It is a little hard to believe that we aren't even halfway through August and the days are already starting to get shorter. I noticed the sun wasn't quite as high as it has been on my ride into work this morning. Likewise, those twilight/dusk evenings around the campfire are starting to turn into nights around the campfire.
With one final summer camping trip ahead of us, I thought it might be a good idea to reflect on some of the places we visited this past summer. I will spare you all the photos from the Upper Peninsula on this one, if you want to see those you can go back and look at my past posts.
Also hard to believe we watched our oldest niece pitch some of her last travel league softball games this summer. I have been meaning to write a whole post dedicated to softball, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet.
By some stroke of luck even though her university is a state away from us, we found out her team will be playing a couple of schools in our area, so we should get to see her play at the college level quite a bit.
Her younger sister finally made the decision to leave her team and try out for a new one. The new team was more than happy to have someone with her talent on their roster. I am so proud of her for stepping outside her comfort zone to do what is best for her softball "career".
I know I promised camping photos, but I felt I needed to include these in this post. @mrsbozz started playing Mah Jong with her mother and aunts several years ago. They usually rotate through each others houses to play. At least once a year they come to our house and their one request is that I grill bratwurst for them.
These photos were the result of one of those visits.
Although we made fewer trips than previous years this summer, we still did our fair share of camping. This wasn't our first trip to Hartwick Pines State Park, but we had a newfound appreciation for it after visiting this year.
One of the main things we liked about the trip is the fact that we got sites with full hookup capabilities. Being able to shower in our own trailer without needing to worry about how full (or empty) our tanks are is really nice.
On top of that, the sites were quite secluded. That is often rare for full hookup sites!
A short time after our trip to Hartwick Pines we made a visit to Harrisville State Park. As you can see our site here was also a bit secluded. We stayed in a part of the park that we don't normally visit. Usually, we try to get down as close to the water as possible, but as you can guess, those sites are premium and they book up quite fast.
It wasn't until we were already packed up and gone for the weekend that I realized I was supposed to keep my eye out for @vgholdingsllc at Harrisville. I don't know if we were even there at the same time, but I apologize for my forgetfulness!
Despite the relative drought we have been having in Michigan this summer, these places were still quite verdant and bustling with life.
I even took the time to ride down to one of the local ice cream shops with our friend and her kids. The waffle cone with triple peanut butter ice cream was nothing short of amazing. Sorry, no pictures of that, I ate it too quickly!
My wife and I took our fair share of walks in the morning (along with Jovi). Enough walks that I feel I am more than justified to include this post as a #wednesdaywalk post created and sponsored by @tattoodjay.
Fun fact, the area in the pictures above used to be campsites, but they had to close them down a year or two ago because the level of Lake Huron was so high that the sites were flooded. It appears the coast has receded a bit, but they still have these handful of sites blocked off.
And of course you can't take a morning walk without also including an afternoon nap...
We took a lot of those too!
Of course a good weekend of camping isn't complete without some good beverages to enjoy along the way. I picked this Pilsner up from Trader Joe's down in Columbus, OH. Land Grant is a local brewery that has gained some popularity in the area. They have a lot of "Buckeye" themed beers. This one was a bit hoppier than I was expecting for a Pils, but it was still pretty good.
Not sure if two pictures qualifies me for #beersaturday, but here it is anyway.
I often find myself looking up when we go camping. Whether it is just to admire how blue the sky is, take in the stars at night, or just admire the nature around me, it's amazing what you see when you tilt your head back.
Like this tree on our last camping trip. Something about it just really stuck with me.
Something about the way the branches crisscrossed was very intriguing to me. I can't really explain it, but I felt a little moved just looking at it. It was quite impressive.
It's pretty rare we find the perfect trees to set up my hammock, but every now and then we get lucky!
We even got to see another country this summer. Look at the horizon really hard and you can just see Canada across this part of Lake Superior. Everybody wave!
Of course no camping trip would be complete without some quality time spent around the campfire. We had plenty of that this summer.
No doubt it was a pretty epic summer filled with good times, great people, and amazing memories that will last a lifetime!
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Summer is fading fast here. I can't believe it's so far gone. I'm pretty jealous I have not been out too much. My work schedule is getting to ridiculous. I need hive or some of my other project to moon so I can quite this 9-5!
No kidding! Bull season can't come soon enough! You been to Shorts since they expanded? The pics on Instagram look amazing. I keep thinking I need to get up there sometime soon.
That was a lot of sausages on the BBQ. Did you have anything with them? It's been really dry here lately, but no sign of rain for now. Are the lake levels down around you?
Yeah, lake levels are down pretty significantly as far as I know. We had crisps and veggies with them. There were seven of us total, so we didn't have much left by the time we were finished!
I heard that bodies have been found in some lakes and reservoirs as the waters drop. Could be all sorts of things in there.
!BEER
Yes, I think they are up to four bodies now pulled out of Lake Mead outside Vegas. It is crazy!
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I miss going to the UP. Have I mentioned that before? :)
I camped quite a few nights but with only one fire. I didn't do any burning due to fire conditions. I missed putting my feeties up to the fire...
Really cool that your niece is going to play next level, and that the other sister has taken the next step. All my nieces did this summer was have babies. 2 babies, 2 nieces. Both girls-the beat goes on. My birth family is almost all girls at the next generation. 7 girls-2 boys.
It's a pine tree, but I'd have to show the picture to my botanist buddy to know which. I'm sure it's not Ponderosa or Bristlecone. Austrian, maybe? Ohhhh, maybe white or yellow pine. You are east far enough it could be either. I may see Erv tomorrow and ask what kind of pines he had on his property. If I can remember...
Looks to me like you had a great summer. Good for you!
Yeah, we had some concerns about our fires too given how dry it has been. That is pretty awesome about your nieces? I am so glad you were able to find and connect with your whole family!
Looks like you had a really fun time with lots of activity and good food. Thanks for sharing.
Lovely and beautiful pictures taken which is very nice. Thanks for sharing and have a !PIZZA
Thank you! It was a joy to take them and share them with you!
I'm not going to lie, I'm super jealous of the camping trip and all the activities, sights, sounds, and flavors featured in this post! Giving me the itch to go camping... maybe when I renegotiate my contract for a little more stable income, I'll be able to afford the time to invest in a family camping trip! This looks SO fun!
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We had a blast! The prep tends to be a lot of work, but once you get there it is so relaxing! Not much I would rather be spending my summers doing!
Amen to that! There's just something about disconnecting from the regular quick pace of life and reconnect with nature and the natural peace that exists within it, isn't there?
For sure! It's one of my favorite things to do!
Summer is more than half over ... hard to believe ... but this was BEAUTIFUL ... thank you!
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Thanks for sharing Bozz!! Love these highlights!
Wonderful pics.Don't you wish you could just camp all year round? Is that your retirement plans? That firepit is awesome.I got something similiar here at the house.In the campground all we have here is the small square cast iron pits with a top grill that flips open.the site are very clean ,well looked after and not close together to give you that privacy feeling.You really need to book ahead to get a spot by the lake but it doesn't hurt to walk.Happy to read you and @mrsbozz had a wonderful summer . Fall is coming soon the geese will be honking.You should see more boats on the water cause fishing is always good in the fall on the Great lakes.There should be some fishing tourny's coming up as well.Thanks for the fun times as you let us look into your camping adventures.It makes us feel like were really there.
My wife would like to travel all the time I think, but I like the idea of having a home base that we can always come back to. That's just me anyway. The Michigan State parks do a pretty good job of keeping everything clean. It has been harder with the recent worker shortage, but they still do what they can.
I'm too citified to do the whole camp thing, but how you rolled; I can do it like that lol.
Looks like it was an amazing time and being among nature is always breathtaking.
!CTP@bozz
I grew up in the country so it isn't too bad for me. My nieces who have only ever lived in the city seemed to adapt to it pretty well when we took them a couple of weekends ago.
Looks like a fab camping trip, such lovely photos capturing the moments.
Yes, it has been a pretty awesome summer so far! Lots of great adventures in our rearview mirror!
Beautiful photography 😍😍
That looks so relaxing. Just to be among the trees. But the water, that's the attraction for me. Your photos are lovely. I have a tent like yours. Don't think it's as large, though. Looks like you had a nice time.
Thanks for sharing.
We definitely have lots of water to enjoy here in Michigan. If you go far enough in just about any direction you immediately hit it. Except maybe south!
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The scenery is lovely, the bike interests me, and the meal looks delectable—in my country, it's called a huge sausage. I appreciate you sharing! Happy and pleasant day to you.😍😋😍