We are no longer in Michigan!!! July 8, Day 37 of our Grand Adventure

Sunday night, it rained all night, we headed out of Ontonagon @ 7:30 this morning July 8, Monday. Rain had stopped but hazy and overcast, air temp 62, waves 1-2 feet, winds 5-10 knots. Well, we planned to dock @ Black River Marina. It has been a marginal option, we were told by the harbor Master Scott @ Houghton Marina that it was too shallow. We never received a call back from anyone at Black River (should  have been a red flag). We talked to others who had recently been there & hadn't had any problems. 

Waterford was in the lead today (we take turns leading).  When they got close enough to see the harbor w/ binoculars, they radioed & thought there may not be room for both of us. Black River has a wall, not slips & they could see boats lined up. They suggested we wait out in the lake & they would check out the situation.  There was quite a bit of debris (tree branches & logs) coming out of the mouth of the river where it flows into the lake. (Another red flag). Waterford got into the small narrow channel & was reading pretty shallow. He then radioed us & said abort, not good conditions.  He tagged the sand bottom, lots of debris, the current was very fast and he had a heck of a narrow shallow area to turn around. Needless to say it wasn't fun or pretty, but Garry being the able Captain with an exceptional admiral (Jacque) on board and a fine responsive vessel, made it without any damage except to their psyche. 

We executed Plan B & headed to the next Marina along the shoreline which is Saxon, Wisconsin. Wait did I say Wisconsin, not Michigan? We are actually leaving the beautiful State of Michigan! It sure has shown us a good time, I can only hope Wisconsin will be equally lovely. We also now are in a different time zone, 1 hour earlier. We won't have to stay up till 10 to see the sunset any longer. Garry used his new Satellite phone that he purchased just the other day (after going thru withdrawal without cell phone service for almost a week), to call ahead to Saxon. They eventually were able to tell Garry that they only had 6 feet of water in their Marina, so after one harrowing experience for the day, we decided to keep going right to the Apostle Islands, where there is a yacht club on Madeline Island that we definitely will fit into. So onto Plan C. The fog cleared & the lake laid down & we had a beautiful last hour cruise, sadly though we passed the porcupine Mountains without seeing them due to the fog. :( 

We arrived @ 4:30 PM to Madeline Island Yacht Club.  Madeline Island is the largest of the  Apostle Islands in Wisconsin, but it is not run by the National Park Service like the other Apostle islands.  Population here in the winter is about 200, but in the summer it increases to about 3500, quite a difference.  There is great history on this island & we met Rick, who's wife's ancestry dates back to the 1800's on the island.  We traveled 69 miles today, cum of 831 total.

The Apostle Islands have more pleasure craft per square mile than any where else on Lake superior. Sad Fact: a visit to the Apostle Islands was the last official trip made by Present Kennedy before he went on to Dallas in 1963.

We had a cocktail bridge party on Day Dreams after we were settled.  It sure is a pretty harbor, with boats anchored out in the bay and a really nice yacht club here. We had a great dinner @ the Pub, walking distance from the boat, with a great window view of the beautiful sunset.

Ontonagon, MI. Fun to say, July 7, 2013, Day 36

Ontonagon Lighthouse

On Sunday, July 7, we left Houghton County Marina in Hancock MI @ 8:45 AM, left later because it was raining this morn. It rained all night & now @ 8:30 it has stopped & the sun is out. Air Temp is 70, winds are northeast 10 knots, waves 2-3 feet. Winds & fog increased during our trip, winds up to 15 knots & fog up to a half mile visibility. Radar works great. There was a boat traveling towards us @ one point, so we turned to port & so did they & we passed each other a half mile apart but never visibly saw them but we always knew where they were because of radar. We also ran our fog horn. 

We arrived in Ontonagon, (like to say that one) @ 3:00 PM. The fog lifted before we entered the river, so easy entry & we did have enough water, the shallowest was 1.7 ft under the boat. There was a definite rust line from the river water flowing into the lake, worst than the mud line of the Maumee into Lake Erie. I'm calling it a rust line because that is the color of the water, not very pretty.  Our shallow water around Lake Superior is not due to low water but from silting in with sand & the harbors are not being dredged like they used to be, you know budget cuts. Miles traveled 46 miles, cum762. 

We were in the lead today and there was no one around to help us in. Captain Doug pulled us in expertly to the dock & I was able to handle all the lines myself. The Harbor Master only works part time, there were boats in the marina but no one on their boat even though it was Sunday. After we helped Waterford in, we did meet a great family who are traveling on their beautiful sailboat, Imogene. They are from Minnesota and heading towards Lake Michigan. We were able to exchange helpful dockage & anchoring info since they have been where we are headed and vice versa. Some seasonal boaters did show up & one of them, Rick even offered us a ride to town or help with anything. There was a nice Marina office with clean bathrooms. 

No matter how short our stay is and how quiet it is, we find something to take away with us; this time it was the people we met @ Ontagonagon.  Everyone was great!! Thank you.

Houghton/Hancock a blast from the past; Doug's family history tour

On Wednesday, July 3rd, we left Copper Harbor @ 7:30 AM, a bit sad ( it's time to move on to different adventures). Every day is amazingly new & great fun! Air temp is 60 degrees, reached 52 degrees as we traveled and water temp is 43. Winds nonexistent.  We had another super calm day!  We know we will pay for this at some point in our trip, because this is unreal how calm it has been for us. Our depth reached over 500 feet deep even though we are traveling only a half mile from the shoreline.  As we approach our destination it is getting warmer-up to 70 degrees.  Today, the last half of our cruise, we were on the bridge in shorts. I should correct that, I was on the bridge and Doug was all over the boat, sanding the teak railing.  He even had the power tools out!

Eagle Harbor Light from water

Eagle Harbor from land

Eagle Harbor lighthouse, est 1851. Eagle Harbor is where the Martin side of the family once had a cottage, while Doug was growing up.

Eagle River Lighthouse

Located between Eagle Harbor & Eagle River is the (pic was too far away) Onion domed monastery & church, home of St John & the brothers (monks) who operate the "Jampot".  The monastery is quite impressive & now I know how they could afford it. We stopped @ the Jampot & there was a line of customers out the door; we purchased some baked goods, which were mainly soaked in Brandy.

The upper entry to the Keewenaw waterway

We pulled into the Houghton County Marina about 2:00 PM.  We are in the Keweenaw waterway, which cuts the Keweenaw peninsula into two.  We entered through the upper entry and traveled to the twin cities of Houghton/Hancock.  The cities are across the river from each other, connected by a lift bridge.  We are actually on the Hancock side, but the Marina is called Houghton, because it is the name of the county (confusing for me).  It is a pretty busy place, lots of car & boat traffic. At times we are rocking & rolling in the dock.

Houghton

First history fact; Doug's Dad, Paul graduated as an engineer from Michigan Tech, which is right here across the river in Houghton.

After we were tied up securely, lines all over due to the wakes, we walked to the town of Houghton. Everything is uphill here; I can't imagine driving around here in the winter. Garry & Jacque have been having difficulties with their folding bikes, so we headed to a bike shop.  Ended up they traded their bikes in and bought 2 new, really cool non folding ones.  While they were bike shopping, we did a little shopping of our own.  For those who know me well, you know I love consignment shops; well we found one & Doug got a great Columbia Titanium jacket for a great price, that fit him!  Now we probably won't have anymore cold weather.

Thursday, Happy 4th of July!!  We worked on our chores in the morning, then took off on our bikes on the bike trail that runs along the water on the Houghton side.  Garry & Jacque needed to try out their new bikes and we were game to go along.  The trail took us by Michigan Tech and a few historical sites.  It was another beautiful day & warm.  We wore shorts & the gals wore bathing suit tops, REALLY!!

After the bike ride, we got into our dinghy's & explored the river and put our nose into the Portage Lake, where there is a lot of Doug's family history.

In the evening; Geri (Doug's cousin on his Mom's side) & her husband, Rick stopped for a drink and a tour of the boat.  They were on their way to Bootjack to spend the week @ their cottage on Portage Lake.  They used to live in Wisconsin, but now they live in Traverse City, Michigan and it takes them longer to get here.  Michigan is a huge state, we've been traveling for over a month now & we haven't left Michigan.

Where Bea (Doug's Mom) grew up

Friday, July 5th, we rented a car to go sight seeing & find some of the places that are important to Doug.  First stop, Lake Linden where his Mom grew up; 523 Front St.  It is now an Elder Care residence.  It's not a big place nor has it been remodeled of late, but at least it is still standing & inhabited.  It is located very close to the school and playground.






We drove to Copper City where the book says Doug's Great Grandparents and one Great Aunt lived, after moving away from Brockway Mountain.



Toni's Pasty Restaurant in Laurium was packed with no tables available so we bought some pasties and brought them back to the boat for lunch. Doug still hasn't picked a winner yet.  We didn't get to sample the Marquette's pasties that Wayne recommended, because we had left town by the time I read Wayne's comments, so we may have to withhold judgement until we get back to Marquette.

Geri & Rick's cottage @ Bootjack

Took the dinghy's to Bootjack to visit Geri & Rick. It got rough once we entered Portage Lake and it was 8 miles to get there, not 4, but it was worth it. Geri & Rick were wonderful hosts.  Doug was able to walk around his Grandma Blanche's cottage where he spent every summer growing up.  It is next store to Geri & Rick's place, which was Geri's Grandma's back then.  Geri & Doug have many great memories of spending summers together @ Bootjack. I don't know who corrupted who in that duo.  We enjoyed a tour of their property, the place looks great and the new Garage is awesome.

 New Carriage house

Formerly Doug's Grandparent's cottage 

Geri & Rick took us out in their SeaRay for a tour of the rest of Portage Lake & Torch Bay.  We saw a huge eagle's nest complete with eagles. Dreamland is still there & if we would have had more time, we would have went there for a drink. Have to mention that we feel bad about those rocks jumping out and hitting Rick's props while they were touring us around.  Where did they come from?

Measuring the Birch @ Geri's

Geri & Rick cooked us up a great dinner, with white wine from their new home, Traverse City.  Everything was delicious & I'm sure the dessert would have been too. Haha!  The lake calmed as the evening approached and we had a smooth, calm, fast dinghy ride home.

What a wonderful day, Thank you Geri & Rick

Saturday, we needed to go grocery shopping for a few stables & luxuries.  We than headed to Calumet to visit another of Doug's cousins on his Mom's side.  Dale & his wife Carol were entertaining 2 of their out of town children and grandchildren for the Holiday week.  Dale's Dad, Porter was Doug's Mom, Bea's, brother. It was great to see where they live and meet their daughter & family.  Years ago we ran into them at a campground in Florida, unplanned & a total surprise.  Porter saw Doug & thought he looked & acted like Paul, boy was he right!!

Bootjack

It was really hot today. I think it got up to 90 degrees!  Yes, we are in the UP of Michigan, where they had substantial snow in May and it hit 90, unbelievable! Doug took his first total body dunk of the trip in the Keweenaw waterway.

Saturday evening, we enjoyed a great meal on board Waterford of fresh white fish.  After dinner, we were interviewed by Cindy, who is the Harbor Master, Scott's wife, experienced boater & freelance writer & editor.  She is interested in our story.  We had a great time visiting and swapping stories with her.  Thanks, Cindy!

The Ranger ferry takes hikers to Isle Royale

This guy is surfing behind this boat without a rope!

Snowfall marker, the arrow is last year's snowfall.  The top is record snowfall

 *Have to apologize to Marty & Suzanne, I've been spelling Alizann wrong all this time, I think I went back & corrected all of my errors.  Sorry!

More of Copper Harbor, July 1/2, Tuesday & Wednesday

Copper Harbor Marina

one of the prettiest harbors ever

On Monday morning, we biked to town in order to obtain wifi to check emails & work on our blogs. We sat @ the restaurant Pines, for a while using their Internet & the pay phone. We found the Visitors Center later, where it was nicer to sit & use their Internet & visit with the older volunteer ladies. 

 We are enjoying really nice weather, deep blue clear skies and sun. It's a bit cooler than I would like, it's sweatshirt weather most of the time with a bit warmer thrown in once in a while. 

Monday afternoon, we biked the 4 miles uphill to Estivan Pines Sanctuary.  The 2 mile hiking trail weaves by 500 year old giant old growth Eastern white pines, some more than 300 feet tall & up to 5 feet in diameter.  It was almost a wilderness experience. The path was marked but pretty rugged. The walking sticks that Jeri gave us for Christmas really came in handy. 
We glimpsed an eagle soaring above our heads against the deep blue sky & ceiling of pine branches; awesome!  We couldn't believe how much longer it took us to get to the pines than it took us to fly down the hills back. Not like riding bikes in flat Ohio. 

in the back of Keith's pick up truck

After dinner, Keith our super assistant Harbor Master gave us a priceless gift. When he got off work @ 9:00 PM, we loaded into the back of his pick up truck

our view from Brockway Mountain

& headed up Brockway Mountain Drive.  What a spectacular view, especially at sunset.  At the top, It was so clear we could see Isle Royale, which is 60 miles away. Our elevation was 1400 & we could see for miles & miles (just like the song).  

Thank you Keith!  We wish you many more beautiful sunsets!  Another memorable day for us. 

our  view of Copper Harbor Lighthouse from kayak

Tuesday morning, blue skies, sun & cool, we rode our bikes into town again (there is a big hill we have to pedal up) and I published our blog. Doug emailed his cousins, we hope to meet up with on our next stop. When we got back to the boat, Doug & Garry put our new Folbot kayak together. It folds up into 2 bags which we store in the dinghy. It's very cool and comfortable. We paddled around the entire Copper Harbor & even a bit out into Lake Superior. Another day of calm waters.  We were entertained by loons, ducks & a big huge trout. 

that's us kayaking, pic taken by a new friend, Sharon

We have especially enjoyed the song of a bird we've called our "up north bird" because every time we are up north we hear this beautiful, long, song.  We were told Karen @ the coffee shop knows her birds (so does our friend Kathy) & if Doug could whistle the song, she would be able to identify it. Well Doug whistled a great rendition & she told us that the bird is a white throated sparrow. We still haven't seen one but we've heard the song often this trip. 

Today, we finally were joined by some more boats @ the Marina.  Since Sunday morning, when Alizann left, we've had the Marina to ourselves. Three impressive boats came in from Isle Royale. They are on their way home to Lake Michigan. We now know for sure that Alizaan made it to Isle Royale because these boats met them there. 

We enjoyed "docktails" on Day Dreams bridge & it had even warmed up enough to take the sweatshirts off. Jacque invited us to Waterford for a delicious meal out on the back deck.  After dinner, we donned our nets to keep away the mosquitoes from our heads & hiked out to Lake Superior for the sunset. We may not see too many sunrises, but we don't miss too many sunsets. We hiked back, luckily Garry & Doug are always prepared & had their flashlights with them because it got dark in the woods. Side not: sunset is after 10 PM up here. 

We wish you all many more beautiful sunrises & sunsets. 

         Love,   Jan & Doug