Haha! You mean cell phone pics
Morning Cup Of Coffee And Weather
- Thread starter Tour 931
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We stayed at Straits SP for 2 nights. Nice place, Lotta campers, clean facilities, and nice and QUIET.Beautiful island -- though the initial step off the ferry has a certain "je ne sais quoi" too itWe have been there multiple times. Mrs Sweeney's nephew, back in his college years, used to be the head coachman for the hotel. Unfortunately, we never got to see any of behind the scenes magic.
We used to stay at a private campground near by, Mackinac Mill Creek --- right on the lake, with a view of the bridge. It was a very nice plus, but like so many private campgrounds they've gotten very proud of what they have to offer...
Where are you staying?
Tour 931
Ranger
Taking a few days and visiting parts of Michigan we have never made it to, Mackinaw Island being one of those places. Spent the day walking the town, and spent the big $$ on brunch at the Grand Hotel. Lovely place. Now we've been there.
I keep coming back and looking at your pictures. They are great and I want to look at them again and again.
Tour 931
Ranger
Amazon. Just search for license plate key rings.
Thanks so much
We continued east on Rt 23 along the shore of Lake Huron, more new territory for us. Saturday found all the State Parks full so we stayed the night in a private campground in Harrisville run by a very nice couple. He makes delicious real doughnuts every Saturday and we are very polite...
Sunday we found sites in Tawas Point SP, which has many sites that are VERY crowded together. They do this for a reason - it's a beautiful park on a sandy spit that's referred to as the Cape Cod of the Midwest.
We were initially put on one of the tight sites when booking it online, but when we pulled in I asked about cancelations and we lucked out and got a spot on the water, on the end, all by ourselves
It never hurts to ask!
and we are very polite...Sunday we found sites in Tawas Point SP, which has many sites that are VERY crowded together. They do this for a reason - it's a beautiful park on a sandy spit that's referred to as the Cape Cod of the Midwest.
We were initially put on one of the tight sites when booking it online, but when we pulled in I asked about cancelations and we lucked out and got a spot on the water, on the end, all by ourselves
It never hurts to ask!
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TheSongDogHouse
Ranger
Camp DoYoWanna!
Love the name, great pics!
Love the name, great pics!
Spent a few hours on the beach, toured the lighthouse, went on a short hike, and then - ate in town.
A beautiful day...
A beautiful day...
Sweeney
Administrator
Can't beat that -- I want to get back up there some time, I think the best place we've ever been in late July and early August when the highs here are well into the 90's. Getting there, and finding low 80's was a blessing.
The Mackinaw Creek Mill Creek has a private beach where the water is only about 4 1/2 feet deep 150 yards from shore, in the august time that 4 1/2 foot "pool" is crystal clear and mid 70's. Boy, oh boy, did I enjoy that trip. The last time we were there was in probably 2016 --- I'm sure its geography and climatology hasn't changed much....but I know the park has become much more congested, and the rates accordingly raised.
We saw signs for the place as we were leaving the area. The SP we wound up at had a similar beach - you could walk out about a block and only be bellybutton deep, with pool water temps, crystal clear, & sandy bottoms.
Today was a deadhead ride home through some of the toughest rains we've seen. Actually took on some water, I think through the window vents, that wet the bedding. Never had that happen. But this was one helluva storm.
But we're home and dry and having an adult beverage, so...
Sweeney
Administrator
I"ll have to add this park next time we go up. I looked, and it appears their electric only sites have gotten slightly more affordable, but I think state parks are still the way to go...mostly.
Last time we were there, we were fortunately enough to visit "Rosies" near Grand rapids....long gone sadly. It was that good.
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Lucie is no longer with us, I think this was her last trip....Boy do I miss her. Kind of wish we still had that scotty too...
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I might add, the view from the camp site wasn't bad...
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Sweeney
Administrator
Where are you going this weekend?
I finally got a weekend free, and will be visiting a very good friend at Brown County this weekend --- a park I am at probably 60% of the time I make weekend jaunts. I've got a trip in 2 weeks to turkey run, we'll see that one pans out
Meals --- tonight: bean burritos (meatless Friday) or maybe grilled fish. Tomorrow, if the butcher doesn't let me down will be Mexican night. If he does, I'll find some other cheap cut and improvise. But Skir Steak is, in my book, as good as prime rib. I don't think there is a tastier piece of meat than Skirt Steak! Throw down some onion & green peppers, cheese, sour cream, and a little "street taco sauce," and you've got something special, and simple. For seasoning, I like Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, it isn't "Mexican" but it has a great flavor. Can't wait!
I might try biscuits and gravy on Sunday morning. We'll see how that unfolds. Cooking the biscuits without an oven is tricky, I use a cast iron with a cover—almost like a hoe cake. They puff up nicely, thanks to the baking powder (soda? Both?) in the flour. I use a two-ingredient recipe—self-rising flour and cream. Kent Rolllins gave me this method. It's super easy to clean up, and they taste great.
Then home Sunday mid-day to get ready for work again Monday...but here's my 'negative' nature coming out. Hopefully the belt for my riding mower comes it otherwise Sunday I'll be cutting an acre with 20 inch push mower.
Temperatures will be in the mid-50s at night and 70'sl during the day, and the tree cover means I won't need galley covers & tents.... It will be an "easy" camp setup. The most ideal camping we've seen since spring. As much as I dislike snow & cold, I love the shoulder months more.
I just need to remember to get some burnin' wood! The fire may be longer than 2hours, so I'll try to use firewood instead of pellets at least one night.
I finally got a weekend free, and will be visiting a very good friend at Brown County this weekend --- a park I am at probably 60% of the time I make weekend jaunts. I've got a trip in 2 weeks to turkey run, we'll see that one pans out
Meals --- tonight: bean burritos (meatless Friday) or maybe grilled fish. Tomorrow, if the butcher doesn't let me down will be Mexican night. If he does, I'll find some other cheap cut and improvise. But Skir Steak is, in my book, as good as prime rib. I don't think there is a tastier piece of meat than Skirt Steak! Throw down some onion & green peppers, cheese, sour cream, and a little "street taco sauce," and you've got something special, and simple. For seasoning, I like Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, it isn't "Mexican" but it has a great flavor. Can't wait!
I might try biscuits and gravy on Sunday morning. We'll see how that unfolds. Cooking the biscuits without an oven is tricky, I use a cast iron with a cover—almost like a hoe cake. They puff up nicely, thanks to the baking powder (soda? Both?) in the flour. I use a two-ingredient recipe—self-rising flour and cream. Kent Rolllins gave me this method. It's super easy to clean up, and they taste great.
Then home Sunday mid-day to get ready for work again Monday...but here's my 'negative' nature coming out. Hopefully the belt for my riding mower comes it otherwise Sunday I'll be cutting an acre with 20 inch push mower.
Temperatures will be in the mid-50s at night and 70'sl during the day, and the tree cover means I won't need galley covers & tents.... It will be an "easy" camp setup. The most ideal camping we've seen since spring. As much as I dislike snow & cold, I love the shoulder months more.
I just need to remember to get some burnin' wood! The fire may be longer than 2hours, so I'll try to use firewood instead of pellets at least one night.
You're making me hungry! That's one of my favorite breakfasts. Might have to try that biscuit recipe. Haven't had the greatest luck making biscuits, so usually put it on some of my homemade English muffin toasting bread instead.
This weekend is the Air & Water Show in Chicago. My 10 yr old grandson Max and I went to the practice on Friday, which is the full show minus the crowds. It never disappoints.
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Sweeney
Administrator
This weekend is the Air & Water Show in Chicago. My 10 yr old grandson Max and I went to the practice on Friday, which is the full show minus the crowds. It never disappoints.
Nice! This would surely have been a good time, and I don't think you can get better weather than we had
Have to look into that! I thought about buying one of the coleman stoves, but decided it was not money well spent. After a few tries bakin biscuits in cast covered cast iron has been pretty good. I can't tell you what works or not, I haven't figured it all out yet --- but it can work.
That Fajitas turned extraordinarily well....I just used Tony's and a random white wine for the marinade....just a few minutes on each side on a hot grill and the veggies cooked in a cast iron skillet. Worked out really well!
It turned out to be great weekend, with fantastic temperatures! The solo-sttove ranger with 20 lbs of pellets, stopped off by a duraflame log gave 3 +/- hours of big flame....and still cheaper than logs from the camp store!!
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You're right Sweeney, if the A&W Show people could bottle this weather and use it every year they would do it - a perfect weekend. And I avoided washing my car for extra insurance against rain
We have one and it’s a staple of our overall kit. Use it to make biscuits most often, but it’s pretty flexible to do lots of things. Sometimes it gets a little too hot on the bottom on the stove – but we create an air gap with some bunched up tinfoil for General baking. Really like the device.
A foil air gap is a great idea! I found it also helpful to install a thermometer in the lid.
https://a.co/d/hEMqrV4
Thanks for the great for the tip! Will try it next time I bake!
Randy