Goodbye Summer, Hello Ford

September 21, 2024 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

We’ve just finished our first summer as seasonal residents of the Traverse Bay RV Resort (TBRV) in beautiful Traverse City, Michigan. Where did the time go? We’ve been so busy having the time of our lives that we haven’t posted in quite awhile. Let’s try to get caught up!

After a busy June and early July with visits from Mitch and the Green family, my sister Mickie came all the way from Arizona to visit us in Michigan. We did our best to show her a good time. We went to the casino, visited lighthouses, and explored numerous wineries and distilleries. It was fun to share our new summer home with Mickie and find some new gems with her. Thanks for visiting, sis!

We were attracted to the Traverse City area partly because of the miles of bike trails. We can easily get out on the trail and ride or run for miles. As you can see, we explored as many miles as possible!

In addition, the area around Traverse City is chocked full of wineries. We became members at Chateau Chantal and enjoyed a weekly visit to enjoy the views and the wine.

One of the wineries on the Mission Peninsula

One of the best things about our summer was, of course, the wonderful friends we’ve made. It was Kunio and Michelle who first introduced us to their summer home, and they made our transition into the community quick and fun. Michelle coordinates the on-site breakfast four times throughout the season and recruited us to serve on the breakfast crew. Steve became an expert pancake maker by the last event!

Michelle and Marnie; Photo credit to Kunio

Our RV friends Gail and Jeff stopped in Traverse City for a week and stayed in a site right behind us. Together with Michelle and Kunio we had a wine tasting afternoon, which was super fun.

Lots of time was spent on the patio with new and old friends. Happy hour is a regular activity at TBRV, and we hosted a gathering one evening. Our theme was the Olympics, and we watched the Opening Ceremonies while socializing.

We also spent time with our friends Steve and Dwight. We met Steve almost five years ago when he hosted us at his home in Florida as part of the Boondockers Welcome program. These guys had planned to stay at TBRV for a week this summer but ended up staying longer in the lot they bought while they were here! We’re looking forward to more happy hours with them next summer!

A day on the Mission Peninsula with Dwight and Steve

The resort offers a busy social calendar. I participated in the monthly book club and even led the discussion in August. The monthly ladies luncheon provided opportunities to meet more of our neighbors and make even more new friends.

After Labor Day, Steve flew to Omaha to join his brother Brian and nephew Nathan at the Nebraska – Colorado football game in Lincoln. Go Big Red!

And since Steve was gone, Gail and Jeff joined me and the rest of the gang at Traverse City’s second annual International Fireworks Competition. While the weather all summer was warm and mild, we braved a little cold to view the choreographed fireworks spectacular. This is one event we’ll do again next summer.

Bundled up to watch fireworks – Jeff, Marnie, Gail, Michelle & Kunio

When the day finally arrived that we had to move along, we headed towards Detroit to check out the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and to take a tour of the Ford Rouge factory. No photos are allowed inside the factory, so you’ll have to believe us when we say it was really fascinating.

On our second day in Dearborn we visited Ford’s Greenfield Village, an 80-acre collection of artifacts and homes of famous Americans. Besides seeing Edison’s laboratory and Noah Webster’s (of Merriam-Webster fame) home, we rode the historic steam locomotive and a 1914 Model T. The 111-year-old Hershell-Spillman Carousel took us back to our childhoods.

Would we recommend a visit to The Henry Ford? The answer is a resounding YES! The factory tour gave us incredible insight into how our truck was made. The Village was filled with one surprise after another. We didn’t stay in the Detroit area for long, but the part that we saw was worth the detour.

The fall marathon race schedule is about to begin. Watch for more blog posts from some super cool places!

Fun in Northern Idaho

May 29, 2024 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

We’ve been to Idaho several times and each visit we fall more in love. This time we traveled from Grand Teton National Park in western Wyoming, through southern Idaho, with the goal of reaching Coeur d’Alene for a marathon in Steve’s 35th state.

First we met up with Steve’s cousin Tracy and her husband Mark, near Boise, for a lunch filled with catching up and reminiscing. We hadn’t seen Tracy in Y-E-A-R-S, so it was long overdue and super fun to see them. Traveling in the RV gives us these opportunities from time to time and for that we are grateful.

From Boise we drove north another two hours to the resort town of McCall. This is a popular area for the city folk from Boise, and we quickly saw why. Surrounded by stunning mountains, roaring rivers, and sweeping views, McCall had us enthralled immediately. We explored the area on foot on the Goose Creek Falls trail, which took us down, down, down to the creek that roared below. It snowed a little bit along the way, but wasn’t enough to deter us.

Even though it was still pretty chilly, we got out on the bikes a few times. First we rode on the awesome paved city trails to the nearby Ponderosa State Park. Filled with incredibly beautiful hiking and biking trails, the park is the jewel in McCall’s crown. It wraps around Payette Lake, which just adds to the beauty. The park was almost empty since it was still early in the season and the weather hadn’t yet warmed up. For us, that’s perfect!

On another day we rode the twenty miles around Payette Lake, which took us through enviable lakeside neighborhoods and then into the State Park again to travel just along the lake’s edge. My new e-bike allows me to keep up with Steve and makes these excursions so much fun!

In McCall we stayed at the McCall RV Resort and from there we could walk to the Broken Horn Brewery. This became our hangout, and one evening we even caught the weekly pickers circle, where local musicians gather and jam for the evenings.

After four nights in McCall, it was time to head north for a beautiful drive up Highway 95 to Coeur d’Alene (CDA). We were here a few years ago and happened upon the CDA marathon. That inspired us to return. Our site at Blackwell Island RV Park was very near the shores of the Spokane River and allowed us to easily get into town.

On a cold but clear morning, Steve finished his 26.2 mile run, mostly along the banks of Lake Coeur d’Alene, while I did the 10K. He has now completed a marathon in 35 states.

Can you find Steve in the crowd at the start line?

We’re making our way to our new RV site in Traverse City, Michigan. On our first road day we stopped at one of the coolest National Park Service sites we’ve visited. Grant-Kohrs National Historic Site, about an hour southeast of Missoula, Montana, celebrates ranching in the west.

It took us about an hour to tour the 175 year old ranch, which was once the largest cattle operation in the country. It is still a working cattle operation, and we visited during calving season. I just kept thinking, “Dad would have loved this!”

We’re now settled in to our campground at Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park. As you may remember from previous posts, Lewis and Clark are Steve’s favorite explorers.

That’s us! The Trailer Twins on the Lewis and Clark Trail

Tomorrow we’ll take a tour of the caverns and visit a few other historic sites nearby. We’ll keep you up to date on all the fun in our next post.

Grand Teton National Park

May 17, 2024 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

RV travel allows you to get close to places those in hotels or on tours just can’t reach. RV living gives you time to settle in and watch the world from a different angle each day. Our seven days in Grand Teton National Park was all that and more. From the Colter Bay RV Campground in the northern end of the park, we took our time and explored the park from top to bottom, on foot, on bike, and in the truck.

Over two days we rode the 13 mile paved trail that runs from the town of Jackson, WY to the center of the national park at Jenny Lake both directions.

Along the way we were able to check out the historic area of Menors Ferry and the Church of the Transfiguration, built in 1925 to serve guests and employees of nearby dude ranches. Check out that view from the altar window!

Riding through the National Elk Refuge and into the cute town of Jackson was also a treat. The elk have moved up into the mountains and are no longer visible in the refuge but in the winter more than 7,000 elk call the 24,000 acre refuge home. Elk are certainly the mascot of this area.

Besides elk, which live throughout the park in the summer, we saw coyotes, moose, black bear, and grizzly bears. In fact, a common evening activity here is to join the people with big cameras at Oxbow Bend or Pilgrims Creek to look for wildlife. Even when you don’t see anything, it’s a beautiful experience.

Grand Teton National Park is filled with hiking trails, many of which were still snow covered while we were here in mid-May. That didn’t stop us from hiking the lakeshore trail at Colter Bay and trekking to Taggart Lake and beyond. Well, the snow did stop us, but we went as far as comfortable.

Visiting Mormon Row is a must-do in Grand Teton. The turn-of-the-century farmhouses and barns reflect the farming heritage of this area. The area also captures the community spirit that was required to live in such an unforgiving environment year-round. The photos are pretty epic.

We did have a tough day when Mia got sick this week. Luckily a vet in Jackson was able to get her in right away, gave her some new food, some medicine, and sent her on her way. We are happy to say she’s back to “normal” or as normal as a 17 year old blind dog with dementia can be. We are happy for every day with her!