Category Archives: Michigan

The Last Shot

May 22, 2021 Troy

During Spring Break this year, the family ventured out to the sandy shores of Lake Michigan. One of our stops was Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on a beautiful April day. While there we stopped at the popular Dune climb to take our chance at the steep, sandy climb to the top. While at the top I began experiencing problems with my camera. An error message would pop onto a black screen no longer able to take pictures. Messing around with it – removing the lens and reconnecting it, turning the camera on and off, and removing the battery – I eventually got it to work again. This turned out to be temporary though. A short time later the error message again popped up. This time I wouldn’t be able to get it back working.

Later that day I researched possible problems and came up with the likely issue being the shutter. The cost to fix it would be at least a third of the cost of a new camera. There had been some other problems starting to plague the camera such as a sticky shutter button causing the camera to be unresponsive as the button would keep the autofocus locked on preventing further use until the button became unstuck and released the focus. This was fairly intermittent so I dealt with it as much as possible. With at least 100,000 photos being taken with the camera and the shutter issues, I decided it is probably time to replace it. Besides, there are activities and adventures planned this year that I want to have a reliable camera available to avoid missing some pictures that will only be possible once.

With that decision, my camera had taken its last photo. Looking through them on the computer, this was the last one taken. It’s of my daughter and I running down the dune as the approaching rain continued to move towards us. If there has to be a last picture, I like this one to mark that event!

Adventures, Michigan, National Parks, Troy's Blog

Hitting the Beach for Spring Break

May 1, 2021 Troy

During Spring Break we (myself, youngest daughter, and wife) hit the beaches. But not like most people imagine. Our adventure took us to Michigan where a plethora of beautiful beaches exist. The first day brought us to Sleep Bear Dunes National Lakeshore where the main attraction is climbing these large hills of sand. Once we accomplished this feat we set out to explore other areas on the National Park on this beautiful April day. The temperature had reached the 70’s a little earlier but a cold front was now moving through bringing the threat of rain and definitely cooler temperatures. Along the shore of Lake Michigan are some beautiful freshwater beaches providing a shark free location to sink your feet into the sand or take a dip in the water. At this time of year the water is a bit too chilly to do more than stick in a toe or two but as summer arrives the water warms for a refreshing dip. Rain began to fall and it was time to head back to the car ending our first day at the beach.

The next day brought more rain keeping us indoors for much of it. Eventually the rain let up and we decided to take advantage with a trip to the nearby sand in Frankfurt Michigan. Only a few minutes walk and we were once again walking on the soft sand along the shore of this Great Lake. Since it was early in the year this beach was still recovering from winter as preparations were just beginning to move the sand from city streets and parking lots back onto the beach where it belongs. Winter winds blow strong shifting sand from the waters edge further inland. As the snow disappears and the landscape comes back to life, these winds calm allowing the beaches to keep their sandy shoreline bringing crowds to enjoy them all summer long. With another day on the beach, even if for a short time, we returned to the comfort of shelter for the remainder of the day.

On our final day, while beginning the drive home, we stopped at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore along the way allowing us to see three of the Great Lakes in one day, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron while going across the Mackinaw Bridge with Lake Superior a short drive away. One of the first stops in Pictured Rocks was the sandy beach along this largest freshwater body of water. Again the sand was beautiful and soft for the third and final day of beaches during Spring Break. The landscape is amazingly beautiful to take in while strolling through the sand as it cushions each step. Another part of this park that was fun is the North Country National Scenic Trail runs along the lake. A trail I’ve read about and looked into portions of interest to hike. I could imagine spending a couple days hiking through this picturesque landscape enjoying waterfalls, beaches, and natural rock formations.

Having spent several hours exploring this area, it was time to continue on our journey home. One last stop at another beach before we go though. While taking one final walk on the sandy shore, fog began to roll off the lake and flow into the trees creating a different view of the landscape. This time of year, fog is common near Lake Superior as the water remains cold throughout the year so when temperatures begin to warm up and there’s a lot of moisture around, fog is quickly produced. It creates a more dramatic landscape for our final memory of Picture Rocks on this adventure. It was now time to re-enter the car to complete our Spring Break road trip.

Adventures, Michigan, spring, Troy's Blog

Spring Break Road Trip

April 25, 2021 Troy

Several months ago, while looking over the calendar, we noticed our girls had time off for Spring Break about the same time. This seemed like something we should take advantage of since who knows how many more times we’ll have the opportunity for a family Spring Break adventure. The plan was to go for an extended weekend somewhere within 8 hours of our house. Weather would help dictated which direction we went. As the week arrived we looked at a few different options and decided going to Badlands National Park seemed like the best option during Spring Break. We would leave Wednesday morning and return Saturday afternoon. Tuesday afternoon I checked in with a family friend who has some property in Central Michigan and found out they would be there for the week. Originally they were expecting to be gone a few days before Spring Break but things had changed a little. Talking with the family we decided a change in plans was in order and that the next morning we should head east instead. Tuesday night the car was packed and ready to go to Michigan.

Wednesday morning we were on the road by 5:30am eagerly anticipating our Spring Break adventure. It was a rainy start to the day which was expected to follow us throughout the drive east. As we got into Wisconsin, daylight began to fill the sky. With increasing brightness we could see fog filling many of the valleys providing interesting scenery to start the day. By lunchtime we neared the Wisconsin-Michigan boarder stopping to stretch our legs and getting something to eat. Returning to the road we soon crossed into a different time zone where we lost an hour entering Michigan and began to follow the top of Lake Michigan. The sights in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan kept us entertained with the road trip beginning to get long and going on hour number 8. Another hour and we were at the Mackinaw Bridge.

We had heard about this bridge from several other people but had never seen it ourselves. It’s certainly an engineering feet to see and drive on especially in an area that freezes during the winter. It’s interesting to drive on as one lane is metal grates which feel weird to drive over while the other is a cement deck. Crossing the bridge, we made another stop to explore Mackinaw Island which was mostly closed down since it’s more of a tourist place and it was too early for them to be open. Over the next few hours we continued south now that we were on the east side of Lake Michigan arriving at our destination. A little town on the shores of Lake Michigan in the central part of the state. It was a nice drive but we were happy to get out of the car. As a bonus, it was partly sunny with temperatures in the mid 70’s.

Adventures, Michigan, Troy's Blog

Hitting the Trails in the U.P.

March 14, 2020 Troy

Dates where picked and time off from work was granted. Now where to go? Northern Minnesota was the place of focus for another snowmobiling trip. Ever since visiting Voyageurs National Park a couple of summers ago, I wanted to return in the winter to see this winter wonderland. Searching for snowmobiles to rent and other things to do brought even more interest to this adventure. Ice fishing would be fun and there are ice roads typically plowed through Voyageurs for vehicles to drive on providing access to areas otherwise only available by boat. More research yielded few options for snowmobiles to rent and once putting together the costs to rent a sled and getting ice fishing equipment along with lodging made this less appealing this year. There was another option. An invitation by some friends to visit the Upper Peninsula of Michigan could be taken up. They had offered up a place to stay and continued to boast about the great snowmobile trails available.

Checking into this option, this seemed like the route to go for this reprieve from work. Locating snowmobiles for rent was easier than in Northern Minnesota and all of the trails were open and groomed. At least for the moment. Watching the forecast was somewhat disappointing as warmer weather and no snow were predicted. Would the trails remain open after some nice melting was occurring? How about the condition with ice forming after melting and refreezing. I continued to watch the updated forecast daily with anticipation hoping for some fresh snow to show up. A coating did end up falling but not enough to make much difference. Fortunately there was such a great base of snow from earlier in the winter that the conditions where still really good. Off to the U.P.!

I’ve never had so many good trails to ride on. It didn’t really matter where the sleds went, the trails were in really good condition. While there hasn’t been much snowfall in recent weeks, the quantity of snow from earlier in the winter combined with constant grooming of these trails made for some great riding. And to be able to travel through the beautiful landscapes of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan made for a couple of really enjoyable days. The first day started off a little on the cold side with temperatures starting out below zero Fahrenheit with wind amplifying that cold but it warmed fairly fast into the 20’s for the afternoon under a sun filled sky. The next day started out warmer and reached above freezing by midday making it almost a perfect day of snowmobiling. The only thing that I could think of to make it better was a fresh round of snow. Back to reality after this nice break.

Lake Superior, Michigan, Troy's Blog

The Porcupine Mountains

July 29, 2017 Troy

Recently I had the opportunity to meet a friend I went to college with for a few days camping at Porcupine Mountain State Park which resides in Northern Michigan otherwise known as the U.P. I was hopeful to see a porcupine since I assumed that’s where the name for this park came from. As we learned while there, the name actually comes from the shape of the mountains. They look like humped over porcupines. It is possible to see a porcupine in this area but not overly likely.

Yurts are available for rent at this state park making it so a tent or camping trailer is not necessary. There are cabins also if a person prefers that. One of the nice things about the cabins and yurts is they are more remote than the rest of the campground giving you your own little area all to yourself. The challenging part of these yurts and cabins is lack of running water or electricity so using a bathroom with both of these things requires a bit of a walk to get there. Our camping spot was next to Lake Superior. Fortunately the weather was nice and calm so the lake was also. At night we were lulled to sleep by the waves lazily crashing against the shore for a peaceful nights rest.

There are several ways to spend your time at Porcupine State Park with several miles of trails to hike leading to mountain tops or waterfalls, Lake Superior providing water activities such as boating, kayaking, or swimming in the warm summer months, or just sitting next to your fire watching the flames dance between the logs. While spending some time at our campsite a Least Chipmunk would entertain us with its acrobatics off and on as it collected ripening fruit from several nearby trees.

In July the sun sets quite late in this part of the United States so it didn’t actually get dark until after 10 p.m. Eastern time. That really threw my time off because it seemed so late but was still light out to make an evening meal and eat it in the waning light. By the time stars began making their appearance it would be getting really late. One night we decided to find an area to view the Milky way and take some photographs instead of going to bed. After a few hours of doing that there was discussion on whether we should go to bed or find a place to view the impending sunrise. Thankfully our senses returned as it was off to bed for a good nights rest. Spending time in the U.P. of Michigan was definitely peaceful and relaxing.

Michigan, Troy's Blog

Lake Michigan Labor Day

November 18, 2015 Troy

Is there a better way to spend a beautiful Labor Day than going to the beach? The water is about as warm as it will get for the year and the temperatures are still warm enough to sit in the sand and soak it in. A recent trip to southern Michigan brought the opportunity to explore Grand Haven State Park. This is essentially a state park on a large beach. The biggest issue with going here on Labor Day Weekend is the large numbers of people. Parking can be a challenge but the beach is definitely worth it.

The sand is amazing – very soft. I’ve been to several beaches in the Caribbean, Eastern, Southern, and Western United States, and Mexico and this beach easily compares to many of those. At least during the summer months. If you grow tired of playing in the sand you can take some time to stroll on the pier and check out the lighthouse. There is also a large musical fountain that puts on a show during the nights. While it may be difficult to imagine, this area is basically a sand dune. When I picture sand dunes I think of deserts. This one has a lot of plants growing on it to cover most of the sand but where these plants have not populated or disappeared you can see the vast areas of white sand making this an area to enjoy.

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