ramblingriggs: Always Remember to Look Up!

When we have a 70-plus degree weekend in Michigan in November, we should be camping. Since we are not out enjoying the last bit of this gorgeous fall weather, I thought I'd write about our second and last trip of the season.

With the pandemic, campgrounds are super busy and it is hard to get any reservations especially spanning over two consecutive weekends. We built our trip around staying at my brother's property again at White Birch Lake Association in Farwell, MI. It was a no-brainer to book during the week at Ludington State Park in Ludington, MI. My brother's property is about 90 miles from Ludington so we could stay the first weekend at White Birch, shoot over to Ludington for the week, and then landed back at White Birch to round out our 10-day trip.

During the first weekend at White Birch Lake, the girls had a craft day. Now, if you know me, you know that I don't craft much and it has been a super long time since I have done anything crafty. It didn't hurt that we made two of my favorite things...pumpkins and snowmen. It was so much fun and I happy to report that our craft-teacher, Chris, said that I was a good student!

We moved over to Ludington State Park on Sunday. This park is outstanding! This is our third time camping there. There is so much to do from hiking to bicycling to kayaking. Since we aren't going out to eat, shopping, or visiting breweries, we knew the park had enough to offer to keep us busy.

On Sunday night, it was super windy and cold. We decided to order a pizza from the Chuckwagon Pizza, which is not far from the park. Holy Moly!! Check out the pizza below. This was by far some of the best pizza I've ever had. Not to mention that I LOVE MUSHROOMS and look at how many were on this pizza. My mouth is watering again just thinking about it.

We experienced all kinds of Michigan weather. We definitely needed a fire in the evenings to keep us warm and the heat on in the camper. The days were almost perfect for hiking and bicycling. We logged just over 25 miles of hiking for the week.

One of my missions for this week was to try and photograph a bright red tree. Fall is my favorite time of year and I love to see the colors changing around me (especially the bright red ones). I probably took around 40-50 different photos and couldn't get it right. My photos don't really do it justice, but I'm happy with a couple that I finally took back at White Birch on our second weekend while sitting around the campfire. I'm usually mesmerized by the fire and watching it dance, but this time I decided to look up and I noticed this beautiful red tree. Just a reminder, don't forget to always lookup. You might be missing the beauty above you from the brilliant, blue sky to the beautiful fall colors.

It's hard to believe we only made it out for two trips in 2020. This whole year has been one for the record books. I'm thankful that my brother and sister-in-law are very gracious to let us use their property. We have been super cautious with Covid and this way we were still able to camp and enjoy time well-spent with my family. We still enjoyed our time in Ludington too. As with everything this year, it has just been different and very strange.

As for now, the Pod is all packed away in the barn for a long winter's nap. Let's hope 2021 brings more normalcy (whatever that is) and more opportunities to camp and travel.

Be Safe and Happy Camping!