Adventure 468: FOMO Tour/Day 6/Prentice Park to OB Fuller Park

An oasis for the locals.

We are literally FOMOing at the mouth at our good fortune. We left the flood ravaged land of Ashland, WI and settled into this lakeside county park in Michigan. We thought a county park beside Lake Michigan might be worth it, and we were right.  We're a stone's throw from the lake, and we share the park with twenty-five (Or so) long term campers. Judging from the tags on the sites, folks around here rent their campsites for the entire summer season. We feel fortunate that there was space for itinerates like us. We traveled through the UP, and the densely wooded forests on either side of us kindly let us pass. I think it would be as easy as stepping off the road a little ways, spinning around twice, to suddenly find yourself helplessly lost. We chose to stick to the road, although we did get out of the truck in Crystal Falls to buy two pasties from the Nyland Food Company. We had them for dinner. They proved to be a tasty local delicacy first introduced in the area as easy to eat lunches for miners. We also stopped at a local store in Bark River where we bought a fresh made breakfast sausage and two of the juiciest looking pork chops you'll ever see. It didn't hurt the sale to see the pictures of the prize hogs kids were showing at the fair. We'll be here for two nights before making our way to Mackinaw Island for a visit. The only mis-judgment I made was assuming Hwy 35 was suitable for bike riding. It turns out it is a major thoroughfare that's much too busy for riding. As a result, we'll have to do an out and back on the back road to Bark River. The best part is that here next to the lake, the air is fresh, cool, and free of humidity which means we'll sleep like babies so of course, Life is good, especially today.

 My Bunny.

 I couldn't leave Ashland without highlighting a couple of murals. The town is replete with them.

 This one captures, I think, the solemn and complicated relationship between Europeans and Indians.

 Cell service is sketchy in the UP. We had to resort to old school navigation at one point.

 In times past, veins of iron ore promised the wealth that enticed European settlement.

 Baked Pie dough filled with ground beef, local potatoes, onions, salt and pepper. Good simple fare.

 Selfie of the day: Now this is lakin'!

 The beach front West.

 The beach front East.

 Frac, happily lakin' in Michigan.

 The view from our front window.

 Pastie, fresh baked from the oven. Topped with a bit of Aunt Karen's mustard. Phantasmagoric!