Serendipitous Safety

On 2/28/23, I listed our "Better Practices" for life on the road, and our number one practice was "Safety First."

“Better Practice # 1 – Safety First”

 

An Alarming Start to a Trail

“Wandering involves living between the known and the unknown. We do not have much control over our life on the road. Therefore, the first and foremost Better Practice is to be safe. We avoid unnecessary risks. We keep our safety gear up-to-date and readily available. We drive smart. We keep the speed down and avoid driving in dangerous conditions. Being safe allows the road to be a friend rather than an enemy.”

I have referred to this several times, particularly in the last 4 months. Usually, safety has been brought up during bad weather or dangerous driving conditions. But this week, we encountered a new kind of safety issue, a park with outdated wiring. We had a similar problem before we hit the road when we fried our Surge Protector at a park with a cross-wired power pedestal. But this time, we faced a different electrical issue: very low voltage. This week, our “Safety First” practice led us to change our plans and stumble into a beautiful week in a new RV Park.

 

We began our week by driving from Mackinaw City to Leelanau Pines Campground in the NW part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. It was a beautiful drive that included a grocery stop and an Indian Food Buffet in Petosky before following Lake Michigan around through Traverse City. We arrived at our campground and discovered that our campsite was close to the lake, but very unlevel. This is always frustrating, but we have learned to deal with it.

After getting set up, the temperature outside was in the upper 80's, so we turned on both A/C units. They shut down after a few minutes. I checked the power monitor for our Surge Protector and discovered that it had shut the power off due to low voltage, meaning <100 volts. This is a bad situation and is commonly called a "brownout." As most folks in Texas with their weak power grid know, running A/C during a brownout is very bad for your A/C.

Here is some information for those unfamiliar with RV electrical systems.

 

RVs draw their shore power from a pedestal at the campsite. These are usually 30 or 50 Amp ( a measure of the current flowing through a wire.) The power comes at a certain pressure, called volts. Every electrical device requires a certain amount of electricity to operate. This is called wattage. The device's wattage draws the current through a wire, and the grid provides the current (amps) at the pressure (voltage) required to meet the demand. Therefore, if the grid cannot meet the power demand (decreased volts), the device will draw more current (increased amps) and greater resistance in the wiring causing them to heat up.

I am not an electrician, so here is an excerpt from a website that says it far better than I.

 

“What Causes a Motor to Draw Higher Amps? Motors require a certain output in watts in order to function, and this is the result of a voltage multiplied by amps. So, when voltage falls, resistance scales up in order to supply the difference, and the motor will also draw more current.” (https://www.marchpump.com/blog/voltage-phase-impacts-on-amp-draw-horsepower/) That resistance creates heat that can burn wires and destroy electronic connections and devices.

 

The park admitted to having an inadequate power supply. The wiring was insufficient to carry the load of a hot (for Michigan) afternoon.

 

After reporting the issue to the park Office, a worker came out and tried to blame the problem on the weather and the guests. But, he let slip that the new park owners were looking at upgrading the power in the park in the future. When I pointed out that this was a dangerous situation, he downplayed it. He said we should just cut off the A/C because "we have never had this problem before." I knew that at that point, "Safety First" would require more than sweating out the week at that campground. After an evening of fruitless phone calls and internet searches for a new campsite, I went to bed and slept very uneasily.

 

The following day, I awoke at 5:00 am and knew what I had to do. I expanded my search area and stumbled on Vista Green RV Resort, South of Traverse City in rural Kalkaska County. This place is different from the type of location I usually book. We like to be within an hour’s drive of the major things we want to see and do when we stop. But this was an extraordinary and, as it turns out, fortuitous circumstance. I booked the next 6 nights with them for 2/3s the price of our present site. (However, I was doubtful I would get the $500 in unused fees from Leelanau Pines, even though the manager said she would take care of it immediately. After five days, I have yet to see the refund.) We were packed and on the road within an hour of making the final arrangements by phone.

 

Vista Green RV Resort has turned out to be an affordable gem in a beautiful part of the Lower Peninsula. All the sites are at the edge of manicured lawns and ponds. Canada Geese live on the ponds, and we see them every evening in the pond just outside our window. The owners are eager to see that all their guests have what they need. To be honest, I could stay here for a month or two in the Summer. For now, we will enjoy the peace and quiet and the nice drives through rural Michigan to see the sites.

Tuesday was a Chill and Chores day (actually, most of this week has been Chill and Chores). It turned out to be much more chill than chores. After lunch, we visited the South Boardman Nature Preserve on the Boardman River and Albright Creek. South Boardman is a village along US 131 between Fife Lake and Kalkaska. If you turn at the Yankee Boy Restaurant, you can't miss it! The preserve sits on land that was once a shingle mill. Parts of it have been logged in the past, but the entire area is a lush, thick forest with a broad, natural surface trail. While less than a mile long, it invites slow sauntering as the sights, sounds, and aromas bring a deep peace to the spirit. It is a perfect location for what the Japanese call "shinrin-yoku” or "forest bathing."  Here are a few of the sights from our afternoon stroll.

 

Lush Forest

The Boardman River

Shroom Peeking out from the Leaf Litter

Signs of Logging and Reforestation

A Harbinger of Autum

Albright Creek

New life among older growth

Mosses Reclaim the litter

Picking her way across a marsh.

Stone Bridge

Moss and Fern cover the forest floor

Decay...

... New Life

I spent the rest of the day with the book The Nature Fix by Florence Williams. She explores the healthy mind and soul’s need for regular contact with the natural world. I put some nice, thick country ribs on the smoker, sat under the awning, put up my feet, and read. Yep, life is good, and we are safe! The day was spent relaxing into our new situation after the stress of the last two days. As I get older, I am learning that rest is essential to a safe and happy life.

 

Wednesday was time for our laundry and the chores part of Chill and Chores. After lunch, we made a grocery run to the Cherry Street Market in Kalkaska. This farm-to-market indoor/outdoor store has luscious fruits and veggies, baked goods, preserves, smoked meats, cheeses, flowers, and plants. We spent way too much but enjoyed walking the aisles and picking up a few "non-essentials" along with the vegetables. The rest of the day was spent processing pictures, reading, and relaxing.

 

Looking Toward Sleeping Bear Dune

After a good night’s sleep, it was time to head west for Sleeping Bear Dunes National Seashore along Lake Michigan. These giant dunes have sat along the Western shore of Lake Michigan since the last glaciers retreated from the area over 11,000 years ago. While the winds blow them around a bit, they were not formed by wind. Instead, as the glaciers retreated, they left layers of sediment as the water levels dropped. These dunes are the remnants of a moraine of this “stacked” sediment along the shore. They are slowly being swallowed up by the waters of Lake Michigan. Still, they will likely be around for thousands of years because they are massive. We walked the Empire Point Trail with its grades of 4% to 10%. We then took Nakai on the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. It was crowded, but I am glad we were here on a Wednesday rather than a weekend! The scenery was breathtaking.

 

Here are a few shots of the Empire Point Trail and Overlook.

 

The Sunlight Filters Through the Forest Canopy

Sleeping Bear Plateau and Dune

The Path leads up!

Natural Spotlighting

From atop Empire Point

So Many Colors of blue

A Delicate Thistle

The Empire Point Dune

Sleeping Bear Plateau and Glen Lake

 

Here are a few shots from the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive.

 

Sumac

Glen Lake

Sleeping Bear Dunes

Looking toward Pyramid Point

Looking toward Empire Point

 

On Friday, we stayed in Chill and Chore mode, with a two-mile hike on the resort's nature trail and an afternoon of reading, relaxing, and napping while a chicken smoked on the grill. Here are a few shots from our walk and the Canada Geese that visited the pond just across the road each night.

 

Queen Anne's Lace

A Beautiful Day for a Saunter

Goldenrod (but not too much)

Meadow and Forest

Moss and new life

Daisies

Spruce Up Close

Bear Food

More Bear Food

Mr. and Mrs. Goose

Common Grackle

Posing

A Family Group with Teenagers

Keeping a Close Eye on this Primate!

 

Over the last two years, our travels have been through heavily touristy areas with endless lines of people and massive, jammed parking lots. I have minimized the impact of this by doing as much as we can mid-week when the crowds are a little smaller. But, as long as we travel to see the sights, we must accept being wandering tourists. This week gave me a glimpse of the days beyond our touristy wandering. I look forward to traveling back over some of the same areas and being able to spend a longer time at each stop without a cheat sheet of things to see, the days when chill and chores would be the usual order of the day. Rather than staying in a location for a week and then moving on, we would book a site for a month and live our lives enjoying whatever the month would bring. I have more to ponder, but I look forward to exploring the possibilities it may hold for our future travels. Regardless, our first priority for safety will remain the same.

 

"Safety First" helps when threatening circumstances arise and allows me to relax into our travels. While I have learned to deal with over-planning (mostly ;<)) I still struggle with worrying about possible problems. My theology professor in Seminary, Mr. Routt, shared many stories about his theological mentor. The mentor’s understanding of faith grew out of his parish work in early 1900-era Detroit, where he lived and ministered with auto plant workers and other working-class folks. His theology reflected their real-life, real-world concerns. Among the treasures he left in Mr. Routt's teaching was a deep and abiding faith in the ordinary person's power to find hope and peace amidst brutal social turmoil and chaos. I have spent a lifetime trying to catch up with my professor’s mentor.

 

As I peer into the dimly lit future of our life on the road, I must remember that man’s most famous prayer. In Reinhold Niebuhr’s own words:

 

“… God grant to us the serenity of mind to accept that which cannot be changed, courage to change that which can be changed, and wisdom to know the one from the other…”

 

When I feel safe, serenity, courage, and wisdom flow more easily through my mind and soul. Thus, the first step toward the road ahead will remain Safety First!

 

Travel well, my friend!

Bob

 

If you are interested in reading more about Forest Bathing and the power of nature to heal the mind-body-soul, read The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative by Florence Williams. It is available on Kindle.

 

Here is a Bonus Video that will give you time to Chill Out while the chicken smokes.