Gypsy Tour – Michigan

It’s been just over a month since I flew into Green Bay, where Dan picked me up and we headed for Upper Michigan…Cornell (30 minutes outside of Escanaba) to be exact. After our mini-trip to Ohio I wrote about in my last blog, we have stayed on our property. The property is on the Escanaba River, and pretty remote. We have no electricity, no water. We have a generator when we need to charge batteries, etc. We haul water in four 30-gallon jugs from town. And we have an outhouse – lovingly named “Da Loo” for our other needs.  We have a mini-kitchen set up under the pavilion with our BQ and dishwashing station. 

The need for modern conveniences fades away when you sit by the river and listen to nature. When the sun is streaming through the trees, or an eagle flies overhead making his presence known with a call. Then there are the deer that visit us for cracked corn multiple times a day. They have become my babies…and thankfully our budget has included food to keep them fed and happy…life seems so simple.

We’ve spent time working on projects…never ending grounds keeping, such as this beautiful stack of firewood, and the ground wine refrigerator Dan made for us keeping our wine at a perfect 60 degrees.   Spending time with family (Dan’s side), and friends, some from the UP, and even a visit from friends that traveled from Colorado. We traveled north and enjoyed dinner out with Dan’s sister and husband, and both she and I got food poisoning…my first experience with it and hopefully my last. We went to the State Fair in Escanaba one weekend, and the Steam and Gas Engine Show in Escanaba another weekend. Dan and I also took an overnight trip to Copper Harbor. Then there are the evening drives just before dark to watch the deer roam and graze.

Living off-grid like this isn’t a life I would choose year round…it gets cold in the winter, and the snow is unforgiving. It’s over 60 steps from the pavilion to the trailer, and another 40+ to the outhouse…so there is no lack of exercise here. Many mornings I could be found walking a mile down the road for a little exercise. But doing that in a couple feet of snow is not my idea of fun. In fact, the rain and thunderstorms are pretty intense, too, which can leave the property a bit muddy. The rain isn’t like the PNW rain. Here the raindrops are about the size of quarters…a slight exaggeration, not by much, mind you, but the sun shines most of the day drying out the ground once again. We had a storm come through one night that brought the river up by a foot, but we still have about six feet of the bank, so no flood concerns.  However, it’s the privacy and quiet that sooth my soul and have become such a wonderful bonus. One benefit I will miss, especially, are the moments of having our morning coffee, or an evening glass of wine under the pavilion while enjoying the beautiful river view. 

Soon we’ll pull out and find our way along the trail of our adventure. Thank you to all our family and friends that took time out to visit, break bread, play cards, and drive to Rapid River just for ice cream. There has been a whole lot of laughing going on in the UP for over a month now. I’m excited to see where the road takes us but will miss the river property I have come to enjoy.