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Thursday, June 30, 2016

More Michigan - Five on Friday

It's Friday again - a week has just flown by - and it's time to join Amy over at Love Made My Home for Five on Friday. It's been a busy week as we've been away on holiday. I haven't been on the internet much only a couple of times (gasp). It was kind of nice.

This was our first 'real' camping trip. We actually cheated a little - we stayed our first night in a tent on a campsite, next two nights in a motel and the last two nights camping in a campsite. If we had driven straight through from Kalamazoo (where we live) to Munising (our hotel stop) it would have been about 409 miles. We didn't do a straight through trip. We wanted to see some sights on our way up so we took the scenic route. I'm not from here but I have to say that Michigan is just so beautiful. There were points in the trip where I just looked out, took a deep breath and said 'wow'. Some spots looked like paradise. The skies were blue, the water was blue and green and the sands white and fine. Sometimes I think a holiday is what we need just to take a breath from life, to reset and discover what's really important in life. We always seem to be in such a hurry and sometimes forget what is important in life. At one point I was thinking that if I was twenty years younger I would like to just sell up everything and move out in the middle of nowhere and live simply.

We did so much this trip it's really tough to pick five things to show or talk about. I think I'll probably do some other posts about the trip while it's fresh in my mind and the scrapbook hasn't been done. A blog is a great place to document and then look back.




Point Betsie Lighthouse. Yes, we made it to see this one! We ended up seeing at least eight lighthouses this trip. This was one of my favourites. It was built in 1858. The views were just gorgeous. I'll definitely be doing more lighthouse posts!

Sleeping Bear Dunes. I know I did this just a few weeks ago but this place is really gorgeous. I am just in awe of its beauty.


There were actually more people climbing the dune this time. They looked like little ants on their four legs. They were warned!



I was happy enough just to look out and enjoy the view!




Tahquamenon Falls. This is a beautiful area. There are two lots of waterfalls - the upper and lower falls. Our hope next year is to hike between the two. We didn't realise but there is a campsite there too. The park consists of 52,000 acres stretching over 13 miles. 






Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Beautiful. There isn't a lot more to say about this place. It speaks for itself. We took a boat tour to see the rocks from Lake Superior. It was windy and pretty chilly but the view is worth the ride. We also did a couple of hikes to look at the view from the shore.




These are the Indian heads so named because people think they can see the outlines of Native American faces in the rocks.



Colours of the rocks




My favourite of the rocks. Chapel Beach Tree. This tree is on a rock. The only way it is still living is because the roots are across on the mainland.



We walked to this one on our hike



This is quite a long post so if you're still with me I'll be quite quick. I'll probably do another post on this just because I find it interesting.

Fort Mackinac.  On Mackinac Island. Yes, we ended up taking the boat over here. The fort was a British and American outpost. Nice place to visit. Great cannon firing demonstration among other things.


As an end note, I wasn't sure that I was going to like camping. I did. There was a night when it was chilly, a night where it rained and a night where we were too close to some noisy neighbours, but I had a lot of fun. I enjoyed sitting around a camp fire at night, not dealing with phone calls and emails, no access to the internet, just enjoying the moment. It really helped that we had a nice view and could listen to waves crashing on the shore each night and when we woke in the morning.


View from our campsite. I'm already planning next year!!

18 comments:

  1. That waterfall is very impressive - have you, like the bits of Australia and Europe that I have been in, had lots of rain this year? Lighthouses are always wonderful looking forward to seeing more of them. It looks like a fabulous holiday!
    Hope you have a great weekend, unless you are knee high in washing?!
    Wren x

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  2. Sounds like a great trip with some amazing sights seen. Have a great weekend.

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  3. It looks like a lovely trip. We have never been camping, himself will not entertain it but I think the girls might have missed out. The waterfall is beautiful and those rocks are fabulous. Have a great long weekend xx

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  4. It's beautiful - all of it. I haven't spent much time in Michigan but what I've seen reminds me a lot of Maine. Enjoy your weekend!

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  5. It looks absolutely fantastic, all those incredible colours, I'm not surprised you're looking forward to next year! :-)

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  6. A wonderful five and I look forward to more posts of that amazing scenery. Thank you for taking me on your journey to places I am unlikely to see myself. The tree on the rock is incredible - nothing beats nature!

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  7. I'm glad you enjoyed camping! It sounds as though it was great fun. You certainly saw some beautiful places and enjoyed a lot that the natural world has to offer. The rocks are incredible as is the waterfall. I am so glad I got to see your photos! Thank you for joining in with Five On Friday. I hope you have a fun weekend! xx

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  8. What a great trip with stunning scenery, the beach looks inviting.

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  9. Wow Sharon, what lovely sights to see on your camping adventure. Loved every photo. I've been to Mackinac Island once in the early 70's. It was fun to ride a bike around the island. My favorite camping trips these days are in hotels!!
    Have a wonderful weekend and happy 4th!

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  10. I didn't think Michigan had a seashore but I see it is on one of the Great Lakes. Stunning photographs.

    Diana

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  11. Stunning scenery, Sharon, I can see how you might be tempted to "up sticks". Happy Camping!

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  12. What fantastic scenery you have! The coastline is great and the waterfalls are amazing! I love the tree on the rock.

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  13. Beautiful landscapes ! I also prefer to cut a long trip into two or three stops to see a little bit from the country I travel through. Don't like to hurry in one shot to one place to the other especially so long distances !

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  14. Oh my how very beautiful. It's amazing to see how big the lakes really are. It looks as if it could be the ocean!

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  15. It does look beautiful. We use to love camping when we were younger. And I definitely know what you mean about moving out in the middle of nowhere.

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  16. It would be a wonderful place to visit! Unfortunately i have not been camping for many years. Your photo make me miss water falls in my area. I decided to visit the fall this summer!!

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  17. Michigan is a state that I have driven through several times, but not really explored. I'm so glad you enjoyed your camping trip and shared some of it with us. Thanks! The beautiful sights you showed us remind me very much of places I have explored in MA, ME, OR, and WA, NY, and VT.

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  18. I am so with you when it comes to blogs vs scrap books. It's easier to blog than scrapbook. I started with good intentions to record the girls milestones in books but have turned to recording on a blog instead.

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