I got out my old trusty Nikon D800 for a couple of shots. It has been a long time since I lugged this big-boy around. 99.9% of my photos are iPhone-produced. IPhone doesn't come close to Nikon's quality, but it sure is convenient.

Boondockers Welcome (BW) #3. After we said our goodbyes to our gracious host, Becky, we drove off to meet our new gracious host, Mike. Each BW host gives their little rest-spot a nickname. Our first host called his place daDesigns4u North. This was named after his business daDesigns4u. Our second host site was called Kamp Kyes. Now, we were off to Herron Heaven, about 8 miles from Alpena, Michigan, another town on the shore of Lake Huron.

Side Note: I gave Becky $15 for the two days of electrical hookup. I am kicking myself for not making it $20 like I gave daDesign. At the time, I guess I thought the porta-potty at daDesign warranted the extra five bucks, but jeez, these hosts are going way out of their way to generously provide a nice spot, requiring no money, that I just felt terrible all day long. I think $10 a day is fair no matter what, and it is still a bargain. 

Mike had yet another interesting story. As a retired Air Force vet, he started his military career as a dental assistant, but that morphed into a bio-medical equipment specialist. Part of his job was to set up mobile field hospitals, not unlike the Mash TV show. Naturally, he lived all over the place during his military stint. He proudly bragged that there isn’t a piece of medical equipment that he couldn’t calibrate or fix. MRI? No problem. X-ray? Bring it on.

He collected Opal sports cars. GM built Opal nondescript compact cars in Europe for decades, so I was surprised to see a hot little Opal sports car. It was even cooler than the old MGs or Triumph sports cars I used to drool over as a kid. He is also an avid golfer and bowler. He showed us his new putter that, I swear, looked like it had laser beams and high-tech sensors to drain a golf ball in the hole with your eyes shut. Anyway, Mike provided us with electricity and lots of recommended places to explore.

Another generous BW host providing a nice spot to base camp.

Our BW host ran an extension cord from his extra storage garage.

Being 4 pm by the time we broke away, we only had time to drive into Alpena to walk around a bit, and then explore the tiny community of Presque Isle and the nearby lighthouse at Harbor View. First, it was Alpena.

This is anything but a tourist town. It is a working town with plenty of factories. Shale and limestone is quarried in the area. These raw materials are the building blocks for concrete and sheet rock. Consequently, Alpena is home to cement and sheet rock manufacturing. With much of the northern LP being a sportsman paradise, we weren’t prepared for all this manufacturing. Still, Alpena had a pleasant working class appeal. And it did have at least one hand-dipped ice cream shop.

This photo celebrating art in Alpena is a great takeoff on the Beatle's Abbey Road album.

The town clock followed the LP's tradition of town clocks. Unfortunately, it was broken. I know, it does give the correct time two times per day.

It is hard to tell from this photo, but this mural is 3D. Several of the fish are mounted creating that 3D look.

The entrance to the town's harbor. Not shown, but just to the left of this photo is a big factory giving the town's harbor a manufacturing feel.

Michigan seems to have a propensity to re-use good names. It must have about 30 Presque Isle towns, rivers, and lakes. (It also uses the name “Sturgeon” a lot for different rivers.) We pronounce Presque Isle like ‘presk eye-ill’. Northern Michiganders pronounce it like ‘presh ill’.

When Mike recommended going to Presh Ill, I couldn’t find it on my map. When I talked to a couple of other people in the area about Presk Eye-Ill, they didn’t know what I was talking about. I finally figured it out - pretty cool, actually. The hike along Lake Huron at the Presh Ill lighthouse was also pretty cool.

There are two lighthouses in this area. (Above) This smaller lighthouse is in the tiny community of Presque Isle. Presque Isle is mainly just a collection of houses. (Below) This statue celebrates Anna Garrity, one of the first female lighthouse keepers on the Great Lakes. Starting in 1903, she was a paid keeper at the Presque Isle lighthouse for 23 years.

The second lighthouse, just a few miles from the Presque Isle lighthouse, is the much larger lighthouse at Harbor View.

This Harbor View lighthouse had ample living space.

Harbor View had a nearby campground and a hiking trail that paralleled the beach.

Kind of a neat bench - not very comfy but arty.

Glossary of terms used for newcomers: 1) V-Jer. The name of our camper. 2) Saturn. The name of our Van. 3) Duende. Our mischievous gremlin that breaks things. 4) Tata. The good gremlin that helps us fix Duende’s dirty work. 5) The Black Hole. This is what we call Walmart because every time we go in for just a couple of items, we come out spending way more than we figured. 6) QT. Quaint Town. 7) Little Buddy. This is what we call our Dyson cordless stick vacuum.

Dave and Wanda

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