Northeast 2024 – 01

First stop; Traverse City

Michele is checking out her first “Little Free Library” in front of her home.

Cathy added a book to the library. It was fully stocked and ready for business when we left. While we stayed with Eric and Michelle, we saw several deer and a racoon in their backyard and smoked some big cigars! We enjoyed a luxurious five course dinner at Eric’s The Cooks’ House restaurant, and Eric made a very good Shepard’s pie dinner. We also visited a couple of wineries, 2 Lads and Big Little where we picked up a couple of unique Michigan wines.

This is the Boardman River, which flows through the center of Traverse City. When the salmon are running you can spot them from any of the bridges. Downtown is immediately to the left of this photo. We had planned to kayak this river from several miles upstream but, unfortunately it was partially closed to kayaks for upgrades and/or repairs.

A smallish cruiser is leaving the docks at the Traverse City Marina. This is the Grand Traverse Bay off of Lake Michigan.

A larger, multi sail yacht was traveling in Grand Traverse Bay.

Leaving Traverse City, we took the scenic route, leading through the towns of Elk Rapids, Charlevoix and Petoskey. We spotted a black bear running across the road and jumping the guard rail in front of us like a pro. After Petoskey, we went across the bridge separating Lake Michigan from Lake Huron at Mackinaw City. Mackinac Island is to the left of this photo, accessible only by ferry. We took this photo looking south from the north end of the bridge.

Sunset over Lake Superior was lovely, this was taken from our campsite, near Picture Rocks National Seashore in Munising

A loon was taking a sunset swim in the lake.

In the morning it was raining so we took a drive to the Chapel Rock Trailhead. A lot of the road was dirt (mud) but we made it to the start, to learn that the loop from the trailhead to Chapel Beach, Chapel Falls, Mosquito Falls and Chapel Rock was about 10 round trip miles, too far for us in the rain! The forest along the road was thick and beautiful and it was an very enjoyable drive.

It cleared up in the afternoon and Cathy finally got to put her feet in the lake. Apparently, it was a little cold. (That is Grand Island behind her.)

The next morning was warm and sunny, perfect for beach reading. We spent a couple of hours enjoying the sunshine before the weather turned again.

We took a drive to the village of Au Train. This is the Au Train river, just outside of the village. We talked with a couple of fishermen on this bridge who had just spotted a pike in the water below.

The first photo of the river is taken downstream, this photo is taken upstream from the bridge. There are multiple kayak rentals along this river and apparently it is a very popular run in the later summer. The Au Train River Canoe Pathway is a slower paced, relaxing, and can be up to about a 10 mile trip.

We stopped where the Au Train river enters Lake Superior and accidentally dropped some bread into the water below.

Somehow the birds found the bread floating downstream and alerted their neighbors.

This is the 10 foot Scott Falls, located roadside just outside of Au Train. It was an easy walk but mosquito-laden.

This waterfall is roadside at the East end of Munising and is a muddy and slippery walk to this viewpoint. Alger Falls contains many cascades, some of which are blocked by the foliage. We also hiked, albeit in the rain, to Wagner Falls, which is about 20 feet of cascades. Due to the rainfall, I did not take my camera.