the good: the Prius pulled the trailer like a rock star approximately 640 miles round trip, to elevations of over 1800 feet, with grades up to 8%, to and home from Copper Harbor in the upper penninsula of Michigan.  The car and trailer were packed with bikes, the grill, food, chairs, gear, tools and everything else we needed for a week on the road. Towing mileage averaged 21.5 mpg. We towed both in eco mode during the flats or down hills and into power mode, to pull uphill and to pass slower vehicles and loaded trucks. This is not a speedy route – there are many small towns to slow up through, several construction projects with slow ups and stops, and even a fairly major traffic bottleneck (to get over the bridge in Houghton, Wi.) Our vehicle speed ranged from over 70 to slow, with the average speed for the trip home coming out to 50 mph.

Arriving at Fort Wilkins State Park, our lovely site was wooded and narrow. With some study, Bob nestled Gerry into the trees, we leveled her with wheel chocks and we said hello to our new home for the next seven nights. The sites are fairly close and the park is generally full at this time of year, but our fellow campers were quiet and considerate. The wind was favorable so that for the most part, camp fire smoke did not billow into us. The poor air quality caused by smoke pollution is sometimes concern for us at campgrounds.  Because of the trees, we were not able to do a test set up of the newly-sewn awning, but we had shade and did not need it. Another time on that.

Trailer parked! Time to do some mountain biking –  Copper Harbor trails are some of the best in the world!!

(more to report about the area, the mountain biking and the trailer (including some unfortunate concerns) in upcoming posts)