September 8, 2007 by Terri Enright.

We planned to stay home for the weekend, but at the last moment we decided to head to Outdoor Adventures Resort on the Rifle River.  This park is located near Sterling, MI.  We didn’t think we would like it because from what we had seen it was quite small and the sites are somewhat close to each other. 

When we arrived, they were plenty of sites available.  We chose to camp on one located on the bank of the river.   Since it was a last minute decision, we arrived quite late and it was a very dark night.  My husband had a difficult time backing into our site.  Usually this is not a problem for him. It became a lot easier once I informed him the sites were not on an angle, as he kept trying to back in crooked.  The guy camping next door even came over with a flashlight to help. We all had a good laugh at his expense.

The next morning we went up to the pavilion for breakfast.  We were one of only two couples to show up that morning to eat.  They usually do not serve breakfast this time of year, but they were trying to us up the supplies they had left for the season.  I was lucky enough to get a Mickey Mouse pancake from the cook.  We all ate quite well that morning. 

That afternoon we sat next to the river and watched people canoeing.  My husband kept begging me to take a canoe ride with him, but I was reluctant since he has never been in a canoe before.  We were told it gets rowdy here in the summertime with all the people in canoes and tubes floating down the river. 

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August 31, 2007 by Terri Enright.

Labor Day weekend finds us back at Black River for our annual holiday celebration. We were lucky enough to get our favorite site.  We had a picnic on a beautiful sunny afternoon with many family members joining us. 

Sunday evening as we were sitting around the campfire, we heard sirens and shortly after a huge cloud of smoke drifted through the forest overhead.  The smoke continued for several hours and then the stars returned. 

We went fishing and caught a few fish, which we cooked up over the campfire.  We saw over 30 elk and several deer on our nightly ride through the woods.  This is the most peaceful place on earth and one of our very favorite places to camp.

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August 11, 2007 by Terri Enright.

We find ourselves back at Petit Park in Clare, MI, once again.  I was hoping to see the deer we had previously seen on other trips to this park.  When I mentioned this to my husband he said those deer are probably in someone’s freezer by now.  While we were eating our dinner, I looked out the window and saw the deer had returned.  He was heading towards the apple tree in the park for some dinner of his own.  The people who were camped next to us were sitting outside with their dog oblivious to the visitor from the woods. 

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August 3, 2007 by Terri Enright.

This weekend is the Pig Gig and we decided to stay at the Bay City State Park, located in Bay City, MI.  We had 2 huge sites which allowed us plenty of room to play rodeo golf.   We have never played before, and found it lots of fun.  There is a nice little ice cream shop within walking distance of the park.  They serve Ashby Sterling ice cream, which is our favorite.

We went to the Pig Gig on Saturday for some great Ribs.  The Pig Gig is a Rib cooking competition held in Bay City every year.  This is my husband’s favorite event of the year; he goes nuts over the large variety of ribs to choose from.  His favorite ribs again this year were from Aussom Aussie. Seems as if these ribs are the ones to beat. My favorite part of the event is the piggy races where real pigs race around a track. 

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July 20, 2007 by Terri Enright.

We decided to return to this park for our 10-day summer vacation. I had to work a few days this week and this park is not too far away for me to commute.

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June 30, 2007 by Terri Enright.

We went to Clear Lake State Park again this year to celebrate the 4^th of July because we had such fun last year. We were unable to get the same spot we had before, but the one we ended up with was just as nice.

We went up this year with 6 different families. We had a large group. On Saturday we all got together for a potluck dinner. We had an enormous amount of food. Nobody went to bed hungry that night.

One night we attended a campfire-cooking seminar. Chris, one of the park rangers, put it on. The presentation was really quite good. The ranger was friendly and had a good sense of humor even after taking some razing from my husband. He showed us how to make pizza over an open flame and it turned out quite good.

We went for a bike ride on some of the park’s trails. It was something I have not done in several years. It was a lot of fun until I jumped off the bike to avoid getting run over by my husband who was behind me. I ended up with a sore back. I hope to be able to give it a try again sometime soon.

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April 13, 2007 by Terri Enright.

 The Little River Casino is located in Manistee, MI.    This casino offers a very nice RV park with many amenities.  They have full hookup sites with water, electric, sewer, cable TV and Wi-Fi.    They also have economy sites which do not include sewer connections. 

While Wi-Fi is available, we experienced poor reception and several signal drops while using it.  The park is aware that there seems to be a problem.  They informed us that rather than fix it, they were most likely just going to drop it from their advertised offerings.

Each site has a concrete pad with a picnic table.  There is an indoor pool and fitness center inside the hotel that RV guests may use.  The RV registration center has restrooms, showers, complimentary coffee, vending machines, and lounge area with tables and cable TV.  In the center of the park is a pavilion.  Located here are picnic tables and charcoal grills.

If you are here to try your luck, as I am sure most people will be, there are casino shuttle buses which make regular rounds to take you right to the front door of the Little River Casino.

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September 23, 2006 by Terri Enright.

This state park offers more amenities than most.  You will find electric, water, and sewer hookups here.  There are many hiking trails and great camp sites.  If you like to be secluded, you will find many spots to your liking.  If you are camping with a group and want more open sites, those are available too.  We stayed here in September and the trees painted a pretty canvas of fall colors right outside our door.

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August 31, 2006 by Terri Enright.

 We are back at the Black River for the Labor Day weekend. I looked out the window this morning, as something caught my eye.  I saw three deer playing in the water.  There was a doe and two fawns.  They were having a great time nibbling on the foliage, drinking from the river and kicking up the water with their hind legs.  You can check out the photo I took in our gallery at Enright Image Works.

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August 4, 2006 by Terri Enright.

The Bay City State Park in Bay City, MI.  has had new restrooms and showers within the last couple of years.  It has a few paved camp pads, but most of them are grass.  Most of the campsites are nice size and shaded.  Watch out for the few sites that are not very deep, you must park your RV sideways on these lots.  The park is located on Saginaw Bay.  The park has a nice beach, but it is some distance from the campground. 

We stayed here so that we could be close to the Pig Gig. If you like BBQ ribs then you will love the Pig Gig. We have been attending this event for several years now. We would hate to miss it. Once again, our favorite ribs this year were from Aussom Aussie.

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