2018 Great Lake States - Indiana, Elkhart & Brown County S.P.

2018 Great Lakes Trip – Indiana, Elkhart & Brown County S.P.

Photo link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/x9nxxNEYLAdqDmN36

Sunday September 2^nd – Wednesday, September 5^th

Elkhart 4-H Fairgrounds Campground, Goshen, IN

Heading south out of Michigan, we had decided to stop in the Elkhart Indiana area. This place is the capital of RV manufacturing. These manufacturers all conduct factory tours. We visited both Keystone and Jayco to watch their processes and to ask questions. Our RV is now 6 years old, and we’ve played real hard with it. We are looking into possibly getting a new RV for our future travels. Keystone has a new line of toy haulers that we are looking into and we watched some being built. These new RVs have so much newer technology and we are ready for an upgrade. 

We camped at the Elkhart 4-H Fairgrounds. They have an enormous area for RVs and at that time there were very few RVs there. Our site was right next to the poultry and rabbits barn. The dogs were able to run free off leash for some freedom. The campground was very comfortable and had all necessary facilities. Kurt rode his bike one day along a paved recreation trail that wandered through the towns and farmlands. He truly enjoyed that ride.

We found that this area is also thriving. There were various kinds of manufacturing plants all around the area and “Now Hiring” signs at all types of businesses.  The town of Goshen seemed to be the nicest town in the area and looks to be growing. This area is also surrounded by farmlands, as you would expect in the Midwest. We enjoyed our four days there.

Thursday September 6^th – Tuesday, September 11^th

Brown County State Park, Nashville, IN

Next stop was Brown County S.P., where we had visited in June on our way north. We thought we could try again to get in some mountain biking, since it rained some of the days there previously. We drove south of Indianapolis to this park. The weather forecast did include a couple of rain days, as the remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon would be passing through the area. The trails were in decent shape to ride the first day there, but it did start raining on us at the end of our rides. Then the next two full days we spent in pouring rain. We were stuck in the camper most of the time, if the wind wasn’t so bad to sit out under the awning. Even the dogs were getting cabin (RV) fever, we all wanted to get outside.

We waited a couple of days for the trails to dry out. After that the riding was fun, but still some muddy, wet areas. I also explored a historic log cabin, which is now being used as a picnic area. The last day there, we went into the nearby town of Nashville. There is an excellent Mexican restaurant there, where we enjoyed lunch. We did walk around town some and browsed the little shops. If we ever travel through Indiana, we will definitely stop at this great state park.

Now on to Ohio!

2018 Great Lake States - Holland, Michigan

2018 Great Lakes Trip – Holland, Michigan

Photo link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/KA2rdGS6DstNAMSo9

Monday August 27th – Saturday, September 1^st

Ottawa County Fairgrounds Campground, Holland, MI

After heading along the western coast of the lower peninsula of Michigan, we arrived at our destination of Holland, Michigan. After getting our RV setup at the campground in the Ottawa County Fairgrounds, we went out to explore the area. How can I describe this lovely city? This area is right on the east coast of Lake Michigan and has beautiful beaches and recreation areas. We drove downtown to the visitor center to gather information. Instantly, we were impressed with the modern, yet quaint downtown area. Right away we noticed that all the buildings were either updated or were new, retaining the Dutch architecture of the original settlers. Beyond that, it was so clean and organized, all the streets and sidewalks are built of brick pavers. We later found out that the city built these in order to place heating coils below the bricks. The streets and sidewalks are never covered in snow or ice during the winter, WOW. Also, the city built its own power plant, using natural gas to run jet engines which produce the electric output. Water is heated and then cycled through the heating coils under the city streets. The whole city and local area utilizes this power plant, at about 1/3 the cost of other methods of power generation. The city leaders and community are very mindful of the future, and to make their city a great place to live. We also noticed that almost all local neighborhoods were very clean, neat and well maintained. Pride in their properties here! Needless to say, we fell in love with this place.

Water sports are essential to visitors and those living in this area. There is an interior lake, Macatawa that has canal access to Lake Michigan. The original Dutch settlers dug this canal so that they could get access to the big lake. The beach at the inlet has a historical lighthouse, jetties on both sides and the beautiful sandy beach, which is part of Holland State Park.

The next evening was a scheduled Wednesday sailboat race on Lake Macatawa. So we drove to the inlet and were able to watch the races from a waterfront deck along the lakeside. While there, a nice gentleman was describing the races and strategy used. He apparently has in-depth knowledge of sailboats and this event. We learned a lot about the area from this gentleman, Gene. After chatting with him and describing how much we loved the area, he predicted that one day we would probably be back and stay longer. Funny that we had even discussed this previously. We would like to visit there again some summer, it has so much to do in the area that we could enjoy. I would even like to get into sailing again.

Another day I visited a local park, Windmill Island Gardens, to learn more about the Dutch heritage and history. I especially wanted to check out the historic windmill that was brought from the Netherlands and reconstructed in Holland, Michigan. The tour guides and workers were dressed in Dutch period clothing and were able to describe historical information and answer questions about the Dutch culture. The gardens were beautiful, but too bad it was not tulip season. I would love to see that. The windmill tour was amazing! This windmill is actually a working grain mill. There is a young lady there who is the only certified woman miller in the U.S. She runs the whole milling program there, maintains the equipment and produces milled flour made from local farm wheat grains. She also grinds cornmeal using local heritage corn grain. The visitor center is a replica of a 14^th century wayside inn. The “Little Netherlands” buildings are modeled after an 18^th century village in the Zaan region. The drawbridge is a replica of one that spanned the Amstel River in the province of Noord Holland. This attraction really allows a visitor to experience Dutch culture and history.

There were also some fun mountain biking trails nearby, which we did enjoy. Kurt also took his kayak on Lake Macatawa for a late afternoon paddle. One evening, we headed back downtown to check out the street performers. It was so much fun, watching various talents show off their skills and visiting a local brew house. On the last evening, we headed back to the beach area to watch the sunset. It was beautiful and the perfect spot on Lake Michigan to experience this amazing place. Holland Michigan! What a lovely town and we think it was the nicest area we visited in the state of Michigan! Maybe someday…..

Now, continue heading south to Indiana.