July 10, 2018

Our hotel stay in Petoskey resulted in a full night’s sleep with no buggy interruptions!  The blackout curtains messed with our early wake up so we got a later start than “normal,” but that is okay!

We found a lighthouse before we left town, having to cross an actual drawbridge to get to the point to see it.  It was a small drawbridge but it was a drawbridge! The lighthouse was situated at the end of a walkway, a walkway we entered upon our own risk!  Petoskey Pierhead Lighthouse was built in the late 1800s. Lake steamers had trouble offloading summer visitors so two breakwaters were constructed to protect the landing pier.  A wooden “funnel-shaped” lighthouse was built at the end of the western pier. A schooner damaged the lighthouse in 1900 but it was repaired. A severe storm in 1924 washed the lighthouse from the pier.  A temporary light atop a wooden pole was displayed until 1930 when a new lighthouse was erected, the one currently here. Apparently, there is a group of lighthouse enthusiasts trying to get the lighthouse replaced with a design like the original one.

A wooden canoe with Native American markings was beached at this pier, along with a group of people sitting in a circle (It looked like they were drumming?), and a crew from a local television station.  We haven’t figured out what they were doing there this fine morning. A young girl was also practicing her softball pitches with her dad and sister nearby. Summer days!!

At first I thought a few homeowners were wanting to spread the joy of petunias and planted them between their sidewalk and the curb.  A house in Jasper (sort of near Trinity Church) used to do that too and I loved driving by! But a few houses turned into the entire street and then more streets. There were pink and purple petunias planted along the curbs this entire section of town!  It really added something wonderful to the drive and what it says about this town!! They were neatly weeded too! So not just planted and forgotten. A few streets over, the petunias hung in pots on every light pole instead of being planted but the impression was the same, very welcoming.

We traveled down the road to a little town called Charlevoix to check out another lighthouse. This one also located at the end of a pier with a small beach.  Charlevoix is located on an isthmus between Lake MIchigan and Lake Charlevoix and encircles Round Lake. This town developed into a “resort” destination early on.  To improve access from Lake Michigan they began with a channel being dredged and lined by pilings and then adding lighthouses to the north and south piers. This lighthouse on the South Pier Lighthouse is a small squat one painted red, but only since 2009!  It was white before that.

When we parked our car, we noticed a couple with colanders walking down the street and onto the beach.  What could they be using those far? Andrew thought perhaps clams? I wasn’t sure as they were colanders!  After our walk to the pier and lighthouse, we walked the beach and asked. They were looking for a special stone that can be found in this area, the Petoskey Stone.  We had seen some stones and things made from this stone at a gift shop on Mackinac Island but didn’t really pay any more attention. This stone is actually a rock AND a fossil, originating a LONG time ago during the Devonian period and are actually fragments of coral that have been rounded by glacier action.  They really are pretty. This couple collects them and makes things from them like necklaces and such. There were actually quite a few people searching the waters, assuming all for these stones? There was also a random guy with a metal detector! He was just looking for anything interesting, this overheard from a conversation he was having with someone relaxing on the beach.  This beach also boasted playground equipment ON the beach, slides and swings. Summer fun for all ages!

One thing we found interesting while driving through Michigan was their placement of lights at intersecting roads.  We first noticed a light hanging in the middle of the road on a country road, then another, and another. We thought it was just this particular road, but then we saw more on different roads.  I noticed them first but Andrew noticed they happened to be hanging over intersecting roads. Great idea!

Our next stop of the day was in small town called Empire and Sleeping Bear Dunes.  We got to use our National Park Pass again!! The dune that we climbed is only one small part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.  To climb UP a sand dune takes some work. The loose sand is always working against you and you feel like you are taking two steps forward and any number of steps backward!  MANY people were attempting the climb when we got there, young and old alike, some running (showoffs!), some taking their time. We had to stop a few times but the view at the “top” was glorious!  Watching young and some older run back down was fun. Do we dare?

At the top, we noticed we really weren’t at the top.  More sand! So another hike up another dune, and another glorious view of Glen Lake.  Glen Lake you are thinking? Aren’t you on Lake Michigan? Yes, but Lake Michigan is in the other direction.  Michigan has lots and lots and lots of lakes. We notice yet another dune to climb and think, “Yes, we will be able to see Lake Michigan from there.”  But no, that is only another part of the journey. IF you wanted to, you could hike a few miles up and down steep slopes of loose sand and catch a glimpse of Lake Michigan.  It takes 3-4 hours and we opted not to do that. A guide situated under a scrubby tree between dune top 2 and 3 (!) told us that where he was standing was a post labeled “2” and there were 27 total posts until the Lake Michigan view.  27. All with up and down loose sand that today he estimated was about 100 degrees. I am sure it was beautiful! But we had other things to see. We felt our view of Glen Lake and our climb was awesome enough! We headed back towards the truck and ran down the dunes. Yes, we did run!!  It was actually not hard as you just put your heels in first and sort of clomped down that way. We wondered if we should “roll” down, like we did grassy banks as kids, but when Andrew tried he veered off to the side and almost took out a small person. Running it was!

 

As we were driving we knew we were going to head through a city called Traverse City.  It sounded so familiar but we couldn’t think of why. A famous author? Lighthouse? Then it suddenly hit Andrew: pie.  Yes, in Terre Haute (and once upon a time in Evansville) there is a pie shop called the Grand Traverse Pie Company and you can have your pieces of pie blended with ice cream to make a pie shake.  They are AWESOME!! So we Googled and discovered the original Grand Traverse Pie Company was indeed started in Traverse City, Michigan, in 1996. A couple had big “jobs” and were looking for something more fulfilling. They happened upon a pie shop in California and the owner took them under her wing and taught them everything they needed to know to make great pies. They started with that one and have locations in MIchigan and one in Indiana (Terre Haute!), totally about 15 pie places.  We started reading their blog and they “partnered” with a local Traverse City Brewery called Right Brain Brewery and created a Cherry Pie Whole Beer to celebrate the National Cherry Festival. We had to stop; I mean, cherry pie AND beer? We assumed they’d have pie, but they didn’t. They literally use entire pies, crusts and all, along with tart cherry juice when brewing the beer. It was actually good. They had MANY different flavor combinations of beer and ades available, some very interesting combos!

Since they didn’t have pie, we drove a few more blocks and stopped into the actual restaurant and split a bacon/Pesto quiche and a piece of All American Pie, which was cherry and blueberry.  They did not have pie shakes at this location, but pie in its original form is still wonderful.

We stopped at Ludington State Park to hike to their lighthouse.  Information we’d found said it was open until 6 and we could climb the tower.  The park ranger said it was only open until 5 and it was a 2-mile hike to the lighthouse.  Well, we wouldn’t get to climb the tower itself but a hike was good. So we paid our entrance fee and hiked along a sandy trail.  We had to pass through a campground first, crowded with lots of people enjoying this fabulous location. Lots of kids on bikes, and swim gear laying near their campers, smells of food grilling, lots of shrieks and laughing.  This campground didn’t allow long term camping so to speak, only 15 days at a time but some still made it their home away from home for that short term with outdoor furniture, lights, plants, etc.

We weren’t on the beach but just on the other side of big dunes, which has its own diverse ecosystem.  Ponds and swamps, scrubby trees, different critters. I think we could have biked it as evidenced by other bikers we passed while walking.  The Big Sable Point Lighthouse itself made its appearance as we rounded a corner, a really tall lighthouse (!), one of the tallest in all of Michigan at 100 feet!  This one was built in 1866, as a need was validated with 12 shipwrecks in 1855 alone. This one was painted black and white.

There were outhouses here modeled after the original ones.  I wondered why one was bigger with one door and the other smaller with two doors?  Handicapped? But Andrew told me to go back in and read the infographic. The MAIN lighthouse keeper got a bigger facility, a one “seater” with 2 vents while the 2nd and 3rd lighthouse keepers had the smaller “2-seater” with only 1 vent.  Too funny. I didn’t read the infographic as it was BEHIND the toilet, not on the door, so it is understandable that he caught it and I did not. :)

Funny thought:  Hunting is allowed in parts of this park.  There are signs that say either “Open To Hunting” or “Closed To Hunting and Trapping.”   These signs were back to back on the same post. We looked at each other and smiled, envisioning animals on one side going, “Nananana!” because they were on the no hunting side whereas the hunter was not.  

While we were hiking towards the lighthouse there was a sign signalling an “Historic Shipwreck” with an arrow towards the beach.  So, on our way back, even though it meant climbing more dunes, and we popped off the trail and climbed, and landed on a small narrow beach.  No shipwreck. Hmm. We wondered about the three tall posts we encountered between dune 1 and 2 but they really looked like trees and not ship masts.  No shipwreck was obvious at all, not even hinted at.

We decided to walk along the beach back to the truck instead of going back to the trail.  What a great decision. The beach was narrow but beautiful. The water was more warm than cold.  The “official” beach came into view and there were such nice crowds all enjoying this wonderful evening, reading, building sand castles, digging deep holes, floating about in the water..   

When we left the park, we stopped by the gate and asked about the mysterious shipwreck and he sort of looked sorry but said whether we see it or not depends on the sand.  It is visible and invisible depending on the wind blowing the sand around. So, in theory, we walked over the top of it when we walked over that last dune towards the beach.  Internet pictures did show parts of a ship (very few!) and the beach much wider than we encountered so we will settle for knowing we walked over it.

We are now heading home and have one more night on the road.  To camp or do a hotel. We aimed for another state park, this one Grand Haven State Park, located literally on the shore of Lake Michigan but in the town of Grand Haven.  The first questions we asked were 1) if we could use our pass from earlier in the day, and they replied that we indeed could, so we didn’t have to pay that extra, and 2) if they had openings. Being “official” tourist season now, all campgrounds started looking more and more crowded.  The next and most important question of all questions was, “Do you have mosquitoes?” The park attendants smiled and said, “No, we don’t have bugs.” NO bugs? Really? Well, okay!! We were in! Yes, the campground itself was on the parking lot. It really was. Each camper was allotted space between two yellow lines (about two cars width) and a strip of sand along the “back.”  We were probably the only pickup with a camper shell, but we backed in and grabbed our bikes. The lighthouse here is gorgeous and quite frequently photographed. It was nearing sunset so we biked out to the pier to watch. Sunsets over large bodies of water are beyond written descriptions. After the corals, and grays, and blues, and purples faded, we went in search of a light supper.  We found a lovely patio overlooking the waterway and, while we were finishing up, lights and music popped up in the near distance. Yes, popped up. They have a ‘music fountain” that has a light/music show each evening. We watched as we finished our dinner and paid, and then for a bit by our bikes before heading back to bed.

I am writing this as we head towards Indy.  It was a great day yesterday but climbing up dunes and such made us tired!!  Sleeping with water breezes is so very restful. I did wake up a little after midnight with a case of slight indigestion (probably the wasabi on the sushi!).  I hopped out of the back and got a Pepcid and crawled back up. My light on the phone indicated slight movement on the ceiling so I aimed it in that direction and OMG, the ceiling was covered with mosquitoes, our worst nightmare.  But they weren’t moving, and they definitely weren’t biting at all. Strange. Very strange. With no bites thus far while we’d slept, I figured all was okay, and did fall asleep knowing (and hoping) they wouldn’t dare bite during the night.  Andrew was a little taken aback at their numbers too when he saw them in the morning, and we don’t know why they didn’t attack. The temperature wasn’t cold as it was only 66 this AM when we got up, and prior experience has demonstrated bugs will bite at much lower than 66.  Something about those big glorious breezes off the lake kept those, and perhaps all bugs, at bay. I read once they don’t like moving air but this was creepy to see, all of them there just there. I wonder what was going through their minds, knowing we were right there, within luscious reach, but they couldn’t even get to us because of the wind.  

We discovered the restrooms were closed until 8 AM???  The gates they leave open so we knew we could leave early, but the bathrooms??  Really? Yes, most people do have RVs and campers, but there were some tents too!  So we hopped into the truck for our final leg, searching first for a restroom. We are heading to Indy for 24 hours and then taking a loop to Urbana before heading home yet tomorrow.

Our trip was very fluid, and we like them that way.  We can spend more time if we need to or less. It gives us a “taste” of what is out there and we know what we’d like to explore further if/when we can.  We skipped some things but will put them on another list for another day.

We took tons of pictures, of which only some made it to the blog. We will work on getting those organized and accessible for anyone that wants to view.

Another amazing journey is now one for the books.  Amazing is not really a strong enough word. We saw so much together.  :) TOGETHER, side by side, for the entire journey. Thank you, Andrew, for planning this foray into lighthouses, the most eastern points (USA and North America(!)), end of roads, and everything possible in the between.  You are much loved and appreciated and I wouldn’t want to see sunrises and sunsets and all that in between with anyone else. This year we celebrate 40 years together (37 of them married), and it just keeps getting better.  

Some statistics:

1 moose

1 bear

3 whales

6 deer

Lots of roadkill porcupines

?? lighthouses, all amazing as were their own stories

Lots of people we encountered and their own stories

49 states now visited

9 of 13 Provinces

No breakdowns

No robberies

No tickets…

9982 miles in the truck… plus various other miles via trains, planes, ferries, bikes, etc.

25 nights sleeping  in the back...

6 nights in hotels

3 in an air bnb

7 nights leaving/returning to Indiana --- 3 in Kyana for the wedding weekend and 4 in Indy with the grandbabes….

Fin.  

July 9, 2018

Well, we did it again.  The host told us when we pulled in that the black flies were bad and asked if we had bug spray. We most certainly do!! It’s been taking three layers some nights!  There weren’t any bugs when we went down to the beach (twice) but when we got up from our campfire to go to bed, holy cow!! Mosquitoes, AGAIN! I swear all of them from the entire came over to check us/me out!  Well, since the wind was blowing so beautifully and there weren’t any we left the window and tailgate open on the truck. DUH!! Beaver River was still the worst as there were TONS of them, but this was just as irritating with a few, hundred?? I don’t know.  What is awful is the high-pitched whining sound they make and then suddenly they’re quiet and you wonder where they are!! I swatted and slapped and killed many. Andrew wasn’t bothered. We tried opening the window for cooler air, but they didn’t want to leave and a few more came in to feast.  After several hours I finally gave up and slept in the front seat. We should know better; and we will never leave the tailgate and window open again, guaranteed!! We are assuming they were in the truck bed and not sneaking in somehow??

We headed towards the USA drove through Sault St. Marie, a city of about 75,000 right on the border.  There is also a Sault St. Marie in Michigan, and they used to be ONE city. But the War of 1812 sort of decided where the border was for sure and the city got split into two.  

Saute St. Marie is apparently French for Saint Mary’s Falls due to the rapids and cascades.  The water drops 20 feet from the level of Lake Superior to the level of the lower lakes. There is an amazing locks and dam system in place, the American Soo Locks, and they are the busiest canal in the world based on the amount of tonnage that passes through it.  

We passed back into the United States in record time. She asked where what we’d been doing (vacationing), where we were going (back home to Indiana), if we were bringing anything back (souvenirs).  That was it! No questions on dirt, firearms, fruits/vegetables, or anything!

We headed to catch a ferry to experience Mackinac Island.  NO motorized vehicles (except emergency ones) are allowed and haven’t been since it has been a tourist attraction since the 1890s!!  Hard to believe! We had to pay for ourselves and our bikes, and to park! The timing was perfect as we paid and walked on shortly after.  The ride was pretty and we were soon riding the streets. Bikes can be rented on the island but they start at $7 per hour per bike. We wanted to bike the perimeter which was 8.2 miles and around and we had them with us the entire journey so we brought them along!  

It is like stepping back in time!!  Horses and carriages carrying people, horses delivering things to hotels and restaurants (ask Andrew to show you how they got beer cases off the wagons and into where they wanted them!).  Horses and wagons hauled trash and it was amazing. They had special crews with carts and brooms to keep track of horse debris and hoses and buckets to help in that regard as well. LOTS of people, many bicycling, many walking.  LOTS of families. The buildings are older Victorian style with bay windows, wooden siding or shingles, colorful, turrets, and porches. The stores and restaurants were in buildings from various time periods of history, but keeping these characteristics in tact.  Only about 500 people are considered permanent residents but nearly 15,000 people swarm in DAILY during tourist season! That is quite a few people!

The island was home to the Odawa before Europeans arrived in the 1600s.  It is conveniently located for commerce and the fur trade. Europeans loved loved loved their fur, especially beaver hats!  Because of its location, a fort was established during the Revolutionary War by the British and two battles were fought here during the war of 1812!

We did pedal the perimeter around the island, 8 miles!  It was lovely and not bad at all. My new bike rides nice.  MOSTLY flat-ish but requiring some shifting for smallish hills (good practice for me!)  and one bigger one but we made it and it was neat to see the sea and islands from all sides.  The water looked like it should have been in a tropical locale, that lovely light turquoise!! It was clear and cool.  There was a yacht parked a bit out but who it was, who knows!

We did stop after only a mile to walk up 207 steps to see Arch Rock.  It once stood over 100 feet above lake level but the latek waters slowly dissolved the softer rocks of the center.  That crumbled away and left the arch.

A movie called “Somewhere in Time” was filmed here in 1972 starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour.  There is a stone with a famous quote “Is it you?” and a store featuring souvenirs!

Fort Mackinac sat high on top of a hill and now overlooks a lovely park.  Back in the day though it was a fabulous garden! It isn't often you hear of fabulous vegetable gardens in history!  We went into a birth “chapel” made like it would have been in the mid 1600s when Marquette actually discovered the island; he was a missionary.  I overheard a young man say, “I never paid attention in Social Studies.” I looked at him and his mom and said, “Oh, you should have.” I then backtracked and explained that I taught Social Studies and it can be fascinating!  WE walked around the area some more and encountered the same family and she came up to me and told me that he was going to pay more attention from now on. He was going into 6th grade and did have U.S. History last year! Too fun.

We encountered a family with FOUR little boys!  They were all dressed in bright orange shirts and they brought their own bikes with them.  Three of the boys rode, the 2nd littlest a balance bike, and the littlest was being pulled in a carrier behind dad.  Dad led and Mom brought up the rear! We saw a big Amish/Mennonite family/families pulling wagons of kids and picnic supplies.  We saw old and young, bicycles built for two, three-wheeled bicycles, and lots of walkers and even a few runners, some wheelchairs and some canes. Some lucky dogs got their own carriers and were pulled or they were riding up front in baskets like Toto!!  Some did get to walk too!

We stopped at a local pub for lunch, splitting a bowl of amazing chicken soup and a plate of the best ever fish and chips.  The bartender said they get it fresh from the lake each day. It was so light and not heavily breaded. GOOD! We popped in and out of shops and had some ice cream and headed back to the ferry.  More people were arriving and more people is a good time to exit!

We backtracked a bit and headed to Whitefish Point.  Why? There is a lighthouse there (the oldest on Lake Superior, commissioned by Abraham Lincoln!), but there is also a shipwreck museum there.  It is called the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum and features exhibits and artifacts salvaged from shipwrecks from the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve, as well as the bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald. There is some “history” as some of said artifacts may have been obtained from wrecks on state-claimed bottomlands.  Back and forth legal issues prevailed for years. The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was a long-standing ship with seasoned crew that got caught in an early gale in November of 1975 and sank. We watched a short video of the ship and the incident and how they retrieved the bell and put it on display in the museum and placed another bell with the names of those lost back in its place as a memorial.  This area is narrow and there have been many shipwrecks here. The museum has such a great selection of authentic artifacts; it is very sobering to look over everything they have. While we were watching the movie, a song was being played, a song written and sung by Canadian (Ontario) Gordon Lightfoot called "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." It was released in August of 1976, not quite a year after the ship sank. I'd heard the song before but never realized it was based on a true story. Andrew knew and wanted to see the bell since we were so close. Haunting.

We toured the lighthouse keepers quarters and it was authentic, complete with amazing wood floors and wainscoting!!  They even had some very life-like wax personas representing a keeper and his wife. I really thought they were going to turn around and say hello to us! I mean she was rolling pie dough and had freckles on her arms!!

While we were in there, a fog rolled in. This part of the lake is notoria for that and it dropped 20 degrees!  With the fog we couldn’t see much past the shore. We did not go up in the lighthouse as I have developed a slight case of vertigo.  It showed up on our return flight to Montreal and is annoying to say the least. I sway like perhaps I’ve imbibed too much and that doesn’t ever happen!!  

I got yelled at today.  Yes. As we were exiting the boardwalk from the beach area, a lady asked us if we knew where the lighthouse tour began.   I replied, “You need a ticket for that.” She replied, LOUDLY, “I KNOW that, ma’am” and huffed off around the corner. Andrew and I looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders.  A little history: this same lady had been in the lighthouse keepers house and interrupted the guide talking to us and another couple to ask if she could go out the in door. The guide said she could.  I was reading something on the wall and heard a comment about the museum and she said, “Where’s that?” and the other couple replied, “Where you bought your tickets.” SO, I assumed that if she didn’t know where the museum was as it was literally 3 feet from the ticket counter, that maybe she didn’t know the the lighthouse tour was a separate ticket from the other one.  I am assuming she was just having a bad day and took it out on us. It happens.

We drove back to Mackinaw City and had a light supper, sharing a couple of simple appetizers, drove to the McGulpin Lighthouse (all brick!) and then headed down the road.  We opted for a hotel this evening vs another battle with the bugs. I know. But even in the parking lot of hte hotel the mosquitoes just pop up out of nowhere and get a taste!!  

Tomorrow we head south and the dunes and a few more lighthouses.  

July 8, 2018

It was a restful sleep with no or few mosquito incidents.  The campground was quiet as most have been in the morning. People, including children are up late and then are not up with the sun! By the time we were packed up and ready to go there was some activity, a couple of little ones on their balance bikes and an older brother on a bike bigger than he was.  We waved and shouted, “Merci!” to our host from last evening. A few were heading to the beach and early swim.

There were still lots of cars parked outside the gates and then had an “ah ha” moment.  We realized that many of the campers parked were just campers, no cars or trucks!! It makes sense I guess.  The campsites looked to be all wooded except for a few up front.

The seasonal camping things sort of gelled too.  Why buy ONE vacation place when you can pull your camper and set it up like home for an entire season.  Then you get to really check out an area and move on to somewhere else the next camping season.

The scenery changed a we drove south, the scraggly spruces and birches replaced by taller spruces and pines and other hardwoods.  The landscape produced mofr farms, herds of cattle, fields of hay, wheat and I believe canola. The reason I think it was canola is a LONG time, after Grandma and I had been at WalMart, we drove 36th street in Jasper so we could drive by Robert and his kids’ arms (Mill Creek?? I can’t remember now) and they were big farms.  One year they tried to grow canola and had to invest in a new seeder as the seeds were erytiny and when we drove by the field was full of yellow flowers that looked like these fields today. I don’t know how long the Hopfs even grew it, if it was a one year trial or not. I do think there was a different way to harvest too. It has been some years ago.  Wow.

We pass through charming little towns, and passed a giant giant dreamcatcher sculpture in someone's yard and were not quick enough for a real picture, but the mental one is vivid.  A motorcade drove by, the lead vehicle featuring a pink bow and the 2nd vehicle a really large pink bus? We were trying to figure it all out and then it was past. These two vehicles were than followed by MANY motorcycles, with their riders wearing pink under their safety vests  One motorcycle had a sidecar in which sat a dog, enjoying the ride, goggles and all. We drove through Bruce Mines, home of Canada’s first copper mine, even though it wasn’t a mine for too long.

Many of the areas we are passing through “belong to FIrst Nation tribes:  Serpent River, Thessalon, Whitefish Lake. There are actually 133 First Nation communities and 220,000 people identify themselves as First Nations.  First Nations are the indigenous people of Canada south of the Arctic Circle (above are called Inuits). They settled and established trade routes across Canada 1000 BC.

We had something PLUNK onto our truck roof when we drove under an overpass on which a golf cart was driving.  We didn’t see any damage when we checked but didn’t climb up there. We are grateful it did hit a windshield! :O  THAT would have been could have been catastrophic!

A general store:  Tony Stewart & Wife, General Store.  I don’t know if we’ve ever seen one devoted to a wife.  Sons, yes, Family, yes, but never specifically a wife. Interesting!

We saw a mailbox set up in a bucket, assuming there was concrete in there??  WE saw one last week that was on top of what looked like a step stool. I guess you can just take them in when you aren't home.  :) Easy for the mail delivery to know not to stop.

We  stopped by a trading post near the Serpent River (part of the Serpent First Nation!) and the sign said, “Open,” but it was darkish inside.  We found something adorable and the lady in charge informed us that they were actually closed. I apologized but wondered then why the door wasn’t locked.  I did tell her that I had worked in retail myself and it was very frustrating when someone came in right before closing and you spend a long time walking with them explaining things (plants and their perfect spot in their landscaping as I worked in that field eons ago) and then they’d leave without buying a thing.  At least I bought my adorable thing! Shhhh. It’s a surprise.

Outside under a grove of trees we saw a bear and her cubs, walking towards the building.  Our first sighting and they were wooden cutouts. We grabbed a picture and whoa and behold, we were barely back on the road when a black bear crossed the road in front of the van in front of us.  It was NOT a big fat momma bear or dainty little baby bear but perhaps a teenager? Sort of on the slim side but a bear not the less. It's a good thing I finally found a bear bell at stop earlier in the day!!  

A GMC RV, a cousin of sunshine or a brother/sister, depending on the year, drove by the opposite direction.  It is amazing how many there are out there, still strong. Sunshine just loves camping at home.

We passed through a town called Espanola, on the Spanish River!  Hmmm. Most of Canada is French or English. So some research was required.  It turns out a LONG time ago, a Native traveled a long distance and brought his bride back, a woman who spoke Spanish.  When the French arrive, they heard the children speaking Spanish and uttered, “Espagnole” and the English version of Espanola stuck and the river as well called the Spanish River.  

There is a big billboard that advertises a book “Minnow Trap 2” on Amazon.  Well, it turns out the author is from nearby Sudbury and the book take place in this area.  Two and ½ stars but maybe I’ll chance it. It is about aliens invading their town??

Glimpses of lots of water, lakes both tiny and huge along with Lake Huron!!  LOts of boats, even on our trip up to and back from Chisasibi. Cars and boats, trucks and boats, campers and boats, trucks with campers and boats.  Mostly the small traditional row boat but some larger ones as well now that we are further south.

I did finish Anne of Green Gables and I really do recommend it.  I laughed, I cried, and I found the ending satisfying.  I will, of course, now have to read the entire series!!

We found a perfect picnic spot for the night.  It is close to the USA border but not quite. We can just make out America from the beach of Lake George (part of Lake Huron!).  It is called the Ojibway Tent and Trailer Park, and located on the lands of the Garden River First Nation reserves. We pulled up, after they’ve closed (of course!), but someone rushed to our truck.  We ask if he has something just for one night and he said, “Yes, cash.” Okay. Since we are close to the border, we must ask, “Canadian? Or do you take American?” His reply, “I prefer American but I will take Canadian.” It is $30 and we don’t have but maybe $5 Canadian left?  He says he’ll take whatever Canadian we have not yet knowing how little that would be. :) But we tell him we’ll be glad to give him American $30, even if the exchange rate is better for him that way. We’ve been taking advantage of their low dollar for nearly a month so this is okay.  We find a spot with a gorgeous view of the water, he finds us to fill out paperwork and then offers firewood, “on the house” which, ironically is usually an extra $10 fee, so it worked out fine. We haven’t had a fire yet, but may have one this evening. We walked the beach a bit and it was pretty quiet considering all the campers nestled in here and there.  Tons of them!! Two even have refrigerators outside of theirs and one has their own little “tiki” bar, complete with bar stools made from pallets! It’s crazy!! But it is most likely their home away from home. The neighbors to us had such a time putting up a tent and finally gave up. One’s voice was loud but we could only make out words here and there. He laughed a lot as did his people he was with.  We went back to the beach to watch the sun set; they are always so pretty over water!! EVen if the clouds snuck in and hid the last 10 minutes! We did have a fire, and it was lovely. There is something about wood smoke!

Tomorrow, USA, and Michigan, and biking Mackinac Island.  

July 7, 2018

These last four days are being published courtesy of a Tim Horton's. Even though my Chromebook gives me fits each and every time I want to log in to someplace!! But we thought we and better get what we can up and out there. Excuse any typos; it happens to the best of us!!

We hoped for a nice quiet and restful sleep, BUT we had company.  How that many got into the camper back we do not know. But we spend an hour swatting and splatting.  I finally gave up and opted to sleep in the front seat as it does recline a bit and, for some reason, the mosquitoes don’t get in as easily up there.   Andrew finally fell asleep amid the whining (He really can’t hear them once his hearing aids are off, and they don’t bite him as much, but they do hover and land, and that is quite bothersome when there are so many.  Since we were further north, the sun didn’t set until after 10. The sun rose early, 4:30 ish and since we couldn’t really sleep, we were on our way a little after 6 one of us covered with lots of red dots, the other with just a few.  

We had to take the same road, just the opposite direction, so nothing really knew.  It was rainy during the night and it rained for a little bit for the start of our journey.  Once it quit, the sun was warm, the sky was bluer than blue and the clouds whiter and cottony looking.  The trees looked refreshed from the rain. The waves, and holes, and cracks and such were still apparent even on the opposite side of the road.  Since the road isn’t busy at all (perhap 1 vehicle every 15 minutes or so??) we could weave around and try to miss some of the big stuff. We noticed some highway workers donned mosquito netting!  Smart!! We will have to put that on our list for future adventures.

We stopped at Rupert River again, just because it is just that awesome.  We stopped at another overlook that required a small hike into the woods but a few downed trees blocked the end. We snuck through on what looked like a new trail and could stand at riverside and look upstream to see those rapids.  Lovely, and a cool breeze to boot!

We stopped by the gas station and their Internet was back up and running so we got gas and had breakfast.  And then drove some more.

We think the sets of “cabins” are perhaps former work camps as most tend to be located near a river, so when they built or rebuild the bridges they had close places to stay.  

Andrew drove most and I did a couple of stints.  Mostly I read Anne of Green Gables, and it is good.  I can’t believe I’ve never read it as it’s been around since 1908!!  Anne is an orphan that is accidentally sent to live with an elderly sister and brother. They “ordered” a boy to help with the farmwork but somehow she was sent instead.  And she talks and talks and talks and imagines such wonderful things. I am not yet finished so I cannot spoil the ending.

We made it to Manigami and stopped by the center to let her know we had made it back out again, took a loop through town and headed to somewhere to camp. We drove through several small towns but not too many campsites. We found one and hoped there would be a site available as now everyone is off of school and vacationing.  The GPS told us to turn right and we did, on a dirt road that seemed to lead into more and more trees. Then cars lined up, and lots of them. We wove through the cars and the GPS told us we’d arrived. There was a French gentleman sitting in a golf cart who meandered over and spoke a “little” English. We explained we needed a site for one night, and he acquiesced.  Something with electric? No, sorry. Take Credit Card? No, debit or cash. Oh, oh. He tried our CC and it worked, thank the Lord. We are running low on Canadian cash as we are leaving tomorrow. This is a really BIG campground and the swimming area/lake are open to the public, explaining all the cars lined up. We got backed into our zone and popped up the canopy and screen (less bugs here but you can’t be too sure, plus it as wet when we put it away).  They had a restaurant near the entrance and we took the Chromebook down there to charge. Oops. I let it get near death so couldn’t type wile Andrew drove. The restaurant only took debit or cash but we had enough for a couple of sandwiches and drinks. I plugged and and plugged on, writing two days worth.

The last 2 days we drove about 1000 miles ---- basically 1 road --- up and then back down.  “Solitude” is the beauty of the area.

We are back at the campsite and a shower sounds lovely.  Andrew already took one and said the Looney (Canadian quarter) was a long shower so hopefully his long and my long match. :)  I organized the back of the truck a bit and we can perhaps swim in the AM or just wander around. We can’t leave until the gate goes up at 8.  :)

There are tons of families here.  Some are permanent sites, lots of them are.  They even have their own decorative fire pits, swings, patio sets.  There are kids of all ages riding bikes, even in French you recognize, “Wait for me!”  The road is dirt and FULL of potholes so it is safe to assume traffic is slow and kids are safe.  It is amazing how many adults are NOT riding bikes. Kids doing their thing together. Lots of dogs are getting walked and there was at least one birthday party, at least that would explain why two grown up men were wearing pointy hats, sort of like unicorns!!  I did see a family walking their dog and a remote control car. Too fun.

The shower was fabulous if not a little disconcerting.  It is unisex. So I walk in and hear men’s voices. I take a quick peek at the door and it does say both!!  There are three and the doors covers nearly all of it, only a few inches on the bottom to check for shoes and feet and a fee inches at the top.  The Looney was indeed very long indeed and hot.

The bike ride back saw me getting second in a race (or at least I passed one boy and followed another and high fived a girl that was at the finish!).  I needed to play close attention as the road is dirt AND sand!! So on the way to the showers I almost took myself out hitting a patch of sand avoiding some young ‘ens.  When you say, “Excuse me,” or “Passing on the left,” they don’t understand English!! I’ll put my bell on it once home, I think bell dings are universal.

Tomorrow brings us closer to home.  Should make it to the USA border into Michigan.. The “U.P.”

July 6, 2018

It rained and rained during the night.  The cooler temperatures and our screen kept bugs at bay and we slept wonderfully.  Fully rested and it is truly grand to sleep in the cool!! We could keep our back window open all night!  

It was still raining when we awoke so we had to break down camp in the rain.  It means having a wet canopy and screen next time we put them up, but it is what it is!  The temperature once we started out was in the mid 40s!! LOVELY! It was also very windy and the trees were just waving and waving as we drove by.

Our journey is a long one as we want to get to the end of the road, two destinations actually, Radisson and Chisasbibi.  It depends on which road you count. Radisson is the end of the James Bay Highway and it literally ended with a sign that says Fin (French for End).  Chisasbibi is a Cree town off the James Bay Highway but you have to go this route if you want to see James Bay, which is part of Hudson Bay, which is part of the Arctic Ocean.  Yes, it is pretty amazing!!

The road we traveled is paved, so to speak.  It was also very bumpy, with “waves” where your vehicle feels like a roller coaster, and holes (OUCH) and cracks and some varying degrees of all of the stated.  There was little traffic and some of it was being “fixed”. We saw more than one highway worker wearing a parka under their bright neon orange/yellow since it was so cold.  We had stoplights so we could wait for no cars, and sometimes cars, we followed pilot trucks since some stretches were bigger than others, we wove around cones on our own as that seemed to be what was expected.  We bounced and bounced and made good time. How bouncy was it? Well, my FitBit said I got in 10,000 steps by the end of the day. We spent most of the day driving! That bouncy!! Our phones also registered steps, not quite 10,000 but up close.  

We saw so many roads tucked into the endless trees. Where were they going on this road?  We saw “cabins” for lack of a better word, sporadically placed. Worker cabins? Hunting or fishing cabins?? Many were definitely not new, but some showed newer windows, so ??  

At the beginning of our journey we had to sign in so they knew we were “out there.”  They gave us a kilometer by kilometer of things to look out for, starting with the campsite for last night.  

We aimed for Riviere Rupert (Rupert River) and my oh my it was very impressive.  The sign, in both French and Cree (more on the Cree later), but the guidebook we picked up said it was a “powerful” river and that it was. The water cascaded down over rocks and into rocks and it is just hard to describe.  It was gorgeous and put out some powerful breezes and mist! The observation decks were actually close to the edge so you could be sort of up close and personal. There were two more decks indicated so we drove across a very old bridge and hiked just a bit on a not often traveled path to those two platforms.  Closer to the rapids. The only curious things was the color of the water. It was brown, like coffee watered down just a bit, or perhaps tea? We have video so you can see it for yourself when you see us.

We gave up our Lupine flowers from the coast and are now entranced with the beautiful orange and yellow ones that are everywhere, even clutching on to rocks and amid gravel roads.  They stand tall but the foliage is close to the ground and the flowers are tiny, about the size of a dime! They are a burnt orange color or a yellow color. Lovely!!

We are driving through the taiga and it is stark and beautiful.  Taiga is the evergreen forests of high northern altitude, and sometimes they are a bit swampy.  There are little tiny swamps and big giant lakes, these trees being more “scraggly” looking. Some parts were recovering from a fire at some point.  The trees were charred and the ground just green, nothing tall yet. Rocks and lichen (lovely light-colored moss) popped up more frequently. Stark but amazing at the same time.  We saw signs for moose and caribou but saw neither.

I was driving at this point, really wanting to drive until the road ended!! I sort of missed a turn (Cheryl took the wrong dam road) , and wound up at the end of a road, just now the right one.  That happens to me a lot. :) From the literature we got, we knew that back in the early 1970s they built a hydroelectric facility. This facility was considered the “the great project of the century.”  It caused a lot of problems originally with the Cree and Inuit Native Peoples as this would have been highly disruptive. The power plant is actually underground!! The entire project is roughly the size of New York State and is one of the largest in the world.  We found a wooden tower we walked up to see the entire area in full scale 360 awesomeness. We then drove back and drove over the dam and looked over the “step” spillway. Each is 10’ tall and is the size of 2 football fields. What a wondrous feat!

Andrew then drove us into Radisson and we got gas first thing  We had planned to get some earlier and there was an area devoted to those driving this long drive.  Gasoline, a restaurant, some accommodations, etc. BUT the facility had been struck by lightning during the storms the night before so didn’t take credit cards!!  To luck our truck has a giant tank so we really didn’t NEED gas but we want to keep it topped off. There were three gas stations in Radisson according to the book.  We found 2 and one didn’t have gas pumps. The other did and the gas was more expensive than usual. But we would need it eventually. After we got gas, we found the true end of the road and then headed back out.  The town boasts about 300-500 people (depending on the source) but it feels like more. During the 70s construction of the plant, it topped out at about 2500. It was established in 1974 to accommodate the workers needed to build the hydro-electric plant and people just stayed.  There were two restaurants as well but opted to head to Chisasbibi as it was back down the road a bit and then an hour drive to the bay.

The road to Chisasbibi wasn’t part of the James Bay Highway but it was paved.  We were thinking how great it was and then we hit some waves, holes, cracks. It is what it is when you leave north!!  We bypassed the town so we could get to the bay. We topped a small little hill and there it was, James Bay. And on the beaches were boats, just tied up ready to go.  Most of them looked like canoes, with the back end squared to support a motor. We stepped in, and it wasn’t cold. We have now stepped into the Arctic Ocean it two parts!!  We talk about the importance of Hudson Bay early in the colonization of Canada, and actually the USA in 5th and 6th grade Social Studies. So it was extra special to step foot here.  

Andrew eyed the island just a little ways out, and thought about getting our kayaks out.  Two reasons, one of which we haven’t been able to get them out yet due to wave and water conditions, and two, that island was in the province of Nunavut!!  But we were on Cree land and almost everything here required permission from the Cree Council. We noticed a small watering hole that had lots of geese in it on our way in.  I thought they looked odd but didn’t give them a second thought until we left. They were fake. Why?? To draw some in (Hey, look geese, land here!!) as they depend on the migrating geese for food or ??  At home we try to get rid of them!! Perhaps the migrating geese thought they looked “off” too and just fly on by.

The Cree have inhabited this area along with several other communities south and north, and some only accessible by boat or plane, for more than 5000 years.  They were a nomadic tribe until the the early 1800s when the Hudson Bay Company founded Fort George, an island in the mouth of the La Grande River. The Cree then abandoned their nomadic way of life and and settle nearby on the island.  There are special laws the protect their (and the Inuit further north) and some areas require strict approval, like hunting and fishing to protect their way of life and survival. Other areas have similar protections but are “looser” so to speak but it is common to ask for permission anyway as it shows respect for their way of life.  We weren’t sure if kayaking across their land was accepted or not. We weren’t hunting or fishing, but….

When the hydro-electric plant was built, part of Fort George island eroded due to the increased water flow, so the Quebec Government offered to move their village mainland, moving some 200 houses.  The village itself hosts 2 restaurants, one we couldn’t find and one closed, a convenience store, where we bought a few supplies, and no campground. Oh. Hmm. Different sources put the population at between 3000-4000 today.  We drove around and, unfortunately, nothing caught our fancy. The Cultural Center looked like a rectangular teepee but didn’t open until later the next morning, after we needed to leave. It really looked like most small towns!

We didn’t want to drive back to Radisson (which was founded by a gentleman who founded the Hudson Bay Company after he was awarded the charter for this land by King Charles II, his name being Pierre-Esprit Radisson.  So we headed on back down the highway from whence we just came!! How far should we drive? That was the big question. There was a rustic campground but it was another 8 km drive from the main road. Most of the roads leading off the highway were rock and not often traveled by the looks of them.  Next stop, a campground next to the Beaver River. Perfect. Outhouses? Check. Andrew pulled in and headed to the river to get a glance while I checked out the facilities. Andrew came walking back quickly, and I noticed at the same time. OMG. HORDES of mosquitoes, AGAIN. Since it was 9:30 we just hopped into the back and didn’t set up the canopy. Long driving days are long days so we were tired.