deb's place: Our Great Lakes Adventure: Days 1-5

In July, Craig, Zach, and I spent fourteen days traveling through the Great Lakes region. Until the past year or so, I'd never paid much attention to that part of the country. Our travels have always taken us west to visit family, or to the beach. The idea for this trip came about as the result of a number of somewhat unrelated events :

1. Dad's passing away in 2007 led to my eventual correspondence, via letter and email, with a cousin of his, Virginia, who lives in Waterford, Michigan, just north of Detroit. Virginia is a delightful person. She graciously took the initiative to begin sending me photos and notes about our familial history, and share about about her own life and family. The more I heard from Virginia, the more I wanted to meet her.

2. Last fall, while on a canoe outing, a friend who also has a 16-year-old son, told me about a trip that she, her husband, and their son took last summer to New York. The experience had made a deep impression on their son. He loved New York, and returned to school with new vision and motivation. I wanted Zach to have that kind of experience--to realize what a big world there is beyond Birmingham and the school he currently goes to. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago came to mind.

3. For many years I've hoped to visit a dear family friend who is like a sister to me: Janet Soofi. Janet and her husband, Ehsan, live just north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

4. Some people we met this winter suggested that if we visit Michigan, we should travel through the northern part of the state to see the natural beauty of that region.

So, in the course of many hours of research and preparation--I put together a trip itinerary for what I am calling our "Great Lakes Adventure."

On July 17, Craig, Zach, and I boarded a plane for Detroit. At the Detroit airport we rented a car and began a journey that would take us first to Waterford. We spent two delightful days with Virginia, who treated us to a special seafood meal on our first night there and introduced us to her sisters Wilma and Miriam, and her daughter Nancy. Unfortunately, I failed to get my camera out during our stay with Virginia. I think I was in a state of shock that we were actually on the road, after months of planning and preparations.

Here is my dad with Virginia (second from left) and her sisters Miriam, Wilma, and Gladys, taken around 1940. Dad has that "fox in a henhouse" look, if you ask me.

We then headed north to St. Ignace [pronounced IG-nus], a small town at the north end of the MacKinac Bridge [pronounced MAK-in-naw] . We checked in at the Colonial House Inn, where we would spend two nights. As we made our way from the check-in desk to our room, I was struck by the perfume of roses that lined the walkway. After settling into our room, I got out my camera to capture some of the beauty of that garden.

St. Ignace is a charming little town on the shores of Lake Huron. It has a large Native American population and an Ojibwa museum. I got up early to explore with my camera.

We had our breakfast in the garden.

After breakfast we boarded a ferry that would take us to Mackinac Island. Zach had a blast taking pictures from the ferry. I had a blast taking pictures of Zach taking pictures of himself.

MacKinac Island is a charming, beautifully manicured historical resort community. No cars allowed. Horse-and-carriage is the primary mode of transporation,

along with walking and bicycles. My kind of place.

When we got off the ferry, I asked this fellow driving the carriage if I could pet his horse. He said no. No smile, no reason offered. Just "No." I bet he's asked that question about 500 times a day.

We rambled around the main streets of the village there, taking advantage of the free samples offered by the many fudge shops for which MacKinac Island is famous.

Then we found our way up to the Grand Hotel--an elegant old resort hotel where visitors must pay a fee just to sit on the porch. Guests are required to dress for supper. A room for the three of us would have cost over $500 for a night. We were content to get this photo of Zach.

An eight-mile scenic trail circles the outer edge of MacKinac Island, making for a lovely bike ride for those who can't--or won't--pay the $22-per-person ticket for a carriage ride. We rented some bikes and headed out. Halfway around, we stopped to have lunch on the beach. Craig called his dad, who had just undergone shoulder surgery. I tossed bread crusts to the seagulls. And Zach practiced skipping stones. One never lacks for stones to skip on these Great Lakes beaches. I felt myself starting to slow down.

We then headed back to St. Ignace, where Zach took his first plunge in Lake Huron. He had been eager to take a swim in one of the Great Lakes. A recurring theme in these parts is the harsh, long winters. These waters feel like fresh snowmelt.

Leaving St. Ignace the next morning, we headed north to Sault Ste. Marie, both the Ontario side and the Michigan side, to see the locks that make it possible for boats to pass from Lake Huron to Lake Superior and vice versa--a 27-foot difference in height. Before there were locks, people would raft the rapids than transversed this steep decline between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. We got to watch a barge and some other boats enter the locks to be lifted or dropped, depending on the direction in which they were heading.

We didn't realize that US citizens must now have birth certificates to get back into the country. So, while crossing into Canada was simple enough, getting back was not. The customs officer finally let us back in to the US, with a stern warning.

From Sault Ste. Marie we drove west across Michigan's Upper Peninsula (UP) and north to Grand Marais--a tiny coastal town on Michigan's northern border on the coast of Lake Superior.

Grand Marais is located on the easternmost edge of a the 40-mile-long Pictured Rocks National Seashore. That evening, after supper in the cabin, Zach and I headed out to see if we could reach the Grand Sable (French for "Great Sands") dunes--the only part of the park accessible from Grand Marais. We had at most two hours of daylight remaining, and didn't know how far away the dunes would be. We were on foot, and knew we'd need to get back to the cabin before dark.

After walking about a mile, we met two women who told us that we were close to the dunes, and that from there we could get back to Grand Marais by descending the cliffs to the beach below, and following that back. This came as a great relief. I didn't want to return on that narrow country road in the dark.

We found the trail that led both to the dunes and to Sable Falls. The falls were grand, but I was nervous about the encroaching darkness, so we didn't stop to take photos.

We made our way through hardwood forests and open meadows of tall grass--a beautiful trek in the evening hours--and arrived at the top of a tall dune looking across a steep drop to another dune, beyond which we could not see.

Here is what we found, upon reaching the top of the next dune.

We were now at the top of a cliff that dropped very steeply to a narrow, rocky beach. If I hadn't seen footprints from people who'd been there earlier, I probably wouldn't have had the courage to descend. Fortunately the sand was soft and deep. I scooted down on my seat, while Zach followed on his feet. Note the difference in our tracks.

Upon reaching the bottom, we found ourselves on a pristine beach covered with smooth, round stones of amazing patterns and colors.

Zach and I stayed extremely busy loading rocks into every spare pocket and pouch, taking photos of the sun setting over Lake Superior, and hurrying to get back to Grand Marais before dark.

Here is a closeup of some bark on a log that was lying on the beach.

Looks almost like a pen-and-ink . . .