I've mentioned in the past that Memorial Weekend in the US is usually when we make our first camping trip of the summer. Things worked out a little differently this year as 
I also mentioned in this post that for the past two years we haven't been able to make our regular camping trip over the holiday weekend. This year we got back in the swing of things before we have to skip again next year.
There are a couple of reasons why we always keep coming back to Sleeper State Park in Caseville, MI for our first trip of the season. First, it's just a dang nice park. Really the only down side to the campground is the fact that Lake Huron and the beach is on the other side of M-25 (which can get quite busy). They have a nice walking bridge you can take across the road as you can see in the photo above.
Second, at right around 1.5 hours away, it's a fairly short trip if something were to go wrong with our tow vehicle or trailer after not being used all winter.
Finally, holiday traffic in Michigan can get pretty crazy. Most folks start heading up north on Thursday afternoon for the memorial weekend and it's a pretty steady flow until they come back down south on Monday or Tuesday. From where we live, Caseville is north west and the road to get there (M-25) is just a two lane country road. While it sees a decent amount of traffic, it isn't anywhere close to what you get on the expressway.
Add to that the fact that everyone is in such a hurry to get everywhere these days and I like the slower pace for our first trip of the season.
We pulled into our spot around 4:30 PM on Friday and we were quickly set up and had a fire going in our pit. There was a large group of folks in the two sites behind us. You can see them in the photo above. I think it was two families across two sites, but they were all together as a group. Without being to presumptive, I am guessing they were from down near Detroit where there is a relatively large population of people with middle eastern heritage.
It was funny because they were quite loud and pretty much always speaking in an unknown language (arabic, farsi, I can only guess). Our friends that we camp with were in these same spots last year and they said that same family was there as well, so it must be an annual tradition for them.
Before long night time settled in and we really got the fire going. Believe it or not, that isn't me in the photo above. That is our friends brother, I was the one taking this photo. From this distance though, I can see how you might have been confused.
It was an absolutely evening spent around the fire with some good friends. Unfortunately 
Saturday morning
State Forest Campgrounds are a different story. Those are often more remote and the sites are very private, but you have to trade away electricity and modern restrooms for that luxury.
This is the entrance to the park. When we arrived on Friday evening, this area was filled with cars and trailers waiting to get into the park. In fact, after we pulled in, they were backed up all the way out onto the road. The state park said on their Facebook Page that they had 226 people scheduled to check in that day.
This M-25 which goes right by the campground. Campers were lined up quite a ways down this road waiting to get into the campground the evening before as I mentioned above. On this particular walk, 
Although you have to cross the road to get to the beach, it is still a really nice area. They have a lot of parking spots and there are even picnic areas where you can stop and have a nice lunch. There are actually smaller parks like this all along the shore of Lake Huron in what we call the "thumb" of Michigan.
They have allowed the dune area of this park to grow wild with the thin lake grass that seems to thrive quite well in the sandy conditions. As you can see, they are also pretty clear about there not being a lifeguard at this beach. I think people who aren't from the area don't realize just how big the Great Lakes are sometimes. Just like the ocean, when the wind gets blowing, you can find dangerous currents and waves. Even experienced swimmers can struggle.
This post is getting long, so I am going to wrap up today and I will share a bit more with you tomorrow. I hope you come back to check it out!
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All pictures/screenshots taken by myself or