Project Alpha Bound II: Electric Boogaloo
- Thread starter ab1985
- Start date
ab1985
Explorer
My oldest daughter and I have been planning a trip to the UP for our bigger trip this summer. I use the term "planning" loosely - basically we decided in advance that we would go. That was about the extent of the planning. A few weeks before go time my wife showed some interest, so we decided at the last minute we'd make the trip a family affair.
My wife has never been on an extended camping trip, she doesn't like road trips period, and she prefers things to be planned in advance. Game on.
Honestly, I couldn't have been prouder of her and my 4 year old. They both did really well even we when ran into the typical challenges you expect to face on a small scale adventure like this.
We made the long drive up in a day and stayed in a cheap cabin just south of Mackinaw City. The next morning we ate breakfast in Mackinaw, strolled around town, then crossed the bridge into the UP. By early afternoon the weather had turned so we made our way to the nearest established campground at Tahquamenon Falls on the rivermouth just south of Paradise. It was a decent site with a few too many neighbors for our taste, but the girls had fun playing with the other kids. The next morning the sun was shining and we were feeling optimistic about pushing north and exploring the coast of Lake Superior.
Our view of the Tahquamenon:
My wife has never been on an extended camping trip, she doesn't like road trips period, and she prefers things to be planned in advance. Game on.
Honestly, I couldn't have been prouder of her and my 4 year old. They both did really well even we when ran into the typical challenges you expect to face on a small scale adventure like this.We made the long drive up in a day and stayed in a cheap cabin just south of Mackinaw City. The next morning we ate breakfast in Mackinaw, strolled around town, then crossed the bridge into the UP. By early afternoon the weather had turned so we made our way to the nearest established campground at Tahquamenon Falls on the rivermouth just south of Paradise. It was a decent site with a few too many neighbors for our taste, but the girls had fun playing with the other kids. The next morning the sun was shining and we were feeling optimistic about pushing north and exploring the coast of Lake Superior.
Our view of the Tahquamenon:
ab1985
Explorer
We drove into Paradise to gas up and grab a few supplies, (although, don't plan on finding much in that sleepy little town). Originally, my plan was to drive up to Whitefish Point then take the roads less traveled along the coast towards Grand Marais. I wasn't sure Mrs. AB was ready for that much adventure, yet, so we did a straight shot to Deer Park and headed west on the Grand Marais Truck Trail. We stopped in the village of Grand Marais for lunch and pushed on towards 12 mile beach. I knew it would be a long shot to get a walk up spot there, but we tried anyways. No dice. It was getting later in the day. We'd had a fun time driving the coast, but decided it would be best to crash in Munising for the night and regroup. The girls (all of them) were getting a little stir crazy at this point. So we pushed west, had a late lunch, then hit Sand Point Beach a few miles outside of town.
ab1985
Explorer
The next morning we woke early and made our way west toward the Keweenaw Bay then up to the Mouth of the Huron. Fortunately, the beach was pretty empty and we found a great spot to settle down for a couple of days. The weather was great and we had a blast just hanging out the the rest of day.
ab1985
Explorer
We woke in the middle of the night to the sound of loud music and motorcycle engines. I'm not sure when these guys arrived, but it was like a scene straight of The Lost Boys. They were further down the beach a ways, so we just hung tight and rode it out. At one point we thought we heard another camper approach them. After an hour or so they packed it in and we were glad to get back to sleep. A good reminder that sketchy folks can show up anywhere at any time.
The next day was overcast and the water was too choppy to do much kayaking. We walked down the beach to the mouth of the Huron River and fished a bit, but there wasn't much going on in the small area we could reach on foot. We ended up finding a blueberry patch further north up the beach later that afternoon which the girls loved. It was a lazy day and one that we needed at that point.
The next day was overcast and the water was too choppy to do much kayaking. We walked down the beach to the mouth of the Huron River and fished a bit, but there wasn't much going on in the small area we could reach on foot. We ended up finding a blueberry patch further north up the beach later that afternoon which the girls loved. It was a lazy day and one that we needed at that point.
ab1985
Explorer
Thankfully we had a peaceful night's sleep and woke up to sunny skies. We decided to pack up and had back toward Munising. The plan was to find a place to camp near Christmas then take the Pictured Rocks boat tour the next day in Munising. We stopped off in L'Anse for lunch and ice cream than again in Marquette to restock the fridge. From there we went to check out Paradise (the rocks not the city). We had hoped to camp there but there wasn't a spot we felt comfortable with the girls. It was as beautiful as the pictures I'd seen, though. We stopped off at Bay Furnace where the campground attendant told us they were full but that Lake AuTrain had a few single night spots. It was a short backtrack and we ended up getting a nice, secluded site near the bird watching trail. No pics. It was low key. The girls ran around the trails and we settled in early.
L'Anse with the Keweenaw Bay in the background:
Paradise:
L'Anse with the Keweenaw Bay in the background:
Paradise:
ab1985
Explorer
The next morning we headed back into Munising and road the boat out to Pictured Rocks. It was gorgeous and most of my pictures I took are still on an SD card I haven't downloaded yet. Below are a couple from my phone.
We were beat by the end of the day and ended up driving down toward Escanaba then east along the shores of Lake Michigan. We waved goodbye to the UP and crossed the bridge back into Mackinaw. We crashed at hotel a little ways south, then made the long drive home the next day.
After a week of travelling everyone was happy to be back home. Overall, it was just the right mix for my wife and youngest daughter's first road trip. I'm looking forward to the next trip, but I need to start thinking about how to streamline my setup to better accommodate travelling with 4 people vs. 2.
We were beat by the end of the day and ended up driving down toward Escanaba then east along the shores of Lake Michigan. We waved goodbye to the UP and crossed the bridge back into Mackinaw. We crashed at hotel a little ways south, then made the long drive home the next day.
After a week of travelling everyone was happy to be back home. Overall, it was just the right mix for my wife and youngest daughter's first road trip. I'm looking forward to the next trip, but I need to start thinking about how to streamline my setup to better accommodate travelling with 4 people vs. 2.
Ruined Adventures
Brenton Cooper
Sounds like an overall success! The UP has been on our list. Thanks for the inspiration. Cheers
ab1985
Explorer
That's a Tembo Tusk Skottle. One of my favorite pieces of gear.
barb_alone
New member
good job we start project lc80 like you
ab1985
Explorer
Happy New Year, everyone. Like many others, my build thread was destroyed by the @sshats at Photobucket. I've received several requests for pictures, and I plan to go through one by one and download them at some point. I don't know that it's feasible to go back and fix this thread, though, so I plan to start a new one in the next few months. My 80 has been parked in the driveway for the most part save for a few small weekend trips and travel around town.
This past summer I decided to dip my toes in the water with a larger vehicle. My wife, two girls and I flew to Denver and rented a Sportsmobile for 10 days and hit the San Juans again. The Sportsmobile was amazing in many ways, but it highlighted the quality and durability of the 80 Series Land Cruiser. We had a great time and learned a lot about our travelling style. My wife and girls love the mountains, but they don't like driving around on top of them. I've come to grips with this. We still plan to spend vacation time out west, but it will not be in an overland capacity. This is important point #1.
For the last 4-5 years I've worked from home and traveled for work. "Worked from home" is a misleading statement because I've been on the road 30-40 weeks a year, and my work destinations were nothing near exotic (think big cities). Last week I gave my notice, and beginning later this month I will be working a local job with a normal commute. For some this sounds like a bad thing, but for me it is a huge win. Along with the commute comes a need for a fuel efficient vehicle, so I purchased a 3rd card for that purpose which means our stable is getting cramped (my 3 car garage is full of gym equipment and man-cave stuff). This is important point #2.
So in a couple of weeks my 80 is going to live on a farm. But have no fear - I'm not selling it anytime soon. This is my brother's place 5 miles down the road. It is going to live inside a 4,000 sf workshop out of the elements. This will be allow me to tinker with the truck in far more efficient ways. My brother even offered to drive it back and forth to work a few times a month to let it breathe. His commercial shop is 10 miles down the road, so that's perfect. I would be remiss not to mention my brother owns one of the premier high-end cabinet shops in Nashville so you see where this is going. This is important point #3
To recap:
1) Truck no longer needs to be configured to comfortably sleep four
2) Truck will now be 100% dedicated to recreating
3) I have space, time, tools, and expertise to actually work on this thing again
All of this makes me very excited. I have lots of plans - some that have been on the list and many that are new. And it looks like I'll get a chance to start
chipping away at some of them in 2018. I'll be starting a new build thread this spring and will link it here.
More to come. Time to get this thing back into the wild where she belongs.
This past summer I decided to dip my toes in the water with a larger vehicle. My wife, two girls and I flew to Denver and rented a Sportsmobile for 10 days and hit the San Juans again. The Sportsmobile was amazing in many ways, but it highlighted the quality and durability of the 80 Series Land Cruiser. We had a great time and learned a lot about our travelling style. My wife and girls love the mountains, but they don't like driving around on top of them. I've come to grips with this. We still plan to spend vacation time out west, but it will not be in an overland capacity. This is important point #1.
For the last 4-5 years I've worked from home and traveled for work. "Worked from home" is a misleading statement because I've been on the road 30-40 weeks a year, and my work destinations were nothing near exotic (think big cities). Last week I gave my notice, and beginning later this month I will be working a local job with a normal commute. For some this sounds like a bad thing, but for me it is a huge win. Along with the commute comes a need for a fuel efficient vehicle, so I purchased a 3rd card for that purpose which means our stable is getting cramped (my 3 car garage is full of gym equipment and man-cave stuff). This is important point #2.
So in a couple of weeks my 80 is going to live on a farm. But have no fear - I'm not selling it anytime soon. This is my brother's place 5 miles down the road. It is going to live inside a 4,000 sf workshop out of the elements. This will be allow me to tinker with the truck in far more efficient ways. My brother even offered to drive it back and forth to work a few times a month to let it breathe. His commercial shop is 10 miles down the road, so that's perfect. I would be remiss not to mention my brother owns one of the premier high-end cabinet shops in Nashville so you see where this is going. This is important point #3
To recap:
1) Truck no longer needs to be configured to comfortably sleep four
2) Truck will now be 100% dedicated to recreating
3) I have space, time, tools, and expertise to actually work on this thing again
All of this makes me very excited.
I have lots of plans - some that have been on the list and many that are new. And it looks like I'll get a chance to startchipping away at some of them in 2018. I'll be starting a new build thread this spring and will link it here.
More to come. Time to get this thing back into the wild where she belongs.
LandCruiserPhil
Expedition Leader
Glad to hear you are moving forward in your quest for happiness look forward to your progress and possible a Sportsmobile.
NM-Frontier
Explorer
Sportsmobiles are pretty cool! Good to hear that you have plans for the the 80 still, best of luck to you rebuilding the thread, we lost a lot of classic build threads when they stole all the pictures.
Time to take adventures is the best thing ever, it doesn't mater what you drive or how you do it, just at long as you can get out more!
Cheers:sombrero:
Time to take adventures is the best thing ever, it doesn't mater what you drive or how you do it, just at long as you can get out more!
Cheers:sombrero: