Bill and Eileen's Travels: Bismarck to Traverse City (8/5

On Tuesday August 5th we moved on to Bismarck, ND. Mark's family lives in Mandan just across the Little Missouri River from Bismarck. We used this time to catch up on all of our laundry, shopping, haircuts, etc. Eileen had also scheduled her final foot x-ray with a doctor friend of Mark's. Everything is on the mend.

Mark's family had a memorial service for his dad the day after we were invited to a great night at his nephews house. Steak and all the fixin's. His brother Chris cooks a mean steak.

The only tourist stuff we did here was a visit to the Heritage Museum with Mark and Kathie and one of their younger relatives. The museum had a lot of Indian history as well as many other very unique artifacts.

Mark and Kathie told us they would be staying in Bismarck and not moving on with us because Mark was in need of some medical testing that could not be scheduled until later in the month and early September.

We had all traveled together for almost three months and had a great time. It is difficult to put four strong personalities together on a daily basis for such a long period of time without some issues but I think we all did very well considering. Our wish is that Mark and Kathie's travels are wonderful and safe. We are able to meet them anywhere in this beautiful country, which is now their backyard.

The night before we left Bismarck, Mark had many members of his family over to the campground for a nice dinner. We had our map ceremony where, Mark (A North Dakota native) put the ND sticker on my US map. ND was our final state of the lower 48. We have now been in every state with the motorhome but we still have much more to see. Thanks Mark!

Next morning, August 9th, we moved on to St. Cloud, MN. We spent two days in this little town. We just happened to be there on what they call "Crazy Days" which is the end of season sales for all the local merchants. There were a lot of deals on the street but by now we are pretty much shopped out. Once again the flowers were everywhere on the main street of the town. Very nice area with just a few hundred lakes surrounding the area.

On August 11th we moved on to Hiawatha Trailer Resort Woodruff, Wisconsin. This was an interesting area in the "Wisconsin North Woods". The campground was pretty much a permanent place. This is a fishing area with just as many if not more lakes than Minnesota.

The guy that checked us in said "just go over there and pick where you want to park".
What you had to do was weave your way through a bunch of trees, over the roots, to get to the pull through sites. We opted for a back in site which was a little tight but doable. The surrounding area here is very nice but we were told that the winters are brutal here. The campground owner goes to Hawaii in the winter. Smart move.

On August 13th we moved on to Lakeshore RV in St Ignace Michigan. This is a campground near Mackinac Island. Our route took us through the UP (Upper Peninsula) of Michigan. We were on the southern route across the UP and I must say there are a lot of trees, a few small towns, and a lot of scenery. You really don't see the lake very much because the road is a bit inland. The campground is basically in a field with a short walk to the lake. At night you can go down to the water and see the giant bridge that crosses the lakes from the UP to Mackinaw City Michigan. A nice one nighter.

The next day we headed across the bridge and drove Route 31 (a terrible road) through Petoskey to Traverse City, Michigan. We had been in this area before and liked it very much. The Resort is called Traverse Bay. It is a very nice enjoyable spot.

During our three days here we visited the city, stopped at the Traverse City Pie Company YUM, drove up the Peninsula, had a great lunch at The Boat House
Restaurant, and went once again to the Old Mission Lighthouse which is right on the 45 parallel. This is a large agricultural area with the specialty being the cherry trees. We were to late for the Cherry Festival, a big yearly event, but we didn't miss the beauty of this gorgeous area. Unfortunately it snows here also. A Lot, we are told. This was a very relaxing stop.

Enjoy the Pictures!!