On Tour with J&B, Week 9, 2017
RV Parks:
Port Huron, Canada: Port Huron Township RV, just across the Canadian border
St. Joseph/Benton Harbor: KOA
Chicago/Newark: Jellystone — an hour and a half from the City!
Milwaukee: Jellystone
Wisconsin Dells: Jellystone
Minneapolis: Lebanon Hills Campground, a beautiful city park with lots of open space, hiking trails, lakes, turtles, and a wild turkey.
Port Huron and St. Joseph: Just stops along the way to Chicago to meet our grandson, Nick, arriving from Temecula.
Chicago: The Yogi Bear Jellystone Park in Newark was the closest park to the city, and it was 90 minutes out. We had to drive it several times, but it was worth it to be able to have Nick (10) join us for eight days. We had a nice day showing him the city, checking out the Navy Pier area, the Chicago River, and Maggie Daley and Millennium Parks. But if you ask Nick, the best part of our stay in the Chicago area was all the kids and play areas at the Jellystone RV park. Nick was a ring-leader, and we had two kids and their parents join us for BBQ hot dogs and hamburgers. Despite afternoon thunderstorms, we were able to have a campfire and roast marshmallows. Lots of thunder and lightening later in the evening, and before the night was over, we had three cozy bodies in our bed.
Milwaukee: We explored the downtown river area and had a nice lunch. However, Nick was happiest playing in the Jellystone RV park. As far as we’re concerned, we will not stay in another Jellystone unless we have a kid with us.
Nick was a popular kid!
The Milwaukee River.
Wisconsin Dells: This was a disappointment . . . and a nice surprise. The dozens of theme parks and indoor water parks were crowded and uninviting — hmmm, guess that’s from our viewpoint, not Nick’s! The real surprise was on the 90 minute tour boat tour of the Wisconsin Dells on the Wisconsin River. We had a wait, but got the front row seats on the top deck of the tour boat — the best place to be. The views of the Dells and the river were amazing. The Dells are a glacially formed gorge with striking sandstone formations along the banks of the river. This area was a popular travel destination in the Midwest, beginning with the first boat tours in 1856!
Minneapolis: We visited the picturesque Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul along the Mississippi River. We had arranged for inside storage of our RV for two weeks while we flew home, but when we went to check it out the day before, we had a surprise. The owner said we would leave our RV with him, and he would drive it to another location (which we could not visit) to store it in a community building — that wasn’t going to happen! So we spent most of the day finding a place to store it. The RV parks within an hour drive of the airport were all full on weekends, or we would have left it hooked up. We finally found an airport parking lot that had room at the back of their car lot for large vehicles. We fit easily, and it should be fine for the short time we’re gone.
We flew home with Nick and plan to resume our adventure soon.
