October 17. We are back on the road again and have added three more states to the list. It is still hard to believe how very big this country is on a drive like this.We have spent the last two weeks visiting with family - Laurie’s Mom in Holland Michigan and Mark’s brother in Cleveland. Getting reconnected with with family was very nice.

 We left Sleeping Bear Dunes on October 3 and moved down the Lake Michigan shore to Ludington State Park for two nights. We did lots of hiking on the trails at this park including 3 miles to the Big Sable Point Lighthouse, a 2 mile hike around an inland lake, and saw Coho Salmon returning up the river. The weather was very cold and windy but we had beautiful sunsets.

 On October 5 we checked in to Holland State Park, Laurie’s hometown. We were very surprised to find the park invaded with ghouls and goblins for Fall Festival Weekend. We were amazed by all the halloween decorations camper’s brought to the park and set up.

 We spent a lot of time with Mom and Laurie’s sister Jackie and Holland friends but also checked out sights and events in the area. We picked apples and saw a Root Beer Barrel pop stand that has been in Saugatuck Mi. as long as Laurie can remember. Also we saw 'Big Red' the Holland lighthouse and DeZwan windmill that was brought to Holland from the Netherlands. This was also the first of many visits to Lake Michigan and we could even wade in the water - which is very unusual for us Oregonians. We also did a 14-mile bike ride along the lake and did the required home projects for Mom.

 A big event in Grand Rapids in October is Art Prize. This draws artists from all around the world with $400,000 in awards both juried and public voting. We saw over 200 art pieces of all forms - 3-D, paintings, sculptures, performance and that was only a part of the show. It was very interesting.

Laurie and Jackie at Gerald R Ford Museum in Grand ERapids.

 On our way to see Mark’s brother we stopped at Findley State Park for one night and again we ran in to a Halloween themed weekend! These camper in the midwest are crazy! We took a 3-mile hike around the lake. We then headed to Cleveland for a long weekend visit with John and his family. We were able to see and visit most of his family including the new baby niece born on the day we arrived.

Brother John, wife Linda and son Scott

 We also visited the Cleveland Art Museum, took a ride on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, and toured and hiked in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.The park preserves most of the Ohio and Erie Canal that connected the Ohio River to Lake Erie that was a major transportation route during the 19th century. They have restored the twenty mile tow path that is heavily used for hiking and biking. You can see an actual lock in operation that was part of the canal.

 Leaving Cleveland on Tuesday the 16th we headed east to visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water house in Mill Run PA. The house is cantilevered over a waterfall and is stunning in its connection to nature and the river.

We camped at Ohiopyle State Park near falling waters. We decided we would check out Elk Nest State Park in Maryland after a few gravel roads of West Virginia! (thanks to the GPS route. It has a really cute lighthouse and we are on our way to Washington DC.

 More to come.