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Few Clouds, 83°F

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

The cliffs had a lot of clefts and small caves which we kayaked into whenever there was a good opportunity. We also had the chance to kayak over a shipwreck. I have no pictures of it because it was completely underwater but I do have video that I'll post someday. I think it might have been the George.

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Few Clouds, 84°F

Miners Castle Point

After finishing the kayaking trip I hiked up to Miner's Castle since it was near the beach. It was getting towards late afternoon and I was sweaty from the kayacking and hiking. The roadside park I stayed in had no shower so I hadn't had one since the campgrounds the day before, and I wasn't sure where in the area I might find one.

On a separate note, after seeing the wreck earlier in the day whetted my appetite for something that I'd been researching doing since before leaving on the trip, free diving a wreck. I looked into a bunch of options and had settled on the Bermuda. My idea was to take the ferry over to the island the next day and swim out to the wreck. My problem was that I'd be doing this solo and there was some risk. I wasn't concerned about the distance of the swim, there are no tides or currents and it was in a sheltered cove, but I was concerned about getting into trouble due to the water temperature.

After giving it some thought I decided to kill two birds with one stone and go for a swim in Lake Superior to clean off and test how I handled the water temperature in a safe environment. I put on my suit and went for a swim at Miners Beach.

I think I hurt myself screaming when I jumped in. To say it was cold would be like saying the Grand Canyon is a hole, it defined cold. It was the coldest water I've ever been swimming in. There are just no words to adequately express what it was like.

I swam for about 30 minutes and proved to myself that I wasn't going to get hypothermia and drown, however I also decided that I never ever wanted to do that again. I was dumb enough to do it once, but not twice, no wreck diving for me.

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Few Clouds, 84°F

Mosquito Beach

We put into shore for lunch and I did a little hiking around the beach we were on.

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Clear Sky, 76°F

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

One of my favorite sights at Pictured Rocks was this arch, which we paddled through.

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Clear Sky, 71°F

Miners Beach

September 14th After kicking around a few options for how to experience the park, I finally settled on doing a kayaking trip. I booked a trip with an outfit called Northern Waters Adventures. We launched from Miners Beach in two person touring kayaks with rudders. I was paired up with a woman from southern Michigan and after a brief discussion we determined that neither of us had substantial experience with rudders on kayaks, but since I'd done it at least once touring Doubtful Sound down in New Zealand, we'd have me steering. Fortunately she was very patient and diplomatic. It turns out that the controls on a kayak are reversed from the controls on the rudder on a plane, which I'd used much more and certainly more recently. We didn't go very straight...or any kind of straight if I'm being honest. When we switched places after lunch for the return leg, she proved to be a much better driver than me. I also learned that it is much easier to take pictures and video when you have a clear view from the front and don't need to manage steering,

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Clear Sky, 73°F

Lake Superior Historical Marker at Scott Falls Roadside Park

I camped for the night at another one of Michigans 'Roadside Parks' and you can see a glimpse of what my new office looks like. A few hours later I got to see the aurora borealis for the first time in my life as it appeared over Lake Superior. I like Michigan.

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Clear Sky, 65°F

Devil's slide

After decamping Tahquamenon, I headed up to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, which was the place in Michigan I'd most anticipated visiting. I entered at the east end of the park and took the first opportunity to hop out of my car to have a look. Up to this point in the trip I'd seen a lot of beautiful places, but this was the first time I saw something breathtaking. However amazing it looks in the pictures, I promise it is way better in person.

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Clear Sky, 60°F

Upper Falls

Upper Tahquamenon Falls was worth the trip even if the trip itself hadn't been pretty in its own right.

As an aside I did eventually learn how to pronounce "Tahquamenon" properly, which isn't easy, and which also makes my inability to properly prounce "pastie" even more mystifying.

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Clear Sky, 56°F

Upper Falls

September 13th Since I camped near Lower Tahquamenon Falls it was about a 5-mile hike along the river to get to Upper Tahquamenon Falls (the more impressive of the two). I arrived too late yesterday evening to do more than take a quick look at the lower Falls and planned to get up early and do a trail run to the Upper Falls. Given the distance I needed to move fast to do the round trip and get cleaned up in preparation for 1 p.m. check out. This was a pretty aggressive plan since I'm not really in shape for a 10 mile trail run with a lot of hills. I wish I could say I ran the entire way but I can say that I kept the schedule that I planned and was able to do the run, see the falls, grab a shower, lunch, and leave the park before my check out time.

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Scattered Clouds, 83°F

Tahquamenon Falls Lower Falls

After crossing the Mackinac Bridge I headed into the UP. One of the frequently mentioned attractions there is Tahquamenon Falls, so I decided I'd stay the night at the park campsite and hike the falls. Arriving a little before dusk I did a quick mile and a half jog from my campsite down to Lower Tahquamenon Falls before it got dark.

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Few Clouds, 79°F

Mackinaw City

Mackinaw City itself was very touristy in a seedy, rundown, oceanfront town sort of way. Every other shop seemed to be either a caramel corn/fudge/salt water taffy shop or a t-shirt shop. The great food aside, I was ready to leave as soon as I got there. I gave a little thought to taking the ferry out to Mackinac Island and biking around a bit, but after some things I'd heard from people farther south and reading about it a bit, there just wasn't enough to attract me given the time and cost to get there.

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Lunch in Mackinaw City gave me the chance to try some Michigan local cuisine. First was a pastie at Mackinaw Pastie & Cookie Co.. Pasties, which I seem constitutionally incapable of pronouncing properly given all the corrections I got from Michiganders, are plain and simple comfort food. There is nothing fancy at all about them, they are just rich satisfying, filling, food. On the surface they look a little like hot pockets, but are like night and day by comparison from a flavor and texture standpoint. They have a delicate flaky crust with a really rich savory filling. The one I got for lunch was wonderful.

I also stopped off to try some of the distinctive ice cream you find in the state. I had a combination of Superman and Blue Moon ice cream in a cone whose colors were flavored to match the superman flavors. I tasted it more for the novelty initially, but found the Blue Moon to be particularly good.

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Clear Sky, 76°F

Mackinac Bridge

Not long after leaving Charlevoix, I reached the Mackinac Bridge and stopped to look around and have lunch.

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Clear Sky, 73°F

304 Park Ave, Charlevoix, MI 49720, USA

Travelling the way I do has its drawbacks, but one of its major strengths is that there is a flexible itinerary that can change on a whim. One of the things I try to do is to google for local attractions as I pass through an area. I can stay and see or do pretty much anything that interests me because I don't have to worry about having rooms or campsites booked someplace in advance.

As I was doing a little googling about Charlevoix I came across the Thatch House and drove over to have a look. It interested me partly because it looks neat, and partly because I'd be interested in learning how to thatch. I've watched some instructional videos on youtube and, should the opportunity ever come up to try it hands on, I'd love to give it a go.

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Clear Sky, 71°F

403 Bridge St, Charlevoix, MI 49720, USA

September 12th

As I headed north out of the Traverse City area towards the UP, I passed through the town of Charlevoix. I didn't spend much time there but it was picturesque so I snapped a few pictures.

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Clear Sky, 72°F

225 E Sixteenth St, Traverse City, MI 49684, USA

The last stop on my tour of the Traverse City area before heading north was the Right Brain Brewery. Of all of the breweries in Michigan this one had caught my attention most due to the really unusual beers they produced. I'm a sucker for novelty and it was really interested in trying beers with really unusual flavors and ingredients. When I pulled up outside however I was thinking that I might have arrived at their production facility rather than a place I can get a drink. Everything looked closed and it didn't look like the place where you'd see customers. After some hunting around I found a small poorly marked door and a sign that said 'Open' so I went in and down the hallway and discovered The Tap Room. They offered sampler flights so I ordered the following:

The Northern Hawk Owl "A medium bodied Amber Ale with a lovely red hue, malty nose, and packed full with notes of caramel and toffee with a clean, not sweet, finish." It was okay but I wouldn't order it again.

The Nitro Cakewalk "An extremely light and approachable cream ale brewed with real Madagascar Vanilla Beans. The addition of corn yields a light creamy mouth feel. This finishes smooth, not sweet." This beer was really good, and it's rare I use those two words to describe beer without a 'not' in between. It had a very light, mildly sweet, and yes, kind of cakey flavor.

I ordered the Spear Beer because...it's asparagus beer. When a my life am I ever going to have another chance to find out what that's like? That said, I am curious to know who looks at a beer and thinks

"Hmmm...you know what this beer needs? more asparagus flavor!"?

I think I'd be interested to meet that person so long as the sanitarium guards are nearby.

Anyway, who knows...it could be awesome, and you can't win if you don't play. I've been completely shocked by how good much worse sounding things were in the past. That said, the smell was...grimly foreboding. The flavor was...slightly less bad than the smell. They weren't lying about the asparagus thing.

The Nitro CEO Stout "A light bodied American Style Stout brewed with locally roasted espresso beans from Roaster Jack Coffee Co. This beer was designed to be sessionable and consumed every day of the year, including summer. CEO Stands for Chocolate, Espresso, & Oatmeal. This is the perfect beer to start drinking in the morning. And yes, there is caffeine. " This beer was smooth and creamy and tasted a little like cold coffee. I have to wonder if she gave me "Coffee With Your Cream" instead of the Nitro CEO Stout. Not bad though.

The Wandering Gypsy "Light Cream Ale infused with jasmine, hibiscus, and echinacea." This beer was interesting because it started out tasting like beer but then ended with this pleasant, delicate, not-at-all-like-beer, aftertaste. Not sure I'd order it again, but I definitely think the herbal tea made the beer more drinkable.

Last up was the Duneside Breakfast, because how could banana chips, coffee, and hazlenut butter not improve a beer? Seriously I think they really did. None of the flavors were particularly aggressive but all of them were there, and in total it actually tasted pretty good. Then again my standard for good tasting beer is beer that doesn't taste like beer.

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Clear Sky, 79°F

111 W Grandview Pkwy, Traverse City, MI 49684, USA

September 11th

I spent part of the day walking around Traverse City. It's a nice little town and I particularly liked the canal and boardwalk they have running parallel to the main street. It's obviously a tourist town but it was hard not to like it. While I walked around I visited the marina and the view is absolutely amazing. What I couldn't get over is how clean and clear the water is. I was in the downtown area at a marina, and the water is so crystal clear it seems like you could stick your face in the water between the boats and drink from it. Any other urban place like that I've been you'd see murky water, trash, and other signs of contamination, be here the water was so clear you could see 30 feet down. The only other place I can recall water like this was Las Grietas in the Galapagos.

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