -- 2 miles south". In just a mile we could see ahead a huge collection of travel trailers to the west of the road, and turned in to take the lot that Bobbi had reserved. This proved to be a most peculiar campground -- hundreds of vacant but clean and neat trailers lined up in neat rows around several ponds and a wood lot. The grass was manicured immaculately, the bathrooms fairly clean but rather cheap in construction.

Despite the hundreds of trailers, we were almost alone in the park. Plantings and other decorations showed that the clientele leave their trailers year around, visiting them only on weekends. I'm not quite sure what they do at those visits, except get away from the city -- which I quite understand.

Copper Harbor, MI
Today is our last day here this year. Winter is coming!

The trees already are turning color here. Actually, a few maples had a few red leaves when we drove down the arcade over US-41 coming into town, but now maples all over are bright red or brilliant yellow, and other species are joining them. When we were up on Mt. Brockway yesterday, the ridges opposite us were polka-dotted with red and yellow, where only a few trees had turned two days earlier. Leaves already are dropping, and I can well imagine that by Labor Day, the green and many of the leaves all will be gone.




There are few campers in the campground, and few tourists in the town. Everything is closing down -- DNR already has laid off some of the workers. This morning at Our Lady of the Pines the priest announced that next Sunday would be the last mass of the year for Copper Harbor.

This week while walking the dogs, I saw several new piles of bear scat. So they are back for real. Soon Copper Harbor will belong to them once again -- until next July.

Today has been a bittersweet day for us -- so beautiful, so peaceful. The weather once again was perfect -- as it has been throughout our stay. Oh, how we will miss it.

But the bouy will still go bong-bong all day and all night, until we return.

Copper Harbor, MI
The bears are back! This afternoon the staff announced that two people had sighted the bears last night. So the staff started up the lectures for new campers again. We haven't seen the trap yet, but I suppose that is coming.

This noon Bobbi visited the jolly monks again. This time she took photos around the monastery:

Copper Harbor, MI
Did we say "cold"? Last night we ran the heater all night and slept under the comforter again. In the morning it was not quite so cold as yesterday, but cold enough so that the temperature within the Airstream was no more than 70. Even at 4 PM the outside temperature did not rise to 70 -- taking a shower at that time was a test of "macho". Summer definately is over in Copper Harbor -- the leaves on some maple trees already have been turning a brilliant red for at least two weeks. After Labor Day, the owner of the Berry Patch will pull out and head for Connecticut. The DNR already started laying off the temporary workers they hired for the season. 4th of July to mid-August: that is what passes for summer by the shores of Gitche-Gummi. We do not expect to see 70 again this year.

Copper Harbor, MI
Did we say "cold"? At dawn today the temperature certainly was below 50 -- we had the electric heater on at a full 600 watts (which normally keeps us warm even in January in Texas) and slept under a blanket and a down comforter. Smokey even sat out our feet. With all this we were warm enough to sleep in until 9:30, but certainly not too warm.

This was another cell phone day -- that is, at noon we went up to the top of Mt. Brockway and phoned everyone we could think of -- including trying to contact an old grade school classmate of Lew's. On the way down Bobbi took the photos she had missed the last trip up the mountain -- including Isle Royal 60 miles off and under a line of clouds on the other side of Lake Superior:


When we got back to the bottom of the mountain we had an indulgent lunch. But the lunch led to an unfortunate experience for Bobbi. Like almost everything else, dining opportunities are very limited in Copper Harbor. Now that the Mercantile has gone bankrupt, the Tamarack Inn is the only source for pasties (Bobbi's favorite meal) this side of Laurium. Here is her preferred dining room vista:


But today the Tamarack announced a new policy to Bobbi: they would automatically add a mandatory 10% "tip" to all carryout orders. Obviously they simply are dodging labor-management regulations applying to paying their employees. Since the Tamarack has a monopoly, Bobbi will (grudgingly) pay up. However, she also certainly will do something passive-aggressive to restore the balance.

Copper Harbor, MI
COLD!!! When Lew got up on Thursday (the 16th) at dawn for a potti break, the wind was blowing fiercely (30 mph +) and the temperature must have been down near 50. Lew wore full sweats over a turtleneck just to cross the street to the bathhouse. And when he walked the dogs around 9 am it was still cold enough he wished he had worn a knit cap and a windbreaker.

It was sunny again in that saphire-blue sky, so things heated up fairly rapidly, so forced us to open the Airstream. But it remained chilly, and all the campers were walking around with jackets, hoodies, or some other form of protection. The good news was that the water supply had been fixed and tested OK, so we had an unlimited supply (within the limitations of the pump).

Friday (the 17th) was worse. At dawn it was even colder than yesterday, and the wind just as strong. We wore full sweats all day, even inside the Airstream in the middle of the afternoon, and Lew in addition wore a windbreaker to walk the dogs. "Weather.com" said the high today would "approach" 60, and the low tomorrow morning, 52.

This is the middle of AUGUST -- weather in this little enclave is truly remarkable.

Copper Harbor, MI
So far, the answer has been "not much" -- and we are not complaining.

The morning of Saturday (the 11th) was idled away when Lew fell asleep. The afternoon was largely taken up by another trip up Brockway mountain to use the cell phone. Bobbi's mother had been experiencing considerable back pain, and Bobbi was anxiously following the results of mother's various medical consultations.

On the morning of Sunday (the 12th) we actually made it to church for the first time on this trip. Bobbi actually rolled out of bed early enough to make an 8:30 AM service at the little Lutheran chapel on the west side of town (while Lew dogsat), and was back in plenty of time to dogsit while Lew took in 11:30 mass at Our Lady of the Pines. This is a beautiful log mission on the west edge of the park/east edge of town.


Nowadays, where else can you find a Catholic church open 24/7, 365 days a year?

Like the campground bathrooms, the interior is very Adirondack-y:


The images inside are folklike, attractive, and most of all, restful:

Echoed in the little garden outside:



The priest from Calumet came up to celebrate. It is hard to understand how he accomplishes it all, since he is responsible for the two Catholic churches in Calumet and three missions north of there. On top of these duties, he was born and raised in southern India, and English is not his first language. But the mass was very well attended, perhaps more than 100 people.

Monday (the 13th) was another rather idle day. Lew drove the mile or so into town to get a WI-FI signal so that he could download email and financial records, and upload an update of this file. Late in the afternoon he walked to the shore of Lake Superior, just across the road, where he photographed the bell bouy (above) and the vistas along the lake.

In the middle of the night Tuesday (the 14th) morning, Saphire became sick and had a diarrhial stool accompanied by much pain. Bobbi and I were both greatly worried about her, but come morning she seemed her same old obnoxious husky self. We needed supplies that could not be obtained in Copper Harbor, so Bobbi proposed that we make our first trip "into town." So we trekked 40 miles down slow twisty US-41, first to Laurium, where we ate lunch at Toni's Country Kitchen, home of the best pasties in the UP. Then we crossed over to the west side of US-41 and Calumet. In the most northerly shopping center in the Keweenaw peninsula we restocked on gasoline, food, and sundries. Then we trekked back to Copper Harbor as quickly as possible in order to get the perishables into the refrigerator. After this expedition was finished, Lew again drove into town for another internet session.

Today (Wednesday the 15th) was COLD. Not that every day has not been cool all the time we have been in Copper Harbor, but today was COLD. We wore long-sleeved shirts even in the afternoon, and sweats in the evening. I would guess the high for the day was no more than 65.

This morning Lew went to town for another internet session to upload the updated version of this file and sent notices to relatives and friends informing them of the URL. After he returned, Bobbi decided to go into town for a fish dinner. After another dessert of Jilbert's ice cream, we continued on up Brockway mountain again. This time not only did we both make our cell phone calls, but on the way back Bobbi stopped at several different places to photograph the beautiful vistas (including views of a Lilliputian Copper Harbor). Only when we returned to the campground did she discover that none of her photos had been recorded, for some reason neither of us could ever figure out. So after supper she consoled herself with a movie (DVD).

Copper Harbor, MI
A week has passed! How could that be? We haven't done anything -- at least nothing of redeeming social value. While the rest of the country has sweltered -- including Jackson OH and even the next county, Copper Harbor has remained consistently at about room temperature -- 70 +/- 5 degrees. There usually has been a significant breeze, if not outright wind. Our activities have been basal: walk the dogs, eat monastically minimal meals, read and type, nap (involuntarily), go into "town" (a couple of hundred people including the tourists) all of a mile away to pick up a pasty for supper and a Jilbert's ice cream cone, mail cards and letters, and do our interneting. Once we drove up Brockway Mountain to get a cell signal, and of course once we visited the monks at the Transfiguration monastery to buy some jams and their monstrous, lethal muffins.

Excitement has consisted of a family of three bears (honest!) who have been hanging around the campground mooching from coolers.

The park rangers gave a "bear lecture" to every incoming camper. So every night the campers carried their flashlights when they went out to the bathroom. Plus everyone had to watch carefully where they walked -- the bear left piles of scat indiscriminately:


Four days ago the rangers set up a bear trap (it obviously had been used before) between the playground and the campsites.


At first nothing happened, but yesterday morning when we got up we learned the bear had been caught during the night and was on his way to Traverse Bay. Hopefully the other two bears will keep their distance.

Then when everyone relaxed, in the afternoon the rangers posted signs on all the water faucets around the campground -- it seems the previous day's testing had shown too many coliforms in the campground water supply. Suddenly everyone had to drive at least a half mile to get drinking water. Next the sewer macerator went out, reducing all the campers to using a couple of outhouses on the north side of the campground. Not until this afternoon did the flush toilets all become usable again.

What next?

Copper Harbor, MI
Sunday (the 5th) we slept in even later than usual: 10 AM. But because we had not unhitched, we were up, walked the dogs, had breakfast, cleaned up, and were on the road in a little over an hour. We took WI-70 and US-45 through tourist land, then crossed over into Michigan. As we did so, the tourist enterprises quickly faded away, and we quickly found ourselves once again in the land of pines. At MI-26 we were back in familiar territory and followed it until we picked up US-41 at the bridge in Houghton. Once again over the lift bridge and up the switchbacks in Hancock, then climbing steadily to Calumet, where we stopped to refuel and buy groceries at Pat's, the local supermarket chain -- last chance before Copper Harbor. While Bobbi was shopping Lew used the strong WI-FI signal to download email.

Then it was up US-41 over the copper-bearing ridge and into Copper Harbor. We deprecated the few tourists walking through the town as we passed on our way once again to the campground at Ft. Wilkins SP. Bobbi had rented lot 41 again, for two weeks (the maximum permitted), and we angled ourselves in, unhitched, walked the dogs, and read for a while. After a small supper, we went back through town to the Berry Patch for Jilbert's ice cream. We returned to the campground, and Lew spoke for quite a while with a couple who owned a 29 ft 1973 a/s -- while Bobbi read chick-lit.

Minocqua, WI
Our last day in Eau Claire (Friday the 3rd) was largely idled away. In the morning Lew read the 4th edition of "A Goodly Heritage" which Irene had duplicated for him, while Bobbi read her chick-lit. In the afternoon we visited Irene once again to get a photo of her,


and to say "good-bye". Then it was refuel, resupply ("Wally World" again), and back to the campground for showers and bed.

Saturday (the 4th) was on the road again -- up county road N, WI-27, WI-29, US-51, and MI-70 to the campground Bobbi had selected: Patricia Lake Campground. The northeastern part of Wisconsin ("north woods") is filled with a multitude of little lakes/large ponds, reminiscent of Michigan. And they seem to be a similar magnet for vacation kitsch. The roads around Minocqua are littered with shops purveying real estate, mortgages, contractors, food, souvenirs, and every other temptation to part the vacationer from his money. This campground reflects the role of destination: most of the lots are occupied by "seasonal" campers, many empty this weekend, the grounds are heavily wooded and most lots shaded, but the plumbing is elderly and less than perfectly maintained and cleaned. And while they advertise WI-FI, one must go into the office to use it. On the whole adequate, but not as pleasant as Sandy Hill, Big Cedar, or Higgins Lake. We would stay here again, but only because of the paucity of good campgrounds between Wausau and Copper Harbor.

Augusta, WI
Up late as usual on Saturday (28th), we breakfasted and disconnected quickly and pulled out by 10:30 -- back up US-41 to WI-22, where we encountered a couple of rather long detours. Then across WI-29 (which is almost as dull a drive as OH-15) around Wausau to WI-27 south to Eau Claire county ND. ND turned out to be a rutty gravel road under construction -- we proceeded at 10 mph until we finally got back to the Sandy Hill Campground north of Augusta (we have discussed this campground in past years, so will not repeat that information here). We phoned Lew's aunt Irene, only to discover that cousin Kathy had left on the 27th, so we missed her. But Irene was her usual hospitable self and invited us over that evening or Sunday afternoon.

Sunday (29th) we slept late and did the usual morning routine. So it was not until after lunch that we made it to Irene's. Her daughters Francie and Liz already were there. However, Francie had a very sick dog and left rather soon. First Bobbi asked for directions to some of the area places where we needed to go. Then we all passed on the news about the absent family members, reminisced about our visit last summer, and told them more details about the part of our trip last summer after we left Eau Claire. All went well until Irene mentioned genealogy -- at which time Liz rolled her eyes and left to do some other projects.

Irene started to quiz Lew about the Lindner side of his family, and after a while got him to go in and enter the data on her computer. Lew got started, then realized that his memory of many things was rather hazy, so fired up his own computer. At this point Irene announced that she had fixed supper, so Lew quit and joined the other two at the table. Afterwards there was only enough time to close down, and then Bobbi and Lew had to leave because sunset was fast approaching, and they had not yet downloaded their email for the day. So they drove the short distance to Panera's for that purpose, then refueled and got back to the campground with just enough time to walk the dogs before it became dark.

Monday afternoon (30th) Lew had to take the van in to Markquart Chevie to have the oil changed. While it was there, the mechanic discovered that the rear axle seals were leaking and had sprayed oil all over the brakes. This meant a substantial repair, so Lew had to leave the van overnight. The dealer was kind enough to provide Lew with a loaner (a "Silverado", a pickup with a big hood to look over and a suspension by Cadillac), so Lew drove back to the campground where he had left Bobbi and the dogs.

Tuesday (31st) we could not lie abed -- we had to be in the southwestern part of Eau Claire by 10:30 (local time) in order to have Bobbi's fractured metatarsal x-rayed. As that was finishing, Lew phoned Markquart Chevrolet to check on the truck repairs. The service advisor told him it had just been finished ten minutes before, so we could pick it up. We set out immediately for the shop. When we arrived we transferred the dogs and our bags to the van, after which Lew turned in the rental. Then Lew paid for the repairs, and we were off down US-53 towards the mall.

At the mall Bobbi went into Panera's to pick up lunch, while Lew used their WI-FI to pick up email. Then across the street into the mall, where Bobbi purchased some badger T-shirts, and back across into "Wally World". This pretty well used up the day, so it was back to the campground.

After our usual late rising and slow start, on Wednesday morning (1 August) Bobbi wanted to go into town (Fall Creek) to mail something at the post office, and to shop at Weaver's, an Amish store that specializes in bulk groceries. After lunch Bobbi did some more laundry and read chick-lit, while Lew journaled and worked on this file.

Thursday (the 2nd) was needed for some planning and organization. We rose late, as usual. Bobbi phoned Ft. Wilkins SP and discovered (as expected) that we could not get a campsite until Sunday -- so she reserved a site for the next two weeks. She than gossiped with our host and found out about campgrounds in NE Wisconsin -- not optimistic because he said they don't cater to travelers; rather, they will be full of kids. So she reserved a place at one of them for Saturday night. She decided that until then, we would stay a couple of extra days at this campground.

That settled, after lunch we all piled into the van to search for WI-FI. Weaver's WI-FI turned out to be off. In Fall Creek neither the post office nor the public library had WI-FI, or could tell us where to get it. So it was off once again to the Panera's in Eau Claire. At least that meant Bobbi could eat out for supper. But once we were finished, it was back to the campground for showers, snack, and bed.