Time to Scamp

 Well, I didn't exactly win the Madtown Pickleball Open.  We won some games but we also lost enough to get eliminated before advancing very far. My foot has been bothering me, so that gives me a good excuse to take a break from pickleball and get hitched up.

Last week, we drove to Shady Creek COE, one of our favorite Mississippi River campgrounds and just north of Muscatine, Iowa.

The new sign is a gift from Julia’s brother Scott.

We didn’t have any big plans. I spent some time reading. Callie kept an eye on things.

We made it to our favorite happy hour at Muscatine's Contrary Brewing, where Monday beers are $4.

Julia had a hazy IPA.  I had a half pour of imperial stout, which I savored for just as long as Julia's larger beer.  I'm not a huge imperial fan, but this was probably the best that I've ever had. 

We made it back in plenty of time to enjoy an evening camped next the the big river.

If a Tree Falls in the Forest

I've been training hard during the last couple of weeks with my new pickleball partner for Wisconsin's largest pickleball tournament, taking place this weekend.  After that, I'll be ready for a "pickleball break."  

 

Thursday night Round Robin

Julia and I made reservations at one of our favorite COE campgrounds on the Mississippi River next week, where we can now take advantage of 50% off with the Senior Pass ($10/night) with electric. 

This morning, after taking Callie on a four mile hike in the country, I saw something very disturbing up near my Scamp.

Close Call

We had been experiencing a severe drought, and then over four inches of rain dumped on Wednesday and Thursday night.  The branches and leaves of the trees eagerly soaked up the moisture, causing severe stress for the now top-heavy oak. The trunk snapped and landed about two feet from the tongue of the Scamp 

It took about three hours today to cut up the part of the tree that blocked access to the Scamp,, move the rounds to my firewood processing area, and drag the small branches back into the woods.  On a hot and humid day, I may have set a perspiration record.  There is another twenty or thirty feet of uncut trunk going back into the woods.  It will make quality firewood but will wait until a cooler day. 

I ended up moving vehicles around and put the Scamp in our driveway until our camping departure.  There is another double trunk tree nearby (to the right side of the photo above, and it has a severe bend without breaking yet.  It'll be interesting to see if it's still standing when we return from our trip.  The  trunks are under far too much pressure from the wet branches to safely fell at this point. 

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Dennos Art Museum and Family Time

 Julia recently spent part of a rainy Sunday at the Dennos Art Museum in Traverse City, Michigan.  There are a lot of art pieces here and only a few "Julia photos."

 There's a short Julia video of another piece here, but it's a "short" and doesn't want to embed in this post.  

On the trip home from Michigan, we had an issue with the Scamp's brakes not releasing, putting future Scamping on hold until a service appointment could be arranged.  I picked up the Scamp on Friday.  The brakes seemed to be operating as intended after an adjustment, and I took the opportunity to also let the local utility trailer company repack the bearings, all at a very reasonable price (less than $100).  If all goes well, they will have at least one new customer for years to come.  

I'll end with photos of an outing with Justin last night at the Mallards baseball game  (the Mallards are amateur college baseball players getting some additional experience during the summer).  They lost, but baseball at this level is more about the food and between-inning entertainment.  

Traverse City: Last Day

After some stellar weather, a front came in with much cooler temperatures, cloudy skies, high winds, and occasional drizzle.

Julia decided to make the most of the day by touring the Dennos Art Museum at Northwestern Michigan College.  She enjoyed its signature Inuit Gallery, which has a collection of 1500 works.

Callie and I got our miles in under brisk conditions along the shores of Lake Michigan.

We went to North Peak Brewery for a light lunch of beer soup, clams, and beer.

 

That night, the rain turned steady.  After a disappointing dinner at a nearby restaurant, we headed back to the Scamp and considered our options for heading home.  The original plan was to go back the way we came, except make a bigger counter-clockwise half-circle around to catch Lake Superior through the northern U.P. and northern Wisconsin.  

However, the forecast was. much better to the south--even though I dreaded driving/towing through Chicagoland's traffic.  The determining factor was an intermittent trailer brake-sticking problem that I was experiencing.  If we broke down, we preferred to break down somewhere closer to civilization.  

The forecast called for sun and warm temperatures in Ottawa, Illinois, which was near an Illinois state park that we previously enjoyed:  Starved Rock State Park.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

 On our third day at Traverse City State Park, we got up early and drove forty-five minutes south to Sleeping Bear Dunes.  A National Parks pass or daily admission is required here.  I nonchalantly placed my recently acquired senior lifetime pass on the dashboard upon our arrival at the Alligator Hill trailhead parking lot.  

We've been to Sleeping Bear Dunes once before with the kids.  Justin  could still walk a few steps back then, but wasn't able to climb a hill. I carried him piggyback to what I thought was the top of the dunes.  As it turned out, that was a false summit. Looking at the mile or so of up and down dunes ahead, I admitted defeat and headed back down with Justin hanging on to my neck.  

This time, I wasn't interested in climbing sand dunes, so we opted for the Alligator Hill Trail, which climbs through forests to some of the nicest views from the plateau above Lake Michigan.

First, we took the Easy Loop up to the Islands Lookout.

Next was the purple in and out trail to Big Glen Lookout.

Then it was downhill to Marker 3 (intermediate) and Marker 4 (advanced).  We followed the advanced trail through beautiful forest.  I'm not sure how they rate the trail.  We didn't find the advanced to be much more difficult than the easy trail, especially since most of the easy trail was uphill, and the advanced trail was downhill--at least the way we took it.

Before leaving the national lakeshore, Julia felt compelled to climb a dune.  I stayed with Callie because it was too hot to leave her in the truck.

Not a problem for Julia

We went to nearby Cherryland Brewing after our hike for burgers and beer.

Mine:  Reserve Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout

I'm not a big fan of cherry beer or bourbon barrel stout, but the two together were well-balanced.  Very enjoyable on a beautiful day outside.

Traverse City: Day Two

Old Mission Peninsula is a beautiful stretch of land jutting out into Lake Michigan--about twenty miles long and five miles wide. The Mission Point Lighthouse is at the end of the peninsula, along with a network of lakeshore and forest trails.

We didn't tour the inside of the lighthouse.  Admission seemed high.  Instead, we headed out to the trails.  Callie thought this was the better choice.

The map showed an intricate network of well-marked trails.  The trails themselves lacked sufficient markings, but it wasn't hard to avoid getting lost since we were on the end of a peninsula.  When the going became uncertain, we headed for the beach.

Our next stop was Brys Estate Vineyard.

Julia ordered a tasting flight of wines. We shared a cheese and sausage board.  As designated driver, I opted for an excellent cider, which is also one of their products.  Julia gave high reviews for the wines.

There was even a dog-friendly section on the grounds.

Callie's chair?