Michael Richardson
I’m currently writing this post from the Brown City Park in southeastern Michigan, watching a little league baseball team sweat through their Tuesday afternoon practice. While I can appreciate the sports facilities this park has to offer, unfortunately, it’s not a campground and doesn’t have any bathrooms or potable water. The stretch from Bay City, MI (where we stayed last night) to Wallaceburg, ON (where we plan to stay tomorrow) is quite barren in terms of camping, so we had no choice but to “rough it” tonight. That means no bathing, no washing clothes, and an early wake up time to avoid suspicion. In efforts to keep a low profile, the gang dispersed throughout the park for the night. Friend and I took to the dugouts, while Usher and Brian opted to pitch their tents between some bushes. If any one of us is spotted, we have agreed not to give away the location of the other three so at least a few of us should get some sleep.
Friend and Usher set up their respective camps in the Brown City Park
To make it to Brown City, however, we first had to escape the maze of road work, potholes, and hidden bike paths that surrounded Bay City. Usher led us through a short section of road that reminded him of Mad Max, but instead of live ammunition, Nutri-Grain bars were shooting out of his frame. With some minor detours, we eventually made it out of town and into the wide-open fields of corn, soy, and wheat. Summer is in full swing these days and we really enjoyed the local flora—like purple sweet pea and chicory flowers—that lined the highways and rail trails today.
A representative section of Bay City road
Chicory and wheat
Just before noon, we stopped in Frankenmuth to refill our water bottles. This is a small German town that hosts many annual events like SnowFest and the Olympic-style Dog Bowl. I’ve stayed in a couple of these Bavarian villages on other trips—Helen, GA and Leavenworth, WA—so it was quite familiar. This was also our first Tim Horton’s spotting and we were more than happy to splurge on some coffee and donuts before lunch. We’ll definitely by hitting up Tim Horton’s again in Canada. By the time we took our lunch break in Vassar, the day was really heating up and I was ready for a siesta. While the others took a dip in Otter Lake, I laid down on a park bench and was out within seconds. Little moments of rest like this one make all the difference when you’re putting in the miles day after day.
Michael rides through Frankenmuth, MI
Friend finds time for a quick nap after lunch
The large sign that welcomed us into Brown City proudly declared it “The Home of the Motorhome”—a nod to the city’s history as the birthplace of the very first motorhome. Tonight might be light on amenities, but we’re getting by just fine with a little improvisation—very much in the spirit of the original motorhome, I’d say.