Peterson Bridge Campground, Huron-Manistee National Forest, Manistee, MI; July 21 to September 2, 2014

After the dismal stop at Dune Lake, the 1,700 pack-and-go miles from Utah to Indianna, 1,200 miles from Indiana to New York and back and two busy weeks in New York, we were ready to be lazy. We had stayed in Huron-Manistee National Forest in 2012 but in a different campground – it was right on Lake Michigan and this spot is in the middle of the state about an hour south of Traverse City. As with most National Forests, it is primitive camping – no hookups and often vault toilets. The reason we love the National Forest campgrounds is the sites are usually well spaced out with lush vegetation, and except for weekends, holidays, and summers, peaceful and quiet. Peterson Bridge was no exception.

This campground is on the banks on the Pine River, a peaceful spot that is very popular with canoe, raft, and kayak enthusiasts. Because it is so popular, there are strict regulations for those using the river: boaters must be off the river between 6 PM and 6 AM, there is a $20 permit fee per watercraft. Camping along the river is only allowed at developed campsites, and vehicles must be parked in designated areas. The entire trip down river takes14 ½ hours, although there are several spots where one may put in for a shorter version and there are eight campgrounds accessible from the river. It is not uncommon, however, for the boaters to be so drunk or drugged that they completely miss the landing and keep floating down-river. I cant say that hurts my feelings, though...

Early one evening, Rich and I were enjoying dessert when we heard sirens – something we hadn't heard since we arrived – a crash, a couple of gunshots a few minutes later, about ten minutes after that, a helicopter. We didn't put it all together, as we'd heard gunshots frequently, and it wasn't unusual for a helicopter to cross above us. The next morning, however, we found that, a few miles away, a young man had killed his girlfriend, left about the time some friends found her and began chasing the young man. The friends called 911 and were relaying their location to the authorities. Just north of the campground is the Peterson Bridge and a short distance north of that is an intersection with a convenience store. Apparently, two young women staying at the campground were on their way to to the convenience store and were crossing the bridge when the young man crashed into their car. The young man saw a road block ahead, jumped out of his car and began firing at the officers, whereupon the officers returned fire, and the young man was subsequently flown to the hospital in the helicopter. The girls were brought back to camp, where they slept and were on the river the next morning. Enough excitement, already!

While we were at Peterson Bridge, we had nearly no cell phone or data coverage – either with our old Verizon or with our new Consumer Cellular plans. We were neither surprised nor disappointed since we were miles away from anywhere and the campground was lower than the surrounding land, but in case we really needed it, we could get coverage at the convenience store a couple miles away. We picked wild raspberries and blackberries while wandering around the campground, watched the ever-present hummingbirds, and about five miles away was a wonderful country grocery called the Dublin General Store where we found groceries, a good deli, bakery, as well as a hardware. Their BBQ pork was wonderful as were their pies and jerkey and I tasted my first (but not last) Stroh's Beer.

We went to Traverse City one day to visit the Traverse City Historic Museum and do some shopping. The museum is located in the historic section and there were a number of beautifully restored houses (some appeared to be businesses and a few seemed to be homes) with beautiful yards full of colorful flowers. The museum is small but has some interesting artifacts from the Ottawa and and Chippewa tribes, which setteled in the Great Lakes region (no one seems to know when) and lived seasonally along its shores and inland lakes for centuries. In addition to the tribal artifacts were a number of Victorian antiques, one of which was a hair wreath. This craft came from Germany in the mid-1800's and was made from strands of human hair from various family members. The technique used fine wire to wrap many strands of hair into fine ropes. The ropes twisted into shapes of flowers, insects, vines, or leaves. Wives would work strands of their hair into watch chains as a keepsake and reminder of their devotion for their husbands. There were also some spectacular Lego displays which had been built by avid Lego fans.

We had some new folks towing an Airstream pull into a neighboring site and after they set up, I noticed herbs growing in a planter perched on their propane tanks. Since I had missed having fresh herbs to cook with, I went over to talk with the couple. Barb and Tom, from Boston, had recently begun full-timing and in our conversation, mentioned they had met a couple during their stay in North Carolina, who full-timed in a 19' Airstream. I mentioned we knew a couple doing the same thing in the same kind of unit. After some discussion and comparisons, we found it was Jim and Sharon, to whom we have talked with at Paynes Prairie in Florida around Christmas for the last ten or so years! Another reminder that it is, indeed, a small world.

The only squirrels we saw in the area were red or black squirrels – one of which was so aggressive that as Barb was sitting at the picnic table, it ran under the table and bit her toe! (No, they didn't feed the squirrels, not intentionally, anyway...).

In talking to another of the other campers, we learned about a bargain store in Manistee and one day when we needed to do something different, we took a drive over. The store was full of stuff – from hunting supplies to beauty supplies to yard art to wedding invitations. Some was priced high, some expected prices, and a few were bargains! There was a pretty beach park at Manistee, and some nice stores in the old section, but for the most part, we were glad to get back to camp.

We went to Cadillac several times, the nearest reasonably large town to the campground which was about 20 miles east (Manistee was about the same to the west). There is an Amish store near Cadillac where we got some good buys on food, and we were happy there was a Chevrolet dealership there when the engine light came on in our 3 year old diesel 2500 Chevy Silverado. It was far from the first time the light had come on (lots of problems with the diesel fluid system), but this time, it was the EGR valve. After some discussion with the service writer, we agreed to bring it back the next day, get a loaner car, and pick up the truck in two days. All went as planned, except on our return trip to camp with the repaired truck we smelled diesel fumes in the cab. We called the dealership and the next day took the truck back to Cadillac and got another loaner. After a day of researching and working on it, we were told they couldn't figure out what was wrong. We were told that since the next day we were on our way back to Florida, where we had purchased the truck, we should have our dealership correct the problem and it would be covered under warranty since the original repair was a warranty. More on that fiasco later!

We left Peterson Bridge for points south on the 2^nd of September – the area had show forecast for the 15^th! Sounded like a good time to leave to us.