Before the days of Fall were waning, Marc & I got out on
a couple of week-long trips north. We tried to go after the start of school
hoping that would cut down on site competition, but in the end, the out of the
way campgrounds we choose, did the job for us.
We returned to our previous lake but just missed getting
that huge site 14, although we easily found another which placed the rig
actually closer to the lake. It was a little more awkward to access the kayaks
but not terribly so. This trip there was a noticeable difference in bugs and
heat, with many days actually being so cool I didn’t care to kayak. We didn’t
hit up the next-door lake either, although we did the main lake hiking trail,
which runs about two miles around the lake, offering many nice vistas. As it
turned out, the campground was mostly empty, even over the weekend and was to
close ten days later. On one sunny day, we did take the truck out to explore
other nearby campgrounds for future potential.
In October, we waited out a cool, rainy start and then
packed north to the Upper Peninsula during the second week. We left the kayaks
behind, knowing it would be too cold to really enjoy them and weighing so much,
they are a huge pain to pack and haul if not used daily. I had scoped out a few
campgrounds over the internet and the plan was to stop for 2-3 days in each to see
if they represented good spots for future trips with the kayaks. As it turned
out, we only visited three, but along the way we saw entirely new country
wrapped in its fabulous peak fall colors, visited a town I was absolutely
smitten with, and thoroughly enjoyed the beauty that is the UP—or Yooper land
as it’s called.
Our first stop was actually a municipal free campground,
asking for a daily $5 donation, but when I say “municipal” it certainly was not
located downtown! Townships in this area can run for many miles, and this one
happened to be down a small frost-heaved paved and dirt road where traveling five
miles took us about a half hour. Many fine cabins and homes lined Michigamme
River and as we crept down the final potholed track into the campground, we
found the best and only site on the river empty! At first, not realizing it, we
parked on the boat launch gravel area but after a day backed the trailer more onto
the grassy area. No one wanted to launch during our stay, save for the one guy
we had blocked initially.
We took daily walks but mostly this is a place to hang out
and enjoy the beautiful views. The campground features around eight sites, most
of which sit on a shelf above the area where we sat by the river and most don’t
feature access or view to the river, so we decided if one were to get any other
site, the drive in just wasn’t worth it. Anything larger than our trailer would
likely have trouble maneuvering as well, since portions of the loop road are
steep and came close to hitting our plumbing. Moose Rapids Campground is a
beautiful, rustic camp, but one we likely won’t be returning to.
