Camping With Coyotes
Author: Steve Gillman
Article:
Van camping became one of our favorite activities when my wife
Ana and I bought our conversion van. We had no tent to set up,
and no problem with rain or wind. We could explore all day
without worries, then find any beautiful spot to park for the
night. Our bed was ready in the back.
It is sometime surprising what you find when you explore without
any itinerary. There are many forgotten places that few people
go to, but are still accessible by van. This is especially true
in the north country, like in
Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Unlike
the hiking required to get away from the crowds in popular
parks, theses are places where there is true "drive-in
wilderness."
It was in October, and we carried a book of county maps with us,
so we could find the little dirt roads in the national forests
and other lands of the "U.P." Thirty minutes north of the little
town of
Ishpeming, we came into an area owned by the Mead Paper
Company. Mead has a number of tree "plantations," which they
generously leave open to the public.
"Grapevine plantation" is where we eventually stopped, in the
middle of a thousand acres of three-foot high trees. We found a
clearing a hundred feet off the road, and parked the van there.
We didn't move it for two days. Two cars went by while we were
camping there.
It might seem a strange choice for a
campsite. It was out in the
open, not near water, and almost next to a dirt road. It was
strange, but that was part of the appeal. In any case, there was
no traffic, we had woods were nearby for hiking, and it was
free. A breeze kept the mosquitoes away, and we had a fire both
nights. The silence was amazing, as were the stars. There
weren't even any planes flying overhead here.
Our second day we hiked up into the hills and woods to the
north. The trees had on their fall colors, and the air was cool.
We saw no one that day. We had the woods to ourselves, and even
had waterfalls to ourselves. These we discovered when we went
off the small trail, and we gave them our own names, since they
had none according to the maps we had.
Camping With Coyotes
As we sat by the fire talking that night, I discovered a unique
feature of this place. The immediate area was flat, but was
surrounded by rocky hills, which created the most awesome
echoes. Not just normal echoes, but echoes that rolled on and on.
I howled like a wolf, which scared Ana.
Wolves or coyotes howled
back in the distance, which scared her more. I continued to
encourage the coyotes until my voice was tired. We relaxed and
watched the shooting stars, as the coyotes almost certainly
watched us from the woods. When at last the fire died down, we
climbed into the van and laid watching the sky through the
windows. This was
van camping at its best.
About the author:
Copyright Steve Gillman. For travel stories, tips and a free
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Ebook, visit http://www.everythingabouttravel.com
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