So here it is, after 2 AM on Tuesday Morning, June, 30. I have had my five hours of sleep, so I decided to sit and write about Monday now with the hopes that when I finish I can go back to sleep for another hour or two. I am staying in a rather old motel known as the Northland Inn. Although the structure is old, the Indian or Pakistani couple who run it have obviously sunk some money into it, because the bathroom fixtures are new and the beds are comfortable. The free Wi-Fi leaves a bit to be desired and the furniture is perhaps as old as the place itself, but I have stayed in less comfortable places. It comes equipped with a refrigerator and a microwave and a new coffee machine to boot. The room itself is quite large. I should not complain for $48.00 per night on booking.com. Since Kawkawlin, MI was a stopping off point on my way to Mackinaw Island in the northern peninsula, I did not want blow my budget on a high priced place for this one night visit. I am a little nervous about bugs etc. but except for a few tiny sand fleas that I dragged in from my walk on the beach, I have seen nothing to cause me concern. Update: I did see a thing with lots of legs (a waterbed perhaps) after I wrote this initial paragraph, but nothing I have not seen in my own house. I am such and adventurous soul. BTW, my house does not have a lot bugs. The owners work hard to groom the grounds at the Northland Inn. Their serious efforts at landscaping and a small circular garden of colorful flowers show a young family trying to make go of this little business in this little town on my way to Mackinaw Island.
My travels from Niagara Falls to this typical blue collar community on the southwestern shores of Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron are best described as moving forward, almost as straight as an arrow across the flatness of Ontario, Canada west of Niagara, through the frequent construction projects on I 69 and I 75 in central Michigan, and arriving in Kawkawlin at 1 PM in the afternoon. I picked this place off of booking.com because of its closeness to Bay City, Michigan. Home for speed boat racing and the “The Bay City Ramblers” of some former musical era. I experienced about an hour delay at the U.S. Canadian border where it took me forever to pay the toll at the bridge that crosses river between the two countries. Once on the other side, I moved very quickly through the border check and was on my way.
Arriving at 1 PM gave me the opportunity to stop for a new chicken wrap sandwich at the McDonald’s (how brave of me) just up Hwy 13 near my “Inn” and then proceed to the State Park down Beaver Rd. where I spent the afternoon-over two hours-taking a leisurely bike ride on the rail trail and hiking paths that complement this spot as a key camping facility for traveling families. As you can guess, I took many photos of the marshy and forestry vegetation in the park and took a couple of short walks to the beach areas on Saginaw Bay. I heard lots of frogs along the way, but did not capture any with my trusty Canon Powershot 50SX HD. However, I did snap a few birds and ducks as well as capturing numerous shots of the marshy and shoreline landscapes that confronted me on my lengthy bike ride. This was not a workout bike ride, but rather a ride speckled with many stops and starts as I tried to capture the simple beauty of the natural surroundings on this southern section of Lake Huron. I present the photos below and without much text labeling. It was an enjoyable afternoon on a sunny, but comfortable day in June in the heartland of Michigan. The people I talked to here were friendly and helpful with directions for how to navigate the park and the bike trail. My Fuji bike that has been with me for as long as Gina has been on this earth served me well as I stopped and started for frequent camera shots.
I returned to my little “Inn” for a brief rest before heading out on a tour of Bay City just to the south and east of where I was staying. There are no photos of Bay City. It did have a very nice green area on the shores of the Saginaw River and the traffic pattern through town demonstrated some good thinking on the part of the town fathers. I was looking for a restaurant along the way, perhaps one with some local flavor, but I am ashamed to say, I settled for an Applebee’s on the outskirts of Bay City on my way back to Kawkawlin. I took another drive down to the park for an early evening look, but did not stop. However, I did stop for an excellent ice cream cone at the little drive-in caught by my iPhone camera. It was a cozy place for both local and vacationing families to gather for a treat at day’s end.
There is a danger at writing at 2 in the morning after a five hour sleep. It causes one to ramble on and on. I will bring this day’s journal to a close with a few parting thoughts about my early journey. With bike, camera, golf clubs, and clothes enough for 10 days before a laundry stop, I travel to first time stops on my way to my first home in Wisconsin. It is only day two, but already I have felt the freshness of seeing a “modern” Niagara Falls vacation mecca and the home grown simplicity of middle America. My friend Tiffany emailed me last evening to confirm a dinner gathering with her husband, Patrick, and her next Tuesday in the vicinity of the Wisconsin Dells. My calendar is filling up for my two week stay in Madison and I am happy about the friends that I will see there. However, the serendipitous nature of my 10 day journey to Madison is providing me with simple pleasures, new experiences, and an overflow of photos to share with you. In just a few hours, I will be on my way up the western shores of Lake Huron. There are many state parks along the way and I will probably stop at a few. I am hoping for some dramatic views along the shoreline of the largest of the Great Lakes, but I am also anxious to get to Saint Ignace just after crossing the Mackinaw Bridge onto the northern peninsula of Michigan. I am looking forward to exploring Mackinaw Island, accessible from Saint Ignace by frequent ferries. I intend on taking my bike to the island for a spin.
My travels from Niagara Falls to this typical blue collar community on the southwestern shores of Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron are best described as moving forward, almost as straight as an arrow across the flatness of Ontario, Canada west of Niagara, through the frequent construction projects on I 69 and I 75 in central Michigan, and arriving in Kawkawlin at 1 PM in the afternoon. I picked this place off of booking.com because of its closeness to Bay City, Michigan. Home for speed boat racing and the “The Bay City Ramblers” of some former musical era. I experienced about an hour delay at the U.S. Canadian border where it took me forever to pay the toll at the bridge that crosses river between the two countries. Once on the other side, I moved very quickly through the border check and was on my way.
Arriving at 1 PM gave me the opportunity to stop for a new chicken wrap sandwich at the McDonald’s (how brave of me) just up Hwy 13 near my “Inn” and then proceed to the State Park down Beaver Rd. where I spent the afternoon-over two hours-taking a leisurely bike ride on the rail trail and hiking paths that complement this spot as a key camping facility for traveling families. As you can guess, I took many photos of the marshy and forestry vegetation in the park and took a couple of short walks to the beach areas on Saginaw Bay. I heard lots of frogs along the way, but did not capture any with my trusty Canon Powershot 50SX HD. However, I did snap a few birds and ducks as well as capturing numerous shots of the marshy and shoreline landscapes that confronted me on my lengthy bike ride. This was not a workout bike ride, but rather a ride speckled with many stops and starts as I tried to capture the simple beauty of the natural surroundings on this southern section of Lake Huron. I present the photos below and without much text labeling. It was an enjoyable afternoon on a sunny, but comfortable day in June in the heartland of Michigan. The people I talked to here were friendly and helpful with directions for how to navigate the park and the bike trail. My Fuji bike that has been with me for as long as Gina has been on this earth served me well as I stopped and started for frequent camera shots.
I returned to my little “Inn” for a brief rest before heading out on a tour of Bay City just to the south and east of where I was staying. There are no photos of Bay City. It did have a very nice green area on the shores of the Saginaw River and the traffic pattern through town demonstrated some good thinking on the part of the town fathers. I was looking for a restaurant along the way, perhaps one with some local flavor, but I am ashamed to say, I settled for an Applebee’s on the outskirts of Bay City on my way back to Kawkawlin. I took another drive down to the park for an early evening look, but did not stop. However, I did stop for an excellent ice cream cone at the little drive-in caught by my iPhone camera. It was a cozy place for both local and vacationing families to gather for a treat at day’s end.
There is a danger at writing at 2 in the morning after a five hour sleep. It causes one to ramble on and on. I will bring this day’s journal to a close with a few parting thoughts about my early journey. With bike, camera, golf clubs, and clothes enough for 10 days before a laundry stop, I travel to first time stops on my way to my first home in Wisconsin. It is only day two, but already I have felt the freshness of seeing a “modern” Niagara Falls vacation mecca and the home grown simplicity of middle America. My friend Tiffany emailed me last evening to confirm a dinner gathering with her husband, Patrick, and her next Tuesday in the vicinity of the Wisconsin Dells. My calendar is filling up for my two week stay in Madison and I am happy about the friends that I will see there. However, the serendipitous nature of my 10 day journey to Madison is providing me with simple pleasures, new experiences, and an overflow of photos to share with you. In just a few hours, I will be on my way up the western shores of Lake Huron. There are many state parks along the way and I will probably stop at a few. I am hoping for some dramatic views along the shoreline of the largest of the Great Lakes, but I am also anxious to get to Saint Ignace just after crossing the Mackinaw Bridge onto the northern peninsula of Michigan. I am looking forward to exploring Mackinaw Island, accessible from Saint Ignace by frequent ferries. I intend on taking my bike to the island for a spin.
I have photo documentation for most of the experiences described above, but I have chosen to tell the visual story with no captions and an editing of the sequence of the photos to enhance the visual story.
RSS Feed