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Sunday, April 18, 2010

A Short Stay and on to Haas Lake Park

We did some rethinking on where we were staying yesterday.  In fact, we started looking at the maps we picked up at the Michigan Visitor Center and found more campground options closer to Adam.  At Algonac State Park figured we were about an hour and a half away from Adam (in Ferndale, MI) and we wanted to be closer to him.

We found Haas Lake Park near New Hudson and gave them a call.  They seemed a little high ($37/night) but if we stayed there, we could get a monthly rate of $624.  That was within our budget and decided to go for it.

We packed up fairly quickly after watching a beautiful sunrise.
The traffic was not too bad as we made our way east of Detroit over to the west side and beyond.  We arrived at Haas Lake Park about 1030 and checked in.   The park is on 400+ acres and we had a few campsites to choose from.

We like one near the semi-permanent campers.  The lake is apparently a popular location for RV campers to rent spots for long term stays.  That means some sites are 'improved' with porches, decks, fire pits and flower gardens.

We liked the fact the sites are fairly large with some grass.
We are right on the water so we can enjoy some time in 'our backyard' when the weather warms up.

We decided to go for a walk even though the temperature was about 39 degrees!
Even the geese and swans looked like they were a bit chilled.
The property is going to be great for bike rides, walks and maybe even a little running during the next month or so.
Believe it or not, it has a two hole golf course with plenty of tee times available on days like this  :)  We definitely will have to check it out.

Another interesting feature of the campground is the neighbors.  Along the property in one corner is a house with a turkey coop.
Looks like they have three hens and a tom turkey.

Once we got back to the Roadrunner, we saw that the wind had not let up much.  But at least the sun was out.  Later, we even had a couple of snow flakes...
The temperature dropped like a rock from yesterday and the weather blew pretty hard most of the day.

We decided to run a few errands and found General RV about five miles down the road.
Looks like a pretty good dealer with a lot of RVs.  The parts department was well stocked and they had what we needed -- a 4" drop down hitch.  We are getting some high wear on our toad tires (Honda CRV).  This may be due to cheap tires that come with a new car or the Blue Ox towing system which pulls the car at a bit of an angle.  From what I read, the 4" drop down hitch may help quite a bit.

Question for our readers:  Do you use a drop down hitch?  Has it made a difference for you?  Thanks in advance for replying.

We are not done shopping around yet.  We may be able to get one cheaper elsewhere.  Seemed pretty high at $139.

We did go to Home Depot and buy a couple of large washers to put over the rebar at the base of our flag stand.  Should make it swivel with the wind easier.  We also got a couple of small plants for the coach.
One thing I miss about things this time last year is the flower gardens.  It was almost a year ago to the day that we put our house on the market.   God sold it in four days. (Whom else could get credit for something like that in these economic times?)

This time the sun set outside our front window--looking across the farm land adjacent to the campground.
I think we are going to like it here!

Hope your weekend is going well and it is warm where you are!  Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles!

11 comments:

  1. That looks like a very nice park, love all the grass. In Florida grass is everywhere,I take it for granted, but since we have been on this trip this year, it has mostly been dirt or rocks, You have a very nice looking RV.

    Happy Trails,
    Chris

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  2. Looks like a great park and your spot is very nice. Great sunrise and sunset pics too! 39 degrees, yikes!! That would be a shock to us after all this hot southwestern weather. Loved your hometown of Santa Fe - a highlight of our trip home for sure.

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  3. We used a drop down hitch when we has our Allegro Bay gasser. It made the tow bar more level with the two hook-up locations (car & mh. Theory is it makes for safer and smoother tow.

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  4. Glad to see you found such a nice park so close to Adam. Hope it warms up soon! On the drop hitch, like Mike and Gerri, we used one on our gasser. On our DP it's a level shot from the hitch to the Jeep. We see LOTS of toads on the road with the tow bar way out of level. With our level setup our Jeep tows like a dream. Enjoy your stay!

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  5. Looks like a nice spot to land for a month's time. It sure got chilly this weekend in the Great Lakes. We are across the pond in Wisconsin and we were down to 29 last night! ACK

    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

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  6. Sometimes it is worth any price for an RV site when we want (or need) to be by someone we love. Adam must appreciate the fact that you moved just so you could be closer to him. Like you both, we fulltime but don't just leave our family behind in the dust. Sometimes we just need to be there.

    Have a great week. What beautiful swan!

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  7. If you are looking for a regular 4" drop ball mount, that is way too much. Search for RV catalogs, and there are a lot of choices in ball mounts. In my Camperland catalog, 4" drop ball mounts start at $27.79

    At PPL the Blue Ox Drop hitches are on sale
    "94-4439 DROP HITCH RECEIVER - 4IN DROP...Regularly $123.20 On Sale for Only $84.79"

    I think I would check at a nearby UHaul Store that does hitches, and see what they have.
    Happy Trails, Penny, TX

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  8. Looks like you are set. Please email address to us so we can send you the CD pictures from NOMADS. Stay well and enjoy good weather up there.

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  9. Randy, not sure if you belong to Camping World, but even if you're not a member, their 4" drop hitch price is quite a bit cheaper at $71.

    See http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/product/high-low-drop-hitch/1772

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  10. No comment on the hitch as we have a 5th wheel rather than a motor home. We do appreciate the miracle of God's handiwork and perfect timing in our daily circumstances (like house sales). Ours didn't sell so miraculously soon as yours, but was remarkable in it's perfection for our family circumstances (kids activities, temporary housing between sticks and bricks and RV, retirement wrap-ups and family illness). We are only able to grasp some of the perfect timing in reflection. How amazing to have an omnicient God that takes care of us in all the details!

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  11. Randy & Pam --

    I'm surprised to see you are so close to us! I've known about that park, but have never checked it out. We might have to take a drive through when we're in the area . . . it might be an option for us as a "home base" if we are fortunate enough to sell our home quickly this summer. If we do, we'll look for the Roadrunner!

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