We took a break from our time in Michigan to attend our first National Grand Design Rally in Goshen, Indiana. This is the largest gathering of Grand Design owners in the country and is a week filled with food, music, tours, and technical repairs. We split the four hour drive to Indiana with a stay at a great Harvest Host location: Archival Brewing. Located in Belmont, MI, just north of Grand Rapids, Archival has great beer and food and allowed us to park right next to the biergarten. After a great meal we enjoyed live music before retiring to our RV for the night. Harvest Hosts are really cool!
See our RV behind Steve?Relaxing after dinner with live music
The Grand Design National Rally takes over the Elkhart 4-H Fairgrounds. With over 600 Grand Design rigs on the property., more than 1500 owners, vendors, and Grand Design staff gather to explore all things RV and Grand Design.
BreakfastDebut of Grand Design’s newest model: LineageSteve and Bob waiting for evening music
By attending we got work done on our rig and bought a few new accessories which make life on the road a little easier. New wallpaper in the bathroom and an improved entry door handle were worth the trip. Every day’s agenda was filled with activities and opportunities. One of my favorites was the silent auction, where I walked away with four baskets of goodies!
They pack us in!Busy schedule every dayMy winnings at the silent auction
One day I joined an organized tour to explore the nearby Amish country. Our guide-led exploration took us to a leather goods workshop, a carriage maker, and an Amish bakery.
Stingray belt Carriage wheelsFinished product
This is truly some of the most beautiful rural areas we’ve seen in a long time. Along the way we ate really yummy food with an Amish family and gained insights into their simple life.
Typical sights on the road in Amish CountryKids playing ball at recessAmish bakery
Steve and I also had the opportunity to take a tour of the factory. This is where our Grand Design Solitude fifth wheel was made. We walked through the manufacturing process, from chassis to side walls, from roof to interiors.
Chassis with tanks and wiringSidewallsRoofs
It was fascinating to see how our little house on wheels came together just over a year ago. The tour reassured us that Grand Design is producing high quality RVs that they stand behind. If you are in the market for an RV, we highly recommend Grand Design!
When we bought lot 38 at Traverse Bay RV Resort last August, it seemed like FOREVER before we would be able to enjoy our little slice of paradise. After ten long months, we finally arrived to our “new to us” summer home. We are ready to experience the quintessential northern Michigan summer.
View towards Grand Traverse Golf ResortLot 38 = HomeFrom our “garden”
Within hours of arrival, our friends Kunio and Michelle escorted us to a resort-hosted Margaritaville party. What a fun way to get introduced to this wonderful community!
Kunio, Steve, Michelle, and Marnie
Within a few days they took us to their favorite winery, Brys Estate Vineyard on the Old Mission Peninsula and to Moomers Ice Cream, which is now our favorite place on Earth! We are so lucky to have such great friends here to help us navigate the important stops.
Tasting tower at Brys VineyardWindy day at BrysMoomers!!
Within a week our first set of visitors arrived. Steve’s parents Judy and Larry came all the way from Arizona to join Steve’s brother Brian and his family here in Traverse City. In all there were 11 of us here at one time, and every day was a new adventure.
One of many meals togetherZach and Grandma JudyNathan and BobThe golfers: Nathan, Steve, Brian, and Larry
One day Lydia and I went zip lining, and on other days, we went shopping in downtown Traverse City. The group stayed at the Tamarack Lodge, situated on the beach of Grand Traverse Bay, so we hit the water with the kayaks, played sand volleyball, and roasted s’mores over the fire. The boys played golf on three mornings.
Steve teaching Lydia to paddleReady to zipline!One of six lines we zippedS’mores on the beachBrian, Nathan, Larry, and Steve on the course
Torch Lake is one of the most beautiful lakes in northern Michigan. Our day on the double decker pontoon, complete with sun deck and slides, was a blast. We took turns on the jet skis, took the paddle board out a bit, and plunged into the still cool water as the day pressed on. Even though there were some mean sunburns, everyone seemed to have a blast.
Marnie and NathanSteve and BrianJudyElise on the jetskiJudy and Larry are all smilesCaptain SteveGibson, Zach, and LydiaGibson and ZachNathan and Heidi Larry and HeidiSteve getting ready to take the plunge
Our visit to Sleeping Bear Dunes took the group out to the massive dune climb, but on a cold and windy day, no one took up the challenge. We did get a great group photo of almost everyone from the overlook.
At Sleeping Bear Dunes: Heidi, Marnie, Steve, Elise, Lydia, Zach, and Gibson
Traverse City has been abuzz with activity for the past few weeks with the National Cherry Festival taking place while the crew was here. We watched the Blue Angels in the air show on Saturday afternoon while Lydia rode ride after ride after ride at the carnival. I made it one time on the Tilt-A-Whirl and gave up my riding privileges. Spending Lydia’s 12th birthday at the festival made for an extra-special celebration.
Brian and Steve
After most of the crew departed, we were lucky enough to have a little time to spend with Zach and Gibson before they caught their flight back to Chicago. And what do two 25 year olds want to do for a few hours in Traverse City? Wine tasting, of course! We visited Chateau Chantal and Mari Vineyards before the boys caught their flight home.
Zach, Marnie and GibsonThe boys
The day after Brian’s crew left, we welcomed my cousin Mitch to Traverse City. He left 115 degree temperatures in Phoenix and seemed happy to be here in our 75 degree weather. Even the occasional rain shower didn’t seem to dampen his spirit! In our week with Mitch we visited wineries, hiked in Sleeping Bear Dunes, walked through the Cherry Festival, and checked out numerous local breweries and distilleries. Steve and Mitch also participated in the Cherry Scramble Golf Event as part of the Festival.
Getting a beerOur first winery of the dayOn the golf courseEmpire Bluffs TrailCherry Republic in Glen ArborAt the dune climb
Mitch’s visit coincided with Independence Day, so he was able to join us in the resort’s activities. Our day began with a parade in which I had the honor of riding in Kunio and Michelle’s cart. Even Bob sat out to watch the parade of over a dozen spectacularly decorated vehicles pass by.
Ready to celebrate the 4th!Lining up for the paradeA multi-generational affairSome people go all outWasn’t our cart festive?Bob watching the parade
When we haven’t had visitors, we’ve been enjoying our new community, participating in happy hours, the book club, the ladies luncheon, and volunteering at the community breakfast. We’ve taken the kayaks and bikes out and hope to do even more of that as the summer rolls on. Up here there’s a festival, event, or farmers market nearly every day. We try to get out as much as possible to enjoy the activities, but there’s just so much to do!
Evening festival on River StreetNational Cherry FestivalShorts Brewery in Elk RapidsPaddling on Elk Lake
You can be sure there will be more updates ahead, when we can find the time to sit down to write! Hope your summer is going well!
The bulk of this summer will be spent at our “new to us” RV lot at Traverse Bay RV Resort in Traverse City, Michigan. However, to get there, we had a bit of a haul from Idaho. Traveling across the country with an RV is certainly the way to go, and we made the most of our cross-country trek by stopping along the way to visit family and friends.
From Idaho we stopped at Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park near Whitehall, Montana to check out the caves. Discovered in 1892 by local hunters, these caverns went on to become Montana’s first state park. As one of the largest known limestone cavern systems in the northwest, people have been exploring the caves for over 100 years. However, Lewis and Clark weren’t among them though they did explore in the area. We were glad we took the two hour, two mile guided walking tour that gained an elevation of 300ft, ascended over 100 stairs, and descended over 500 stairs.
Entering the cavernsSteve braves the caveCool formationsNarrow passagewaysYep, that’s a bat maternity wardExploring the columnsLarge pool of water amidst the rocks
While in the area we checked out a place where Lewis and Clark definitely stopped: the headwaters of the Missouri River. Steve lived along the river as he was growing up in Blair, Nebraska, and he’s always had a fascination with the river. Now he’s been to where it all starts.
Jefferson River meeting the Madison Proof!Headwaters of the Missouri River
As we crossed Montana, we made a stop at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. This area memorializes the US Army’s 7th Cavalry, Crow, and Arikara scouts and the Lakotas, Cheyennes, and Arapaho in one of the American Indian’s last armed efforts to preserve their way of life. Here on June 25 and 26 of 1876, 263 soldiers, including Lt. Col. George A. Custer died fighting several thousand native warriors. It was a quick stop for us and a sobering reminder of the lives that were lost in the battle for western lands.
Men were not the only casualtiesBlack Elk was a wise manCuster and others honored hereSculpture honoring the American Indians lost in the battle
After several more days of driving we landed in Elkhorn, Nebraska and the home of Steve’s brother Brian. During our two day visit we hung out with the kids, spent time in the pool, and celebrated my birthday. It’s always fun to stop at Brian’s house!
Lydia, Nathan, and SteveBrian and ChanelSteve, Heidi, and JarrotThe boys: Steve and BrianWe celebrated with ice cream cake“Somebody” thought I wanted this for my birthdayNathan and Elise with Brian on the phone
As we traveled through Iowa we made stops in Corning to visit the cousins, in Des Moines for lunch with our friends Dan and Jackie, and in Muscatine to spend time with Steve’s high school buddy Kent and and his wife Lori. Unfortunately we didn’t take any photos of our night with the cousins but we did remember to snap a few at our other stops. Again, our RV lifestyle allows us to stay connected with so many of our loved ones, and for that we are grateful.
Dan and JackieWe were in Watermelon Country!Steve and Kent
We had one more stop before arriving to our new place in Michigan. In Elkhart, Indiana, Steve attended the Lippert RV Owner’s School. For three days he attended classes related to plumbing, electrical, roofs, suspensions, and more. He doesn’t promise to be able to fix your RV, but he now knows more than he did before.
Ready for school!Working hard on a wheel
Next we arrive to our new home in Michigan and we’ll have another post soon to give you all those details.
Marnie and Steve Travel 