Heading to Michigan from Illinois

Posted on by Julia

August 3, 2023

On Friday (July 21st), we started completing our checklist to leave Hickory Grove Campground in Illinois. On Saturday (July 22nd), we finished our checklist to leave and pulled out just after 9:00 AM.

Since our site had trees that were close together at the end of the campsite, to pull out I had to watch the rig for tail swing . I also had to watch the top of the sides to make sure they wouldn’t hit the trees. Bruce pulled into the grass across the road and then past the trees and onto the road. Once on the campground road, it was easy to leave.

In case you’re wondering, we did have a discussion about backing up to leave. Bruce decided it would be best to pull forward through the trees. I was nervous the entire time, trying to see everything at once. I would run back and forth between one side of the RV and the other, looking at the tires, the tail swing, and the top of the RV. I was talking to Bruce using my walkie talkie while he was maneuvering the rig.

Trees Very Close Together

We stopped at a very nice rest area in Illinois after an hour or so on I-80.

We then proceeded on the toll road, in stop and go traffic, as we headed towards Indiana.

Des Plains River
Indiana

I-80 became I-94 and then we rolled into Michigan. We stopped at the Michigan Welcome Center. They’ve made it a destination stop for families with kids. Inside, they have exhibits and all sorts of pamphlets for things to do in various parts of Michigan. I was impressed with how well organized the welcome center was.

Nice Parking Lot

We enjoyed seeing the light house at the Michigan Welcome Center.

We walked Nox, hooked her harness back into the truck, and after walking around the RV to check for problems, we were back on the road.

We left I-94 to take US 12 to Niles, Michigan. Our new campground is just of US 12 on Bell Street.

When Bruce checked in at the office, we were given a site number they promised was easy in and easy out. We got part way to the site and realized someone else was in our site. The next site looked like it would fit us and it was empty.

Bruce didn’t want to pull into a site without knowing if it was okay, so he walked back to the office. The people in our site were supposed to have left that morning, but they hadn’t left yet.

Bruce got assigned to the empty site next to original site.

He walked back and pulled into the new site without any trouble.

We are staying at Spaulding Lake Campground, Niles.

14 thoughts on “Heading to Michigan from Illinois”

  1. Where else will you be in Michigan? I have relatives in the Traverse City area. A very cool area. My cousin lives in Glen Arbor, near the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. She runs a wine bar called Glen Arbor Wines (https://www.glenarborwines.com/). My niece and her husband run Falling Waters Lodge in Leland (https://www.fallingwaterslodge.com/). You probably are not going that far north, but in case you are you won’t be disappointed.

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    1. We are 30 miles from Benton Harbor, Michigan. We are just over the border from Indiana in Niles, MI. I’ll see how far Traverse City is from us. I think it will be to far north for this trip. Next year, we are talking about going to the UP and then to seeing the sights in upper Michigan.

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      1. Not this year. We’ll be heading to the FROG (Forest River Owners Group) Rally in Indiana next week. We are thinking we’ll head to the UP next year. We’ll see how that goes.

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    1. We loved the shade! However, we left the sunroof open and the channels got clogged up. This caused the interior of the truck to flood several times due to all the rain. We were able to get the clogs cleared out today, so we are hoping for no more leaks.

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Published by Julia