North Countries

 Since Gail recently retired from Cornell and has started a new job, her vacation time is limited.  We talked about a quick trip to the Adirondacks, but then learned her brother, Geoff, would be visiting her sister, Martha, in Marquette, MI.  Geoff, Kristi and our nephews, Harper and Dusty, moved to California in 2020 and we saw this as an opportunity to visit them without traveling across the country.  But Marquette is far from Ithaca, as in a 13-hour-drive far.  We decided to split the drive up into a few parts and see some places between here and there.

  Our first destination was Manitoulin Island.  We drove across it once on our way to the UP but didn't stop.  It caught our interest (It's the largest island in a freshwater lake in the world.  Need I say more?) and we've thought about getting back there sometime.  Unfortunately, we couldn't get a place to stay around Niagara Falls, so hit traffic north of Toronto late on a Saturday morning when 90% of Torontonians head north.  It was really the only hassle of the trip.  That and the price of gas in Canada.  Thanks Biden.  And Kristi not being able to travel with the boys from California.

  One of our favorite songwriters is Fred Eaglesmith.  He's from Ontario and we were hoping to run into him somewhere.  It didn't happen, but his presence was felt when we saw things that he sings about, like this sign that lent its name to one of his albums.  We eventually stayed in a place that was probably named the Paradise Motel at one time.

This trip also included a chance to visit all five Great Lakes in one week.  I'd gone to Westfield for an overnight visit to see some friends right before Gail and I left, and we'd be going to or right by the others.  Here's Lake Erie.

Lake Ontario.

Lake Huron.

Lake Michigan.

Lake Superior.

North Countries

 

  Gail found us a sweet spot just outside the village of Little Current on White's Point, a peninsula on the northeast end of the island.  It was hard to leave so we mostly sat around and drank cocktails.

  And enjoyed the sunsets.

  Sometimes the sun was a bit much, so we sat under the awning of the trailer.  That's an outdoor shower to the left, a great idea that permits the indoor shower to be used as a closet.  Space was limited.

It came with a yoga mat.

Just across the street was Strawberry Channel which separated White's Point from Strawberry Island.
 

The outdoor shower.

Gail swam.  I paddled with a kayak provided.

Mergansers that don't like to get their feet wet. 

North Countries

  The first day we were there rain was expected so we decided to drive to a place that was too far to bike to.  What could be wrong with a place called Misery Bay?  Well, the highway was torn up for about 10 miles, and it started pouring just as we got there, mosquitos descended on us when we got out of the car, the visitors center wasn't open and there was no assurance it would later, and the trail was covered with six inches of water, but really, I don't think the name applied at all.

  We took a trail through the woods to get to Lake Huron.  By the time we got to the shore the rain had stopped.  We came out onto this cool, pockmarked bedrock.  We had no idea how it formed.  Fortunately, the visitors center opened by the time we finished our hike and we got this hypothesis for an explanation:

Different interesting bedrock marked up by glaciers.

On the way home we stopped at another attraction that we wanted to see but would probably be too far to bike to: Bridal Veil Falls.  It was a good place for a swim, and for some serious exfoliation when standing under the falls.

North Countries

  The next day the weather was more favorable for a bike ride.  Having scoped out the roads the day before, we decided to ride to Cups and Saucers, a cliff that's part of the Niagara Escarpment.  I think the top half of this sign posted there is unnecessary.

  Manitoulin is so big, there are lakes on it that fool you into thinking you're looking at Georgian Bay or Lake Huron.  This was actually Lake Manitou and is about 15 miles long with two sections that are about 7 miles wide.  We took a swim in it on our ride home.

  The escarpment.

  Get there early if you want a photo without a crowd around you.
 

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  We decided to dress alike whenever possible.

  From 10-Mile-Point, an overlook that is...10 miles from Little Current.

  Industrial ruins on Picnic Island.  We got the impression working in a lumber mill there in the dead of winter was no picnic.  This reminded me of lots of places in Ireland.

North Countries

  Another cool spot we discovered was right in front of us the whole time: McLean's Mountain Lookout.  It's where all the windmills are that we could see from our rental.

  Coming towards me like a cool breeze.

  Looking down on White's Point where our trailer was, and Strawberry Island beyond.

  Little Current and the La Cloche Mountains in the distance.

North Countries

 

  On the way to Manitoulin Island, we passed through some interesting mountainous terrain.  We had time to check it out a bit on our way to Michigan.  I looked at the map and saw a trail right off the highway to Willis Peaks.  I am quite familiar with the name as it's used in a Fred song I sing all the time, "Good Enough".  

I stole myself a car last week, drove it up to Willis Peaks, covered it with gasoline, but it's not the same when she's not with me.

Glad I'm still good enough and she was with me, even if we didn't torch a car or anything.

Looking back to Manitoulin Island in the far distance.

It was a fun scramble up quartzite stone.

Might be worth going up north again sometime to explore.  There are a couple provincial parks in La Cloches.

On top of Willis Peaks.

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  Despite the sign, we got back into the States at Sault Sainte Marie in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Even though we left Ontario behind, we found the Paradise Motel Fred sang about.

Gail found her ship.

We stayed in Munising for a night so we could explore the Grand Island National Recreation Area.  We were glad we abandoned our idea to ride our bikes around the island as the trails and roads were soft and sandy.  As it was, we did about a 13-mile hike and got to see plenty of shoreline and the interior.

  I held Jupiter in my hand.

We did the History Loop which included the cemetery where the original European settlers and their descendants are buried.  There was one Catholic that married into the family and she was fenced off from the rest.

Long ago, Gail and I visited the UP with her siblings to scatter their dad's ashes in Lake Superior.  On that trip we also visited Pictured Rocks National Seashore.  We could see part of Pictured Rocks from Grand Island.

The shoreline of Grand Island was quite picturesque too.

Trout Bay.

The water was almost warm.
 

North Countries

   Once we got to Marquette, Martha and Jeff wasted no time showing us why they love it.  We went to a Mexican restaurant in a strip mall where they ordered the margarita for two (hundred).  At this point, we were still uncertain what the attraction to Marquette was other than being on Lake Superior, but it got much better.  As someone who longs for more winter than we get in Ithaca, Jeff got my attention when he said once the ground was covered by snow in December, it stayed covered until it melted in the spring.  And this:  "Even though we had about 11 feet of snow, there was never more than five feet in our yard."  The bike paths around town are some of the best I've seen anywhere.

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  Once we all met up in Marquette, we did a leisurely paddle that Martha arranged down the Au Train River. 

Gail tried out a stand up paddle board.  Geoff and Dusty tried out uncomfortable kayaks.  Everyone did fine.

Harper looked for fish.  He found several and was most excited about a pike.

Hiding in the weeds, or wild rice.

We took some breaks to get away from large groups of inebriated screamers.

Gail and the boys.