Needed a Campfire, Coldfront Arrives and Rain Finally Stops
Click on photo above to see DTube video.
Lake Ann State Forest Campground
Near Lake Ann, Michigan
It finally cooled off into what I consider the perfect temperature range, 50 to 75 °F, for being outdoors in the nomad lifestyle. It's been mostly cloudy, humid, wet, rainy, and a bit too warm the past week here in middle Michigan along the shores of Lake Michigan. The thundershowers the past few days were pretty intense at times. One night the lightning and wind was so bad I escaped the forest and went shopping at Walmart twenty miles south of my campsite between 1 and 4 am and then car camped in the parking lot. The gusts up to 50 mph winds made being in the forest surrounded by trees ominous. I had to constantly be ready to escape the forest and always checking the weather radar. The warm, humid air was stuck here and the southern air was winning the battle over the cool dry northern air. The front finally pushed through here late yesterday and quickly cool dry air made my life pleasant again. One really feels exposed sitting in a land boat, my SUV, when the weather is inclement.
I spent two nights before coming here in a small town of about 400 people, Thompsonville, at a city park campground. The price was right for even a frugal camper like me, only $10, but you got what you paid for with no water, no restrooms, no electicity, and no fires allowed. I did get one of two sites with a picnic table though. The campground was essentially downtown, with Geno's Sports Bar and Grill on one side, Archer Country Store on another, a library, a post office, a junk store, and Flashpoint Firearms just a block away. Payment for the campground is made at Geno's where you can get some comfort food and $1 draft Pabst Blue Ribbon pints. The second night I had an appetizer of fried mushrooms and two pints of Blue when I paid for my campsite. You don't get much more downhome than a place like Geno's. The place was packed even on a Tuesday and a Wednesday night after Labor Day while I was visiting.
The first day was spent checking out the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Park just 16 miles west of Thomsonville. The cheapest campsites here are $22 for a walk-in site and $26 for a tent site, so I was glad I saw that campground in Thomsonville. It's not even listed on the internet, but it is on Google Maps as Thomsonville Recreational Campground, with no reviews. I wouldn't have even noticed it was a campground but for the tent that someone had put up that caught my eye of course. The sign telling you where to pay was very discreet only to be discovered when I drove back slowly after seeing the tent. If the place is absent campers no one would even know it's a campground so it likely sees very little business throughout the camping season. Well now the world knows about this little gem of a campground close to many outdoor attractions.
Also, Crystal Mountain ski resort is just 2 miles west of Thompsonville. There is an unusual slide built into the ski mountain that keeps visitors coming here even in the summer. You sit on a cart, that is somewhat like a luge, except you sit upright instead of flat, and go down hill on a 1780 ft. long alpine slide. You are able to adjust the speed with a hand break, so you if you are bold one can go down at a breakneck speed it would seem. It must not be dangerous because people are allowed to ride tandem with a child if they want. You do have to make sure you don't touch the edge of the slide with your arms, hands or legs or you can get skin burns from the friction. It's $9 for one trip and $25 for an all day pass. You ride to the top of the slope on a ski lift. I didn't go here, just saw a video about it on You Tube. I was feeling under the weather the last few days or would have tried it out and done a video to post here on Steemit.
I'm gradually working my way up north to Michigan's Upper Peninsula and looking forward to seeing the beautiful landscapes up there.
Peace, Love, and Vanarchy,
Chris Greyson
The Wandering Voluntaryist
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