Mini-break Part 2

We got a late start on Saturday since our adventures in the park on Friday night got us to bed later than usual. We set out to find the colors of Northern Michigan with a brief stop for breakfast on the way. The plan was to drive along the Lake Michigan shoreline to the city of Charlevoix where they were having an Apple Festival, stopping for Kodak moments as they came up along the way.

            It was a perfect autumn day with bright sunshine and deep blue skies, the kind of sky you only see where trees outnumber people. Driving through the valleys, like you do, we spotted a dirt road that had a sign posted saying that this road would not be plowed in the winter. This looked like a promising opportunity for the photogs in the truck, so we ventured up the hill and in to the deep forest. We were instantly plunged into the shadows created by towering pines, ancient oaks, and bright maple trees. I could wax poetic about the beauty of virgin forests, but I will spare you – let it suffice to say that it was lovely.

            The “road”, really a one-lane wide track through the forest, was very sandy and, at times, very steep. I was glad we had the four-wheel-drive truck for this adventure as I doubted there was much traffic to lend a hand if we were to have gotten stuck. Eventually we came to a clearing atop one of the hills where we decided to stop and let the shutterbugs fly free. With dense forest on the west side of the hill, there were pasture lands on the east side with a clear view of the surrounding hillsides, ablaze in all their autumnal glory.

            My boyfriend jumped right out of the truck and headed over to the vantage point near the barbed-wire fence where he could capture the scene. Joe and I had a brief discussion, and when I looked over to see where Larry was, he was rising up from the ground. “You didn’t just cross that fence!” I hollered over to him. “No,” he replied, “I fell.” “You okay?” I questioned. “Yeah, I’m fine.” So I wandered over to the gate in the fence and surveyed the beauty before me.

            A few minutes later Larry emerged from the tree line and much to my dismay, blood was streaming down his face. To make a long story short, he had tripped on some fallen branches buried beneath the fallen leaves, hit his head, scraped up his arm and had landed on his camera, protecting it during his fall. I doctored him up, and ignored the jibes about having band-aids in my purse. He was okay and went right back to snapping away.

            Three of the bovine inhabitants of the pasture came lumbering up the hill to check us out. A very large bull and, what I would assume were, two of his male progeny took long drinks from the water trough as they had their pictures taken. Once they were assured that we did not have any special treats for them, they headed back down into their lush valley. After the shutterbugs had taken a little hike down the trails in the forest we headed down to the road that runs along the coast.

            There is a place along M-119 which has been dubbed the “Tunnel of Trees” due to the very narrow road which is completely covered by the forest. It was incredibly busy on that Saturday afternoon, with a steady stream of traffic going in both directions – and no place to pull over and enjoy it. It was lovely, though, and we all enjoyed the experience.

            The Apple Festival was pretty cool – many of the local apple producers had stands along the main drag and there was also an art fair, face painting, and pony rides, by the harbor. We wandered about, looked at some of the art, and bought some apples before heading back to Mackinaw City for the night.

            We each went to our rooms to relax before going out to dinner. I went out on our balcony to watch the sun setting behind the bridge.

Someone set off a firework near the bridge, and Larry joined me on the balcony. Soon it became apparent that this wasn’t just, “someone setting off fireworks”, but an actual show. Larry went in to the room to get his camera so that hopefully he could capture some of the beauty of fireworks with the bridge, all reflected in the bay. There were some tiny bugs attracted to the light in our room, so Larry pulled the sliding glass door closed behind him as he came out. It was a pretty impressive display, and we really enjoyed it. However, when it was over and I headed back in to the room to make arrangements for dinner, I found that somehow, the door had locked.  

            Eventually, Larry called out to some of the occupants of a neighboring room to please call the desk and apprise them of the situation. The manager of the hotel came pretty quickly and let us back in, and we all had a good laugh. I decided that it was fortunate timing as 1) the weather was nice – no rain or snow, 2) we were fully clothed when this happened, and 3) I didn’t have to pee.

            On Sunday we took a drive across the Might Mac and the Upper Peninsula to see the Locks in Sault Ste. Marie. (For those of you non-Michiganders, that is pronounced “Sue Saint Marie”.) We didn’t get to see a ship going through the locks, but it was pretty cool anyway. (And I mean that – the wind was biting cold.) It was a pretty easy drive home after all that, and traffic was not at all bad. It was a wonderful way to spend a weekend.

Note: photos are from a google search - don't have any from the trip yet.