Family Mellmann

Sometimes when you plan an adventure road trip you end up with more of one or the other.   Last night we got both. After logging a good day in miles we found a nice (although crowded) campground in Gladstone MI.  We set up our tents and relaxed as a storm front moved in.  Eventually the mosquitoes drove us to the shelter of our tents where we read and chatted (and texted), and tried to stay cool (which was actually not too hard with that lovely lake "breeze" blowing in with the front). Around 21:30 the rain started.  By 22:00 the wind was causing quite a flap outside as branches started falling from the trees and a couple of RV awnings were ripped from their rollers.  It wasn't long before the first big gust pushed our tent down startling Katherine.  But tents are built for this so I stood up and pushed the tent back into an upright position.  Piece of cake.  Then the wind got stronger. I stood in the center of the tent holding up the windward side against the...

The rain has stopped and the kids and I have evacuated our tents for the car.   Tree branches are falling, and on the road one row over from us (toward the lake) a tree came down - broken at the base.   The park super is roamed by the campground and the parks department is here to take care of the down tree.   We are already parked out in the open, but many vehicles are relocating to areas not under trees.   Several tenters like us have evacuated to the bathroom shelters, also with broken tent poles. Katherine just said, "now I see why you always use the tent stakes!"  🥴 It doesn't look like we will be getting a whole lot of restful sleep tonight.   😱😬😳😴