The photos below are what we saw.
We spent
an OK night at Bond Falls. No personnel were present, so
we never did a formal check-in and remote camped on a flat spot
on the forest floor. Next morning, despite it raining, we
decided to check out the near-by Agate Falls. GPS, maps
and signage failed us, but we did finally discover that the
access to the falls was from a roadside stop. Once we
solved this mystery, we elected to hike to the falls. From
the parking area the bridge over the middle fork of the
Ontonagan River was visible. The trail went under the bridge.
Agate
Falls is on the middle fork of the Ontonagan River and has
substantial flows. It is also in a steep canyon so no easy
access was possible. Due to the rain, we elected to get a
cursory photo from the observation deck and then hustle back to
Thor to continue down the road.
We
traveled on to the state park at Indian Lake. As we rolled
into the campsite, I spotted this Earthroamer in one of the
sites. After we set up, I walked back to talk to the
owner. These rigs are capable but VERY expensive. I
think this one, new, is about $500K. This owner was the
3rd owner and therefore the price was less, but I never got the
nerve to ask what he paid. The Ford platform is known, the
powerplant in particular, to have big issues and the owner told
me that the fellow he bought in from had a ton of expensive work
done to address a head gasket failure.
The
Earthroamers have very nice custom molded fiberglass bodies.
I did
not realize that the Ford 550 chassis had 10 bold wheels.
One of the owners added aluminum rims. The tires are
50-profile 22.5 Michelin tires.
I took
interior photos to assist me in my possible re-design of Thor's
house. Every rig, no matter how small, has to have an
electrical control panel. Thor has Xantrex and Blue Sea
hardware, but does not have the Webasto heaters.
Thor has
a Fantastic fan, but has the cheap "on the fan" controls rather
than the trick remote control panel.
The
Earthroamer has granite counter tops. The current owner
likes coffee so in addition to the Earthroamer coffee maker he
has is own unit.
In Thor,
our seating doubles as the bed. In this Earthroamer, the
seating doubles as extra galley counter space. When not in
use, the counter top swings down and becomes the back rest for
the seats.
The
perpetual problem in every camper is what to do with the
table. In Thor, ours folds down to become part of the bed
infrastructure. In this Earthroamer, the table assembly is
on a swing out frame.
The
following morning we headed to the nearby Big Spring area.
From the walkway to the spring we spotted these gnarly
trees. The roots and curved branches produced a tangled
mass.
Big Spring
is just what the name implies. The water is very clear and
the park has a glass-bottom boat to allow seeing the bottom
almost 40 feet below. The boat is hand-operated and runs
on a cable strung across the pond.
From Big
Spring we traveled south to the Lake Michigan shoreline and had
lunch at a very nice deli. Between the lakefront homes, we
could see the lighthouse at the mouth of the bay.
We
needed to log some miles and get off the UP (Upper Peninsula of
Michigan) and down to the thumb. We continued east toward
the Mackinac Bridge. Above, Thor takes a break at a
roadside rest area.
The rest
area was also a viewpoint that provides a sweeping vista of Lake
Michigan. Offshore is a small island.
The
south end of the island has a lighthouse that provides
navigation for the approach to Mackinac Bridge.
Looking
to the southeast from the viewpoint we could see the Mackinac
Bridge. This is a big bridge: over 7km long according to
Thor's odometer.
We
stopped at another viewpoint for the bridge. This bridge
sits at the confluence of Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron.
The
Mackinac Bridge seems to have been modeled on the design used
for the Golden Gate.
After
crossing the Mackinac Bridge we continued south along the Lake
Huron side of Michigan to Bay City where we spotted this church.
Further
east into Bay City we saw another huge church made from cut
stone. Our destination was a Michigan state park on Lake
Huron.
Since we
were late in the season, the state park was essentially
empty. Next morning we rolled south into Ohio en-route to
visit our Unimog buddies Chris and Anne. On a surface
street we spotted this "enhanced" pickup. Kathleen decided
that that it was the owner of the truck that needed to be
"enhanced" has he clearly has a physical deficit.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2017, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.