It is so fun to visit Wisconsin. Where else can you wear a cheese hat? Although I tend to not eat as much cheese today as I have in the past, it is a requirement to buy cheese curds when traveling in Wisconsin. Cheese curds are fun and squeaky to eat!
I really enjoy seeing our national parks. Today I was able to discover beautiful sections of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Two spectacular aspects are beautiful waterfalls and beautiful coastline. I went on a hike and thought the colors were amazing! The upper peninsula of Michigan is rugged and beautiful. I would like to spend a longer time here on a future trip.
Today I drove over the Mackinac Bridge in the motorhome during a rainstorm! Everything was fine, but I was very careful to stay in my line going uphill and then downhill. The Mackinac Bridge is truly an engineering marvel. It is huge and awesome and commands attention. It is amazing that it opened in 1957.
Today was a milestone for me in my RV travels. With our previous diesel pusher and our current motorhome, I have had the opportunity to sleep in our motorhome in all 48 lower states. Michigan was my final state to complete all 48 states!
It is fun that I was able to arrive in Traverse City as my first tourist stop in Michigan. Traverse City is known as the “Cherry Capital of the World” because of all cherries grown in the area and the wide variety of cherry products that are available for purchase. I had a wonderful time going from store to store tasting various cherry products. The obvious cherry jams and syrups were wonderful. The cherry trail mix was great, and the chocolate covered cherries were outstanding. I tasted 6 different cherry wines (more were available, but a tasting event was limited to 6 wines). It was a difficult decision, but I decided to buy bottles of two different cherry wines. Cherry fudge was bursting with flavor too. The cherry salsas were great. There were also unusual items. Cherry flavored barbeque sauce? Cherry bacon spread? Cherry queso?
I set a goal to visit as many national parks as possible on my RV trip. Some I have visited are famous, while others of not well known. I put Indiana Dunes National Park in the latter category. I had never heard of it until I started reviewing all the national parks. It is quite unique in that it has several ecosystems all in one national park. I think it is probably most well known for its beaches and dunes. It is a fascinating patchwork of properties that contain all these different ecosystems together. I thoroughly enjoyed my day visiting this national park.
I love visiting national parks. They are beautiful and have interesting things to see. Today I was in Ohio and came to see the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It is situated south of Cleveland in the midst of a forest of green.
One of the most popular hikes is to see Brandywine Falls. I left the visitor center and hiked the 5-mile hike to see these falls. I thought was a very nice hike with a number of fun things to see along the way.
I had a wonderful time visiting Niagara Falls State Park. Years ago, I visited Niagara Falls from the Canadian side, but today was the first time to visit the American side. The highlight was the Maid of the Mist boat ride to the base of both the American Falls and Horseshoe Falls. I stood near the front of the boat and we were complete covered with water mist. It was a very fun experience!
Now I know when so many people speak favorably about going to “up state New York.” It is an extremely beautiful area. It has a nice combination of rural areas and nearby major cities. I loved driving through the Adirondacks and seeing the finger lakes region. It would be very easy to spend the summer in such a nice location!
I do not think it is possible to visit Vermont and not stop to see Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Especially, since this is my first time to Vermont, I just had to stop. I may not agree with many of the political positions of Ben & Jerry’s, but they are an iconic Vermont establishment. Tours were currently not available, but it was still possible to buy some of their excellent ice cream!
The White Mountain in New Hampshire are very green and very beautiful! With the rain and snow every year, the many rivers are full and flow all around the area. I thoroughly enjoyed spending 3 days in the northern section of New Hampshire. I loved the covered bridges and the flowers growing everywhere!
