Elk Rapids, Michigan: marina, recreation, downtown, dining, brewery

August 2021, 2-nights, weekdays

The weather was a bit stormy on our way to Elk Rapids

Edward C. Grace Memorial Harbor marina slips 59 and 61

I was able to make a reservation over the telephone when we decided to visit this marina a couple of days before our stay. When we arrived, we were assigned slip 59. We were not crazy about the slip location when we saw it, as it is right next to the main walkway and seats under the gazebo. We decided to make the best of it; figuring we had been assigned this slip because we have a smaller boat. 

Entrance to Edward C. Grace Memorial Harbor in Elk Rapids

After our first night, we asked if we could move. There were many open slips in the marina, and there were two reasons we did not want to sleep in this same spot again after the first night: There are very bright lights in the gazebo that are on all night. These shone directly into our boat, and we do not have curtains, like many larger boats have. We have a dark screen for our center hatch, but not the rest of the windows. And, there is an electrical transformer on the dock in front of this slip, which hums very loudly. We do not have A/C, so we sleep with all the windows open when it is hot out. The electrical box noise did not bother my husband much (who sleeps through just about anything), although it did keep me awake. We were able to move to slip 61 for our second night, and the evening was much more peaceful. 😊

Edward C. Grace Memorial Harbor in Elk Rapids

Manton, MI: Baxter Bridge State Forest Campground on Manistee River

August 2021, One-night, Campsite 16

Baxter Bridge State Forest Campground on Manistee River

This was our third time staying in this campground, although I could not find posts from our previous stays. We stayed on a riverfront site in the fall of 2010 and 2013. There are three riverfront sites in the main area of the campground, and at least one more at the very end of the road. I am sharing a labeled screenshot from Google maps, since I could not find a map for this campground. Remember, you can enlarge photos by clicking on them, and if you are a subscriber, you are probably receiving even larger photos in the email notifications.

Riverfront site at Baxter Bridge State Forest Campground in 2010

When we arrived Thursday afternoon, all of the riverfront sites were taken. Well, kind of... People were setting up on the middle site of the three sites together, and they had belongings on the other two sites to hold them for their friends. At least their friends arrived before nightfall that same day. I would have been quite annoyed if they had not arrived that day, since we were only staying one night, and left early Friday morning. This stay was a brief mid-point stop for us on the way up to Grand Traverse Bay with our boat.

Campsite 16 at Baxter Bridge State Forest Campground on Manistee River

Lake Michigan Recreation Area / Lake Michigan at Manistee, Michigan

 July 2021, 3 nights, weekday-weekend, Violet loop campsite 87

Looking toward Lake Michigan at Lake Michigan Recreation Area from trail

Arrival 

This was our second time staying in this campground. You can find more information about this park in my post from August 2016. I am sharing new info here. Last time, we made a reservation in Orchid Loop, and this time we arrived on a Thursday afternoon without a reservation. We had thought this would be a good time to arrive before the weekend; however, that did not turn out to be true. There were apparently many vacationers at the campground because it was [almost] full, and many people left on Saturday. We got the last available campsite when we arrived, and it almost started a fight. From what we overheard, it sounded like the person across the street had been saving the site with some belongings on it for his friend who was not arriving until the next day. Someone who had arrived just before us, had taken the only other site available. When the person who had been saving the site saw us coming in with our camper, he decided it was not right to save the site, so he removed his stuff (from what we overheard). Apparently, the guy before us did not like the site he had ended up with because he walked by and there was a heated discussion between them while we were parking. I do not know what site he was on, but I did not see any campsites in this loop that looked worse than the one we ended up with. When we had driven through the other loops before Violet loop, it actually looked like people were savings sites in Hemlock loop, too.  

Campsite 87 at Lake Michigan Recreation Area

Campsite 87

Our trailer is 25', and the tar pad on this site is barely long enough to park our trailer and truck on. Just like last time, if the posts at the end of tar were a bit shorter or farther back, we could have backed up farther and still kept our tires on the pavement. There is actually plenty of room to park on this site, if you did not have to park on the tar. Parking on the tar is about the only rule we saw enforced at the park, and they are particular about that. In fact, the host stopped to tell us to move our truck before we had a chance to move it back over after unloading our wood. We also saw him stop at the site next to us during our stay to have them move a vehicle out that was not on the tar.

Campsite 87 at Lake Michigan Recreation Area

There was just enough room for our awning to open. We were glad that our camper door is at the back of our trailer, and not the front.

Moline, Illinois: Quad Cities International Airport, Holiday Inn Express, dining, and rental car

 July 2021, three days & one night

Arrival and check-in at Holiday Inn Express

The front desk agent (manager possibly) assigned my room during check-in. He did not really talk to me as he did this; he was apparently training a new employee, and was talking to her instead. I requested a top floor guestroom when it did not sound like that was what he was assigning me. The platinum 500 bonus points posted to my account the same day.

Entrance in guestroom 425 Holiday Inn Express Moline - Quad Cities
Connecting room door on left

King guestroom 425 at Holiday Inn Express

This guestroom was much smaller than the one I had just stayed in in Galesburg, and it was also much more soundproof. It was comfortable and perfect for sleeping. When I first entered the guestroom and observed the connecting room door, I was somewhat worried after the two noisy nights I had tried to work and sleep through before this stay. Fortunately, everything in this guestrom is soundproofed very well.

Refreshment area in room 425
Holiday Inn Express Moline - Quad Cities

The refreshment center outside the bathroom contained a K-cup machine with supplies, an ice bucket, microwave, and small fridge.

Galesburg, Illinois: Holiday Inn Express & Suites

July 2021, 2 nights, king guestroom 312

Arrival and checkin

The check-in process was efficient, and the 500 platinum bonus points posted to my account right away.

Photo from the entrance at Holiday Inn Express Galesburg, IL

Guestroom 312

This guestroom had been recently remodeled and I loved the layout. It was clean, and the furnishings were comfortable. 

Bathroom at the Holiday Inn Express in Galesburg, IL

The spacious bathroom contained a large walk-in shower. A small fridge, microwave, coffee maker, and ice bucket were located in the entry outside the bathroom.

Refreshment area at Holiday Inn Express in Galesburg, IL

Muskegon, Michigan: Muskegon State Park Channel Campground

June - July 2021, 13 nights, campsite 116

This was our first time staying in the same spot with our camper for so long. We had a few rainy days, and an overall great stay.

View from campsite 116 at Muskegon State Park
Motorhome in the distance is on site 118

Channel campground, second loop, campsite info

We chose this site because it was one of the few sites available that had enough room for our camper and boat, and also is fairly close to the water. We prefer sites 108 and 109, as they are closer to Muskegon Lake; however, both of those sites were reserved when we made our reservation. It probably would have been worthwhile if I had checked the sites every now and then for cancellations, because site 109 was empty during most of our stay. Live and learn!

Campsite 116 at Muskegon State Park

Side view from inside camper
Campsite 115 in distance

Gaylord, Michigan: Otsego Lake State Park and Outdoor Adventures Benjamin's Beaver Creek

 June 2021, two different stays, one weekday and one weekend

It has been over a month since our stay in these parks. I am providing only brief details with a few photos about specific memories from both campgrounds.

View of lake from campsite 70 at Otsego Lake State Park

Otsego Lake State Park, campsite 70

This was our second stay in Otsego Lake State Park, and you can find more park details in my first review from October 2020. This trip, we stayed one night on a weekday.

Campsite 70 at Otsego Lake State Park

This stay was a last minute decision for us, and we were fortunate to get site 70. There is a good view from this site, as long as site 71 across the road is open. Although site 71 had been reserved before we made our reservation, the occupants did not arrive until the next morning, shortly before we departed.  

Campsite 70 at Otsego Lake State Park

Campsite 70 is a spacious site with a tar pad. It is on the corner, and there is no campsite on the other side. The closest campsites are site 71 across the road, and site 48, which is quite a distance behind it. It was very quiet during our stay.

View from inside camper on campsite 70 at Otsego Lake State Park
We should have moved the truck off to the side! 😁

The restrooms are kiddy corner behind campsite 70, not too far off to the left when looking at the site from the road in front. The building is partially visible in the corner road photo above.

View toward lake between sites 44 and 46 at Benjamin's Beaver Creek Resort

Outdoor Adventures Benjamin's Beaver Creek Resort campsite 44

We used our last Outdoor Adventures free night stay at Benjamin's Beaver Creek on a weekend for one night. This time, we were not charged the daily resort fee that we had been charged at Rifle River. Apparently, this is a subjective fee.