Wednesday, 2 August – Bromley State Park - UP MI, on Lake Superior

Thunder, lighting and a little rain in the very early morning but it has cleared to grey skies by the time we surfaced.  Much cooler too – 21C.  We are on the road by 9.30 am, just as well, as two minutes down the road, Kim notices the temp has climbed and is still climbing! We pull off at the Mackinaw Island Ferry Terminal (it’s not too busy at this time of day) to check it out.  We promise to be in their way for only five minutes.  The radiator hose is leaking – badly!

On the fly radiator repairs in the Ferry terminal parking lot

We refill the reservoir (useful that the motorhome has a source of fresh water, a pump and a hose readily available) release the cap and move on to where we can park up without upsetting the parking marshals and google a radiator repair outfit or at least somewhere to buy a hose.  We tried a couple of places without success.  At least we have had a look around Mackinaw City now!

Mackinaw City

St Ignace, just over the five mile long Big Mac Bridge, is the next best option, so off we go - our accommodation for the next two nights lies that way anyway.  There is a toll on the bridge, $5 per axle - $10 for us.  Pretty cheap way to cross the Mackinac Straits which separate Lake Michigan to the west and Lake Huron to the east.  There is no other way by road from the lower peninsula!!

Big Mac Bridge

First glimpse of St Ignace from Big Mac

Aint gonna pay no toll!  10.4  - we are now in the land of Yoopers (UP residents)

We’ve now exhausted the few options we had of repair facilities - there are only small towns in this neck of the woods.  So we find a NAPA Auto Parts to buy some hoses, anti freeze and bits, then drive back along the main road to ACE Hardware to buy some plumbing fittings.  Luckily there is a large, somewhat unused, car park next door so we park up there and see what repairs can be made right now.  Suffice to say our kiwi ingenuity jury rigged and temporary repairs are duly carried out and we are back on the road, at least for now.  We’ve had a good look around historic St Ignace by now too.  A wooden boardwalk runs parallel to the beach all through the town, very pretty.

Nice rooster tail on the Mackinac Island ferry

Downtown St Ignace

We hit the I75 north towards the top of the Upper Peninsula, a nice, separated, four lane highway.  Castle Rock must give the most amazing views!  The Rock is a natural limestone tower, standing nearly two hundred feet above lake level. Wind and water erosion have shaped it into a sort of “castle.”  The 170 steps to the top put us off investigating the view!

Castle Rock

Check in at the Brimley State Park is easy and quick, our site is a large pull-through and our neighbours from Canada are nice.  We have 50 amp, no water though and cell coverage is just OK.  We are set up by about 3 pm and take the short walk down to the beach to see what Lake Superior looks like up close.  It is windy, a stiff 20 mph northerly blowing onshore.  It’s not hot enough today to get in the water, by all accounts it is cold, but let’s see what tomorrow brings.  We are here for two days, that’s all we could book for.

After a relax outside we spend some time googling the Soo Lock Boat Tours from Sault Ste Marie, just 12 or so miles east of here.  We’ve found there is a casino within walking distance to the dock and they have room for us to stay Friday night so that might be our plan.  Their sister casino 30 miles back down at St Ignace hosts a speedway on Saturday night but unfortunately their RV park is closed down for the Speedway, must use the same grounds?  We don’t want to travel further than we need to, due to the radiator problem so we will bide our time around here until Monday and then head back to the lower peninsula and find us a repair place.

Lake Superior

We can tick of Lake Erie, Lake Huron, and now Lake Superior.  Lake Michigan will be ticked off as we head south down the west side of Michigan.  Not a bad effort at the Great Lakes : )