Getting our Trailer

This post covers buying a new trailer and our trip to Reno, NV, to get it. Once there we visited Lake Tahoe and Great Basin National Park before returning home with our new trailer. 

Mid April, 2019
After we found out our trailer was totaled and determined how much insurance money we would get, we had to decide on our next step. We could order a new 19', but the time to complete it took us into September. This interfered with our plans to use our trailer in Santa Fe for Kevin's wedding. So, we looked on the forum for used trailers. A brand new, never been used trailer was on the forum for a good price.  It was not configured exactly as we wanted, but it was close. It was also a 21', larger and slightly heavier than our 19.   I called and it was still available, but someone was coming to look at it the next day.  I immediately committed to buy it and sent overnight a significant deposit to hold it for us.  The seller committed the trailer to us and agreed to hold it to the end of May,  when we would finally get our car to tow it.  The owner had picked up the trailer in February, trailed it to Reno, and then stored it indoors.  It had never been used other than that trip. 

Our new trailer in storage in Reno. (a defunct K-mart)

Friday, May 17, 2019
When I returned home from picking up our repaired car in Tallahassee, we immediately packed up the car and headed out to Reno at about 9:00 AM. Katie obviously drove as I was wiped from the overnight drive from Florida.  We wanted to get to Reno on Sunday to pick up our new trailer.   We got to the middle of Nebraska and stopped in Lexington. The motel clerk said there were tornado warnings.  We came to find out that tornadoes struck about about 20 miles from where we were staying.  We drove the next day solid and finally stopped in Elko, NV. which is about 4 hours from Reno.  The route we took (I-80) took us through Salt Lake City and driving across the salt flats west of the city. It is a very unique and almost surrealistic location.







Sunday, May 19, 2019
We got to Reno about noon.  We had an appointment at 1:30 to get our trailer. We stopped at a Chili's for lunch near our destination. Our seller called and we meet at 1:15 to complete the purchase, review all the extras he bought for the trailer and hook up.  We had reservations at a campsite in Carson City, NV.  We drove there with no issues and set up in the campground.  The trailer was stored indoors and was like new. In fact, the owner had never used or tested any of the systems such as the water heater, furnace, AC, refrigerator, etc.  We had already committed, so we had to hope it all worked.  We did know that Escape made a good trailer so we were confident it would all be fine.  So far, everything is working fine.



Monday, May 20
On Monday, we unhitched and drove to Lake Tahoe to visit that area.  You cross over some mountains to reach Lake Tahoe.  It is literally surrounded by mountains. In fact, all the rain that falls drains into Lake Tahoe. There is only one flow of water out of Tahoe called the Truckee River, which ends at Pyramid Lake and stops. None of the water reaches the ocean.
Crossing the mountains you come upon beautiful views of the lake. The water is very clear and cold, although it never freezes because the lake is so deep, the convection currents keep the water circulating to prevent freezing.

Great views of the lake

This is a tunnel in rocks to let the road through.

We took a boat cruise around the lake from an area called Zephyr Cove.  It happened that the area of the boat tour also had a gathering of old classic cars. There where Model A's, Pierces and Duesenbergs. Very cool.

The cruise goes across the lake and back.  There is really not a lot to see other than beautiful mountains and clear water. Due the time of year, it was still pretty cold and very few boats were on the water.  There is a historical mansion on the far side built by some rich Scandinavian, appropriately called "Vikingsholm."  If you drive to the other side, you can hike down to the estate and look around.

Cruising on Lake Tahoe

The Vikingsholm Estate

 
An old friend from work lives in Tahoe, so we meet for a beer and appetizers. Nice to see an old face in a new location.  After our meeting we drove around Lake Tahoe.  It is a very unique and beautiful lake with lots of expensive houses as well as older, more modest dwellings.


Tuesday, May 21
On Tuesday, we started out east along Hwy. 50. The section of this highway in Nevada is called the most lonely road in America.  Once you get a few miles out of Carson City, there are very few cities and very few people.  You go for a hundred miles or so with nothing. There are also very few gas stations.  The weather was also funky.  We went from cloudy to sun to rain to sleet to snow and back. You also go from valley to mountain pass and back again about 5 times. Near the end it was snowing quite a bit and we weren't sure we could make it.  A gas station attendant said to treat it like rain and keep going.  We did and made it to our destination in Baker, NV. which is near the entrance to Great Basin National Park.
The campground was a bit weird but the site was nice. The town was so small it had almost no facilities but it did have a very nice restaurant.  Very weird to have this place to eat in a town with almost nothing else.

Our campsite in Baker, NV

We spent the next day touring the park and taking the cave tour. Originally, the only visitor destination was the cave, but it eventually became a national park to highlight the Great Basin.  The basin is the area from Tahoe, into Oregon, to mid-Utah that includes most of Nevada. It also includes the Great Salt Lake.   This Great Basin is named because any rain that falls in this area does not reach the ocean.  There are mountains surrounding this whole area that contains the rain.  We ate lunch in the cafe in the park and I had a Popper grilled cheese, a sandwich I had never seen before. It was a grilled cheese that put Jalapeno peppers and cream cheese on the bread.  It was very good.
There is a scenic road to the top of Mt. Wheeler, the highest peak in the area, but due to the weather and snow, the road was closed. 

Snow on the trees in park

A Marmot

Watch out for the critters!

The cave tour was very nice. There were many remnants of previous occupants. One area had a low ceiling and many names were carved into the ceiling. This occurred before it became a national park.

Goofy cave pictures

Ditto

Thursday, May 23
We started for home on Thursday and wanted to get to the lake for Memorial Day weekend. We reserved a parking spot for our trailer at our condo and started east.  We continued on Hwy. 50 until we hit I-70 in Utah and stuck with that most of the way. We ran into some wild weather in Utah; rain, snow and sleet. We camped in Gypsum, Colorado the first night and Abilene, Kansas the next.  Abilene is the birthplace of Dwight Eisenhower and the location of his library. We drove by but did not stop in.
As we neared Kansas City, Google Maps took us around and south of KC to Hwy 50 again working east and south into Eldon and then Osage Beach and our condo. The weather was not great but we had a nice relaxing weekend with friends at the lake.

Niagara Falls

July 5, 2019

We had a long drive to get from Mackinaw City to Fonthill, ON, which is about 20 miles west of Niagara Falls. We crossed into Canada at Port Huron. We arrived late afternoon, got into our campsite, and had time to go shopping to get some water, ice, etc.  The campground was also very large with all kinds of activities like a rock climbing wall, multiple pools, etc. It seems to be a destination vacation for some folks.  Fortunately, we were located away from all the activity in a quiet, wooded corner of the site.

Chilling in Canada

July 6, 2019

We headed out to the Canadian side of the falls. We believe the Canadian side offers a better view of the major waterfall, Horseshoe Falls. I also has a very nice developed waterfront with a visitor center, restaurants, and activities.   It also offers a unique attraction called Journey behind the Falls. Back in the early 1900's, they dug a shaft and tunnels that go behind Horseshoe Falls.  There is also a viewing landing on the outside, right next to the water fall.

Horseshoe Falls from the top

Going behind the falls. They provide plastic rain slickers

Behind the falls. Just a lot water

Forgot to turn on the flash

Outside viewing area next to the falls, lots of mist and spray.

Our next attraction was taking a boat ride into the bottom of the falls.  The picture below is the Maid of the Mist which you launch from the US side of the river. The rain slickers provided by the US side are blue.  Since we launched from the Canadian side, our slickers for this ride were red.  The ride is short. You cruise to the turbulent whirlpool at the bottom of Horseshoe Falls, sit there for a while and then return. It is very wet due to the mist and spray.  It was, however, a very cool experience (no pun intended).

Maid of the Mist from the US side

Boarding our boat on the Canadian side. Note red rain slickers

At the falls. Very misty and wet so picture taking a challenge.

We had a very nice lunch at the visitor center. It is right at the top of Horseshoe Falls with a great view.

Having a beer and wine, eh.

There are two other falls, both on the US side, called American and Bridal. Not as impressive as Horseshoe.  The US side is a NY state park so it is not as developed. It also is harder to view the falls from the US side.

Ameican Falls (left) and Bridal Falls.

After a day of exciting activities and walking, we returned to our campground to rest up for the trip home.

July 7/8
We headed east and south in Ontario and crossed into the US at Buffalo, headed south to I-86 to avoid tolls on NY I-90.  Connected with I-90 in Pennsylvania and into Ohio, then headed SW on I-71 to Columbus, OH. where we spent the night.  Cruised home the next day.

Mackinac Island, Mackinaw City

Friday, July 5, 2019

We packed up our trailer, stopped by the house Megan and friends rented to say goodbye, and headed north to Mackinaw City.  Of interesting note is that the spelling of the city, which is on the upper tip of Michigan's lower peninsula is different than Mackinac Island, but they are pronounced the same (rhymes with gnaw).  Mackinaw City is one of locations to get a ferry to the island.  St. Ignace, across the bridge, is the other.

The campground was huge.  They have over 700 campsites and it is located on the coast of Lake Huron, just south of Mackinaw City.  The sites were very wooded.  There were tons of families with kids as the campground has a pool and lots of other activities for kids.  They even had an old fire truck that drove around the site each evening giving rides to campers.  Even though there were lots of sites, our spot seemed private due to the large number of trees surrounding it.  It was a short walk to the lake which offered a view of the Mackinac suspension bridge that connects Michigan to the Upper Peninsula, referred to as the U-P by the locals.

Our cozy site

Coast of Lake Huron with view of bridge

Looks like Dave's old fire truck, reincarnated

(FYI.  Our friend Dave used to own an old fire truck which he drove in parades, etc. )

Saturday, July 6

We boarded the 9:00 AM ferry for our trip to Mackinac Island. The boat takes a detour under the bridge so you get a close up view. 

Our ferry boat to the island

Mackinac Bridge (22nd longest)

Coming in to the harbor. Fort Mackinac on the hill.

Mackinac Island is a very neat and interesting place. It was originally a fur trading hub, but became a tourist spot in the late 1800's. Everything is moved by horse drawn carriages and wagons. They put a few cars on the island early in the 1900's but they scared the horses, so they were banned and continue to be so.
It is also interesting to note that the island shuts down over the winter.  The ferries only run from late April to the end of October. However, there are about 600 permanent residents that tough it out.  They can either fly or hope the ice is thick enough to let a snowmobile cross the water.
The island has many resorts, B&B's, and private summer cottages.  It also has more fudge shops than you can count. It must be the fudge capital of the world.  We took a carriage ride through parts of the island, spent many hours touring the restored Fort Mackinac, went to Mass is historic St. Anne's church, had a lovely dinner on the water, bought some fudge (of course), and left the island exhausted at 9:00 PM.

Fort Mackinac

More fort.  They fire the cannon several times for a demonstration

View of harbor from the fort.

St. Anne's Church. There was a wedding there that afternoon

Sunday, July 7
We were scheduled to leave on Sunday and head to Niagara Falls.  However, there were still many things to see so we got on the phones and tried to adjust our schedule.  We also were concerned about trying to drive on Sunday as the traffic load was expected to be heavy due to everyone returning home for work after the July 4 holiday.  Our current campground was able to give us an extra night plus our campground in Ontario, near the falls, shifted our dates by one day.  So, we were good to go for another day in upper Michigan.
Our first stop was St. Sault Marie, a city in the U-P that contains the Soo Locks, a major spot for boat traffic as it connects Lake Superior to Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.  We were able to watch a 780' ore and grain carrier traverse the locks as well as a tourist boat.  There is a 21 foot difference between Lake Superior and the other two lakes. (Superior is higher).   One of the locks was expanded to 1200' in length to handle new lake boats that are 1000' long.  These large boats are limited to the Great Lakes as they cannot traverse the St. Lawrence Seaway which is limited to 780' boats.

The 780' ore and grain carrier. Empty

A Soo Locks tour boat. You too can go through the locks.

Returning to Mackinaw City, we toured a retired Coast Guard ice breaker.  As the lakes freeze and no traffic moves in December-February, there are times when the ice comes early or stays late and boats need help. This breaker was specially designed to break the ice and create lanes for ore and grain carriers.  It has 6 huge diesel engines and special water tanks from side to side and from front to back that allows the operators to rock the boat to help break ice and loosen the hull if it gets stuck.  The breaker was commissioned during WWII to ensure iron ore could get to factories producing war supplies.

Retired WWII ice breaker.  No name, just WAGB-83

Finally, we toured Fort Michilimackinac. This goes back to the 1700's when the French and British controlled this area. It is located next to the bridge, in fact, the visitor center is located under the roadway to the bridge.  This fort was moved by the British to Mackinac Island and became the fort we toured there.  After moving, the British burned everything that remained.  However, archeologists sifting through the dirt where able to locate and reconstruct the fort in its originally configuration.  It was very well done with employees dressed in old British uniforms providing demonstrations and answering questions.

View of fort from guard walk on the wall.  Lake in background

Mound of dirt behind building was an underground gunpowder store.

Another busy day.  We also need to leave early the next day as we had a long drive to get to Niagara Falls area. We pretty much packed up Sunday night so we could hit the road first thing.

Indiana Dunes and South Haven

Because I am adding this information after our trip, the dates of the blog post and actual dates will be off by a bit. I will add the relevant dates to the posts. I am breaking trip into several posts.

Friday, June 28, 2019

We decided to leave a day early mainly to ensure we got settled in South Haven early enough to give us time to pick up Megan at the Grand Rapids airport. She was landing Saturday afternoon, so we wanted to get closer to Michigan on Friday. We left Friday AM and headed to Michigan City, IN. to visit the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. We were told it is now a National Park although the workers at the visitor center preferred the old name of "Lakeshore".

After setting up at the campsite we drove around to get the lay of the land.  The park is quite long and separated by private lands, businesses, a power plant and other things.

The dunes were created by the glaciers that formed the lakes and created lots of sand plus the winds from the Northwest that tended to pile it up on the Indiana coast of Lake Michigan.  Most of the dunes are covered with grass and trees. There are also a series of them away from the shoreline that were formed over time as the lake rose and fell. There are also some "walking" dunes that do not have much grass and actually build up and move inland.  One such dune is called Mt. Baldy.  It is starting to encroach on the parking lot.

Lake Michigan and some dunes

The front of a large walking dune

The dune taking over the parking lot

The top two are typical dunes. Katie is walking down the front of Mt. Baldy which rise to her right. The last picture is from the parking lot and shows how the sand has moved inland by the winds and is enveloping trees and things.

Original trading post

Farm house in the dunes area

The area within the dunes was a area for trading with the Indians. They would bring hides and things.  European settlers build houses to farm and work the trading business.  These building are next to a small river that allowed transportation.

Saturday, June 29

We spent the morning at the visitor center and touring various areas of interest. The dunes create a unique ecosystem with swamps and savannas interspersed between the dunes.

We then left for South Haven, MI., which is only a couple of hours north.   The campground was very nice with lots of room between sites. It also had a large number of trees. The only negative is that the soil was very sandy and we tracked a lot sand into the trailer.  Since we planned to stay here for 6 nights, we set up the whole nine yards. The brown thing is called a "Clam" and is a screened-in shelter to keep bugs out.  I folds up into a 6' long tube about as big around as a golf bag.

After setting up we drove to Grand Rapids to pick up Megan.  We had a great dinner on the patio of a Mexican restaurant in South Haven. Megan and Lucy spent the night with us in our trailer because Megan's rental house was not available until Sunday afternoon.

This is kind of view we had from the restaurant.  South Haven is on the Black river with tons of boats all up and down the river.


Sunday - Friday.

We helped Megan move into her rental house and spent the week doing various touristy things.   We also had several nice cook-outs with Megan and her friends.
- We took a harbor and lake cruise.
- We visited the Maritime museum and took a cruise wooden tall ship.
- We visited Grand Haven and Sagatuck up the coast.
- We watched the South Haven (also referred to as SoHa) fireworks.

The South Haven Light House.. 

Megan and friends on our lake cruise

The ship "Friends Good Will" that we cruised and crewed on

Ahoy matey, some loafing deckhands

The Saugatuck chain ferry. It is cranked by hand across the river. You can see the chain coming up the side.

Waiting for fireworks in South Haven harbor

 The weather was warm the whole week, but we did not get rained upon, even though it was in the forecast the entire week.  On Friday, we packed up our trailer, and headed to Mackinaw island.  Before we left we stopped by Megan's rental to say good-bye and let everyone tour our trailer.