Laingsburg, Michigan: Sleepy Hollow State Park

 September 2021, 3-nights, weekday-weekend

Sunset over Lake Ovid at Sleepy Hollow State Park

We visited this park a few times before this stay, although I can only find one other blog post with more info: October 2020. Although we enjoyed this visit, the autumn colors are definitely more beautiful in October than in September.

Arrival and check-in

There were three vehicles ahead of us in the check-in parking area when we arrived, so we expected check-in to take a few minutes. Apparently, everyone was just finishing up at the same time, or doing something else, because everyone was back in their vehicle by the time I walked up to the office from our vehicle at the end. Check-in was very quick, and we were on our way to our campsite.

Campsite 79 at Sleepy Hollow State Park

Campsite 79

We had not seen this campsite before making our reservation, and did not know if the single photo and description on the DNR reservation site was accurate. It was mostly accurate. A couple of minor differences were pluses: The back of the site is more overgrown between the site and the trail than shown in the website photo, which makes it more private. The dimensions are not provided on the DNR site (other than to say that it accommodates a 40' RV), and this site is quite spacious.

Campsite 79 at Sleepy Hollow State Park

Campsite 79 is grassy and secluded. There was a small opening between our fire pit and campsite 80, which is great if you are camping with others. There is a lot of growth between campsite 79 and 78, although the fire pit on site 78 was still visible from inside our camper. 

Campsite 79 at Sleepy Hollow State Park

We put up our screen tent because mosquitos were out around the perimeter of the site during the day.

Spokane, Washington: SpringHill Suites by Marriott Spokane Airport

 September 2021, weekday, 1-night, king guestroom 314

Arrival and gold perks

I arrived at this hotel by car from outside the airport. It was difficult to find the hotel, as the address on their website did not take me where the hotel is located. This hotel is fairly new, and there were no hotel signs in the airport, like the other hotels and rental car companies. I could see the hotel, but I could not figure out how to get there after my GPS took me down the road behind it. I called the hotel, and the person I spoke with did not provide much clearer directions than my GPS. The hotel is located directly across from the arrival and rental car counters in the airport. So, follow the sign for arrivals, and when you get to the very end of the airport building, you will see a SpringHill Suites sign on your left. I had not seen the hotel when I arrived because the rental car exit is beyond the hotel. 

View of airport from guestroom 314 at SpringHill Suites Spokane, WA

Even though I had spoken with someone at the front desk just a few minutes before my arrival, there was no one at the desk when I entered. A sign on the counter said to please wait while another guest was being assisted. I did not observe any other guests being assisted, and I could hear employees talking in the work area behind the counter. I waited patiently, and no one came out. After waiting almost 10 minutes, I finally said, "Hello." No one answered; however, the employee working in the restaurant area heard me and walked over. She then walked to the back room to get someone to assist me. The person who assisted me did not apologize for the wait, recognize my status, nor provide any info about what type of room she was assigning me. I asked her if I needed my parking ticket stamped to leave and return my rental car after I took my luggage to my room. She said there is a half hour grace period. I checked the time on my ticket, since I knew I had waited several minutes. She then added that if I needed more time, I could stop at the front desk and get it stamped.

SpringHill Suites guestroom 314 in Spokane airport

Guestroom 314

This guestroom is near the middle of the hallway facing the airport. There are four floors at this hotel. The walls and windows are all well soundproofed. 

SpringHill Suites guestroom 314 in Spokane airport

Sandpoint, Idaho: Best Western Edgewater Resort

 September 2021, Weekdays, 2-nights, King guestroom 242

Sunset looking east from guestroom 242 at Best Western Edgewater Resort

Arrival, check-in, diamond perks

I was momentarily confused when I first arrived, because my GPS placed this hotel on the south side of Bridge Street instead of the north side. The Best Western sign was easily visible on the north side, so I pulled into the correct parking lot. I did not see a sign for check-in or the lobby, so my entrance into the hotel was a guess--fortunately, I chose the right door! 😀

I thought the front desk agent was kind of aloof. She did not even offer a greeting or welcome; she mechanically provided my keys and breakfast information after I said I had a reservation and gave her my name. She did not recognize my status nor mention the diamond welcome gift. I got the impression I was taking her away from her phone time. When I walked by later, she was seated back in the corner behind the counter with her phone. She did not look up to acknowledge me then, even though I walked back and forth, as I tried to decide which way to return to my hotel room from the restaurant. I was not sure if the hallway beyond the front desk would take me to my room, or if I had to go out and use an exterior entrance like I had when I arrived. I decided to try the hallway behind the desk, and was able to get to my room that way, as well. 

Guestroom 242 at Best Western Edgewater Resort

King guestroom 242

This guestroom is in the north wing on the middle floor, and is accessible from the parking lot at ground level. I had requested a top floor room, and my first evening, I mistakenly assumed I was on the top guestroom floor, and that the next floor up was a rental/banquet type room. The next evening, when the hotel was quite full, I realized my mistaken assumption! This guestroom is not very soundproof and I heard many voices and noises the second night of my stay.

Coffee and water amenities in guestroom 242 at Best Western Edgewater Resort

When I first entered my room, it was like an icebox. The AC was cranked (the setting was on 64F°), and it smelled musty damp. I turned the AC off, and opened the balcony door. I wish there had been a screen in the door, because I would have preferred to have the door open for the fresh air.

Torn/damaged curtains in guestroom 242 at Best Western Edgewater Resort

The guestroom contained a king size bed, nightstands, work desk and chair, soft chair and footstool, microwave, small fridge, flatscreen TV, armoire, suitcase bench, and coffeemaker with supplies. There were two chairs on the balcony.

Another view from guestroom 242 at Best Western Edgewater Resort

Positives for this guestroom: 

• The view from the balcony was fabulous.
• The room size was good.
• The bedsheets looked clean.
• Provided amenities included two bottles of water, which were replenished during stayover.
• The internet connection was good.

Traverse City, Michigan: State Park, Bicycle Trail, Dining, Breweries, Wineries

 September 2021, Weekdays-weekend, 4-nights

Sunset from campsite 100 at Keith J Charters Traverse City State Park

I have many other posts for the Traverse City area in this blog, and you can find more info by using the search feature at the top of this page, or by clicking on one of the labels at the end of this post. This is a brief post to share new info and photos from this visit.

Campsite 100 at Keith J Charters Traverse City State Park
Bottom photo taken from walkway to overpass

Keith J Charters Traverse City State Park, campsite 100

We chose this campsite because we had noticed how large it is during one of our previous stays at the campground. It is a large site; however, it is also very noisy. Actually, all of the campsites in this park are noisy, although this one seemed even more so. We previously stayed on campsite 467, which is also on the road, and the noise did not seem as loud there as it did from site 100. Possibly, this is because site 100 is next to the road overpass and is a bit more open than the other sites along the road. If you have never stayed in this state park, be aware that it is a town-type park, and not a quiet woodsy-type park. We only stay in this park when we want to visit Traverse City, rather than engage in other activities like hiking.

Campsite 100 at Keith J Charters Traverse City State Park

Before this stay, I had not noticed how skewed the campsite lines are in this park. If the people on site 99 next to us had sat on the west side of their fire pit, they would have been sitting on our site according to the lines. This did not matter, as we were not using the area behind our trailer anyway; it was all trees. Additionally, our line on the west side was straight out from our fire pit. It did not seem like the site lines were actually adhered to. We parked one of our vehicles in the area just outside our line closer to the walkway, and no one asked us to move. We noticed similar parking and lines through fire pits in other areas of the park, as well.

West bathroom in Keith J Charters Traverse City State Park

The bathrooms in the west end of the park had been recently rebuilt. I loved the way they had been built with a maze type entrance, rather than doors. It was sad to see that the new restrooms were not being taken care of. The floors were covered with stains and sticky dirt residue that was never cleaned during our stay. In fact, it looked like the floors had not been washed since the restrooms had been built less than a year ago.

Keith J Charters Traverse City State Park
Campsite 56 above, campsite 458 below

Several concrete pads had been added to sites during the park remodel, and we are planning to choose one of those sites next time we visit. Some of these sites are 30 amp, and some are 50 amp. I have uploaded a couple of photos above.

Duncan L Clinch Park and marina downtown Traverse City

Bicycle trail, downtown, dining, breweries, wineries

The bicycle trail is located right behind the park, and is accessible between campsites 46 and 47. There have been several new additions to the trail, and construction was still happening in some areas at the time of our visit.

TART trail along 8th Street above
Boardman Lake Trail from Right Brain Brewery below

Norton Shores, Michigan: PJ Hoffmaster State Park and nearby areas

August 2021, 3 nights, weekday - weekend

Sunset over Lake Michigan at PJ Hoffmaster State Park.

We hiked in this park July 2015, although this was our first time camping overnight. When I made our reservation, I did not realize alcohol is prohibited in the campground from April 1st through Labor Day. I thought it was odd that alcohol is allowed in the day use area, and not the campground (staff told us this during check-in). 

Creek behind campsite 1 in PJ Hoffmaster State Park.

Arrival and check-in

This was the quickest state park check-in we ever experienced. A staff member met us outside to write down our truck plate numbers on a piece of paper. He had me take this to the person inside who completed the check-in. She quickly found our reservation, gave me the rules, and provided our site papers. The only rule emphasized and highlighted was the rule about no alcohol.

Our neighbor was almost finished parking his trailer just as we got to our site. Many more campers arrived that evening. We were surprised to see so many people arrive on a Thursday. Before COVID, we often arrived before most of the weekend crowd, and always enjoyed a quiet first evening. This year, it seems more people have Fridays off than ever before.

Campsite 1 in PJ Hoffmaster State Park. My photo above taken from in front of restroom.
Photo below is from DNR website taken from back of site.

Campsite 1

This is a decent size campsite, and it is on the creek. The ground cover was a combination of grass and dirt, and it was level. 

Walkway to creek behind campsite 1 in PJ Hoffmaster State Park.

Center photo in this trio is campsite 1 in PJ Hoffmaster State Park from DNR 
reservation site. Top and bottom photos are mine showing pine trees are gone.

This site was not as private as expected, because trees that showed in the online photos had been cut down. These apparently had been cut some time ago, because we did not see any stumps, and the area was overgrown. The growth helped create privacy; just not as much as we had expected from the bushy pine trees in the photos. We had also expected the bushy pine trees to create a sound buffer between our trailer and traffic on the road in.

Campsite 1 in PJ Hoffmaster State Park.
Electrical box is on the edge of campsite 2.

All in all, we liked this campsite. We could see a small glimpse of the creek when we sat in our chairs on the mat at the back of our site, and it was easy to walk back to the creek. 

Looking toward swimming area from north where Little 
Black Creek comes out in PJ Hoffmaster State Park.

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