Up North Trip - Day 3

 Day 3 started early!  We needed to get from Mackinaw City to Munising for a fun little excursion I had planned. But first, we crossed the Mighty Mac - Garry's first time across!!

We ended up arriving at our destination a little earlier than planned but found this pretty little waterfall just a short walk away.  It was along the main road but was a nice diversion.

A short while later, and a short bus ride, we were launching our kayaks at Pictured Rocks for a 3 hour excursion into Lake Superior! This was my first time to Pictured Rocks and my first time touching water in Lake Superior!

We had another perfect weather day with barely any wind.  LOTS of people were out for this trip about 16 in our group but there were lots of other tour groups on the lake too.  Fresh air sports in Covid times are pretty popular!!

The rocks were really pretty - and having such great weather really let them show off.

Again, the water looked almost tropical it was so blue and calm!  Hard to imagine that it gets so rough on this lake that many big ships have sunk here.

They are a little hard to see but this area was filled with birds - it's a popular nesting area apparently.

Garry had the front of the kayak and I was steering in the back.  We both needed a good dose of sunshine for our ghostly skin!

Just beautiful!

Navigating between these rocks should have been quite easy - remember - I was in charge of steering!!  But when you decide you want to take pictures while trying to steer, which requires your paddle, it wasn't so simple.  Let's just say we may have hit the rocks a little!

So after almost 5 hours of getting to and from Pictured Rocks via shuttle (which included 3 hours of paddling in Lake Superior), we decided we hadn't had enough fun yet and headed to Taquanamen Falls!  I had never been here either but as a true Michigan, this is a must.  We weren't far off from sunset so we decided to drive to the upper falls, do the walkabout and then drive down to the lower falls instead of doing what is labeled as a rather challenging hike between the two.  We simply wouldn't have enough time considering its about 8 miles round trip.

I'm glad we chose to go to the upper falls first.  Another place with a million stairs to get to all the viewing points.  This was a rather short set compared to many.  

But the viewing spots were worth the stairs - every stop was simply beautiful and the pictures don't come close to doing it justice.

My arms are just too short for good selfies!

The falls are just so pretty with their brown staining from tannins.  The mist and sun make a pretty little rainbow from this angle.

 

Ah, my handsome guy!

Down at the lower falls.

There are actually several sets of falls at the lower falls and all of them look a little bit different.

It was a really, really full day!!  We left the falls after sunset with very empty stomachs. On our way to our hotel in the Soo, we found a Pizza Hut, pretty much in the middle of nowhere, and stopped. It was one of the best darn pizzas I've ever had!!  

Up North Day 2

 First stop - Mackinac Island!  I was trying to figure out how many times I had been to the island...maybe 6 or 7?  But amazingly enough, I had only been to the fort once before with Madison.  Garry and both enjoy history so this was our first stop. I also figured since it was at the top of a hill with a lot of stairs, we may as well get that in while we were fresh!

The day was perfect weather-wise.  Mid 70's with blue skies and a light breeze.

Mandatory cannon photos!

And a selfie!

We quickly found that offering to take pics of other people got us the same in return.  This lady took great pictures!

The top of the hill walkway around the back of the fort overlooking the lake!!

Awwww! We look so happy - and we were. We are!

Overlooking the Grand Hotel's 9hole golf course.

The water was so blue it looked more like the Carribean than Michigan lake water!

Panoramic view of the harbor from atop the fort.

Next stop - renting bikes!  Another mandatory thing to do on the island.  You HAVE to ride a bike around the island at least once in your life!

You also have to make many stops to enjoy the scenery and water. Here we are by an old cannon but looking back towards the bridge.

Seriously beautiful water!  

We stopped here to climb the rocks and eat some fudge. Did I mention we had stopped to buy fudge?  Another mandatory island thing to do!!  And made use of the self-timer on my phone to take this selfie hands free!

And then Garry decided he had to dip his feet in the cold water?

And I had to join him!  But boy were those little rocks hard to walk on!!

We were getting silly with wanting to eat ALL the fudge!!

Next stop - the arched rock!

So the last time I climbed up to the arched rock, there were some crude steps made with logs in the steep hillside dirt path. Now there is a really nice wooden walkway with real stairs. Lots and lots of stairs!  But the view...it's worth it.

Selfie time!

Now tell me that water doesn't look tropical!  

We took pictures of two couples who then volunteered to take our picture. She took forever taking the picture telling us she was a wedding photographer. Ahem. She isn't very good!

Next stop, walking by the Grand Hotel.  Not on the porch though. That costs $10!!

The landscaping and flowers are just breathtaking and what a view!

It was early evening at this point and we still had walking to do!

We wove our wave behind the Grand Hotel taking some little side roads I had never been on before.  We passed the stables, and some beautiful houses.  We went to the main island cemetery and roamed around checking out the older headstones. And then to the old military cemetery.  

I had also never been to Skull Cave on the island!

It wasn't all that much to look at!  But it was a nice walk to get there.

And finally, it was time to catch our ferry back to Mackinaw City - perfect timing for a beautiful sunset!

It was an amazing day with perfect weather!

A Covid Summer Trip

 Garry and I had been dating almost six months when I found out he had never been "up north"!  Born and raised in Detroit, he has done a bit of traveling, but never to the top of the mitten.  Of course, this set me off on planning a trip to the north woods that would let me revisit some of my favorite places while adding in some new one for both of us.  

We took off on a Wednesday afternoon and made Gaylord our first stop to meet up with my friend Shelley and her husband Dan. Before Covid hit, we had picked up a chandelier for them (purchased online) that they had planned to get from me...and then couldn't because of this delightful pandemic.  But since we were going to be sort of in their neighborhood, we arranged to meet up with them. Which of course, required the obligatory photo!

Next stop - destination Mackinaw City!  We arrived around dinner time so after getting checked into the hotel, we walked into town for dinner and then through the marina where we found "our" boat.

A nice little beauty, aye?  We had fun texting pics to friends to show them what we had just "bought"!

We had booked a hotel on the beach hoping for a relaxing view of the water.  Well, the hotel room didn't have much of a view but this little slice of beach was good for our beach chairs, a beer, and a glass of wine before sunset.

Tomorrow - destination Mackinac Island!  Via ferry, not the bridge, but I didn't take a pic of the ferry! 

Nature's Surprises

 

I love "taking time to smell the flowers" with my camera lens when I'm out hiking.  Every few weeks there is a new array of flowers in the woods and fields with different colors and shapes.

I have no idea what most of them are called.

And then I get a big surprise as I'm rounding a corner where I had my eye on a doe and wanted to get a better view from the other side of a clump of trees. It wasn't a doe at all but a young buck!  I have never seen a buck this close - and honestly, rarely see them at all!

And then it was back to flowers!!

Paddle Boarding

 

One of the things I had been dying to do all summer was paddle boarding but with covid...finally Kensington opened their rentals up so Garry and I hit the water on one hot afternoon. 

We had such a nice time paddling around the lake, taking a break in the middle to just kick back and relax on the boards for a bit.

After, we went to one of the areas near where I often park when walking and had ourselves a little snack picnic with just a small glimpse of the water through the trees far below.

It was a rather perfect day!