Back to Lake Elmo

We arrived back in Lake Elmo and to our favorite site 37.  All set up and satellite set out we were able to relax a bit.  Tuesday Linda took Jeanette to lunch with the ladies and I stayed back to give the coach a sponge bath. (no hoses allowed)  It’s looking pretty good again.  Of course it has rained a couple of times since then.

Wednesday night was a “cruise in” at Lowell Park in Stillwater.  Lots of cars, new, old, and otherwise.  After the car show we found our way back to Nelson’s for a little ice cream.

I told Linda we already had a tow car.

We think this one belongs to Bruce Bauer

Camper and the Edsel were for sale

Nicely appointed, it even had a bathroom

Thursday morning we watched the weather forecast and made a decision to venture over to the MN State Fair.  We found a free park and ride just off of I94 and rode over to the fairgrounds.  Well what do you do at the fair?  Eat of course.  Cajun fried pickles for one appetizer and then fresh cheeses curds for another and we were ready for Carl’s Gizmo sandwich.  The Gizmo is ground hamburger, ground Italian sausage, tomato sauce, and mozzarella cheese all baked in a toasted hoagie bun.  For desert we of course got ourselves a bucket of chocolate chip cookies.  Besides wandering through the food building and on to the old machinery hill to check out some antique tractors, all the latest snow plows and some very elaborate fish houses,(we are in MN) we made back to the Grandstand to make a couple of purchases from the hawkers.  All in all a pretty good day and we only had to get the ponchos out once.

Just crank up the wheels and drill holes in the ice.

There are seven holes in the floor to fish out of.

An orange John Deere?

Salmon in Algoma

Arrived in Algoma and picked a site that had a wide open view for the satellite dish.  After another laboring phone call to Dish we got it setup and ready to view and record our favorite shows.  Friday was a road trip up into Door County and visits to the local gift shops and wineries.

Saturday and Sunday it was up at 3:45 am to be at the dock by 4:30.  It seems that Algoma salmon don’t like daytime fishing.  Saturday morning four of us caught eight fish.  They ranged from 10 to 20 lbs.  Sunday was not quite as fruitful but we brought back 5 fish from 8 to 20 lbs.  We saved a large filet to cut up and cook fresh and the rest is being smoked at Bearcat’s.  A lot fun catching and delicious eating.

On the road to Algoma

We found a great (almost) campground in Gladstone MI.  It is just a few miles north of Escanaba, MI and has a city owned campground on the waterfront.  Full hookups including cable TV and a powerful WiFi.  We stayed an extra night and took a drive down to Escanaba.  We found a Culvers for lunch, a Walmart to stock up on essentials and then found a quaint lighthouse and museum.

Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw)

Our stay here is in St. Ignace MI just north of the Mackinac Bridge.  Our first day we drove the bridge to Mackinaw City where we visited the Michilimackinac Fort and Light House.  Only fifty steps to the top but a very narrow hole to crawl through to get into the viewing area.  I made it but it was a tight squeeze.  Then on to do a little shopping.

The next day was the highlight of our North Shore trip.  We took a fast ferry ride beneath the bridge and over to Mackinac Island.  The island lived up to everything we expected.  We got off the boat and walked a couple of blocks down the street where we boarded a horse drawn carriage.  It was an easy way to ride and see the sights.  Stops along the way included Fort Mackinac and the Grand Hotel.  We walked down the hill from the Grand to downtown for some shopping and of course we couldn’t leave without a big bag of fudge.

One more day of sightseeing before leaving Mackinac.  Upon a recommendation from good friend Neil Vroom we went back to Mackinaw City to see the bridge museum.  Well worth another trip over the bridge.  Later that evening we took some night shots of the bridge.