Some things motivate a few days away from town. The desire to get OUT is one of them. So a car camping trip is in the order to escape the noise of home, the routine of riding the same roads over and over without an destination and there was the chance to see the Perseid meteor shower without the city lights nearby. I haven't really been to the eastern side of our Manistee/Huron national forest in years.
The bigger tent and queen size mattress felt like bringing home along. NPS campsites always provide plenty of room and privacy. Without electricity there are very few RV's to trailer park the place to death.
I found a spot with NNE exposure to the sky in case I had a chance to see the astral fireworks during the night.
It was a weekday and the campground was conspicuously deserted
as were most of the roads. The main roads throughout the forest are excellent for road biking with little traffic and generally well maintained asphalt on the shoulders. The gravel roads I found during the day were good and I had the chance to let them deteriorate into some challenging single track/hiking/horse trails until I realized I needed more than 35mm tires.
There is always a short ride over to Lake Huron for a scenic view. Overall, the brief trip was relaxing and I got a good lay of the land. Mission was accomplished as the meteor shower put on a good show for a while before bed. It wasn't really spectacular but amazing that specks of dust and ice can produce a natural phenomenon. I got up at 3 AM to see if the show was brighter and bigger, but the Moon had risen and was bright enough to obscure the show.
The roads appear very interesting for several days of exploring and I've heard the Ausable River is excellent for Trout fishing. I was well above the river on the cliffs so I didn't try it this time, but another longer trip looks promising before the season ends.
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