The Ray Adventures: The cabin & Honor, Mi.

We've had a great time at the cabin with Jeff and Suzanne, she had to leave on Thursday and Jeff on Friday. We have Suzanne "hooked" on geo cacheing, Wednesday afternoon J & S left in their quad to pick up firewood, we got a call, they were out in the woods with a dead battery, it seems after picking up the wood they went to pick up some caches along the way. We jumped in the Jeep with the battery charger to rescue them, all we had to do was follow the coordinates of the cache they were at to find them. We charged them up and off we all went in different directions picking up more caches. If it were up to me we'd still be out in those woods, I get so turned around especially in forested areas.

Friday was a rainy, rainy day. I stayed in the coach to finish my quilt project I started way back in Mississippi and Gary went to the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw Museum in Mackinaw City. It was built in the 40's during World War II as the only ice breaker on the Great Lakes and was vital in keeping shipping lanes of the lakes open during the winter so that materials needed for the war effort could keep flowing. She was 290 feet long with a beam of 74 feet, with three propellers, 2 aft and one forward. The one forward was used to help break the ice. Replaced in 2006 by a new modern USGC Mackinaw she was decommissioned and became a museum. On the way back to the coach he picked up some Pasties to stick in the freezer, Yum, yum yum. When we get back to J & S's house in St. Clair we'll fix dinner. The rain finally stopped mid-afternoon, turning out to be a nice evening so we donned our favorite fragrance, Deep Woods Off to take a nice walk. The mosquitos were quite vicious, even with the Off they wouldn't leave us alone, shortening our walk.

Saturday we didn't do much, just enjoyed the woods where it was so peaceful, no trains, no planes and very few cars. The birds were pretty noisy though, one night we even heard a Whiporwhill. Sunday we washed the mud off the coach and Jeep from the trip down from the UP.

Monday morning we left for the Traverse City area. we are staying at a RV park halfway between town and Sleeping Bear Dunes. A short drive of 145 miles through countryside and forest.

Tuesday was Stacy's 48th birthday, happy birthday kid! I packed a picnic lunch for our day at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Many, many years ago we picked up a watercolor of a lighthouse at Sleeping Bear Dunes at an art fair in Central Washington. That one little purchase started a frenzied collecting "spree". We were surprised to find that there is NO lighthouse at the Dunes. Oh well, we are so over it. 11,800 years ago after the ice age the glaciers melted forming Lake Michigan, the waves from the lake gradually wore back the headlands creating sandbars, leaving behind an ideal setting for building sand dunes. The 32,500 acre park is named after a Chippewa legend of the sleeping bear. According to legend an enormous forest fire on the western shore of Lake Michigan drove a mother bear and her 2 cubs into the lake for shelter and were determined to reach the opposite shore. After many miles of swimming the 2 cubs lagged behind. When the mama bear reached the shore she waited for her cubs. Impressed by the mama bear's determination and faith the Great Spirit created two islands, the north and south Manitou Islands, to commemorate the cubs. The winds buried the sleeping mama bear under the sand of the dunes here she waits to this day for her cubs. The "bear" was a small tree covered knoll at the edge of the bluff that resembles a sleeping bear. We first drove to Glen Haven, an historic village on the shore of Sleeping Bear Bay. The only way to reach the village in the 1800's was by boat. the town provided essential services for passing vessels. The blacksmith shop, an Inn, the cannery and general store have been restored. We stopped at the blacksmith shop where a woman volunteer was making hooks. It was her 70th birthday, she was having so much fun pounding the hooks into shape. I have never seen a woman blacksmith before. What was the cherry and apple cannery is now a boat museum housing a collection of historic Great Lakes boats and equipment. We walked around the town a bit then drove to the Maritime Museum, the former U.S. Life-Saving Service. Before the advent of the Coast Guard, the men would walk the beaches with lanterns every four hours in all kinds of weather to alert the ships. If a ship was in trouble the men would row out to rescue the sailors. There are over 100 miles of hiking/biking trails in the park, we chose what I thought was going to be an easy hike. What was I thinking? Dunes mean loose sand and hills. Even though I couldn't make it all the way to the point we did enjoy some lovely scenery and Luci loved rolling in the loose sand. We took a scenic drive through the forest to amazing overlooks. All three of us were tired "puppies" by the time we got back to the coach. Don't miss the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore if you're ever in northern Michigan.

Wednesday, We've been in remote areas for close to a month, we needed to take care of some errands. I went to AAA, picked up maps and tour books for the rest of our trip. Gary needed a new pair of shoes, we found a pair that should work, heading back to the coach we missed a turn so we took a lovely drive through the country side. Across the highway from the park is a HUGE store showcasing all things outdoor. I have never seen such beautiful patio furniture, made me wish we could make a little purchase. Thank goodness, no room, the prices were out of our budget.

That's it for this week, enjoy the pic's.

TTFN

Gary and Pam