Mackinac Trip

July 16-20, 2008

Wednesday, July 16

We left at 8:02 (two minutes behind schedule) for our Mackinac Trip. We stopped for a picnic at Rapid River, MI, and looked at the falls. From there we continued on to Munising to go on the Pictured Rocks Boat Tour (that Jon and I couldn't go on during our trip due to fog). It was beautiful and we were able to see the Grand Island East Channel Lighthouse as well as some really pretty rock formations. We even saw some of the spots Jon and I were hiking near during our trip. After the boat tour we drove to Newberry to stay at the Comfort Inn.

Grand Island East Channel Light

Pictured Rocks

Thursday, July 17

This morning we left Newberry and drove to Mackinaw City. It's always neat coming upon the bridge. It is majestic every time you see it. We saw two freighters approaching the Mackinac Bridge as we drove over it. Once in Mackinaw City we boarded the Shepler's Ferry out to the island. We hopped on our bikes and biked around the island. It was hot! We stopped at Arch Rock and climbed all the way up. We also stopped a few times to throw rocks in the water, have a picnic, and take pictures of the bridge, Round Island Lighthouse, and the Round Island Passage Light.

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After our bike ride we went to the Butterfly House and saw some beautiful creatures. They also had some really cool insects. From there we went to Fort Mackinac. In addition to touring the buildings, we had the opportunity to see a canon firing, participate in a children's tour (complete with playing with Victorian toys), learn to march like soldiers, watch a rifle firing demonstration, and witness a court marshal. Even though Emmaline whined and cried during the canon demonstration and rifle firing, if you ask her now what her favorite part of the trip was, that was it! They also had a lot of great displays for children to experience history hands on.

Round Island Passage Light & Round Island Lighthouse

Once we were done on the island, we took the ferry back to Mackinaw City and checked into our hotel--the Baymont Inn--much nicer! We ate our TV dinners and headed down to the pool. After a whole day of "a chance of rain" the skies opened up and poured! We were truly blessed with great weather during the day.

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Friday, July 18

This morning we headed out to Cheboygan to see the crib light and range light. The crib light was in a pretty little harbor area. We walked out to the end of the pier and saw the Fourteen Foot Shoal Light in the distance. Looking back towards shore we could see the range lights. We drove back into town to see those and then went to the Coast Guard Station to see the new Mackinaw Ice Breaker. It wasn't there, however. We found out later that it was escorting the sailboats that were racing from Chicago to Mackinac Island.

Cheboygan Crib Light & Cheboygan Front Range Light

From Cheboygan we went to the south to see the Forty Mile Point Lighthouse. Before getting there we stopped at a wayside to throw rocks in Lake Huron. The Forty Mile Point Light is a duplicate of the Big Bay Point Lighthouse that we stayed in for our anniversary. It was fun to be able to see what it was like as a duplex compared to the opened up B & B. Only half of it was open to tour, but it gave us a sense of what changes had been made to Big Bay. We even got to see "our room" at this lighthouse-the parlor and dining room. We were able to climb the tower-this one is a little shorter than Big Bay, and we weren't able to go out on the balcony. Also on site was the pilot house of the Calcite, a ship that sank in the area. There were also remnants from another shipwreck on the beach. Finally, we were able to go into the old fog building, which is now a pavilion. We spent some time walking on the beach and throwing rocks. After the tour, we tailgated and had lunch.

Forty Mile Point Lighthouse

After lunch we drove back to Mackinaw City and toured the Mackinaw, the first ice breaker that went into service during WWII. It was really neat seeing this ship after the seeing the new one being launched in Marinette three years ago. After the Mackinaw tour we went to the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse. I was able to take some great pictures of Emmaline with the bridge and the lighthouse in the background. The lighthouse is just beautiful--they call it the "Castle at the Straits." They had some rooms restored and nice exhibits. They had a children's area too. Emmaline wore her lighthouse keeper's hat that we made for a project before the trip. When we climbed the tower, the guide took a picture of us and she had the hat on—very cute!

The Mackinaw, Emmaline's five-year pictures in front of the Mackinac Bridge and the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse

After the lighthouse, we went to Fort Michilimackinac. Emmaline was getting tired, but she really enjoyed seeing the excavation sites as well as the artifacts that were found. She also had a lot of fun seeing the children's display of British soldiers' living quarters. She, however, did not like the musket firing and refused to go see the canon firing (even though she survived the one on the island).

"Fort's secure!"

When we finished at the fort, we went back to our hotel and ate supper and swam. After swimming we went to Mackinaw Crossings. A guy was making balloon hats and creatures and made Emmaline a hat. Then we got ice cream and watched the laser light show. It was cool. Once it was over we drove down to the lighthouse to see the bridge. We saw some lights across the way, and Jon thought it was the Grand Hotel. Emmaline thought it was a freighter. Next we went to the base of the bridge to try and see the St. Helena light flashing. We couldn't see it, but we did see the "Grand Hotel" going under the bridge. Emmaline was right--it was a freighter!

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Saturday, July 19

This morning we woke up to a very cloudy and foggy morning. We had time before going to the docks for our lighthouse cruise, so we decided to bike on the bike trail that started in Mackinaw. According to the directions the "developed trailhead' was on Shepler Drive. We figured Shepler Drive must be near Shepler's Ferry Docks. We drove down there and didn't see anything, so we drove out of town a ways and still didn't see anything. Finally, we turned toward the lake to see if we could spot it running along the lakeshore--no luck. Then we turned on a side road on the other side of Highway 23, and finally found it crossing the road! There was no place to park, so we started following it back towards town to find the trailhead. We found it alright. It was right on the other side of our hotel! We then biked fifteen miles.

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When we returned, the sun was just coming out, the fog was lifting, and it was getting hot! We walked down to the boat docks for our lighthouse cruise. Before boarding they took our picture, and we were able to pick it up later for FREE! That doesn't usually happen! Once on board we learned that one of our guides was a woman who had written a book about Great Lakes and the Mackinaw. The other guide was Terry Pepper, a lighthouse historian whose website is my first stop when planning lighthouse trips. Then up the stairs came our stumbling and slurring captain--Bill Shepler himself! He was hilarious! He told everybody that the windmill turbines were not actually there to generate electricity; rather, they were there to blow the hot air back to Wisconsin! We booed him!

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We headed out towards St. Helena (pronounced Helene) Island and on to White Shoal Light. As we were approaching it, we could see two other lights in the distance. All of these lights are crucial to navigating this "corner" for freighters. The Waugoshance Light only sits in four feet of water. It was so neat being in the middle of nowhere and then coming upon these lights. The White Shoal Light was just amazing-it's huge and painted in candy cane stripes. The Gray's Reef Light stunk from all of the cormorants sitting on it, and the Waugoshance Light had a bird cage lantern room like Bailey's Harbor. Apparently the military used to use it for target practice.

White Shoal, Gray's Reef, Waugoshance & St. Helena Island Lights

On our return trip we swung by St. Helena Island. This lighthouse is owned by the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers' Association (GLKKA), and they do a lot of educational programs. One of them is for teachers. Teachers can go out for one week to live in a working lighthouse (without electricity or running water) and work on the lighthouse and curriculum. I want to do this! This year they went out in a tall ship, and we got to see that anchored offshore. There is a 7th grade teacher who stays out there all summer as the caretaker. She has to call for her supplies to be delivered, and she does everything the old-fashioned way. She does send her laundry in to be washed when a boat comes out, so to pay for that, she makes cute little notebooks on the island to be sold in the GLKKA gift shop. Since we were nearby, we came in as far as we would and she came out in a dinghy to send her notebooks up via a tackle box. We, of course, had to buy one.

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After leaving St. Helena Island, Capt. Bill Shepler sent one of the tour guides back to us to invite Emmaline up to steer the boat! He picked her up and showed her where we were going. Then he let her actually steer it. It was really great. I have pictures of her steering The Hope towards the Mackinac Bridge.

Emmaline & Bill Shepler, steering The Hope

After we got back form the Lighthouse Cruise, we freshened up and then went to Cross Village for dinner. Jon and I ate there eight years ago. It serves Polish cuisine, and the walls, furniture, bar, etc., are all made out of wood, roots, stone, and branches. It's really cool. Outside they have beautiful gardens and dining. They also offer a view of all the lighthouses that we visited plus Skillagalee, one we didn't. A high-powered spotting scope offered good views of the lights. We also saw two freighters navigating through the area.

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After dinner we went back to Mackinaw Crossings to get some ice cream and fudge. While eating our ice cream we heard the concert in the park across the street. We strolled on over there and listened to a high school percussion group from the Flint School of the Performing Arts called "Exclamation." They had marimbas, xylophones, vibes, drums and steel drums. They were awesome! Our last activity of the night was, of course, swimming.

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Sunday, July 20

This morning we packed up and went to Sault Ste. Marie to check out the Soo Locks. There weren't any scheduled to come in for over two hours, and we were disappointed. Since we drove an hour to get there, we decided to go tour the Valley Camp, which is a shipping freighter that is now a museum. It was fascinating to see what these freighters look like inside. I've always wondered, and now I know! There were also a lot of other great exhibits inside, including the two life boats from the Edmund Fitzgerald. In the middle of touring the ship, we saw the ship Algoway that was due into the locks. Since we were able to get back into the museum with our ticket, we went back to the locks to see it go through.

Valley Camp Ship Museum

After that we went back to the museum to finish our tour. When we got there, we saw the next ship coming already. We didn't go back to the locks, but we had our picnic while we watched it go by. We then resumed our tour and enjoyed seeing the crew's quarters.

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We thought we were homeward bound, smooth sailing ahead, and we were until we got to Menominee. We stopped and got subs and then went to eat by the water. When we were done, Jon wanted to see if the windmill pieces were still waiting to be transported. Well, some were, but others were just heading out of town. He followed them for a little while, and then realized we were going to get stuck behind them, so we went a different way out of town. Unfortunately, we met at a different intersection, and the police stopped traffic so they could go through. We were stuck behind them again. We tried several times to take county roads to head them off at the pass, but each time they were just going by as we arrived. Finally, we gave up and followed them until we got to four lanes. Needless to say, we got home late! Regardless, it was an awesome trip!

Big Bay Anniversary Trip

June 13-17, 2008

Friday, June 13, 2008

Today Jon and I left for our 10th Anniversary trip to the UP. Emmaline is staying with Grandma Luella and Papa Tom. We arrived in Big Bay, MI, around 4:00 EDT. We checked into the Big Bay Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast and found our room to be beautiful. Our portion is what used to be the head keeper's parlor and kitchen. We have windows on three sides, one of which looks out on Lake Superior. There is a fireplace in the room to ward off the chilly breezes off of the lake.

As soon as we deposited our things in our room, we went up to the tower. There is a great balcony right below the lantern room. As you can imagine, the view is incredible. We could even see the Keweenaw Peninsula to the west!

Big Bay Point Lighthouse

We then headed inside for lighthouse history and orientation to the grounds. Linda, the keeper, talked about the murder that took place in the Lumberjack Tavern back in the 50's and the ensuing movie that was filmed in Big Bay and Marquette. I actually read the book last week, and we watched the movie last night--Anatomy of a Murder. So, of course, after the history, we went into Big Bay and ate at the Tavern. It had a lot of newspaper articles about the actual murder as well as the movie. It was a great meal with a fun atmosphere--a good choice. Granted, there was only one other dining choice in Big Bay, but a good choice nonetheless.

After dinner, we went for a hike along the lake and went down to a rocky beach to skip stones. Aside from the zillion flies that kept landing on us, it was great. Fortunately, the flies didn't really bite. Then we came back and played cribbage in our room, overlooking the lake. After Jon beat me, we went up to the tower to exchange anniversary gifts. I gave him a DVD slideshow of our 10 years together. He gave me some things that were made out of aluminum and told me they were earrings. He said we just needed to get some hooks put on. I wasn't quite sure how to respond because they were huge and not very earring-like. We went back down to the library to watch the DVD, and he told me to go back to our room and see if there was something on the mantle for me. I brought the small box back and opened it. Inside was a Journey Diamond pendant to celebrate our journey through life so far. It is gorgeous! Then he told me that the "earrings" were just spare aluminum parts that he had made for Gulf Stream! Since aluminum is the traditional gift for 10 years, he thought it would be funny!

After we watched the video, we went up to the tower to see the sunset. As soon as we got up there, we saw a bear! Then we witnessed an incredible sunset. Next we went in the sauna, which is right below the tower (it used to be the keeper's work room). From there we went into the living room (the exact mirror of our room-the lighthouse was originally a duplex). There we read some of the history and looked at the many books they had. Before heading to bed (everyone else had retired already), we headed to the tower again. No stars but still very cool. We could also go up into the lantern room to see the light (not a cool one--it is actually an active aid to navigation). So far so good on this Friday the 13^th in a haunted lighthouse!

Sunset at Big Bay

Saturday, June 14, 2008

This morning we didn't have Emmaline singing in the next room, so we slept in! Then we went and had a delicious breakfast of eeble skeebers (puffed blueberry pancakes), zucchini muffins, fruit, and sausages. After breakfast we drove to Marquette. We biked from downtown to Presque Isle where we walked out on the pier to see the light. Also, while on the lakeside trail, we saw the Charles M. Beeghley unloading at the ore dock. We had seen this ship last year in the Soo.

On the way back we stopped at the Maritime Museum. The 3^rd order Fresnel lens from the Big Bay Lighthouse is there. We also got to tour the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse. It needs a lot of work, and fortunately it is going to be turned over to a private owner or historical society in five years.

Presque Isle Pier Light

Marquette Harbor Light

Big Bay Fresnel Lens

After our bike ride, we walked along Washington and Front Streets and saw what they look like when there's no snow and no sled dogs! We had dinner at a pizza place--yummy! This evening we walked the grounds, sat by the windows and read lighthouse history, played some games, watched the sunset, looked at the stars and moon and just had a relaxing time at the lighthouse. We also watched a video about haunted lighthouses, one of which is this one. I'll have to admit, it made it just a little spooky to climb the tower to look at the stars!

Big Bay at night

Sunday, June 15, 2008

This morning I awoke to the smell of lilacs wafting through my window. We then went and had a delicious egg breakfast and heard some good stories from Jeff, the other innkeeper. After breakfast we went to the top of the tower one last time. Then, since I just didn't want to leave, we played checkers in our room. I, of course, lost. After one last walk of the grounds, we took off to find some area waterfalls. The directions were terrible, so after missing the first three on the list, we found one that wasn't that great (Reamy Waterfalls). We decided this wasn't the greatest plan, so we scratched it and headed on to Munising.

Once in Munising, we entered the Pictured Rocks National lakeshore to find real waterfalls and do some hiking. And boy, did we do some hiking! It was beautiful and buggy and fun and tiring. The waterfalls were large and beautiful. We saw a lot of wildflowers and lush vegetation along the hiking trails. We saw some truly spectacular wilderness. We finally got back to Munising around 9:30 EDT. We hadn't really eaten since breakfast, save for a few snack crackers. Our A&W meal tasted soooo good! We finally checked into the hotel, and much to our surprise, we had a lake view room with a walk-out patio! We were supposed to have a hillside view.

Our Adventures in Pictured Rocks

Stop 1: Miner's Falls [1.2 miles]

Stop 2: Miner's Castle overlook

Stop 3: Mosquito Falls [3 miles]

Very difficult trail and, yes, lots of mosquitoes!

Chapel Falls [3 miles]

Stop 4: Hurricane River Campground [3 miles] We camped here four years ago. We hiked along the beach to see shipwrecks and ended at the Au Sable Lighthouse. We hiked back on the mosquito-infested trail.

Stop 5: Sable Falls-a nice short walk-measured in feet!

We enjoyed a beer on the tailgate when we were all through hiking.

Stop 6: Grand Marais Pier Lights

The last time we saw these lights, they were encrusted in ice!

Au Sable Lighthouse

Reflection of Au Sable in assistant keeper's house window

Monday, June 16, 2008

Today we drove to Crisp Point. This was a favorite spot that we visited when we camped up here in 2004. Back then we arrived at the lighthouse to gale force winds that made Emmaline giggle. This time after driving the 37 miles of dirt road, we arrived to a beautiful sight--gorgeous blue waters and the sun shining on the lighthouse. We walked the beach and boardwalk and admired the beauty. But then we left because it was COLD! I think it was around 48 degrees!

Then we drove to Whitefish Point. We had just been there last winter, but we hadn't been in the Shipwreck Museum for eight years. We toured all of the buildings and grounds. It was funny walking out onto the deck because last winter the snow was up to the top of the railings, and I was walking out onto the frozen ice cliffs. Now the water was open and turquoise. Before we left, we discovered a boardwalk that went up through the dunes behind the complex. It offered beautiful views of the lake and a really great vista of the entire lighthouse grounds.

Crisp Point Light

Whitefish Point Lighthouse

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Today we were supposed to take the Pictured Rocks Boat Tour to see the rock formations and the Grand Island East Channel Light. Unfortunately, when we opened our curtains in the morning, it was raining and foggy. We couldn't even see Grand Island. They canceled the boat tour, leaving us disappointed. We are going to try to do the tour as part of our Mackinac Trip with Emmaline. All in all we had a fabulous trip. We sure did miss Emmaline though! The boat tour being canceled just got us to the cottage earlier to pick her up.