After spending a leisurely month on the road, we finally arrived in Mackinaw City, and our first work camping job, for the summer. We pulled into our campground and new home, located on 200 lush, tree filled acres along the shores of Lake Huron.
As we pulled into the campground, a man who would soon be our neighbor and co-worker saw our rig, flagged us to stop, and promptly laid an egg right in the middle of the front drive over the size of our RV. In all fairness, the snow had just melted earlier that week, and he was afraid the weight of our rig on soft roads would damage them, but it wasn’t exactly the kind of welcoming we were hoping for. Here we were, not five minutes on site, and already we were causing trouble! We actually spent a few minutes reconsidering our options for the summer, because it looked for a little while like we weren’t going to get into our campsite.
Thankfully, when I checked in at the office, the office manager (who was also my new boss for the summer) was extremely gracious and helpful, and put us at ease right away. We ended up dropping our trailer at the front of the park, and another work camper hauled us to our site with his pickup. We left our big rig parked alongside the park’s big maintenance trucks and equipment at the front of the park. Grace (our rig) was safely stowed for the season, we were in our campsite, and we could focus on getting settled in and learning our new jobs.
The first thing that struck me about the area was the color of Lake Huron. I had never seen the Great Lakes before, and I couldn’t believe the color of the water. Under full sun, the water changed from pale blue to turquoise to deep blue, depending upon the depth of the water. It reminded me of the Caribbean. No matter how many times I stared out at the lake over the course of our summer, I never stopped being in awe of its beauty. The other thing that never ceased to amaze me was the intensity of the foliage. From various hues of vibrant greens in spring and summer, to colorful blooming flowers, then finally giving way to the reds, oranges and golds of fall, I don’t think I have ever seen such intensity of color before. Every day I took at least a few minutes to stop and appreciate the beauty that surrounded us.
Looking across Lake Huron towards Mackinaw Island. 
One of our neighbors. 
Swan at sunset. 
The forest was home to all sorts of critters.
And the sunsets. I have lived and traveled in places known for beautiful sunsets, but I have never seen any like we saw in Michigan. Every night the sky was different and the colors changed. Sometimes we saw a mix of orange, gold and red. Other nights it was blues and lavenders. What we could always count on was their intensity and beauty.
We got settled into our new jobs as work campers and easily fell into the rhythm of life on the Great Lakes. We enjoyed our co-workers and made many new friends along the way. In upcoming posts, we’ll describe what our work camping experience was like for us, as well as take you through some of our summer adventures.
