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.