After bucking tradition last year (with a whole lot of nothing,) Mom's family brought back the annual Great Lakes lighthouse end-of-summer trip this year. Mom, our grandma, our lighthouse-loving great aunt, and our aunt piled into Ferdinand the Subaru and took off for the upper left (pinkie area) of the Mitten. We dolls were left behind, as usual, but thanks to Mom's detailed journal entries and gobs of photos, we have a pretty good idea of all the cool stuff we missed out on.
Here is a map illustrating the places they visited:
Saturday
It was already mid afternoon when they left, thanks to prior commitments, so it was suppertime when they arrived at their rental cottage in Interlochen, Michigan.
It was as cute on the inside as it was on the outside.
After supper at Culver's and some grocery shopping, they watched Crazy Rich Asians on that TV and then went to bed. The AC turned itself off. The mattress was quite firm. Every 43 seconds, the pilot light on the stove ticked. The smoke detector blared briefly once in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. Needless to say, Mom, who always sleeps poorly the first night of vacation, barely slept. XD
Sunday
The crew departed around 9:30 for Old Mission Peninsula, the smaller, eastern peninsula that juts out into Traverse Bay. It couldn't have been a more picturesque morning. They were treated to blue skies, rolling hills of cherry orchards and vineyards, and every now and then views of sparkling Lake Michigan down below. They attended a small church about 2/3 of the way up the peninsula, where the sermon rather appropriately had to do with vineyards. When that was over, they completed their journey to the tip of the peninsula to see Mission Point Lighthouse. The lighthouse is not all that impressive to behold, but its location sure is. It's located on the 45th parallel, halfway between the Equator and the North Pole.
While Mom was exploring the museum inside and waiting her turn to climb the tower (only 3 allowed up at a time, and it was quite popular), clouds rolled in.
The sun had disappeared behind the clouds by the time she got up in the tower. The group retreated back to Ferdinand just as it really started to rain.
They found a restaurant on the way back down the peninsula, and by the time they had refueled, the rain had passed. Taking this as a good omen, they headed the rest of the way down the peninsula and then drove up the bigger, western Leelanau Peninsula. While still pretty, this peninsula did not have the unique feel of Old Mission Peninsula. The parts they drove through were fairly flat, forested, and dotted with modest houses and cottages.
Way out at the tip of the peninsula sits Grand Traverse Lighthouse. Appropriately, the larger peninsula has the larger lighthouse. The inside is staged as it might have looked in its heyday, and visitors again are allowed to climb the tower.
The view from the tower:
As you can see, it was wavier and windier here than in Traverse Bay.
And this is the lighthouse's spindly circa-1970 replacement:
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| ugly but functional |
After checking out the gift shop and wandering the grounds for a while, they made the drive down the peninsula and back to the cottage in Interlochen. The DVD they stuck in that evening was Beethoven. =^) The ticking continued that night, but at least the AC stayed on and there were no more smoke alarm incidents.
Monday
The crew enjoyed a leisurely morning, packed everything back into Ferdinand, and headed to Peterson Road Beach, which is located in the southern portion of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. After bumping down a gravel road through the woods (Peterson Road?) they arrived at the scenic sand dune-y beach.
Note the more dramatic dunes off in the distance. The waves washed up lots of little shells in various stages of being crushed as well as small rounded rocks. Mom wandered around in search of Petoskey stones while our aunt explored, our grandma waded, and our great aunt relaxed on a driftwood log and read her book.
Mom reluctantly pulled herself away from the rocks when the others were ready to go. No Petoskey stones this time, but she still left with her bag a bit heavier. Here they are in a bowl of water back at home:
They stopped in a coastal town called Frankfort to eat lunch. At a place called FrankZ. Where they ate franks (and fries.) Then they visited a shop where Mom bought this:
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| Is it blue or is it purple? We can't decide. |
Yay for frankfurters and dogs that resemble them!
The biggest adventure of the trip was lighthouse #3, Big Sable Point Lighthouse in Ludington. Mom had heard it was over a mile hike from the parking lot through Ludington State Park to Big Sable. No biggie, right?
Wrong. Turns out it's 1.8 miles, and they took so long at the beach/Frankfort that they had to really hustle to get to the lighthouse before it closed at 5:00. Power walking on sand/gravel in sun and 80 degree heat wasn't fun, but Mom was very grateful for her light-colored shirt, comfortable shoes, the flat path, and the gentle breeze. The top of the tower emerged from the over the dunes long before they were near, but eventually, they all made it in time to climb the tower.
Wrong. Turns out it's 1.8 miles, and they took so long at the beach/Frankfort that they had to really hustle to get to the lighthouse before it closed at 5:00. Power walking on sand/gravel in sun and 80 degree heat wasn't fun, but Mom was very grateful for her light-colored shirt, comfortable shoes, the flat path, and the gentle breeze. The top of the tower emerged from the over the dunes long before they were near, but eventually, they all made it in time to climb the tower.
The view from the top made the long, sweaty walk and the 130-step climb worth it.
Hey, look, it's part of that 1.8 mile path.
Sure is a long way down!
The return walk, with its views of forest, dunes, and interdunal ponds, was much more enjoyable for Mom. Not so much for our aunt, whose sandals had already given her nasty blisters on the walk out.
It was quite a relief to get back to Ferdy. They then faced a long drive northeast to their lodging for the night, a rental in Irons. There were no restaurants along the way. There wasn't much of anything along the way but forest.
The rental lacked the cottage's charm, but it was quiet and more spacious.
It had several naturey paintings on the walls, which is what you'd expect, but then it also had this hanging in prominence near the front door:
Okay, then.
Tuesday
The group woke up to another tranquil, sunny summer morning. Swarming gnats and mosquitos ensured they loaded the car quickly, and then they retraced their route from the night before and eventually arrived at Amber Elk Ranch. Why an elk ranch? *Shrugs* Well, why not? Mom's been quite fond of elk ever since Firebird in Fantasia 2000.
Visitors boarded two trailers, which were then towed around the farm by a tractor. On their way to the first enclosure, several loose male elk were in their path, including this guy:
The first enclosure they entered contained cows and calves. The calves, which are adorable and are spotted just like fawns, continued to lounge in the shade, but many of the cows jockeyed for positions around the trailers.
All the visitors were encouraged to feed them handfuls of grain, which Mom eagerly did.
They entered the spike enclosure next, which contained mostly young males (spikes) and a few mature bulls. Despite their youth, they still had quite impressive antlers. The one on the left has blue eyes!
Then it was on the the bull enclosure. They have been growing elaborate antlers since spring in preparation for breeding season in the fall. The oldest ones are already shedding the velvet on their antlers, while many of the younger ones still have totally velvet-covered antlers.
A big set of antlers can weigh up to 40 lbs! When they're growing, the progress can be almost an inch of new bone per day! It must be quite a relief when they shed all that extra weight... and then start all over again.
Check out the unbalanced rack on the elk on the right! Oh well, better luck to you next year, buddy.
It's almost like he was showing off...
After the tour, Mom made a quick stop in the gift shop, which housed several large taxidermy animals, and then admired the cute, friendly mini donkeys in the petting zoo.
Anyone else really want to brush the one with the blue halter? XD
The final stop of the trip was the North Breakwater Light in Ludington. It is technically a light station and not a lighthouse because nobody ever lived in it. It's located at the end of the 1/2 mile northern breakwater where the Pere Marquette River meets Lake Michigan, hence its name.
The first lighthouse in this area was built in 1871, but it didn't last long, as it was washed away by a big storm. This sturdy, steel-plated version was built in 1924 and is quite distinct in design. Its base resembles the prow of a ship and was designed to help break the often powerful waves in the area.
It's not an optical illusion, nor was Mom tilting the camera. The tower has shifted on the base so that it is now leaning 4 degrees off vertical.
Mom and crew climbed up the three levels of the tower and looked out the portholes of each.
And here's the view from the top:
Its light is green! The light on the little south breakwater is red.
Lake Michigan's water level is so high right now that the big concrete chunks lining the breakwater to help break the waves are totally underwater. Good thing it was a calm day on the lake!
Hey, look, it's part of that 1.8 mile path.
Sure is a long way down!
The return walk, with its views of forest, dunes, and interdunal ponds, was much more enjoyable for Mom. Not so much for our aunt, whose sandals had already given her nasty blisters on the walk out.
It was quite a relief to get back to Ferdy. They then faced a long drive northeast to their lodging for the night, a rental in Irons. There were no restaurants along the way. There wasn't much of anything along the way but forest.
The rental lacked the cottage's charm, but it was quiet and more spacious.
It had several naturey paintings on the walls, which is what you'd expect, but then it also had this hanging in prominence near the front door:
Tuesday
The group woke up to another tranquil, sunny summer morning. Swarming gnats and mosquitos ensured they loaded the car quickly, and then they retraced their route from the night before and eventually arrived at Amber Elk Ranch. Why an elk ranch? *Shrugs* Well, why not? Mom's been quite fond of elk ever since Firebird in Fantasia 2000.
Visitors boarded two trailers, which were then towed around the farm by a tractor. On their way to the first enclosure, several loose male elk were in their path, including this guy:
The first enclosure they entered contained cows and calves. The calves, which are adorable and are spotted just like fawns, continued to lounge in the shade, but many of the cows jockeyed for positions around the trailers.
All the visitors were encouraged to feed them handfuls of grain, which Mom eagerly did.
They entered the spike enclosure next, which contained mostly young males (spikes) and a few mature bulls. Despite their youth, they still had quite impressive antlers. The one on the left has blue eyes!
This particular bull was especially photogenic:
After the tour, Mom made a quick stop in the gift shop, which housed several large taxidermy animals, and then admired the cute, friendly mini donkeys in the petting zoo.
The final stop of the trip was the North Breakwater Light in Ludington. It is technically a light station and not a lighthouse because nobody ever lived in it. It's located at the end of the 1/2 mile northern breakwater where the Pere Marquette River meets Lake Michigan, hence its name.
The first lighthouse in this area was built in 1871, but it didn't last long, as it was washed away by a big storm. This sturdy, steel-plated version was built in 1924 and is quite distinct in design. Its base resembles the prow of a ship and was designed to help break the often powerful waves in the area.
Mom and crew climbed up the three levels of the tower and looked out the portholes of each.
And here's the view from the top:
After that, it was time to head for home. The long drive home wasn't nearly as fun as the long drive to begin the vacation was, but our aunt helped lighten the mood by playing her gospel music playlist.
Mom must've really had a good time, as often as we've seen her looking fondly at the photos on her phone. This morning, two weekends later, I caught her smelling the sweater she took along on the trip, checking to see if it still smells like the woodsy first cottage. It still does. Faintly. ;^)
