Tuesday, July 6, 2010

2010-07 Mackinaw City, Michigan

From 2010-07 Mackinaw Bridge

We reluctantly left Creekwood Farm RV Park on July 6th. We really enjoyed our stay there, but we had firm reservations in Michigan.  So it was time to go.  

We traveled 4 days with three overnight stops along the way. We drove about 250 miles each day for a total of almost 900 miles.  We much prefer making shorter trips where we only stop overnight one or two nights before we stay a week to a month in the same area.

This trip was made more stressful because we are having problems with the slide mechanisms that open the room expansions in our bedroom and kitchen.  Each stop we had difficulty getting the bedroom slide to open or close.  We did not even attempt to open the kitchen slide.  It appears we have a voltage problem due to either a battery problem or some other electrical component.  Based on advice from my friend and Master RV Tech, Dale Sumner, I'm going to clean and check all the battery connections.  If that does not fix the problem, we  are hopeful someone from Newmar can diagnose the problem while at the upcoming Newmar Rally in Indiana. Anyway we were really tired when we reached Mackinaw Mill Creek Campground in Mackinaw City, Michigan.

This is a huge campground with over 600 sites, although probably only about 1/2 are actively being used.  We are fortunate to have a large site and one of the few full hook-up sites with 50 amp service.  Most sites have only partial or no hook-ups and many are much smaller.  Lots of RV's are crammed in with barely enough room to open their slides and patio awnings.  There are a lot of tent campers here with many of these also on very small sites.

This a popular spot for family campers.  In spite of  some of the cramped spacing, all seem to be having a good time.   There are a lot of little ones on bikes with training wheels.  They are learning to ride and having great fun, but neither they nor most of the other children are being  cautious about where they are going.  It sure makes us pay close attention as we slowly drive in and out of the campground. 

The main attraction for the campground is its location beside Lake Huron with a great view of the Mackinaw Bridge.  The "Mighty Mac"  connects the lower peninsula of Michigan with the Upper Peninsula.  It was built in 1957 and, at almost 5 miles, is the longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the western hemisphere.

Our site is just around the corner from a nice park area with a wonderful view of the bridge.  
 

From 2010-07 Mackinaw Bridge
We have enjoyed some beautiful sunsets.
From 2010-07 Sunset at Mackinaw Bridge
From 2010-07 Sunset at Mackinaw Bridge
So far we have had very pleasant weather with only one day of rain.  We are looking forward to touring some of the surrounding area over the next month.