The overnight trip began because I wanted more summer photos. Can never have enough. :D The weather conditions on the Internet said a 40 per cent chance of showers. We could handle that. Lots of times the weather will clear off and turn sunny in Michigan. We were optimistic. So with gray skies Jeff and I headed over the Mackinaw Bridge toward Tahquamenon Bay. I can't stay away from that place! After a couple of hours we turned off the highway onto a dirt road that leads to the public beach area. The side of the road was alive with ribbons of white and yellow flowers dancing in the wind.
"Stop!" I said.
Jeff pulled the car over to the narrow shoulder. I opened my door and had daisies at my feet.
"At least the moody sky with help with these shots," I said. A harsh sun would have whited out the flower petals. "Woot, this trip is already working out."
Snap. Snap. Snap. Marvel. Snap. Snap.
"Okay, I'm ready to go."
"You sure?" Jeff asked. He knows me.
"Yes, I'm ready to move on."
We then drove to my favorite spot in Tahquamenon Bay.
"Well, wonder of wonders. Will you look at that fancy outhouse!" I said. It had stone mason work on it.
"It's about time they placed an outhouse here," Jeff said.
YAY! Michigan! It's hard to find a place to use a bathroom when you are out in the middle of nowhere. Something you don't like to think about, but really, very practical when you are a water guzzler in the car like I am. Traveling dries my throat when I take antihistamines.
The visit to the beach was too gray for me with the troubled sky, so I wanted to head to the campgrounds where we would be staying. We had decided on the Tahquamenon Rivermouth because Jeff wanted to fish there.
On the way to the campground we passed by the ribbon of daisies again.
"Stop!" I said.
"I thought so," Jeff said. "But give me a chance to find a place to pull off before you open the door."
Snap. Snap. Snap. We both are in the daisies.
Then we headed on.
The Rivermouth campground was crowded. YAY! Michigan tourism. Glad to see this in the bad economy. But we like a little privacy when we camp.
We proceeded to the Lower Tahquamenon Falls campground instead. There was a huge line up of cars at the check in station. Jeff grabbed a site that was left by looking at a notebook of site descriptions. "It has to be level for a tent," he said.
This campground was also packed with travel trailers, pop-up campers and tents, but we had a ridge and a creek in back of our site, just like home.
Jeff set up the tent and laughed at my trying to help. I am not a tent setter upper. LOL
When we were all set and inside the tent, I said, "Let's visit the Lower Falls. I hope those trees are still tipped over and haven't floated away."
"Sounds good," Jeff said.
Outside the tent Jeff started smacking the mosquitoes that had sprung from the earth to his bare legs, while I turned into a smurf with my hooded sweatshirt.
"Where are your jeans?" I asked, shaking my head that he was wearing shorts. "The mosquitoes won't bite you if you put those on."
"I didn't bring them," Jeff said. He always balks at dressing warm in the summer.
"You should have packed them," I said. A little bit of tension grew between us. Should I have slipped jeans into Jeff's bag when he wasn't looking? No, freedom of male being male is more important.
Slap. Slap. Slap. Slap. "These mosquitoes are driving me nuts," Jeff said.
"Yup," I said. Hold lips together. Do not say another word.
With the threat of rain the mosquitoes were out for breeding blood as we traversed the wooden walkway that led to the lower falls. I felt a sharp sting and wiped one bugger from my cheek.
I hurried through the photo session. Everyone around us was doing the shaking head mosquito dance. But YAY! the tipped logs were still there in the foaming spilling tannin water. I snapped as long as I thought Jeff could bear dodging bugs.
We headed back to the tent and ate gluten-free turkey pepperoni pizza Jeff had packed in the cooler.
Then we rested.
It was cold in the tent, even though we had an electric blanket on high and slung over the sleeping bags.
I read an article on Michael Jackson in a magazine and then decided to snuggle down and get warm.
Couldn't get warm.
"Heading to the bathroom, " Jeff said, setting down his Clifford Simak book. Modern toilets are a privilege when in the wilds. They are even heated at the campgrounds.
Jeff came back and bent down to kiss me lightly on the lips. We were camping after all. Our heaven on earth thing to do.
"Your nose is cold. Very cold," Jeff said.
I touched it and it felt numb. "You're right."
I climbed out of the sleeping bag to grab an applesauce container and then struggled getting back in because my sneakers caught on the material.
"Aren't you going to take off your sneakers?" Jeff asked. "You could climb in better."
I shook my head. "Nope. Too cold." I planned on sleeping fully dressed with my hood on.
Then the campfires around us started. With the wet conditions our tent was getting nailed by seeping smoke. My eyes stung and my chest grew tight. Jeff was having problems too.
I was wishing and praying we could just GO HOME. But I knew how tired Jeff was from driving all that way and setting up the tent. I decided to stick it out.
"I'll be right back," Jeff said. He headed out of the tent and I drifted off to sleep at 4:30 P.M. Only twelve more hours to wait out freezing. I could do that.
Jeff wakened me. "Do you want a cold banana?"
"What?" I said.
The bananas are in the car freezing," he said and laughed.
"I just had a feeling," he said, "we have to leave now."
Thank you, God! I hopped out of the sleeping bag and we were packed in an amazingly short time. Jeff didn't fold the tent. He bunched it up and stuck it in the back of the car. I threw in the pillows
"Let's stop for chocolate," I said, when we left the other campers behind. It had been a tough day.
"Sounds good to me," Jeff said.
Not five minutes after we were on the road it started pouring rain.
"So much for showers," I said. "This is a drenching downpour."
"So glad we aren't in that tent right now," Jeff said. "I never fixed the stitching so it wouldn't leak."
The best part of the whole trip was the beautiful daisies blowing in the wind. It was worth the discomfort just for that. I will always see them blowing in the wind.
Nature...you have to tolerate it sometimes. LOL
Hugs, JJ
