Tag Archives: lakeshore

September Solitude in Michigan’s U.P.

October 1, 2017 Rob Sims Leave a comment

One nice thing about the late summer and early fall is that summer vacation has ended and the kids are back in school so the parks are virtually empty and it’s easier to find a campsite. Traffic is thinning out at the popular attractions and the pace is relaxed.

The second blessing is that the lakes are still warm enough for a refreshing dip. The water of the Great Lakes cools down more slowly than the air temperature in the fall, so though the days are cool and comfortable and nights are getting chilly, the water is still enjoyable.

Here are some quiet spots where you will likely find the crowds thinning out after Labor Day.

Whitefish Point

There is a world-class Shipwreck Museum that’s part of the complex at Whitefish Point Lighthouse north of Paradise. The state forest campgrounds are still open into October, and there are abundant vacation rentals and cabins in the area.

Crisp Point Lighthouse

It’s best not to attempt the road to Crisp Point with a low-slung sedan. You’ll be bottoming out several times on the one-lane 19-mile logging road that is rough and sandy and takes an hour to drive one way.

Your reward for the tedious drive is a remote lighthouse on a mostly deserted stony beach. The site is tended by volunteers who stay in their campers next to the beach.

Crisp Point Lighthouse edit — Rock hounds love the pickin’s at Crisp Point.

Au Sable Point Lighthouse

The trailhead to the isolated lighthouse is at the Hurricane River Campground that is part of the large Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The 1.5-mile hiking trail hugs the shore just above the rock ledges and stony beach. The road through the national lakeshore is nicely paved but winding, so your average speed will be about 35 mph getting there. Don’t rush.

AuTrain Bay, AuTrain

This tranquil shoreline is super easy to reach as highway 28 runs right along the lake here just a few miles west of the little village of Christmas. Pull off at one of the beautiful roadside parks where there are restrooms and running water.

The sandy beach is walkable for nearly a mile and the water is shallow enough for wading and swimming. Rocky outcroppings bookend the beach at both ends.

Scott Falls is visible from the highway, but pull into the roadside park at the east end of the bay for an easy walk across the road to this personable little falls where you can walk right up to it… or behind it. On a warm day it may seem to invite a shower, but you are in for a bit of a shock, as the water is not as warm as the lake.

This is a great time of year to explore the wilderness of northern Michigan, but the window of opportunity is short. By October 1st the lake will likely cool beyond the tolerable range and a tranquil dip in Lake Superior will be out of the question. Snow isn’t unheard of in this part of the world during the month of October, and the warm pasties will warm body and soul at the local restaurants in Munising.

So get while the gettin’ is good.

Side Roads

How Travel Ruined My Life

January 1, 2016 Rob Sims 2 Comments

Milepost 1-1-16 In a vacation rental at Rockford, MI

I am spoiled for the ordinary.

As a summer camper and beachcomber, my dad was the one who did it to me and my siblings. I remember the day he took the whole family to Sears to buy our first cabin tent that would sleep all 7 of us. I have precious memories of mountains we climbed and trails we hiked while hauling that heavy tent on the luggage rack of the family stationwagon.

Dad overloaded the old station-wagon and then drove it along the beach as far as he could to reach a remote campsite. — Dad overloaded the old station-wagon with camping gear and then drove it along the beach as far as he could to reach a remote campsite.

And I have done it to my kids likewise, dragging them around the country to national parks and seashores in an old van, and later, offshore to foreign countries for months at a time.

In the heart of the Rockies, my daughters explored the ruins of an old ghost town. — In the heart of the Rocky Mountains, my daughters explored the ruins of an old ghost town.

Our family shopped at the neighborhood hole-in-the-wall tienda for daily provisions in the Dominican Republic. — Our family shopped at the neighborhood hole-in-the-wall tienda for daily provisions when we lived in the Dominican Republic.

And as a mentor, I have done it to a whole lot of other people’s kids as well.

A youth volunteer at the local church for 35 years, I took kids camping, hiking, canoeing, and spelunking. My wife and I even took them on cross-cultural trips to underdeveloped countries to see how the rest of the world lives.

Our girls posed with the neighbors where we lived for one school year in Santiago, Dominican Republic. — Our girls posed with the neighbors where we lived for one school year in Santiago, Dominican Republic while teaching in an international school.

One of my mentees once complained to me, “Bob, you have ruined my life; I am no longer satisfied with normal American life.”

Okay, so he said it with a bit of tongue-in-cheek, but there is real truth to the matter. The American dream sits at the top of a ladder to success whose rungs are installed in a standard sequence that goes like this: Do well in school so you can get a good education so you can get a good job so you can marry the right person and provide for the perfect family and live in a nice house (with a mortgage) in a good neighborhood and have two cars and a boat in the garage so you can eventually retire and travel or play golf all day.

Feeding your inner travel beast too early can change the order and mess things up. I used to tell my mentees that “What you feed is what will grow.”

Well, if the thing that you feed is a wanderlust, you may become dissatisfied with the normal sequence of American life and want to get out early. You would have been better off to never leave home in the first place. You wouldn’t know what you were missing and would be content to stay put. You should never have opened the cover of that first National Geographic magazine.

My daughters have traveled just about as far as they could get from their home in rural Michigan. — My daughters have traveled just about as far as they could from their home in rural Michigan.

So, I am all about blowing up the status quo. And ruining people for the ordinary. And I will never apologize, because the end result of an inconveniently interrupted American lifestyle is actually a much richer existence.

Nobody arrives at their deathbed saying, “I wish I had traveled less and seen less of the world.” or “I wish I had not met those foreigners and broadened my world view.”

I hiked the backcountry at Denali - where my youngest daughter lives and works every summer. — I recently hiked the backcountry at Denali with my daughters – where my youngest daughter now lives and works every summer.

So if I can feed your wanderlust I will do it. I would love to blow up your common life by helping you get out the door and on the road.

Because I know you will someday thank me for it like I thank my dad for blowing up his modest household budget one summer by purchasing that expensive canvas tent at Sears Roebuck & Company.

But you need to have your eyes wide open. What you feed is what will grow. Feeding your inner gypsy is dangerous. It could devastate the comfortable lifestyle you now enjoy. You could end up selling your house and hitting the road – like me.

And discovering an alternate universe, as it were, in the next state and around the world.

Yes, travel has demolished my routine.

And it can do the same for you.

Thanks to my dad's travel bug, my brothers and I waded into the narrows at Zion Canyon National Park. — Thanks to my dad’s travel bug, my brothers and I waded into the narrows at Zion Canyon National Park when we were boys.

We brought the world to our house by hosting foreign exchange students... and then taking them on the road to see America. — We brought the world to our house by hosting foreign exchange students… and then taking them on the road to see America. Here are our 3 daughters and 1 Russian student on the shore of Lake Michigan.

Side Roads

Collecting Lighthouses

December 16, 2015 Rob Sims Leave a comment

Milepost 12-16-15 Rockford, Michigan

There is something innately alluring about lighthouses. Maybe it is the unique architecture and ingenious engineering of these old towers – or the attraction of the seashore lifestyle, but just about everybody loves them. Some folks love them so much that they “collect” lighthouses. That is, they make intentional trips just to connect the dots, as it were, traveling from one light to the next in a quest to see how many they can visit.

Big Sable Point edit _0018 — People don’t visit the Big Sable Point Lighthouse by accident; it is at the end of a 1.8-mile hike through the sand dunes at Ludington State Park.

At various times in our lives, Kaye and I have been “collectors” as well. Living in Michigan, it’s not a difficult thing to do, since the Great Lakes are lined with scores of these beautiful old structures. Anyone who travels along the lakeshore will sooner or later spot the next one, and if their timing is right, they may get to climb the tower or tour a historic light keeper’s house.

Locals often gather at the shore to enjoy the evening sunset at Point Betsie Lighthouse near Frankfort, Michigan.

Fortunately, lighthouse tours are becoming more common as the state and federal governments turn over more and more of the old properties to preservationist groups who take over the maintenance and open them up to the public for tours.

Little Sable Point lighthouse wcaption edit.jpg — The Sable Points Lighthouse Keepers Association (SPLKA) is raising funds to rebuild the keepers’ house from the ground up at Little Sable Point Lighthouse, Mears, MI.

White River Light Station wcaption.jpg — White River Light Station at Pentwater, Michigan, is now a museum; the curator lives in the upstairs of the original keeper’s house.

Lighthouses are designed to be visible, and it’s fun to notice the differences from one to the next. The original day mark – appearance by daylight – had be distinctive so that ship captains would not confuse them with neighboring installations. This makes for a plethora of beautiful designs from stripes to contrasting colors.

Holland Lighthouse 020.jpg — The day mark at the Holland, Michigan, lighthouse is a highly visible solid red paint.

The night mark – or characteristic – of the lights at night had to be distinctive as well, so they were varied by colors: white, red, and green, and also by duration: flashing or solid.

Pointe aux Barques Light lom 041 — The Point Aux Barques lighthouse near Port Austin, Michigan, has a flashing white light separated by intervals of 20 seconds and 4.8 seconds. There are two beacons aimed in different directions on a rotating turntable to deliver this effect.

Most of the still operating lights are owned by the Coast Guard, but only the actual lamps and lenses in the towers. The properties and structures are now leased and operated by maritime history lovers. There are several at which you may volunteer and help with the preservation.

Kaye and I spent two weeks at the Big Sable Point Lighthouse near Ludington, Michigan, staying in the keeper’s house and running the gift shop and museum every day with five other volunteers.

Big Sable leaf blower — I used a leaf blower to clear the sand off the boardwalks every day.

Big Sable tower guy — Answering visitors’ questions was part of the job at the top of the tower.

Lighthouses are fascinating structures, and there are loads of folks who are living under the spell, chasing along the seashores and lakeshores of America from one light to the next.

Are you following the wandering shoreline to see the next tower around the bend? It is a lot of fun. And those who live in the Great Lakes state are especially blessed to be in such close proximity to so many great landmarks.

Here are a few more photos of lighthouses we have “collected” over the years:

St. Augustine Light lomo — The day mark at St. Augustine, Florida, is a black and white spiral. Cool.

Fort Jefferson and lighthouse — The lighthouse at Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas, Florida, is perched on the top of the brick walls of the massive old fort.

Grand Haven Lighthouses wcaption.jpg — The Grand Haven, Michigan, lights are lined up on a long pier that extends almost a quarter mile from shore.

Grand Haven lighthouse in a storm — When the gales of November come howling across Lake Michigan, hundreds of people gather at the shore to watch the gigantic waves crash over the 36-foot-high pierhead lighthouse.

S. Manitou Island Lighthouse 400.jpg — Many lighthouses are on islands, like this beauty on South Manitou Island in Lake Michigan at Leland, Michigan. It is reached by a 1-1/2 hour boat ride.

I have produced a calendar with 13 high-definition images of Michigan lighthouses, but the 2016 Michigan Lighthouses calendar is sold out. I will be collecting more great lighthouse photos during 2017 and will offer a new edition of the calendar later in the year. I will post a notice when it is ready.

Side Roads

Light Housekeeping and Lighthouse Keeping

September 29, 2015 Rob Sims 1 Comment

Milepost 9-29-15 Big Sable Point Lighthouse, Ludington, MI

Kaye and I just finished a two-week term of volunteer duty at a 148-year-old lighthouse on the western shore of Michigan, and we found it a rewarding experience if a bit exhausting. Eight-hour days and six-day weeks can be a challenge for a couple of retirees who aren’t used to being on duty for anything but hammock swinging and beach walking anymore.

But rewarding it certainly was. There is a noticeable boost to self-worth when you feel that you are providing a valuable service in helping to preserve a historical landmark and enriching the lives of hundreds of visitors who come to see a unique treasure of American history.

Big Sable Point Lighthouse is nestled between sand dunes and sandy beach. — Big Sable Point Lighthouse is nestled between sand dunes and sandy beach on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan.

Staying in the upstairs keepers’ quarters, the volunteers start their work day by tidying the yard around the buildings, then opening the gift shop, the archives room, and the tower for the daily shift. The doors are open from 10 am to 5 pm, and guests arrive by land or sea, hiking a couple of miles from the trailhead at Ludington State Park, or paddling along the shore in kayaks or coming ashore in motorboats.

Workers rake, sweep, and empty trash bins preparing for the day.

Board walks are cleaned with a leaf blower. Not very authentic, but a time saver. Whenever the wind blows – and that is often – the sand moves.

The day is spent welcoming guests, giving tours, and talking the science of lighthouse technology and the history and life of the old-time lighthouse keepers.

Kaye and Kathy sell souvenirs and snacks at the lighthouse gift shop.

Visitors are treated to scientific and historical data in the archives room on their way to the tower stairs. — Visitors are treated to a plethora of scientific and historical data in the archives room on the way to the tower stairs.

Visitors climb 130 steps to the top and a 360-degree view of dunes and lakeshore.

The view from the top is breathtaking - especially for those with a fear of heights. — The view from the top is breathtaking – especially for those with a fear of heights.

After hours, the workers enjoy the conveniences of modern living – in a very old house – and in the company of new friends. The upstairs keepers’ quarters are comfortable and homey, and the workers sometimes cook for each other and play table games in the evenings. There’s no TV, but there is wifi on site, so Kaye and I were happy campers. Of course, the beach and the million dollar sunsets were available to us every day.

The kitchen is small but efficient with every possible appliance - and a grand view to the north. — The kitchen is small but efficient with every possible appliance – and a grand view to the north.

The old keepers' house has 3 apartments and 15 rooms, including sitting rooms where workers hand out in the evenings. — The old house has 3 apartments and 15 rooms, including sitting rooms where workers hang out in the evenings.

An evening stroll on the beach or dip in the lake is good for body and soul.

Big Sable Point Lighthouse is one of four historical lighthouses that are cared for by the Sable Point Lightkeepers Association (SPLKA). Volunteers at the other three lights sign on for one-week tours, while Big Sable Point offers the only 2-week term. There are also day keeper opportunities.

Though there are challenges to this sort of experience, Kaye and I are very happy about our time spent here and the new acquaintances we have made. Some folks travel quite a distance to try this out (one of our fellow keepers was from Connecticut), because it is really a unique opportunity. There are only so many shorelines and lighthouses in the world, and I am glad to have had the chance to live and work at this one.

For more information about volunteering at any of these four west Michigan lighthouses contact SPLKA.org

I have posted a few more photos below, and made several more of them available from my online web gallery at SimsShots Photography. Order prints from wallet size to 3-foot-wide sofa-size posters and lots of other products.

Also, there are a few of these on my photo-sharing stream at Flickr.

Workers enjoy a twilight campfire on the sand dunes next to the lighthouse.

This was our team of workers during our 2-week stay at Big Sable.

Also, there is this: While shooting the lunar eclipse on the evening of September 27th, a ghostly apparition showed up on one of my photos, adding another episode to the on-going legend that Big Sable Point Lighthouse is haunted. I think it is some sort of optic anomaly, but others are sure they have seen this sort of thing before and that it is a paranormal occurrence. What do you think? Let me say, the night was absolutely clear with no fog or smoke anywhere near. (Click anywhere on the photo to see it in full screen mode.)

Order prints of this photo at SimsShots Photography.

Side Roads

Lighthouse Duty Is A Tall Order.

September 10, 2015 Rob Sims Leave a comment

Milepost 9-10-15 Ludington, Michigan

Our long-awaited engagement at the Big Sable Point Lighthouse at Ludington, Michigan is upon us, and there are a couple of notices I need to post for those who might want to visit while we are there.

The first is that this is a remote location that is only accessible via a 1.8-mile trail through the dunes from the visitor center at Ludington State Park. It may be a difficult hike for those who are not used to that much physical exertion (at least it is not hilly). And then there is the lighthouse tower with its 130 steps if you want to climb to the top. Then, of course, the return walk to the car.

The lighthouse is at the end of a service lane through the dunes. — The lighthouse stands at the end of a sandy service lane through the dunes.

The second thing to be noted is the hours of operation. The lighthouse and museum and gift shop are open from 10 am to 5 pm daily. The surrounding grounds – mostly sand dunes and lakeshore – are open all the time.

There is a small fee for entry into the state park unless you have the Michigan Passport license plate. Trailhead parking is immediately inside the park entrance. The cost to climb the tower is $5 for adults and $2 for kids twelve and under. Kids must be 40 inches tall to climb the tower.

Kaye and I will be arriving at the lighthouse for our tour of duty on September 14th after 5 pm, and leaving on the 28th. We will stay in the original keeper’s house which is attached to the lighthouse and be working alongside four other volunteers, taking turns in the gift shop, the museum and the lantern room at the top of the tower.

I plan to post reports and photos of our activities while at the light whenever I have access to wireless services, so stay tuned.

_____________________________________

9-16-15 Update. Day 3 of our 2-week engagement:

We arrived on Monday and settled in at our upstairs bedroom in the 150-year-old light keepers’ house along with the other volunteers. The weather has been sunny and very windy every day so far. Kaye and I take turns with the others, running the till in the gift shop, answering questions about the history of the lighthouse in the little museum, and keeping visitors safe on the tower platform 100 feet above the Lake Michigan beach.

We also rotate in the kitchen, preparing the evening meal for the group. Today I baked pizzas from scratch and they were accepted with delight.

Skies have been totally clear the last 3 nights and I have had a chance to attempt night sky photography, something I have been hoping to try for some time but haven’t been in a dark enough location. Though we are 9 miles from the nearest town, this is still not the best scenario, since the light on the ground tends to overpower the Milky Way. Wish I could find how to turn off those amber yard lights next to the building. Here’s a sample of my first attempt.

The Milky Way hangs above the 112-foot lighthouse at Big Sable Point. Ludington, Michigan. — The Milky Way hangs above the 100-foot lighthouse at Big Sable Point, Ludington, Michigan.

Side Roads

M-22, A Redliner’s Delight

August 15, 2015 Rob Sims Leave a comment

Milepost 8-17-15 Empire, Michigan

My road atlas shows the secondary roads in red. Those are the narrow two-lane county blacktops that pre-date the expressways and the superhighways. And it is where the historical sites and nostalgic gems are still found.

M-22 is a redliner’s treasure, as it winds through mature forests and over sand dunes, outlining the Leelenau Peninsula, Michigan’s virtual “pinkie” finger as it were, the lower peninsula being shaped like a mitten. It is punctuated by 150-year-old lighthouses and roadside farm markets offering sweet black cherries and other organic delicacies.

M-109 is a road trip within a road trip, a side spur from M-22 that skirts the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

A side spur from this rural delight is another gem, M-109, which winds lazily through the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, an expansive park that is managed by the National Park Service. It is the home of a well-preserved ghost town. Glen Haven is an old fishing village with a historic inn, general store, blacksmith shop, fishing cannary and other buildings.

M-109 heads off through the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

The National Lakeshore is a wonderland of perched sand dunes, thick forests, abandoned farms and old vacation homes. The shorelines are gorgeous. If there is magic where land and water meet, then this peninsula is entirely enchanted. Shifting sand dunes rise more than 450 above the turquoise waters of Lake Michigan.

Nature lovers and adventurers experience a rush of enthusiasm for a plethora of hiking trails, bike paths, scenic drives and beaches.

Here is a line-up of photos I captured while on a recent visit to the area:

Perched sand dunes loom over the beaches along the Leelenau Peninsula.

The scenic overlook provides a gander at Lake Michigan and the distant South and North Manitou Islands, also part of the National Lakeshore. — The scenic overlook at Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive provides a gander at Lake Michigan and the distant South and North Manitou Islands, also part of the National Lakeshore and desirable backcountry camping (backpacking) destinations.

Visitors see the lake from 450 feet above the water.

Sleeping Bear N. Bar Lk view — The view of the Empire Bluffs from an overlook on the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive includes North Bar Lake in the foreground.

The Dune Climb is one of the most popular hikes in the park.

The Platte River is perfect for kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding and the like. — The Platte River is perfect for kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding and tubing.

Rock collectors on the beach — Lapidaries and rock collectors search for mineral specimens and fossils like the Petoskey Stone, Michigan’s state stone.

Sleeping Bear N. Bar Lk edit — Families with kids love the warm waters of North Bar Lake which is separated from Lake Michigan by a narrow sand bar.

Paddle Boarding Lake Michigan — Water sports enthusiasts find plenty of opportunity on Lake Michigan and several inland lakes.

Glen Haven is a ghost town, nicely preserved by park service historians. — The port town of Glen Haven is now a ghost town, nicely preserved by park service historians.

The Sleeping Bear Inn ran for more than a century until 1972. — The Sleeping Bear Inn ran for more than a century until closing in 1972.

The fish cannary still stands at the water's edge in the historic port town. — The fish cannary still stands at the water’s edge in the historic port town.

Glen Arbor is alive with tourism during the summer... and dead the rest of the year. — Art’s Tavern in Glen Arbor is entirely decorated with school pennants on the walls and ceilings.

Patio at Art's Tavern, Glen Arbor — Glen Arbor is alive with tourism during the summer… and pretty much dead the rest of the year.

The Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail is a premiere cyclist's destination that winds along the shoreline for 27 miles. It's a steep one with grades of up to 11%. — The Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail is a premiere cyclist’s destination that winds along the shoreline and through deep woods and open meadows for 27 miles. It has a few steep hills with grades of up to 11%.

Beach walkers are not disappointed along the many miles of beautiful beaches flanked by dunes. — Beach walkers are not disappointed along the many miles of beautiful beaches flanked by dunes and surf.

Sunset at Sleeping Bear Point — This is a land of million dollar sunsets and folks show up all along the shore to enjoy the show across the dunes and Lake Michigan at sundown.

Point Betsie Lighthouse is near the south end of M-22 not far from the port of Frankfort, Michigan.

Being over 50 miles from the nearest freeway, M-22 is not on the way to anywhere… except adventure and natural splendor.

My travel tip: If you can, avoid the crowds of the later summer and visit the area in September when the parks are nearly empty and you have your pick of campsites – or cabins. The lakes are still relatively warm and accommodating for water sports like kayaking, paddle boarding and swimming.

After that, the maple forests light up with the vivid yellows, reds, and oranges of autumn.

And after that, it gets nasty out here when the gales of November start whipping off of Lake Michigan and the early snows set in.

Rapere Aestate! (Seize the Summer!)