Continuing across North Dakota, aiming to squeeze between the south shore of Lake Superior and the North shore of Lake Michigan, I booked a stop at the enticingly named Devils Lake. The reviews for the local state park….Grahams Island….were particularly glowing so I plumped for that one for a couple of days rest and a bit of leg stretching.
The booking site promised full hookups and it was time for a longer stop to do a bit of cooking…a bit of re-organizing the trailer closets and storage areas….and a bit of planning for the next leg of the journey.
Devils Lake ND is an incredible fishing and watersport area where the whole area is connected by a network of causeways both between the major islands and around the waterway that is Devils Lake.
Grahams Island is, as the name would suggest….on an Island.
It was still early in the season….so we were actually the ONLY ones camping in the whole park…..just us and the rangers….!!! Unfortunately this left the ticks with only 2 targets.
We hit North Dakota in mostly rainy weather, but we did get one nice sunny day. It is a spectacular park ( fishermans paradise). With a couple of shortish, family friendly, walking trails
We took the walk around the campground nature trail which was very pretty with the bright green grass of spring emerging….almost fluffy and the butterflies like confetti sprinkling around us.
Towards the end of the loop we were greeted with a cacophony of frog song. Following the sound, we found a pond off to the side of the trail. As we approached…suddenly …silence……..
If we stood absolutely still, after a couple of minutes they started again…..try as we might we could not see them, even scanning around with the binoculars. We even took some pictures just to see if by enlarging them later we could spot the frogs………see what you think (I can’t find them…!!)
The guidebook said this is also a birding area…makes sense with the quantity of water ( and mosquitos) around….
Continuing the road east…the next stop was a Harvest Host brewery. Klockow Brewing in Grand Rapids Minnesota.
Chatting to a couple of guys in the bar (as you do..!!) they recommended stopping in Ironwood…home of the Stormy Kromer…….Absolutely a must stop. (The coolest thing made in Michigan….as the sign says…LOL)
So we did….it’s literally a block from the highway we were driving…with lots of RV parking. We could almost taste Scotts next hat purchase….
But its was closed on a Saturday. (boohoo…!!)
The Bears Den mini putt….in Wisconsin was the next convenient overnight stop. The borders between Michigan and Wisconsin are weird when you drive this road as the GPS welcomes you to one, then the other…then back again……
The south shore of Superior is very much like the north shore. Thankfully the road was very quiet…. that was likely just because of how early in the season we were, but it made the journey most pleasant.
The north shore of Michigan was breathtaking
Across the Mackinaw bridge for the first time……….
…..and down the Michigan Peninsula with spring unfolding before us like time lapse photography happening as we moved first east then south.
A few days rest in West Branch MI ……..
We had a few days here, so I managed to find a local trail for a ‘shake down’ hike, our first for the new season (no water leaks on this one…..!!)
Ogemaw trail.
………then the road back to Ontario for a wedding.
This part of the journey not only involved us in a very enjoyable wedding and gathering of friends but set us up nicely for the next adventure….this summer the plan is to tackle The Mother Road…..Main Street of America….Route 66…….. stay tuned for the next exciting episode……..
EXTRA PIX
OsteoPraxis on the road 