Adventures with Big Blue

[campfire]

After seeing the ship, we hit the road again. It rained.





Looked less gloomy on the cell camera.







Over on the other side we encountered this beacon and these apparently abandoned train cars.





We drove until we caught a brief gap in the rain and quickly set up tent in Fisherman's Island State Park. Then it rained again.

 

[campfire]

We got up the next morning, looked around our soggy tent, and had no problem remembering why we bought a Suburban a couple years ago. Camping through rainstorms in an open truck bed just sucks. Sucks time and happiness. I know we can do better. Someday, someday...

 

[campfire]

The morning dawned less rainy than the evening (though rain would again dominate the day). This campground is pretty.



Looking at Lake Michigan from the other side.





We packed up our soggy tent and drove a loop around the campground before heading out. As we were hitting the main road one of our fellow campers ran out and flagged me down to tell me that the truck was gushing oil. Turns out he was right. I shut the truck down and crawled underneath to discover that the oil filter was loose. I had installed the filter just a few days before, but I'm confident it hadn't been leaking for the previous 400 miles (or I would have run out of oil). As it was, I was down 2 quarts (and some of that would be engine consumption). It must have loosened when the engine cooled off the night before. Being a WIX filter, it has a nice nut pattern stamped into the end, tightening one of these is a cinch (no cinching required ). I tightened it up and had no more problems for the rest of the trip.

Charlevoix is (was?) home to the world's largest cherry pie.





This NW side of lower Michigan is a really pretty area. Woods and lakeshore (like our area) intermix with fruit orchards and farm fields (like the rest of the Midwest). I hadn't ever been to this region before, it's a lot neater than I realized.




Passed this guy on the road.



Lots of fruit farms and fruit stands in this region. This one is called "the pit stop."

 

[campfire]

Pictures of the actual Dunefest can be found in the Dunefest Thread.

A few of Big Blue's highlights include running around the dirt track.








Taking a turn at the RTI ramp.

And throwing lots of sand.

 

[campfire]

My favorite picture from the sandbox is this one.

 

[campfire]

The drive back from Dunefest involved mostly major roads. Fast roads. Crazy roads. Not congested or troublesome roads, just faster than we ever see up in the woods. I set Big Blue at 80MPH and cruised for most of 3 hours without any downshifts or stops, just DriveDriveDrive.

Winding roads from the start of the trip:




But most of it looked like this.



Sometimes this.



And once it looked like this.


5th wheel rolled over, smashed the back of the truck up a bunch, too.

 

[campfire]

On the way North we stopped by Fort Michilimackinac along the Straits of Mackinac.






The demolished fort is being excavated and reconstructed to resemble its former life as a French and English military fort in the days of the American fur trade.








They've done a neat job bringing the old ruins to life, even planting fruitful gardens. I've been to a number of historical villages, but not many that are this thorough.



One of the traders with his canoe and goods.







Outside the fort, we got a cannon demonstration.

 

[campfire]

We then went to the top of the stockade and looked over the Straits. The Straits are pretty.










And then we drove back across the bridge. It looks a lot prettier under a blue sky than it does in the rain.




St. Ignace (the U.P. side).



Entering the cool section.



Mackinac Island, home to millions of fudge-eating tourists.

 

[campfire]

Our last stop for this trip was at the Cut River Gorge. This one was interrupted by our Infant Warning System, so we didn't see much of it. It's definitely on the bucket list, though.









The bridge spans over the gorge and it's a short hike down to Lake Michigan. Looks like a cool spot, I wish we had gotten further into it. There will hafta be a next time.

 

[campfire]

And that's it for this trip. 1100ish miles of road time, the truck ran flawlessly aside from losing the oil filter (pretty sure that's 100% my fault). I like this truck. It just needs more doors, more seats, and a covered camping space in the back.

 

[snowdriver]

Looks like you drive like I do when the road opens up

 

[campfire]

Looks like you drive like I do when the road opens up

I'm generally a pretty mild driver. I try to stay near the middle of the pack, speed-wise. Even during this 80MPH stretch, folks were flying around me pretty steadily. I have no idea why the folks drive that fast. Where I live most of the roads are 55MPH, so 80 seems downright bizarre. Not something that I get to do very often.

 

[Phil513]

FANTASTIC pictures as always, thanks brotha! I love that stuff!

 

[campfire]

FANTASTIC pictures as always, thanks brotha! I love that stuff!

Likewise, I enjoy your trip reports a bunch.

And comments like that are motivating. I have 2 trip reports right now that I stopped updating because folks stopped commenting. So, as usual, keep bumping if you want updates.

 

[Phil513]

If I missed them, I'm sorry. I eat this stuff up. I mean, it's pretty much the point of the website, right? lol.

 

[campfire]

If I missed them, I'm sorry. I eat this stuff up. I mean, it's pretty much the point of the website, right? lol.

Here's your reading list. I have one more long trip report for this thread, and WBIII is the thread that died off.

Adventures with Big Blue
Adventures with The Great Smaug
Northwoods / Yooper Beauty
Westward Bound I
Westward Bound II
Westward Bound III

I think most of the folks on here are looking for truck mods. I've done a few of those, but not enough to keep a build thread alive. So I write about trips instead. Based on the number of responses, I think trip reports are only a hit with half a dozen folks (or so).

 

[Phil513]

I like both. I like the tech, but I like where the tech can take you.

Greg72,

 

[snowdriver]

I like the trip reports,I should do them as well,but you do such a good job at them,afraid mine would suck

 

[campfire]

I like both. I like the tech, but I like where the tech can take you.

Greg72,

Well, so far I've been able to get around even without many technical mods.

(And why is Greg hiding in that post?)

 

[Phil513]

hahaha. I like where his truck is going. I just want his truck, well, going.