Michigan's Thumb

Cold! Cold! Cold!!!!!

We’ve moved to the thumb of Michigan (you know Michigan is shaped like a mitten, right?) and boy am I cold! Phaedra is lucky with her thick coat. The first morning in Port Sanilac, there was no outside water because the hose was frozen. Mom unhooked it the second night but there was ice on the water spigot. Our last night was warmer but as soon as we got up the winds started and the temps dropped. Glad that I get to sleep under the covers.

Oh yeah, guess what? We traveled around the thumb area and saw more lighthouses. One of the neatest we saw was south in Port Huron. It was a lighthouse ship that was stationed out in the Detroit River. We got to see that one plus the lighthouse that was under the Blue Water Bridge over to Sarnia, Canada.




Our last day in the area was spent traveling north around the thumb tip where we saw 3 lighthouses with a really cool one that Mom and Dad were able to see even though it was located 2 miles offshore. I do believe that these are our last lighthouses. Boo! Hoo!

Tomorrow we will travel and set up camp south of Detroit so that the folks can visit this big city. Dad wants to see the Henry Ford Museum and Mom wants to visit the Cranbrook Educational Complex. Maybe we’ll get to go, too.

Phaedra goes to Alpena!

It’s travel time with Phaedra here. We survived our last night at the bridge in terrible winds. The winds were gusting up to 40 knots and the waves were upwards of 8 feet in the Straits of Mackinac right outside our camper. There were Gale Warnings out on both Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. We slept with all of the slides brought in so there was less roll than there would have been. A couple of times, I thought we were going to roll over. Escaping out the window wasn't something I wanted to do. I was not as scared as Zoe or Mom, but I was really glad to go on to Alpena. The main reason for going there is for a lighthouse festival. Oh boy, more lighthouses.

We are staying at a really cool campground on a lake with lots of little coves. Our campsite has water all around us with ducks, birds, boats and, of course, rain. Our first full day, we saw sun. It was fantastic. Zoe and I forgot what it looked like. We drove to Rogers City and visited 40 Mile Point Lighthouse. We got to play in the sand after Mom and Dad visited the remains of a tanker. Mom pretended to steer it. The lighthouse itself and museum were cool and a Lighthouse Keeper dressed in his official uniform told us all about the lighthouse. We got to walk to a large piece of a ship that sunk off this point a long time ago. The folks spent a long time talking to the volunteer lighthouse keepers. They really would like to do that sometime and even got papers to apply.

From there we drove on to Presque Isle to see an two lighthouses plus two open range lights. Papa and Mom climbed the 2 towers and one had

129 steps, the tallest one in Michigan. The views from the top were beautiful, but, of course, we only got to see pictures. The best part was that we all had a picnic on the beach. It was 60 degrees so we were able to eat outside at a table. Zoe and I got to run around and play.

Our last day in Alpena was another long ride to see 2 more lighthouses, one in Sturgeon Point Bay and the other at Tawas City. Tonight, Mom and Papa went out to dinner without us. They met Jayme, their “Grand Niece”, and her boyfriend Kyle who were at the wedding and who live in Hubbard Lake nearby. They had a great time seeing Jayme and Kyle and were treated to dinner to boot! We should have gone with them. Free Pizza is always a wonderful thing, right?

Tomorrow, we leave for Port Sanilac on Lake Huron. More lighthouses coming up - and then on to Detroit to the Henry Ford Museum and other big city things. I bet we get left a lot!

Mackinac Island and I couldn't go!

Zoe here!

My turn, my turn! We are still camping in Mackinaw City, but Mom and Dad left us for five hours while they went for a boat ride. They showed us to the ferry that they were going to ride to Mackinac Island, but they wouldn't let us go with them. They wanted to take their bikes over, but it was too windy. This island allows no cars so everyone walks, rides bikes or rides in horse drawn carriages. They decided to walk. We could have gone, but they decided it was too long for us. After seeing them when they got home, it was they who were too tired.

They saw lots of neat things such as lighthouses (surprised?), a fort, plus the famous Grand Hotel. Mom wanted to go inside but decided to just walk around the hotel. They saw The Old Stone Church and a “bark chapel”. Father Marquette used the bark chapel while he was on Mackinac Island. They, also, had a great view from the highest point on the island. The best part for them was that there was only a little sprinkle for about 15 minutes. We didn’t really care, though, because we were stuck in the camper, again!

Our last day here was spent in rain once again but we visited two more lighthouses. The worst part was that what I said earlier about Nor’easters isn’t true. Our last night was spent waking up at 3 AM to bring in the sides of the camper. Winds were gusting over 40 knots, and Mom made Dad worried that we might go sailing off to Mackinac Island but this time without a ferryboat! We were listening to the weather alert radio at 3:30 AM. and found out that there were gale force winds right where we were! We did survive, but it turned colder. Wish I had more fur like Phaedra. I’ll just snuggle closer to Mom ‘til it warms up again.

Phaedra on the U. P.

Phaedra here, finally.

I sure get tired of Zoe getting most of the blog time. We arrived at Mackinaw City and are camping within site of the Mackinaw Bridge and Mackinac Island. Mom looks across the water to the Grand Hotel and is so happy! The campground is like a state park but with better facilities. The best part is the geese. Mom and Dad have their hands full keeping us from eating all the “goose pies”. Plus, you should see turkeys! I bet they're happy it isn't Thanksgiving yet! Yum! Yum!

We went on two “all day” trips to the UP (that stands for Upper Peninsula to non-Michiganders). It was fun crossing the five-mile bridge Mackinac Bridge. Dad was glad that they left the camper and did not have to pull it over the Straits. The first day, we went along the southern coast of the UP and saw three different lighthouses. One was really neat called Seul Croix. The rain stopped long enough for us to have a picnic in the bed of the truck. I got to try liverwurst. It was yummy. I also learned that the UP has lots of snow. Just look at the winter mailbox we saw! We got back late and almost missed dinner.

The next day we headed back across the Mackinac Bridge and headed north to Lake Superior. This was the farthest north we got. The sun came out for a bit. This, of course, did not last long. Rain started again. We went to the Whitefish Point Light Station and that was really cool. We got to play in the sand. Mom finally was able to see a lot of birds because there was an Audubon Bird Sighting Station as part of the complex there. It was really hard to get the folks to leave, but Zoe and I really wanted to see our first large waterfalls. Mom and Dad spent their honeymoon near there and visited Tahquamenon Falls 40 years ago. We were all excited until the rains came, AGAIN!!!!!!! Zoe and I had to stay in the truck while Mom and Papa hiked at both the lower and upper falls stops. Mom told us about how they walked under the falls “way back when”. They weren’t that dumb this time because it was 45 degrees outside, not August! They still got wet and cold!

As if all that was not enough, they drove back via the Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie, which is at the Canadian border. We were looking forward to this because we were going to get to go to our first foreign country. Zoe and I have been working on speaking dog in different languages. The locks were neat and so was the International Bridge, but guess what??, we rode under the end of the bridge and never got to go over. We were cheated. We had our papers, shot records and everything but, no, the folks forgot their passports, and we were the ones to suffer. We finally got back to the campground really late, again, but we did get supper. LONG, LONG DAY, today!!!

Zoe coming to you from Leelanau Peninsula, MI

Zoe reporting to you from Leelanau Peninsula and beyond…

Once we left Elk Rapids, we stopped along Lake Leelanau in a campground with our site right on the lake. Usually I love being right next to the water. I found out soon enough, though, that Lake Leelanau in October isn’t anything like Myrtle Beach in July. Are you getting the picture? First of all, it was COLD and really windy. I have only my short coat to keep me warm and when that gets wet it’s just too much to bear. Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t mind having to walk in the rain. But, one morning when Papa walked us down by the lake, I decided that I wanted to see over the short wall beside me. Well, I jumped over and immediately ended up in this freezing lake. I don’t know why I did it. I just wanted to. Phaedra sometimes calls me clueless! I thought there was a ledge on the wall – not just a plunge into the lake. I though Papa would have apoplexy when it happened. You should have heard him! Anyway, Papa scooped me out of that water as fast as he could say Jack Rabbit and hustled me off toward home. Phae was really mad that I had spoiled her walk time!

We had a visitor. Cousin Audrey came to stay. I loved jumping on her in the morning before she woke up. I was actually encouraged to do it by – guess who – that’s right, Papa. He laughed every time I woke her up. I like Audrey! She never stopped throwing me the ball. We even got to go “lighthouseing” and exploring with Papa, Mama, and Audrey. We went to Frankfort, Manistee, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Point Betsie, and Empire, ran on the beach, and had picnics in the truck because it was raining outside. We sat in the back with Mom and she and Audrey talked and talked. They also got us lost at night, Papa says. I think he really took a wrong turn and so do Audrey and Mom. You probably haven’t seen dark like it is up here! There were no streetlights and no moon since it was really cloudy and really windy. It really was easy to get lost – even with the GPS! We got lost in Cedar – that place only has one blinking light, too! We spent most of our time lost. But, we had a great time!

The night we got lost, we had gone out to dinner. First we went to Cedar. Everything was closed. Everything! Then we went to Lake Leelanau and everything was closed. By this time, we were all hungry. We kept driving. We ended up in Glen Arbor. The only thing open in that place was Art’s Tavern, but all of us were really hungry. So we stopped. Guess what – Phaedra and I had to stay in the truck! When everyone else got back, Phae and I learned that the power was out over most of the Leelanau Peninsula. This was the only restaurant within 30 miles that had a generator. Every visitor in the whole area found his or her way to this place. Also, it happened to be the only place in Northern Michigan that had real vegetarian food for Mom. How lucky is that? . The people in the tavern told Papa that this is what they call a Nor’easter. Papa said that this was just a gentle wind compared to what a real Nor’easter really is! He’s right, too.

There are lots of wild things up in these woods, too. Mom got scared of the dark and wind one night when we were out for a walk. All I saw were Wild Turkeys and Wild Apples!

Too soon for us, Audrey had to go. But, we only had one more night along the little lake. This morning we packed up and are off to Mackinac City and the UP. I hope we don’t get lost along the way!