Speaking of wind!

Tuesday, October 9th, 2007

Tawas City to St. Ignace, Michigan

180.2 miles

Rain drops last night,
but clear and cool this a.m.

What a wonderful, peaceful, beautiful drive this last few days have provided! No traffic to speak of (except in Detroit!!), very good roads for the most part, glimpses of the lake almost the entire route! And the trees, of my, the trees! Since this little detour was undertaken because of a news report saying the colors were great this year on the coastline of Michigan, I’ve taken lots and lots of pictures of trees! Possibly more than my readers might want to see…I hope not!

This particular stretch has many miles of single homes on the lakeshore! And rather than just addresses, the majority have a unique sign to identify the owner. They go by too fast to get pictures, but many bring a smile! From very simple – like a carving of a sunrise painted gaily, or a fish. Crossed oars. “Final answer!” A big tooth (gee, do you think he was a dentist?) a silly green grinning dinosaur. “Miranda’s Decision!” “Uncle Walter’s Haven” a big sparkling crown. No question, this area would make a great escape!

But winter is obviously approaching – no matter that it’s still in the 80s. Most of the marinas are almost empty. They do something here I’ve not seen before – they ‘shrink wrap’ the boats for the winter protection. I was a little concerned about a total seal, but when looking into it, I see they can include the ability to breathe.

More trees – just so you know, I’m not doctoring these photos. I don’t need to. The colors are so fantastic, they don’t need ‘help’! Many are slightly out of focus. I’m using an incredible little Canon PowerShot, but even it can’t perform all the miracles I ask of it. So I do fix a few things – remember that I’m taking about 98% of my pictures thru the windshield as I bounce down the road at 55-60 MPH – so I straighten some of them a little, and I crop some of them to get rid of distractions like a garbage truck.

I flew by a sign proclaiming I had just crossed the 45th Parallel – half way between the equator and the North Pole. A little lesson on the planet can be found at http://www.mnmuseumofthems.org/45th/index.html

We stopped at one of the many little roadside parks on the shoreline to grab a bite. Sadly, some nasty little no-see-ums took several bites out of me too, and Penny too from the looks of it, so we didn’t stay long. But it was pretty!

Passed thru Rogers City, which calls itself “The Nautical City”, and also “The Limestone City.” In addition to the tourism brought by its peaceful setting on Lake Huron, Rogers City contains the largest limestone quarry in the world, which has resulted in the development of the world’s largest limestone processing plant, making it a very busy port city as well.

About this time, the winds started blowing pretty hard, and the clouds are moving in fast – dark forbidding clouds. I was beginning to fear I wouldn’t make it to my destination before the skies open up.

And then I arrived at ”The Mighty Mac” described above, and the wind was howling! This crossing was more scary than the tiny barge I had to use in Dawson City last summer!

But I made it, and drove thru the cute, touristy St. Ignace to the Tiki RV Campground where I hooked up and hunkered down for a couple days of threatened rain. I moved my suitcases into the coach this morning in the sunshine, and figure to move summer wear into the suitcases and get winter clothes out while I’m here.

Tiki RV Park & Campground
200 S Airport Road
St. Ignace, MI 49781
Mackinac County
906-643-7808