Well after the hill incident, Mr. B and I tested out the Xterra without the travel trailer and found it had trouble climbing a gravel hill from a stop which his Chevy truck had no problem with in 4WD. Although the light showed the 4WD was engaged, we concluded the 4WD could not be working […]
Lake Michigamme Campground of One at Mr. B’s Cabin
Here is the first campspot I had at Mr. Backes’ cabin on lake Michigamme. It sat perched above the cabin and I could walk out to see Lake Michigamme. It was my campground of one and great way to get used to the travel trailer before heading out on the cross country trip. I had […]
Adding transmission cooler to a 2004 Nissan Xterra
So we caught the project bug today and decided to add the transmission cooler to the Xterra to help keep the transmission fluid cool when towing the Dutchess. This held a priority position on the pre-trip car work list. We got cracking about 1:30pm. B&M 70264 SuperCooler Automatic Transmission Cooler from Amazon It had all […]
Little Greenwood
Little Greenwood After seeing a crowd on Greenwood Reservoir (there must have been 6 boats!) we decided to try a smaller part of the lake across the road which I dubbed Little Greenwood. It was a precarious launch of the trailer with not much more than a beach and a couple ruts of a road […]
The Dutchess Gets Stuck in the Forrest and Drive to Michigamme
After my first night I continued the drive up to Michigamme and oh course has to stop for some Jilberts Ice Cream. This ice cream is some of the best I have ever tasted. I look forward to it on every trip to the UP. They vary flavors and my top three favorites are Mint […]
Tiki RV Park St. Ignace and Drive to Mackinac
Tiki RV Park 200 South Airport Road St Ignace, MI 49781 (906) 643-7808 After getting the hitch put on the Xterra and getting everything ready on the Dutchess, I was off to my first RV Park. Here I am at the entrance: Here is view from the campground of Lake Michigan. A view of my […]
Meet The Duchess
Once the papers were signed with my trusty Solar pen, given to me by my mentor, Mr. Backes, the 2000 Dutchmen Travel Trailer was mine! I picked her up this morning in Grand Rapids, Michigan and write from Tiki RV Park and Camp Ground in St. Ignace, Michigan, just a few miles from
Travel Trailers – Lots of Options and Good People
Before I found The Dutchmen (Pictured Below), I looked at about 40 trailers at various places around Illinois and Michigan. Along the way I met some great people, here is Linda who ran Willow Plaza coin laundry, we talked about her sons, the Michigan winters. She had only left her hometown once, it really made […]
RV Found – 2000 Dutchmen Travel Trailer
I found my first RV! Here she is: And the video tour: Other than a few minor cosmetic things, the trailer is in great shape and ready to go. More to come in future posts, this is just a first look.
Pierogi Place – Rolling Meadows, IL
Pierogi Place 1665 Algonquin Road Rolling Meadows, IL 60008-4290 (847) 734-6811 http://www.pierogi-place.com/ Driving around in my newly acquired Xterra, I spotted this restaurant and could not resist: A past Polish girlfriend Daria form a long way back told me about he large Polish population around Chicago and she also introduced me to Pierogis. So I had hoped […]