Back in the real world Friday..The trip was great fun and a wonderful break from the norm.  I learned all sorts of new things and historical information, and feel a bit selfish about learning new ,"old", stuff at this stage of my life...   The pictures are just odds and ends from the trip..  It's a good thing that Turkeys aren't 200 pound carnivores...re the road sign????Does St Ignace have very slow readers???...  The playground equipment says volumes.... We need to fabricate steel trees for kids to climb on  and also post warnings that helmet chin straps can kill you..... also a soft foam pad to land on .  
   This ends this trip report.

Don't go out of the house....There are things out there...

 WHY???

 

shhhh!!  We're hunting wabitts.

                                           More from the next one,  Jay

 

10 9 12 to the woods

Spent the morning in the woods and marsh, and learned that I need to get out more. I'd never seen Michigan Holly in full Fall fruit, only as a dry winter berry. I had no idea the plants were so loaded with fruit. The difference being that the robins love them. There must have been 50, feeding in the area I was watching... I have been pleasantly surprised, by the size and quality of the preserved natural areas adjacent to the State Parks. I even watched a Pieleated Woodpecker in one, and they don't suffer people gladly. I remember reading an account of an ornithologist who paddled the lakes of Northern Minnesota for a whole Summer trying to observe one, unsuccessfully. I guess I'm spoiled, living in Benzie Co., thinking we have a lock on wild areas. The other surprise was Petosky stones. On one beach on the lower Huron side, I found more petoskys and numerous other corals in an hour, than I've found at home in two years...Who knew.

10 8 12 Cadillac MI

We gave up our coastal hugging and came inland to stop and see the grand kids...Back home in a few days.

I can't say enough good things about the State Parks system. The fact that we're off season has a bit to do with it. We've had our choice of camp sites the whole trip. A waterfront site every night except for two. Even tonight we look out over Lake Cadillac. I was in the Glenns (Prevos) in Petosky yesterday, picking up a few things, one of which was a simple automotive item. After searching in vain I asked for directions....and was informed that they didn't do “automotive”....It was a great store, lots of interesting and unusual items on the shelves, fresh cut meat, and the wine dept. was the size of the Frankfort Glenns produce and bakery areas combined...I don't see why the Frankfort store can't have a wine steward also... Today's pictures are from the Straits...

Be well, Jay

 

Back to the Lake Michigan side. I found a few Blue Bells still in flower in a small pocket of beach, at our last stop on the Huron side. Also an interesting fern in the process of drying out. We found a re constructed, water powered sawmill, dating from 1790 East of Cheboygan. Quite a clever contrivance, made mostly with wooden parts. The numbers for board feet of lumber sawn a day were incredible.

We made a short jaunt across the bridge into the UP for two nights. It was fun watching all the ship traffic navigating under the bridge in the fog. We're now back on our home coastline, just below the bridge, working our way South.

The idyllic weather is gone and we're into full fall mode. Wind, rain, overcast, and 48 for the high temp for today......Sunday AM newsflash..One of the rangers from Gaylord had 1/2" of snow on her car this AM.....Talk about bearing bad news so early in the day....Be well,  Jay

Closing in

We're closing in on the North end of Lake Huron.  The shipping history on this coast has been interesting.  More shipping and more wrecks than on the Michigan coast. I've lost track of all the lighthouses We've seen and will have to go back to correctly identify the pictures correctly.  The pleasant weather is still holding for a few more days....Jay

There are more lighthouses on this part of the coast than McDonalds....That is almost true...(I'm actually looking for Mc D's...they are my primary internet hot spot on the road)

I'm learning all sorts of lighthouse lore that I didn't know, and generating all sorts of questions for the Betsie folks at home. As you can see the Fall colors are starting and the weather is holding at mild ....Jay

9 29 12 squirrels

Note to self...... In the future, don't park under Oak trees in the Fall.

We've been staying in Michigan State Parks so far, they not only have some of the best real estate, they do a great job of running the parks and also taking care of it. Traveling this time of year is the greatest. The parks aren't busy and we have our choice of sites. We've had water front sites in every park so far.

This part of the Huron shore is shallow inshore, so we are seeing waterfowl constantly moving South, down the shore, or stopping just off shore in the evenings to feed and rest. I saw a flock of Blue Jays yesterday that must have numbered better than 40...I didn't know they flocked...or went South...  Norman said we could check out ..anytime.... J

point aux barques light

 I lost the text file that goes with these.  we're closing in on Alpena and the weather is holding beautifuly
    I should be able to access the net again tomorrow...J

Huron sunset

tawas point light

9 25 12 top of the thumb

warmer and sunny. Lots of lighthouse and shipping history in this area of the state. . The whole thumb was burned by a wild fire in 1871 by what is called a topping fire. It tore through the forest , just burning the tree tops. It consumed the oxygen so rapidly that many of the victims died from lack of oxygen. 10 years later the same area was swept by fire again. This time it was the rubble left from clear cutting the timber. The burned tree pictures are left from that fire 131 years ago. Where we're staying today as the site of a large, steam powered saw mill. They shipped a plank of clear pine 16 feet long....49inches wide and 4 inches thick...They don't make trees like that anymore.

lakeport

9 24 12 Lakeport MI

Lake Huron coast.

A different Great Lake altogether. The sunsets here happen about 715 A and to constant on shore West wind, is in fact an off shore breeze. I didn't know that there were petoskys on this shore line, but they are all over the place. I found more in thirty minutes yesterday than I've found in the last five years at home. Mermaids tears (beach glass) are also present. I'm really surprised that beach combers haven't scoured this beach, as it is only about 20 minutes from Port Huron, which is a big city...The other interesting rock finding, is that there are large numbers of nice fossilized shells and interesting corals. Off shore from here, on the horizon, is a wind farm. I'm guessing that it is on the Canadian coast line....I'm still waiting for Indian Summer...40 degrees at sunrise today... As I write this I'm watching an ore boat headed up lake...((Port Huron is the exit point from Lake Huron leading into Lake Erie).

We're meeting all sorts of interesting people from all over the country and the world. It's great fun chatting and trading histories and travels.

These up dates will be posted rather sporadically. I'm not completely in the digital age and need an internet connection to post them. I'm writing them daily and then uploading them when I can.

9 23 12

9-21-12

Well, Retired Thursday and hit the road Friday. Off exploring the Michigan coastline. Starting on the Southeast corner of the state and taking three weeks and working our way back to Frankfort. Friday night is Otisville, MI. There is a Good Sam RV group here. I don't think that I'm a joiner, but we'll see. Almost wasn't able to leave today as the cat knew something was up and did a disappearing act. An open can of tuanfish trumps travel anxiety every time.

9 23 12

Off to Port Huron to start the actual coastal jaunt. The cold weather has abated and we're back into Indian Summer. 

2nd test post

Different size font and color?????   

  and this one...???

This is a test blog.  Testing to see how things work and how well pictures upload and how they appear.  I'm planing on doing a fair bit of traveling over the next year and would like to keep a record of it.  I don't feel that Crystalnews is the proper place to do so, hence Crystalnews 2...Walkabout