7/20/2026 - 7/21/2026

  7/20/2026  We traveled from Williamston, MI to Willoughby, OH for some warranty work on the RV.  

7/21/2026 We awakened to strong storms and were thankful we were safely parked behind Advanced RV for our warranty work.  They are so accommodating on getting all of the work done as quickly as possible.  Lunch is provided (from a local restaurant) and is delivered to A-RV. We hear horror stories about other companies that don't offer good customer service.

The only pic for today:

Sammy lets you know when he wants to walk. (Leash in mouth)

7/19/2026

 We attended Sacred Heart Church in Evart and then headed to Williamston to visit our friend Katrinka Allen. She had a yummy lunch prepared for us when we arrived. We did laundry and visited all afternoon. Then, after dinner at a local restaurant we toured her family's farmland. And, we were able to stay in a neighbor's parking spot for the night. Thank you, Trinkie!!

7/19/2026

 My insanely, packed full noon workshop here in Evart, Michigan. I think we might have broken a class attendance record for this festival. Great people! (Kara Barnard)

She was an excellent teacher!

I also took advantage of the massage therapy bus. Wonderful and reasonably priced.

7/18/2026

 Another day at Fun Fest. Yesterday I took two mountain dulcimer classes and participated in a jam. Today, two classes- one with Dave Haas and the other with Kara Barnard, 2022 National Champion. This afternoon I had a massage. Two local massage therapists bring their RV (bus) and offer 1/2 hour or hour massages. Fees were reasonable and the result was wonderful! The smoke cleared this morning with a few periods of rain, but the smoke has returned. Tomorrow we travel to Williamston to visit a friend.

Kara Barnard, 2022 National Mountain Dulcimer Champion.
Funny and entertaining!

7/17/2026

 I am a participant in the Original Dulcimer Players Club (Evart Michigan)3 day Fun Fest. There are workshops for mountain dulcimer, hammered dulcimer, ukulele, mandolin, guitar, etc. Ron listened in on my first workshop and said he had no idea it was so technical Each evening, there is a concert in the stadium. It's a small, laid back venue.

Opening ceremony last night

Silver Strings Dulcimer group

7/16/2026

7/16/2026

If you believe in Divine intervention, here is our story. We left Utah and California right before fires erupted. Northern California had an earthquake two day after we left there. We just missed a huge blizzard in Montana. The heat wave that hit North Dakota with temps of 100 occurred 2 days after we keft there. Our plan after Duluth was to go through Ontario and Quebec to New England. At the last minute, we decided to go to Evart, MI for their dulcimer festival. We had not heard about the fires in Ontario. We crossed the Mackinac Bridge on a clear day, one day before smoke engulfed the bridge, limiting visibility. Our replaced alternator allowed us to run the AC all night without a hookup last night. Normally we use a whole house type fan that pulls outside air in. This morning the air was filled with the smell of smoke and the skies were hazy.

Blessed!

AND!!! We arrived at Evart and got the LAST site with power!! We can keep the AC running!

Yesterday before the smoke from the Canadian fires

Today when the air was filled with smoke

7/15/2026

 Fun in Lake Michigan, despite the smokey skies.

7/15/2026

 7/15/2026  We spent part of today driving around the Leelanau Peninsula.  We've done this drive many times.  (Sleeping Bear Dunes, Leeland, Glen Arbor and lunch at Fischer's Happy Hour Tavern.)  Tomorrow we head for Evart for the Dulcimer Festival.

7/14/2026

 7/14/2026

Today we traveled to Traverse City and then to D. H. Day Campground, Sleeping Bear Dunes, MI. We will be here 2 nights. We've spent lots of time in Traverse City. In 2011, we waited here for 3 months to have our new Nordic Tug ready for launch, so we knew where to find ice cream! And Sammy visited the dog park.

It is HOT! The heat spell is supposed to improve tomorrow..

construction on Mackinac Bridge

Michigan flowers

The entry to Charlevoix from Lake Michigan.  We boated here many times.

Traverse Bay

7/13/2206

 7/13/2026

Marquette, MI to 12 Mile Beach Campground.

We made a few stops at overlooks and hiked over a mile (round trip) to a waterfall. Our campground was in a forest adjacent to Lake Superior, but the trees completely blocked Starlink so we had no cell service or TV last night.

7/12/2026

 7/12/2026

We left Duluth and traveled to Marquette. We encountered a strong thunderstorm coming across Lake Superior and pulled over to wait it out. After 270 miles of travel, we pulled into a Marquette Walmart for the night.

7/10 and 7/11, 2026

7/10 and 7/11, 2026

We stopped by to visit Nancy Ziegler in Duluth and spent 2 nights in her driveway. Time flew as we visited and caught up on our travels. She is a true adventurer, having traveled all the Canadian Provinces by bicycle or canoe. Her dog Rosie and Sammy did not hit it off right away. Rosie was protecting her territory and Sammy just wanted to play. Nancy's place (a mile from Lake Superior) is really nice with a huge yard, garden and chickens. And she was gracious enough to let us do laundry there.

We attended St. Joseph's Church, founded by Polish immigrants. They even sang a communion song in Polish.

Living room

Another view of living room

gorgeous flowers

Sammy in the poenies

St. Joseph's-all wood interior

7/9/2026

 7/9/2026

Unlike yesterday, we had a lengthy travel day. We stopped first at a nearby town (Valley City, ND) for fuel, a few groceries and a dog park to burn some puppy energy. Fortunately, two year old Zoe was there and wanted to play. Valley City is known as the city of bridges. This trestle bridge was built in1908 for freight trains. It is 1000 feet tall and over 4000 feet long and is still used today.

We entered Minnesota in the afternoon and the terrain changed to a land filled with trees. Our campground tonight is along the Mississippi River at the Pokegama Dam Campground.

Zoe:  "I'm going to get you"

That's what you think

Trestle bridge

A patriotic town of 300 people had these lovely light poles and flags.

And then there were trees!

7/8/2026

 7/8/2026

We had a fairly short day today. Scenery was limited to farmland and grain elevators. By chance, we stopped in a very small town looking for a park where we could have lunch. Instead, we found a small diner frequented by farmers. Food was excellent and we were able to talk with the locals. Tonight, we are in the Mel Reiman Recreation Area (Corps of Engineers Campground). The weather is lovely!

Wide load, narrow road

Our lunch stop

7/7/2026

 7/7/2026

The case of the missing hat!

It was pouring down rain this morning and Ron could not find his Chicken, Alaska hat, his only souvenir from our trip two years ago. Acquiring that hat involved traveling on a rugged dirt road for miles to get to Chicken, a town with one store/gas station and a post office. I did not want to return for another one. Aha! He left it in Dickinson at our lunch stop on the 4th of July. Yep! They had it!! So on our way out of town we picked it up.

We headed northeast through very fertile farmland and saw this beautiful yellow crop everywhere. Our destination today was Downstream Campground, Garrison Dam on the Missouri River. The rain is supposed to end this afternoon. The last pic is of the rainy campground.

7/6/2026

 7/6/2026

We are at TR's new Library in Medora, ND. It is very interactive. When you arrive, you type your name and email into a kiosk and a photo of you is taken. When you walk around, your armband allows you to see yourself in various "old time pictures". Here are some of both of us.. Note the wrist band matches the pic on the wall for interactive displays.

After 4.5 hours at the museum, we headed for Medora for ice cream. The outside tables were full so we shared a table with this lovely family. The boys taught us a lot about soccer!

Our batteries needed recharging since we had the air conditioning on for Sammy, so we rode around the Park one more time before heading to Cottonwood Campground. We leave tomorrow, heading east.