Dusting Off the Blog: A 5-Year Photo Tour of Our Camping Life

It’s hard to believe it has been five years since I last sat down to write in this space. If you’ve been here since the beginning, thank you for waiting out the long intermission. If you’re new here, welcome to our digital camp scrapbook.

While the blog has been quiet, our lives out on the trail certainly haven't been. In 2021, we purchased a piece of property in central Michigan to serve as a seasonal camp site. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) basically shut down the world. It was nearly impossible to camp anywhere without planning super far ahead. 

So, why not have our own campsite that we could go to at any point and not worry about making reservations. We put a lot of sweat equity hours and love into this piece of property to clear the land, put in a driveway, electrical, sewer and make it our own. This has been where we have camped until the Fall of 2023 when we decided to slowly start 'rambling' on once again. 

I realized recently how much I missed documenting these moments — not just to remember the logistics of a great site, but to look back on the people, the stories, and the quiet magic of being unplugged surrounded by nature.

So, consider this post a visual reunion. Grab a drink, pull up a camp chair, and take a little stroll through some of our favorite moments, campsites, and milestones from the last five years.

DECEMBER 2021

Our seasonal campsite at White Birch Lakes Recreational Area 

in Farwell, MI. This is just the beginning with putting in our driveway.

MAY 2022

The first weekend on our seasonal campsite at 

White Birch Lakes Recreational Area  in Farwell, MI. 

JUNE 2023

Party lights are up and on which means we have electricity!

JULY 2023

This man deserves to take a seat and relax at the camp fire. 

He put so much time and energy into making this place our own. 

SEPTEMBER 2023

We enjoyed our first, long weekend away from our seasonal campsite at

 Harrison Lake Campground (site 078N) in Fayette, OH. 

It does take some a minute to transition from seasonal camping to weekend camping again. 

OCTOBER 2024

After packing up our seasonal campsite, we headed for a week-long trip to the 

Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We stayed at Tahquamenon Falls State Park on site R-11.

SEPTEMBER 2025

This spot was next to heaven! We've not camped in a national forest 

without any electricity before. This is campsite #9 in the Hiawatha National 

Forest in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan again on the shores of Lake Michigan at St. Ignace. 

We felt like we were the only people around. It was so peaceful. The photo below 

is the view behind our camper. There's nothing I love more than a slow morning, 

with a great cup of french-pressed coffee, enjoying the sites and sounds of Lake Michigan 

with this stunning view!

Do you like what you see at White Birch Lakes Recreational Area? We've decided to sell our seasonal campsite and continue to 'ramblin' on while we still can. 

Here's my shameless plug for our property listing. Check it out!

Thanks for stopping by! If you loved this, don't forget to bookmark the site. 

Until the next adventure, keep on 'rambling'.

— ramblingriggs  🌲🔥🚐

A Family Tradition — Cousins Weekend 2021

For at least seven years now, my cousins have been camping at Stafford County Park in Port Hope, MI. Our first time there was in 2014. We may have skipped a year or two in between, but the tradition continued the weekend of September 17-19, 2021.

The weather was absolutely perfect for camping in September in Michigan. We had our normal block of campsites right on the shores of Lake Huron (Sites 12-17) which makes a perfect little compound for our family. I love falling asleep and waking up to the sound of waves lapping the shoreline. 

We rode bikes, went for ice cream, visited the historical train depot, ate some great food, drank some great beer, and enjoyed each other's company over the course of our 4-day trip. 

I'll let the photos below tell more of the weekend together. 

Until next time, happy camping and stay stafe!

A beautiful moon and sky with our camping
compound. Thanks for the photo Cousin Mike!

Cousin Waylon 
The next camper generation

The moon rising over Lake Huron.

Cousin Wyatt
The next camper generation too.

Back Row: Brother, Cousins Jason and Doug
Front Row: SIL Nancy, Cousins Jody and Becky

Jimmy is a "Happy Camper" and Cousin Mike

Cousins Angie, Pattie and Waylon

It wouldn't be camping without a friendly 
game of Kan Jam with Brother and Cousin Mike,

Cousins John and Laura

Cousin John and Mike

Lake Huron from our campsite

The Pod on Site 15 at Stafford County Park
in Port Hope, MI

Sunsets, Brewery and a Famous Boat Ride

Another Michigan State Park crossed off our list. We spent a long weekend (Thursday, August 26-Sunday, August 29) at Van Buren State Park (Site 96) in South Haven, MI and it didn't disappoint!

I got the last site in the park and I made reservations well over a month ago. The sites on the ends of each loop were nice and spacious and they were pretty secluded too, just like we like it. It was a short walk to the Lake Michigan, which provides some of the best sunsets you will ever see. 

On Friday, we headed into South Haven to check out the sites. It was such a quaint town with shops, beaches, piers, breweries and the Michigan Maritime Museum. There was plenty to do and see. 

We started with an early lunch at Clementine's. I'm pretty sure we found in the best onion rings EVER, along with an outstanding perch dinner. Since we were stuffed to the gills (get it? LOL!), we headed out for a leisurely walk around downtown to check out some shops. Since the past couple of weeks in Michigan have been unbearably hot and humid, we had to make a stop at Harbor Light Brewery to cool off and sample some of their brews. We had a nice chat with the owner and enjoyed sampling their IPA's (for Jim) and their Porters (for me). 

On Saturday, we headed for the Michigan Maritime Museum. It was another hot one and figured this would be a good thing to tour while spending some time in air conditioning. Who knew that more than half of the museum would be outdoors! Oh well, at least there was a decent breeze coming off the Black River and we took a 30-minute boat ride out on Lake Michigan on board the USCG MLB 36460. This boat is famous as it was seen in the 2016 Disney Movie, The Finest Hours, starring Chris Pine. 

Thanks to a couple of great friends for all their recommendations of things to do while we were in South Haven. It was a short 2.5 hour drive from home and made for a great weekend away.

I'm super thankful for air conditioning in my little Pod. I'm really looking forward to doing some fall camping in cooler temperatures, if it ever arrive. 

Until next time, happy camping and stay safe!

Van Buren State Park • Site 96

 The USCG MLB 36460

Aboard The USCG MLB 36460 with our
tour guide, Tara.

Jim and I
aboard The USCG MLB 36460.

The beach at Van Buren State Park.

Lake Michigan sunsets are the best!

and they never disappoint!

South Haven has some pretty
cool artwork!

This fish was made out of trash 
that was picked up along the beaches
in South Haven.

All Good Things Come to An End

I thought being gone for 17-days would just seem like forever, but here we are at our last stop in Michigan at Bewabic State Park. We were only here for a couple of days before we headed to Wisconsin. Site 44 was huge and surrounded by trees. The park was fairly empty during the week but we could tell it slowly started filling up as we got closer to the 4th of July holiday weekend. 

Bewabic State Park • Site 44

Great bonfire weather

A man and his Pod!

Since we were in a waterfall groove from our last stop, we figured since we were in Crystal Falls, MI, there had to be a waterfall, right? We found Chicagon Falls located not far from the State Park. I wasn't ready for what we stumbled across. The road started out as a normal dirt road. As we wound our way back to the waterfall, the road turned into more of a two-track. The last bit of the two-track got very dicey to the point that Jimmy stopped the truck and got it to make sure we would make it. His truck doesn't have 4-wheel drive but it handled pretty well. I should have videoed the experience but I seriously needed to hold on for dear life. I've never been off-roading before but I think this trip changed that. We finally made it to the parking area and it was only a short-walk to the fall. Our return trip up the two-track wasn't much better and even more stressful, but Jimmy and his truck climbed us out of there without any damage. It was worth the off-roading to the falls, but I wouldn't advise it in a car. You definitely need a truck!

Chicagon Falls 

Chicagon Falls

Chicagon Falls

Chicagon Falls

Chicagon Falls

Chicagon Falls

We had worked up an appetite after our off-roading and settled on The Curious Pig. It was another gorgeous day and we were able to eat outside.  Jim had the brisket chili to start that was out of this world. I had the the Pigs Grilled Cheese Sandwich which was pulled pork topped with macaroni and cheese, BBQ sauce and pimiento cheese spread on Texas toast that was toasted and grilled. It came with a side of homemade Cole Slaw and Pickles. The sandwich was literally to die for and the cole slaw and pickles were different. It was a different combination of sweet and spicy. It was an outstanding lunch all around set on a beautiful front porch on the perfect day.

The Curious Pig

Brisket Chili -- O---M----G!

The Pigs Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This concludes our road trip around the upper peninsula of Michigan. We hit all the destinations that we set out to see and then some. We had some wind and rain to contend with but that's part of camping. Our weather ranged from hoodies and coats to shorts and t-shirts with everything in between. More memories were made and bucket list items were achieved!

We came home through the beautiful state of Wisconsin and around Chicago. We (ok.....Jimmy) had never pulled the camper through Chicago and we (ok...Jimmy) was a tad nervous about it. Google sent us right through downtown Chicago on I-94. We are super glad that we asked around and took the outer loop around the city. It was a little hairy and slow in spots but we made it just fine. 

Thanks for following our trip across the upper peninsula. We really do live in a beautiful state! 

Stay safe and happy camping! 

The Porkies, Lake of the Clouds and Waterfalls...Oh My!

The next stop on our road trip is Lake Gogebic State Park in Marensico, MI. We did good at selecting another home base to visiting all of the attractions that were on our list. So many people had highly recommended this state park and I see why. Our campsite rolled right down into Lake Gogebic. Even though the site was super small, and once again we were greeted by giant mosquitos, the lake breeze, waves and view were totally worth it. 

Lake Gogebic State Park • Site 51

Lake Gogebic from our campsite

Such a great view

Right before the rain at Lake Gogebic

I was super excited to check off one of my bucket list items by visiting the Porcupine Mountains (commonly referred to as The Porkies) and Lake of the Clouds. We visited on a super cloudy day and my pictures aren't the best,  but it was still spectacular. 

Truly God's Country!

A river runs through it.

Lake of the Clouds

Jimmy at Lake of the Clouds

We were so high up. It was awesome!

The uphill climb at Porcuppine
Mountains to the summit.
I definitely got my steps and workout in
and another hundred mosquito bits!

They next day we really didn't have plans and just wanted to wing it. As much as I love to plan, I also like to just go with the flow and be spontaneous. It was forecasted to rain so we really weren't sure what the day would bring. 

We decided to head over to Bond Falls in Paulding, MI. Rain or not, we decided it wouldn't matter. These falls are a must see if you are ever in the area. They had a great boardwalk and sitting area to take in the view (even in the rain). 

The boardwalk at Bond Falls

Jimmy always supports Siena on our travels

Bond Falls

Bond Falls

Since we were in a waterfall groove, we continued our day and visited Agate Falls. This wasn't as spectacular as Bond Falls, but it was easy to get to.  It was right off the road on MI-28 but the views of the actual waterfalls were hard to see. 

Ontonagon River

Agate Falls

After our waterfall adventure, we finally were able to stop for an early dinner at JW's BBQ and Brew and I'm certainly glad we did. I had some of the best brisket ever! It melted in my mouth. They also had 3 different kinds of homemade BBQ sauces that were all outstanding. Our waitress was adorable and talked to use all about the winters in the upper peninsula. I think it takes a special type of person to endure all that snow and cold, but the summertime is absolutely gorgeous (minus those darn mosquitoes of course!)

Our adventure will continue as we travel to Bewabic State Park in Crystal Falls, MI. 

In the meantime, stay safe and happy camping!