Sisters On The Fly: Camping and Adventure In Marquette, Michigan

Who are the Sisters On The Fly?

Real life sisters Maurrie Sussman and Becky Clark began Sisters On The Fly in 1999. 

Maurrie and Becky were on a fishing trip in Montana and were having so much fun, they decided that they wanted to invite some girlfriends on their next trip.

And that is how today’s largest women’s outdoor group in the country, Sisters On The Fly, was born.

An introduction

A fun video about the trailers

There is a yearly fee to join, but membership gives you access to a website that has an exclusive events page. You can search for events and info by region. Most regions have their own private Facebook page. One thing I really like is that events are private and members are the only ones that can see details about sister events. This adds to an element of safety. Important since most travel on their own. You are never truly alone at a sister event.

Over 13,000 members

Today the group has over 15,000 sisters (I’m sister #13454). You are just as much identified by your sister number as your name as I found out when I attended my very first sister event in Marquette, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula at Tourist Park Campground. On Friday night as we all sat around the campfire, we introduced ourselves first by name, then number.

Embarrassed, I could not remember my exact number and thought I was 15 thousand something and was quickly corrected that that could not be possible since there are not that many. OOps! When I got back to my Beatrice that night, the first thing I looked at was my framed Sisters On The Fly membership certificate framed proudly above my window.

The adventure begins

Being very nervous about pulling my Beatrice 4 hours north to Marquette, I recruited Megan to come with me. She had just turned 21 the previous Sunday, so she was allowed. The sisters have just four simple rules:

• No men
• No kids
• Be nice
• Have fun

In fact their credo is “We have more fun than anyone”

A warm welcome

After an uneventful 4 hour drive, (was I nervous and scared to pull my Beatrice? You better believe it. Which is why I booked the site months ago before I could really think about all the things that could go wrong.) we checked in at the office, pulled into our pull-through site, and began set-up. Not ten minutes later a pickup pulls up, rolls down the window and asked if I’m a sister. After introductions were made, we were told that everyone was meeting at site #64 (the host site) at 6:00 for a meet and greet.

Probably another 15 minutes passed and another pickup pulled up. This time is was the host Sally, and 3 other sisters. More introductions were made and another invite to site #64. This sure was a welcoming bunch!

While setting up, we had more sisters stop and say hello. Some were familiar with Beatrice and some not, but all thought she was so cute and a few had to take a peek at the inside.

An hour later, Megan and I were set up, awning and all and it was time to meet my fellow sisters. At first there were just a handful of us, but soon I couldn’t keep up with the introductions. How in the world was I going to remember all these ladies? In the end I believe there were about 30 of us all together from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, and one from Arizona. Did I remember everyone? No not really, but we were all in the same boat except some that had already been to multiple events.

A mix of ages and lifestyles

Most of us were middle age, some older, some younger. Megan was the youngest of the group. Some it was their first event, others had traveled around to a bunch. Some widowed, some divorced, some unmarried, and some, like myself, who has a husband that does not share my love of travel. 

All of us are just looking for women to share a common bond. That of a love of travel, the outdoors, and camping. 

After all of the introductions were made and we were finished quizzing ourselves over who was who, we sat around the campfire and discussed the activities taking place throughout the weekend. 

I really had no clue what to expect. Unbeknownst to me there was an event page where sisters signed up for activities and items to bring for potluck on both Friday and Saturday nights. The next day some sisters were headed to Pictured Rocks to do an organized Kayak Tour. Some were going to do a boat tour and some were going to take a watercolor painting class with Sally’s Mom, Carol, who is an accomplished artist. Megan and I had planned on going off by ourselves and explore the town.

Planned activities or on your own…it doesn’t matter

I learned one of the main things about a sister event. Everyone is free to do their own thing. Also there are usually activities planned. Some sisters brought along their bikes, which prompted a group bike ride along the miles of trails in and around Marquette on Saturday. Our host Sally, being a local, was full of suggested places to see and things to do in the area. Being her first time hosting an event in the UP, she did an amazing job! Usually if a sister wanted to do something, there was an open invitation for anyone else to join her. 

It was a long day on Thursday, so we headed back to camp before dark after the meet and greet. Plus there was a distinct chill in the air for a late August night. 

Day two

Friday morning I woke early and did some more organizing. Megan slept in and as soon as she woke I used my new Nostalgic 3 in one toaster oven, griddle, and coffee maker to fry us some eggs for breakfast. It worked great! We were just headed to town today to check out the shops and lunch.

Checking out downtown Marquette

It had been years since we were in Marquette. In fact, the last time was when Megan was small and we drove up from Escanaba to go to the children’s museum. That is as much as what we saw of Marquette at that time. There is a really cool downtown area. We soon found that exploring the shops and stopping to grab a great lunch took up a good chunk of the day. After doing a little pre trip research, I wanted to hike Sugarloaf Mountain and go to Presque Isle Park. In the end we did neither, which made me a little sad. Hey, there’s always next time!

We visited a cute little vintage shop, a bookstore, a t shirt shop, and a few other shops, plus a visit to WalMart and Target for things we forgot from home. On Sunday before we left we went back downtown to grab a muffin and a coffee at Babycakes Muffin Company! A must stop in Marquette! Oh and they have macarons too!

It was late afternoon by the time we got back to our campsite and potluck with the sisters was set at 6:00. Meanwhile, I had been in touch with a new friend I had been communicating with on Facebook. She lives in Escanaba and is also a member of Sisters On The Fly. She had never been to an event and wanted to come see my Beatrice and see what the sisters was all about. She was planning on coming for the day arriving Saturday morning.

So while I was cementing plans with Nora, Megan was resting. She had woken up in the morning with a nasty cold. 

Potluck was at 6:00. Everyone brought a dish to pass and there was plenty of food for everyone.  Conversations took place around the campfire and new friendships were formed. Some had cocktails and some not. I’m normally very uncomfortable at gatherings like this, but there was no need. A few of the ladies had ukuleles along and did an impromptu sing along as we sat around the campfire. Stories were told. Saturday’s activities were discussed. These included the group bike ride and another painting class (which was on our agenda after Nora came to join us).

Once again the party broke up and we headed back to turn in for the night. 

Day 3

Nora arrived about 10:00 the next morning. We sat and got acquainted. She toured Beatrice and we discussed her own camper renovation. At 1:00 we walked over to Sally’s campsite where she had 2 pop-up shelters over picnic tables. That was where our painting class was held. What fun we had and Carol was such a great teacher!! I must say that even though I don’t have an artistic bone in my body, I was slightly impressed with how my painting turned out. The class took a few hours and by the time we were finished it was almost time for potluck again!

Nora stayed through supper. It was hard to believe it was our last night! I didn’t get the 2 things crossed off my list that I wanted, but we sure had fun and met some great new friends in the process. 

We left the campfire early that night. Megan just was not feeling good and I had some firewood to burn. Plus we wanted just some quiet time around the fire. Megan went to bed fairly early and I sat by the fire myself under a starry night. 

A successful event and another thing ticked off the list!

I had accomplished another thing. My first campout with Sisters On The Fly and traveling 4 hours pulling Beatrice along! I really couldn’t help but reflect back on all the things I have accomplished this year. Writing and publishing a children’s book, working hard on a blog that I love, Letting go of my postal job because it no longer fits with my goals

Get your copy of my book!!

They have arrived! Order Beatrice The Little Camper Gets Rescued now!! You can purchase using the link above or purchase on Amazon

So that’s a wrap on my first Sisters On The Fly event. The great news is that with the midwest sister numbers growing, there will be more future events in Wisconsin and the surrounding states. It was fun!

For more information about Sisters On The Fly, visit their website here

Thanks for reading and please share!!

Lori

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