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!
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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!
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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!!
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Big Mac Bridge |
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First glimpse of St Ignace from Big Mac |
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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.
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Nice rooster tail on the Mackinac Island ferry |
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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!
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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.
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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 : )
i went through there and across the bridge in 1972 on my way from Woodstock ontario back to Edmonton Alberta.
ReplyDeleteBy the way its hard to imagine that those big lakes freeze over in winter time.
ReplyDeleteJust as well you can jerry-rig the radiator - what a well stocked camper you have!
ReplyDelete