Marquette, Michigan – September 19th, 2016 – This was the first summer that I fulfilled a vacation nearly every weekend! I told myself before the summer of 2016 began that I would take as many vacations as possible. Since gas prices were lower I wanted to take advantage of a cheaper fill up and a visit to as many campgrounds as possible. In fact, there were only 3 weekends that I didn’t take a vacation this past summer. Usually, I would leave 103-FXD on Friday, and return on Monday morning.
My friend from the Copper Country purchased an “A Frame” trailer from Hilltop RV in Ishpeming last spring. I joined him on many adventures — whether it was at a State Park or a State Forest Campground — across the U.P. I visited many campgrounds I’ve never been to before and I don’t have any regrets!
My May 2016 adventure looked like this;
Iron Mountain, Michigan – I visited my folks while they were camping at a local campground in the Iron Mountain, Michigan area for Memorial Day weekend. It was a beautiful, warm weekend to kick off summer in Iron Mountain!
My June 2016 adventures looked like this;
Marquette, Michigan – I started off June by visiting my friend while he was camping at the Marquette Tourist Park. Oddly enough, I had only been to this place once about 10 years ago. I was so unfamiliar with it that I couldn’t even find it at first. It was very quiet here since there were only about 6 other campers in the entire campground. I also forgot how close this place is to civilization! Hopefully a trip in the summer of 2017 will be in order here. I would definitely like to stay longer than a couple of days… even though it’s almost right in my backyard!
Calumet, Michigan – A week later I visited my buddy from Hancock at McClain State Park near Calumet, Michigan. It was a 3 day weekend adventure. There was a quiet, cool breeze off of Lake Superior but that didn’t compare to the sunset over Lake Superior at the State Park. Absolutely breathtaking!
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan – I later on visited my folks while they were camping in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. There’s a local campground run by the city that’s right on the St. Mary’s River. You’re so close to the 1,000 foot freighters as they go by that you can almost touch them from the campground! I just love this place.
My July 2016 adventures looked like this;
Champion, Michigan – I started off the month visiting my friend from Hancock while he was camping at Van Riper State Park in Champion, Michigan. This place always takes me back! While I was growing up in the late 90’s/early 2000’s I spent many weekends here during the summer break from school! It’s always a busy place; full of locals!
Menominee, Michigan – A week later I traveled to Menominee, Michigan to visit my folks at a local campground, run by the city of Menominee. I spent a long weekend here. The campground is right along the Menominee River. You’re so close to Marinette, Wisconsin that you can hear and see every activity that happens in that city! My entire family got together in Menominee and took a trip to Green Bay, Wisconsin. It’s only a 45 minute drive from Menominee.
Big Bay, Michigan – My trip to Menominee, Michigan was followed by a trip to Big Bay — Perkins Park! I spent a Friday-Monday at this beautiful campground right on Lake Independence! My friend from Hancock made the long trek from the Copper Country to Big Bay. This was the first time I had been to this campground in nearly 15 years! It was everything I had remembered.
My August 2016 adventures looked like this;
L’Anse, Michigan – I started off the month with a trip to L’Anse Township Park — just a couple miles outside of that village. My friend from Hancock decided to head down about 30 miles south and keep it local in the Copper Country! I spent a Friday-Sunday here. Never heard of this place and didn’t know it existed until this visit! It’s a quiet campground right along Lake Superior with a birds eye view of Baraga, Michigan. It’s rather rustic since they offer electricity and nothing else. I would definitely go back here!
Big Bay, Michigan – A week later my friend from Hancock decided to haul his A Frame to Big Bay once again for a visit to Perkins Park! He enjoyed it so much the last time we were there that he wanted to visit Perkins Park once again! This time we took a walk outside the park to Big Bay and enjoyed a one-of-a-kind meal at the famous Thunder Bay Inn–where a scene from Anatomy of a Murder was filmed! It was like stepping back in time.
Gladstone, Michigan – I ended the month of August with a visit to Gladstone, Michigan for the U.P. State Fair in Escanaba. This is a yearly ritual for myself and my family. This was also the wettest weekend of the summer. Originally, my family and I planned to go to the fair on Friday. It rained out both Friday and Saturday and ended up going to the fair on Sunday instead. The rain was a bummer, but that didn’t put a damper on our nightly campfires in Gladstone!
So there you go. That’s my summer in a nutshell. I’m still planning a few more outdoor excursions before the snow flies. How was your summer? Did you get to take advantage of the beautiful U.P. weather most weekends?
I hope the summer of 2017 holds even more adventures!
-Eric Scott “Mornings on 103-FXD”
