Hunkering Down For A While – Ann Arbor, MI
For the past week or so we’ve been hunkered down somewhere around Ann Arbor, MI doing a bunch of boring and mostly practical stuff. It was exactly what we’d planned and, apart from an unexpected heat wave and a few excess skeeters, it’s gone exactly the way we’d hoped. Our new “back yard” is an extension of that very same travel-generosity I talked about in my last post. The result of yet another fortuitous blog meeting, and yet another (very) gracious RV parking offer.
Bob and his lovely wife Lisa are local Michiganders who started dreaming about RVing several years ago. They read some blogs (yours truly included), bought a sleek and sexy Airstream and headed out to join the wide world of RV travelers. They’re now experienced part-timers with a permanent place near Ann Arbor, although they seem to be gone more often than they’re home these days (beware, the RV bug is strong once you catch it :)). In their travels they do what every RVer dreams of, exploring wild places, gathering with travel friends and enjoying the freedom of the open road.
Bob started commenting on my blog as far back as 2013 (!), and we finally met up in person in Desert Hot Springs last winter. If you’ve got a really, really good memory you might even recall he participated in the installation of our Tough Top slide covers. He’s the kind of man who’s always ready to lend a helping hand when needed.
Fast forward to earlier this year when all our meticulously laid-out 2016 travel plans were going down the drain. The biggest hit was of course Polly’s unexpected leg surgery and the need to route most of our next 4 months or so around that. As we were struggling with the question of where to take her for rehab, especially in the dead of the crazy summer RV season (without reservations no less), Bob reached out unexpectedly:
“You can always stay at our place in Michigan” he offered “we have 40 private acres and an RV pad with electric hookups”
WOW! We were of course blown away by such a gracious offer and immediately added it to our list of possibilities and planning. Even better, our research showed Bob&Lisa’s place was only ~15 minutes from a well-rated doggie rehab, not to mention several tasty-looking beer spots. It was darn near WheelingIt perfect.
Our only limitation was the distance.
When you actually pin it down on the map Michigan is not exactly close to the West coast. There’s over 2,400 miles of asphalt from Cape Disappointment, WA to Ann Arbor, MI which some folks (yes, I’m thinking of you and your cowboy, Janna) might just consider a pleasant couple of days drive, but is an excruciatingly loooong way for slo-mo travelers like us. So, we decided to fix our initial rehab plans in Sun Valley, ID followed by a multi-week re-positioning to Michigan where we left the possibility open for another rehab, if needed. Not only would that land us in MI at about the right time of year (right near Fall no less), but it would give Polly at least 2 months rehab, in total, with a break in-between. It was a jello plan, but a good jello plan with lots of flexibility for additional jello-ness should the need arise (do you sense a theme here?)
And believe it or not, that’s almost exactly how it worked out.
When we left Sun Valley at the end of July Polly had been given the all-clear by the doc and the instructions to basically “let er rip”. But she wasn’t completely healed yet (since we have a lot of doggie people on the blog I’ll leave the specific details of this for my next post). So we planned our route with a fairly quick (for us) travel plan through ND and the Upper Peninsula of MI, dropping us down to Bob’s place around the end of August. There we would dig in for a while, enter Polly back into rehab, re-check the cat and take care of a few other practical items on our list.
We drove “the beast” into Bob&Lisa’s on a stormy afternoon just over a week ago. Even through the near-horizontal rain we could tell this was a super a sweet place! Their house is on a beautiful 40 acres hidden deep in old-time farm country. It’s surrounded by sleepy tree-covered dirt lanes, romantic red barns and folks that all wave to each other like old friends when they pass on the road. It’s private, it’s relaxed and it feels worlds away from everything. Yet it’s only 15-20 minutes from a big university and several vibrant (and rather upscale) downtown areas. It’s a pretty frikkin’ cool area.
The only thing that didn’t quite complete the magic was the bugs.
When we arrived the area was at the tail end of one of its driest summers on record. In fact it had been so dry that most of the grass had shriveled up and the usually moisture-rich area was getting a tad worried about water supply. That all changed just around the time we rolled into town. Rain storms were coming in waves and the humidity was so high water was running down our window panes in streams. This was immediately followed by almost an entire week of heat wave with temps hitting 90 and heat indices of over 100. MAN it was hot!
This bug-perfect combo apparently gave the skeeters the jump they’d been waiting all summer for.
Mere 8 hours after we set-up the whole area was TEEMING with the little biting pests. As the unofficial “state bird” of Michigan we probably should have been more mentally prepared for this moment, but in the 2-3 weeks we’d been traveling through the UP we’d seen barely a one. So we’d been wandering around in the blissful fantasy that we might actually have avoided them altogether.
Now we faced them in their full fury and woe-be-to-me the tasty mosquito muffin magnet that I am. I’m like a Danish piñata for skeeters, a sweet honey-bucket of Nordic blood, a scrumptious pasty white buffet of Scandinavian Culicidae Delight. Suffice to say, the little monsters are having a ball….
But we can’t deny this place is sweet and we’re super thankful to be able to stay here. Thanks to the generosity of our RV friends we’ve completely avoided all the craziness of Labor Day Weekend and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed both the privacy and all the cool stuff the local towns have to offer. That counts for a lot.
We’re here for the next week while Polly goes through the last phase of her rehab and we (hopefully) nail down the fall phase of our travel plans. We’ve got more cat test results coming (I’ll update on her shortly), a few minor repairs to do, some more friend-time (our buddies Matt & Tracie live just 40 mins from here) and a couple of outings planned too. If the weather forecasters are right (which they always are, right?!) we’ve got only 2 more days of mosquito-love-heat-fest before we head on into Fall. I really can’t wait….
Ah…..parked in a field of goldenrod/ragweed – my nemesis. Beautiful weeds but oh so problematic for us with allergies. They are one thing I do not miss.
Oh they are EVERYwhere around here. While in bloom, they sure are pretty to photograph. Thank goodness neither Paul nor I (nor the pets) suffer from allergies. I can imagine that would be tough.
Nina
So enjoy your posts! Still dreaming of hitting the road now, but we have plans in place! Thanks for the inspiration!
Very happy you enjoy them and even happier that we’re providing inspiration. I love it when I see blog readers get on the road. May all your dreams come true….
Nina
Hey, welcome to SE Michigan! My home base is right there, in Brooklyn, the heart of the Irish Hills! Enjoy your visit and travel safe!
Thank you! We’re loving all the food & beer choices here. Plus finding lots of dog-friendly spots.
Nina
So happy to hear that you are enjoying A2. If you are still there, a wonderful brewpub is the Arbor Brewing Co. downtown. Monday is “happy hour” 1/2 price beers all day, a promotion that makes Monday’s tolerable. Cheers!
The Beast looks comfortable in that field. 🙂 Hopefully the mosquitoes clear out a bit for you (but thanks for the laugh with the “real-life depiction”). I’m enjoying the pictures of MI too, as I’ve never seen it in person. I look forward to reading the update on all the paws.
Paul always jokes that I’m the best mosquito repellent he has -> as long as I’m out there next to him, he doesn’t get bitten once LOL. I really am a skeeter’s dream.
Nina
My husband and I are the opposite. He keeps me from being bitten. 🙂
Hey, you are only 40 miles from where I grew up – Sylvania, OH. That is the weather I grew up with, along with a few -20F winter days and lots of snow. Still glad to live in PDX for the last 30 years. On the other hand, until we drove our TT across the nation in 2012, I had not seen lightning bugs in many, many years – that was a highlight of our visit to OH and MI. Unfortunately you guys are too late for them, I think they are gone by August.
Are lightning bugs the same as fire flies? I saw them for the first time just a few days ago. I did a late evening walk (less skeeters ya know) and saw tons of fire flies dancing around. It was amazing! That’s something you definitely don’t get in the West.
Nina
Yes, same thing. I guess that what us midwesterners call them. Maybe I’m not remembering correctly ( or climate change ? ), but I thought they were pretty much a July phenomenon. I am sure they weren’t around by the time school started, back in the late 70’s.
The unusually dry summer weather (and late rains) must have shifted everything. As I understand it this is way late in the year for mosquitoes too. Usually the heaviest skeeter months are May through June? We’re definitely seeing bugs that just should not be around mid-Sept.
Nina
Looks like a super sweet spot to be! Always love your posts, been reading for a few years.(although first time commenting) I can relate to you guys so much because we part-time in a class A with a cat and two dogs. Actually, it was because of your blog showing one can travel well with a cat that we ever even tried it and followed the advise you gave for acclimating a cat to an RV. Of course we have found many other posts useful too, the RV mods and learning about dispersed camping to name a few. Thanks for the education and the beautiful pictures. Hope your fur babies are doing ok.
Awesome!! And I love that you have the whole furry family along with you. Glad to hear your cat adapted. Ours are both testy old cats, but they still love being with us and have accepted the whole RV travel thing without too many cat-complaints. As long as the food, outdoor time and resting spots are in order, they’re happy cats. Good travels to you!
Nina
I forgot to mention – don’t miss Zingerman’s in AA !
Bob and Lisa have nice soul’s, and must like dogs too:)! What a blessing to have landed for ongoing rehab at what looks and sounds like a great place.
Your timing was off just enough, to have missed out on the sure fire method of never being bothered by a mosquito. You see we were in that region just ahead of you, and it’s a scientific fact, that wherever I am, NO ONE ELSE WILL EVER BE BOTHERED BY A MOSQUITO’s! I’ve been known to clear a 350 mile circle of the beasts, as they’re all air traffic controlled waiting for a chance to land on Smitty:)!
Stay cool, and ongoing bests to the all of your critters!
Smitty
Haha…sounds like we have a lot in common. Must remember to get your detailed travel itinerary next time we plan to enter a skeeter area. Between the two of us we should manage to clear most of the state 🙂
Nina
You may want to take a drive for this:
https://www.thehenryford.org/visit/ford-rouge-factory-tour/
It may be your only chance to see truck assembly. An amazing process!
It’s on the list! We’re hoping to go next week.
Nina
Sorry but I just have to set the record straight being the Maryland Master Gardener that I am-I have to clarify-Golden rod does not produce allergies-it is pollinated by bees-the pollen is too heavy to be wind blow (hense the reason it needs bees). The picture is golden rod-Cultivated goldenrods include S. bicolor, S. caesia, S. canadensis, S. cutleri, S. riddellii, S. rigida, S. shortii, and S. virgaurea. You can plant this in your yard without worrying about allergies.
Ragweed’s (Common culprits are common ragweed (A. artemisiifolia) and great ragweed (A. trifida) pollen,on the other hand, is wind blown and that is the reason the pollen gets up your nose and if you are allergic to it you will suffer. Actually a very different looking plant to a gardener.
We have been suffering here too with mosquitoes and high heat-it seems like months. Life east of the Mississippi River and direct path of storms coming up from the Gulf Coast. We also have knats. They come out at night. Repel Lemon Eucalyptus Natural Insect Repellent 4-Ounce Pump Spray, Case Pack of 6 on Amazon works pretty well for me-I spray it on my clothes and it hasn’t stained anything. Everyone here has to have a screened in porch if you are to venture any kind of life outside.
Love your pictures and adventures. Glad Polly is doing well.
Interesting stuff…and definitely some new learning for me. Cheers for that.
Nina
Looks like a beautiful area. My husband is a real mosquito magnet too- they’ll bite him right through his clothes! He tried all the non-Deet insect repellents and the only ones that worked well were ones with the active ingredient picaridan. He researched it very carefully and found to be OK (as opposed to Deet which I’m sure you know is nasty stuff). We’ve found two brand that use picaridan, Natrapel which has 20% and works in even the worst mosquito situations and OFF! Familycare Clean Feel (5%) which works well in normal mosquito situations. They are sometimes hard to find but Walmart usually carries Natrapel and Amazon carries the OFF!. (Just to make it confusing, OFF! makes one that is named almost the same thing but has Deet in it). Natrapel also works on ticks and both can be sprayed on clothes. You can see the little buggers fly up to him and then back away! It’s made all the difference. Happy travels!
Interesting. I’ve used 100% DEET before (sprayed on clothing, never on my skin) and that helps some. Also treating my clothes with Permethrin helps some. But the little monsters still manage to get me….through my clothing too. I may try your stuff.
Nina
So… I have to ask some technical stuff. When it is +90f with swarms of mosquitos and 95% humidity, do you pretty much run your a.c. Full Time? And does that mean “generator” — even with your (I’m so jealous of your) Solar/million amp hour battery rig? — inquiring minds
Yes we’re running both our AC and dehumidifier (both appliances) full-time at the moment. It’s the only way to make it livable inside the RV…at least for us wimpy west-coast types. We’re lucky enough to have an electric hookup here so we’ve not had to do anything special, but if we didn’t have that we’d be able to run the AC for 4-8 hours (depending on sun) from our solar/battery system. We did that when we were in ND last month. We wouldn’t be able to run it full-time though, especially at night.
Nina
It’s been great reading about your travels through Michigan.
My wife and I have been following your blog for over a year now and has helped inspire us to try the life style. We currently live in Ann Arbor, but only for another 3 weeks. We are both on our last week of work and plan to hit the road full timing at the beginning October.
Thanks for the inspiration. Oh and also reminding us how beautiful our home state of Michigan is.
Only 3 weeks to go. How exciting! Well I wish you great travels and wonderful adventures! Maybe we’ll see ya down the road.
Nina
That looks like a beautiful spot, minus the heat and bugs. The fall leaves should help make up for any of that though.
Leaves are *just* starting to turn now. It’s been many years since I saw an Eastern fall so I’m really looking forward to it!
Nina
Nina and Paul
It’s 68 degrees and less humid here (110 miles from you- WNW) near the West Coast of Michigan. I’ve sent it over to you and you should be experiencing it by now. TGIF (Thank God It’s Fall). Weather from now on should be more to your liking. Sorry you experienced the “State Bird” but it is Michigan , you know. If you don’t like the weather, hang around for a day and it will change.
We’re ready for it!! Should maybe be coming your way in another week or more (still jello). But I’m ready for that weather now 🙂
Nina
Your self described monikers for your unenviable ability to attract mosquitoes are really funny.
If you’re in Detroit for the Rouge Plant tour, there is one more attraction that is quintessential Motown and that is the Motown museum. If you have any interest in the Motown sound popularized by the Supremes, Four Tops, Temptations etc. etc. etc. don’t miss it. It’s a deceptively small place and hard to believe that all that music came out of the little house. The tour guides really make the whole history come alive. Follow it up by watching the video “Standing in the Shadows of Motown”. https://www.motownmuseum.org/
That sounds like fun! We only have one day in Detroit so we may have to pick and choose, but that museum really looks awesome. I’ve always loved Motown.
Nina
So glad you are going to check out the Rouge! I was raised three miles from there. 🙂 The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village are amazing also.
Jim
There is SO much to see in Detroit. It’s going to be hard for us to choose. Plus being foodies, there’s lots of that too. Looking forward to visiting. It’ll be my very first time.
Nina
Laughed out loud over the mosquito section even though we know they’re no laughing matter. Best wishes for an early freeze so that you get a break. Love your blog.
As I often say, it’s better to laugh than cry about stuff like this. Although sometimes you end up doing a bit of both 🙂
Nina
Wondered if you are taking your dog for rehab to the Dogwood Veterinary Hospital in Ann Arbor. Our Dachshund recently hurt his back going down our motorhome steps and required emergency surgery at Dogwood. It seems to be a wonderful hospital. Been following your blog for years!
So sorry to hear about your boy’s emergency surgery. That must have been stressful! We’ve been going to the Animal Rehabilitation Facility in Dexter. Lovely little place with very nice people. If your doggie needs some rehab, I can definitely recommend them.
Nina
Paul and Nina
Not sure if it is on your radar but thought I would mention it.
Grand Rapids Artprize
Sept 21 – October 9
1453 Artists in 170 Venues.
We are heading out on our annual Fall Trip shortly. Have fun during the rest of your stay in our Great Lakes State.
P.S. We are either Michiganians or Michiganders ( not Michiganites) :>)
Cheers for the tip (and the correction!). We’ll add it to the list!
Nina
Welcome to our neck of the woods! Enjoy your stay! 🙂
It’s “Michiganders”, not “Michiganites”
I was pretty sure I got that one wrong as I wrote it. I’ll correct the post. Thanks!
Nina
Oh yeah , Nina…Dave and Ozzer are right. Michigander. 🙂
Have been reading your blog for over a year now and just love it! We live just down the road from Ann Arbor, in Perrysburg Ohio. You might want to check out the Marblehead lighthouse on Lake Erie about a hour east of Toledo. Its very pretty.
OOOO….nice tip! I’ll see if we can fit it in.
Nina
Lol. Wondered when a “Michigander” would offer a gentle correction! You’re now about 38 miles from where I grew up near Howell. Ragweed & mosquitos. Two reasons why I no longer live there, but those pictures do make me a bit nostalgic. Enjoy Fall. It is probably the best of all the seasons there. And, what a beautiful place to spend some time while the Paws continues to heal.
Weather went cool yesterday as forecasted, so we’re holding onto hope that it’ll stay that way. Right now it’s fabulous! And yes being in a pretty place makes it even better.
Nina
Hey, welcome to Michigan. I’m just north up the road in Pinckney MI.
A lot of great parks and lakes in the area.
If you like beer, check out Grand Rapids and Founder’s Brewing. My favorite. If you’d like to sample some first, check out the Beer Grotto in either Ann Arbor and Dexter; they have about 40 or so different brews on tap from local brewers.
We definitely enjoy Founders. Paul has been buying All-Day IPA ever since we arrived in the Midwest. It’s his go-to regular beer. I’d love to go to the source and try everything they make. We’ll have to see if we can fit it into the schedule.
Nina
Founders just sank $60 million into their brewery/tap-room and it shows. It’s definitely ‘the’ place to go drink beer. All of their beers are top notch. Make sure you try some of their barrel-aged beers. Food is excellent. If you can make the time, you won’t regret it.
Oh I LOVE barrel-aged beers. They have become my new beer love. Cheers for the tips!
Nina
Mark Gehring – just asking if you know the name of a restaurant in either Sylvania or Toledo called Glassless Tavern or something like that. It had a big glass window whereby you could see the water. It was on the water and served seafood – I liked the frog legs. I have been unable to locate it on the internet and stopped at the COC down there and couldn’t find it that way. I would like to eat there again. Please give the name and address if you know of it. Thanks.
Nina, it has been raining where I live. It rained semi hard for 45 – 60 minutes on Saturday and then rained later in the day. It has kept the grass green this year.
It would be much better to go to Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. Take from someone who built school busses and heavy duty trucks such as New York City garbage trucks, Coca Cola, Ryder, etc. big names.
I hope Polly’s recovery is fully complete by the time the fall colors fully arrive in Michigan. You might try a football game at the Big House!
OMG, mosquitos; we once lived in a home near a creek in Vancouver, WA. Once the afternoon winds died down you could see a cloud of them emerge from the woods, reminiscent of a scene from The Fog. They were all hungry and could have possibly lifted you off the ground if you would have stopped running. Deep woods Off though stinky seemed to work. Moving to the SW worked better Gotta love Borrego, Joshua Tree etc. For bug free living.
So true. Nothing like the SW desert for bug free living. Spend enough time there and it’s easy to forget bugs even exist.
Nina
Just an FYI-they had snow in Sun Valley Idaho yesterday. Looks like it’s a little warmer where you are now.
Wow! Hard to believe it was 80 degrees there just a month and a half ago. Weather is definitely a-changing. I’m hoping we get some good amount of fall and not just a fast flip from summer to winter.
Nina
Besides your doggie and cat care the fall colors would be the only reason we’d go to the NorthEast-way too many people for us. Have fun and good weather
We’re definitely hoping to catch fall colors as we travel east and south the rest of this month and next.
Nina
20 miles west of AA is officially the worse ragweed pollen place on the planet; and I spent 4 years in AA and then around Detroit for another 20 and got massive ragweed allergies. Moved to the left coast 40 years ago and never looked back; no allergies….we got some rain this year so the mosquitoes were pretty bad compared to the drought.
I don’t remember seeing that much flat ground around AA, most of it was rolling hills which was nicer than Detroit and suburbs, which were flat.
I guess I’m really lucky none of us has allergies since we’re pretty close to the area you mentioned. Weather has finally turned by the way. We’re seeing nice, cool mid-70’s and lots fewer mosquitoes. I’m a happy gal!
Nina