Lake Hudson Recreation Area - August 16-18

Jim and I have had a super busy two weeks and decided it was time to "unplug" for the weekend and sneak away. Obviously, we didn't sneak too well as most everyone knew we were heading out. We wanted to go someplace close to home so we didn't have a long drive there and back.

Our travels took us to the Lake Hudson Recreation Area in the big town of Hudson, MI, which is located about 30 miles from our house. We didn't make reservation, but were told that the park very rarely is full on the weekends. They do not have water and only vault toilets, so I think that keeps a lot of people away. We selected campsite #5 which was really big and roomy. It was probably overkill for our small camper, but it was nice to spread out a little bit.

Campsite #5 at Lake Hudson Recreation Area

We didn't have cell phone service here and totally unplugged for the weekend. I actually turned my phone completely off and left it in the camper. I find that I'm far too dependent on my phone (and really electronics in general) these days and need to have more times like this to just be with Jim, enjoy our surroundings and the world around us. 

We had a true camping weekend. Jim cooked over the fire both nights. On Friday night we had pizza pies over the fire and on Saturday he cooked a steak dinner with all the fixing. He topped that off with one of my all time favorite campfire desserts. No, not smores! He took apples, cored them out, stuffed them with the Red Hot candy, wrapped them in foil, and threw them in the campfire for about an hour. They were delicious!!!!! 

On Saturday, we ventured into the big town of Hudson with our bikes and enjoyed a 10 mile bike ride on their  bike path. For such a small town, they really have invested in their bike paths. It was a beautiful day for a bike ride. We also have a spectacular sunset to watch on Saturday evening along with some of the most awesome stars I've seen in a while. According to park ranger, Lake Hudson has been designated a dark sky preserve for learning more about the night time sky. It has one of the best combinations of dark skies and clear horizons available in southern Michigan. Let me tell you....its dark and I mean really dark!

Sunset at Lake Hudson Recreation Area

The best thing about Sunday morning was being able to sleep in (until 9 am which seems late these days) and enjoy a cup of coffee and breakfast before we headed out. We usually are in such a rush to get home on Sundays. Since we were only a half an hour away, we were able to relax and take our time. We were still home by 1 pm and had most of the day at home.

We are already talking about a return trip to Lake Hudson and the possibility of this becoming our "go to" place when we want to be spontaneous.

The summer is winding down and so are our camping trips. We have 2 more on the books, but I sure hope we can squeeze a few more out of this season.