Trip Around Lower Lake Michigan
April 22 to April 29, 2005

This trip was to be our first long trip in our new truck camper. We planned to visit our newest granddaughters on the way North and our Grandson on the way back.
The main purpose for the trip was to photograph the lighthouses around the lower lake.
Prior to leaving, I had plotted the positions of the lighthouses in MS Streets and Trips. We have a Garmin GPS that connects to the laptop to power the maps. The system works very well and we were able to get to all the lighthouses without too much trouble.

We certainly found out that a truck camper is best for negotiating the narrow streets and twisting turns needed to get to the lights. We went through Chicago and Milwaukee without a problem even in heavy traffic.
However, you have to get used to semis passing you as you need to go a little slower especially, on rough roads which you notice a lot more with the heavy setup of truck and camper.

On our first day out we stopped in Batesville, AR to visit Taryn and her parents Mike and Marcy. We then headed to Jonesboro to visit Sydney and her parents Allison and Josh.
We had our first mishap during that part of the trip. There is a set of railroad tracks on the highway that Marcy said she should have warned us about. They seem innocent enough but there is a sudden drop after you pass over them. Our camper came out of the truck bed and ended up a foot back in the bed. Fortunately, I was able to slide it back in place by applying the brakes, but we got a scare. That mercifully, was the first and last problem we had on the rest of the trip.

We stayed in a nice camp ground Graighead Lake very close to downtown Jonesboro that is very woodsy and secluded and the fee of $9.00 was easy to take as well.

We had a few snow flurries the second night but that was it. Temperature got down to 34 degrees that night but the heater worked great and we were snug. 

The weather was clear but cold and we had a cross wind most of the trip which was a nuisance but not a major problem. The wind made for some spectacular shots of lighthouses as it was straight out of the West and produced 6-8 foot seas in some places as we went up the East side of the lake.

We took 2 days to go up the East side of the lake as far as Manistee Michigan. We were able to photograph 12 lighthouses .

Then we headed down and around to the West side of the lake and up as far as Port Washington Wisconsin. We also photographed 12 lighthouses over the 2 days on that side.

We visited Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin during the photo part of the trip. It is an eye opener to realize how many states touch the Southern portion of Lake Michigan.

There are also several states adjacent to the Northern portion and we will get those on another trip. We have done the Detroit area on our first lighthouse trip together.

All of the lighthouse pictures we took are posted in the Lighthouse Connection .

We then headed South and stopped in St Louis to see grandson Jack and his mom and dad Steve and Valerie. It was good to see them . Having the camper we think makes it convenient as we just plug in and stay the night in their driveway.

We picked a campground each night as we approached the end of the day. That, again is an advantage of a truck camper because if you have a trailer or motorhome you would need to find a campground first about half way along the trip each day and return to it. This way we could make our mind up each evening.

We stayed at both state parks and private campgrounds. WE enjoyed Illinois Beach State Park. There are lots of camp sites with power and all are close to the lake and we were close to the resident deer.

We learned a great deal about the truck camper and what we like and don't like about the unit we have and what we will want in the next one we get. We overall are happy with truck campers as they are convenient and are surprisingly roomy and have lots of amenities. The camper we have now is quite small for more than 2. We got to see an eleven foort Alpenlite in Illinois Beach. It is very roomy, with a slide out dinette which makes the camper even more roomy. We are pretty much convinced that that will be our next camper, at least we will get one that is 10 or 11 feet in length. The biggest hassle we have with our present camper is the small holding tank. It holds only 8 gallons, so we have to empty it quite often. The bigger campers have tanks in the 35 gallon range. Also, this camper lacks storage, especially outside. Again, the larger campers have plenty of storage both in and out.

When you drive a camper you don't go as fast and must get used to the idea of semis passing you. The camper is also more sensitive to the wind and rough roads, but you get used to it and after  you get used to the extra width you are able to maneuver and manage quite well.

We also are looking forward to getting the Stable Lift installed, as the camper rocks a fair amount and we are reluctant to take it off the truck, primarily because it is difficult with the manual jacks. The Stable Lift is electric and as it's name implies, much more stable when off the truck. We will post a more detailed review of it after it is installed.

We have several reservations for camp sites at lake Ouachita over the summer and we plan another lighthouse trip in the fall along the East coast where we will get photos of lighthouses we missed when we were in our boat.

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