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We wasted no time getting back into life and new experiences upon arrival at home. We have started a diving program at the local pool. We are working on both 1 and 3 meter boards. I am terribly nervous but doing my best.

I am already diving head first off the low board.

We started our new 4-H group, Earth Explorers. I am the new Vice President. It is a smaller group and we are focused on marine and forest ecology.

We tried out a log rolling class.

I got some hair cut off and then temporarily painted red and blue.

Diving is a few times a week. I am really enjoying it.

I also started up my first high school level class. I am taking biology through FLVS.

Oh and I got to see the doctor and become a human pin cushion! I got all my 11 year old shots and my arms and so painful and swollen. The whole process was a nightmare for me and mom. It took several nurses, a doctor and Mom to get me through the process. I was NOT happy.

We also enjoyed some time at National Night Out. We got new bike helmets for free. Now we can have a set in the motorhome and a set at home!

 

 

We are enjoyed out time in Petosky collecting stones and exploring the town. Dad joined us for a Kilwins Factory tour before heading out to a week long work meeting.

We got to see how they make and mix the chocolate.

We even got to go onto the production floor and see things up close. Of course we had to wear safety hair nets and blue booties on our feet.

At the end we got free samples and then bought some taffy for later. We also had ice cream, it was yummy!

I am co-pilot when Dad is on work travel. I do such a good job of helping Mom know where to turn. Sometimes I fail to do my job. I failed most of the way to Nappanee! oops!

I woke up in time to pull into Newmar’s lot and help get the motorhome set up in the parking lot. After we were set up we headed out to Rocket Science Ice Cream. All that napping in the car sure made me hungry for ice cream!

We enjoyed the factory tour when Luna was in the service bay getting her new front windshield.

Back to Coopers Common to wander and kill some time. I LOVE this billiard ball clock.

Dad got back in town and we enjoyed the Apple Festival and this 7′ wide apple pie!

We toured Amish Acres next door to Newmar. I loved the buggy ride and learning about the Amish way of life. We even got to go see Fiddle on the Roof at the town playhouse! I t was AMAZING!

One more ice cream and we say good-bye.

Our epic travels come to a close as we head south in the morning. Hoping for a peaceful drive as we pass away the miles back towards Florida. Thanks for following our spring and summer travels!

We are in the home stretch of our amazing 4 + months on the road. We are in Petosky, Michigan on Lake Michigan. The area is famous for a hexagonal coral that is found washed up on the beaches. The coral shows that this area was once under the ocean of salty water.

We arrived to a wicked strong storm but it was beautiful. The storm kicked up huge waves, knocked out the towns power and brought many pretty stones to the beach.

We have spent several hours each day combing the beach and water looking for special stones. We have found many Petosky stones and quite a few other cool rocks that have fossils or are just cool looking.

We spend time spraying and examining them in the shade of the awning.

This is my favorite find!

Mom found 3 really nice stones and is working on sanding them by hand and then will polish them when we get home.

We took spray bottles to the upper beach areas that are dry and looked for stones there too. Our best luck was in between he trees growing at the waters edge.

 

We made it safely back into the USA and through customs at the boarder in Sault Saint Marie. We crossed the Mackinaw Bridge and it was quite scary.

We arrived at our lovely campground, Holiday Park, for the next 3 nights. We immediately headed out to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. We had a blast running up and down the dunes. They were very impressive! It reminded us of the dunes in Death Valley last summer.

We made it all the way to the highest dune at 287feet.

I thought I was going to die climbing some of the dunes. They were really steep!

We worked on our Junior Ranger books and learned a lot about how the dunes were formed from the glaciers many many years ago. The dunes shift an average of 2.5 feet per year since they have been recording the data.

We hiked a few short trails. They were very hard hikes in the soft deep sand.

Trees do manage to survive in some areas even with the shifting dunes.

There was one part on the scenic drive that was insanely steep. There were lots of footprints but no people because of the storms.

We headed back to camp because of a bank robbery in town that closed everything down for the afternoon. The next day we did all the drives again and climbed the dunes several more times.

We stopped in at the blacksmiths shop and watched the blacksmith make a dinner bell. We were able to buy the bell! 

We earned our Junior Ranger badge and patch. We also got a cool book called “Look Around You” by a local artist for free for doing our books.

We stopped off at the Platte River State Fish Hatchery and saw how they raised Coho Salmon for stocking the rivers and lake.

The weir was pretty cool. They raise and lower it based on what fish is spawning.

Our last day we went out to eat at The Cherry Hut and had way too much cherry stuff. We took Dad to the dunes and he had a fun time climbing up with us.

 

 

 

Today we took a ride on the Agawa Train out of Sault Ste. Marie. The train went along Hwy 17 and along many lakes and rivers. We had spectacular views of Lake Superior and several trestle bridges.

We had a nice table in the cabin for the four of us. We all took turns switching seats. We played some card games to pass the time.

We enjoyed watching the front of the train when we went around the bends. There was a narration that went along with the ride and we learned a lot about the industry in the area.

We eventually arrived at the Agawa Canyon and took a several kilometer hike along the rived down to the waterfalls. This is Bridal Falls.

We found a cool caterpillar on the hike.

This is Beaver Falls.

E was being a pistol the entire trip. Mom is just kidding about choking him. But she did threaten to toss him over into the falls.

We walked along the railroad and then followed the path back to the train.

Back on the train we had a late lunch in the dining car. Mom and Dad really liked their food. I had a burger but it wasn’t my thing. When we got back we swam for a long time. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain so this was out last “pool time”, possibly for the rest of the trip.