Final Day

On our final day in the UP we traveled over to Seney National Wildlife Refuge and to Tahquamenon Falls State Park. Both were very nice places to visit. Wildlife was quite abundant.  For birds, the high wind kept photos to a minimum but we did get a few.

 Eastern Kingbird

 Common Loon

 Lower Falls at Tahquamenon Falls

 Another view

American Redstart

We all enjoyed our time wandering around the UP. Sorry we didn't see a moose but that seems to be par for the course. Nan and I think that we're going to have to go to Alaska to see that moose we want. 

Thanks for riding along. We enjoy sharing our trips with you and hope you enjoy the photos. Until the next Moose Quest begins...

Wild Moose Chase

"Are there moose to be found in this area?", I asked. "Oh yes. I just saw one yesterday. If you go down here to..." Or, another might say, "Moose? I don't think we have any of those around here."

That is the typical conversation with locals. It appears that some are alert and other don't know what is around them. Or could it be that some are honest and others are keeping up the moose myth just so the tourist will keep returning and looking.

Whatever the case, we have seen no moose so far. Yesterday was the first day we really tried very hard. We got up quite early and found fog over the lake. Jeff took a great picture if the sun coming up and shining through the fog. See his FaceBook page. Here is the scene from the cabin.

The next two photos are places where we looked for moose. You know, in those areas where the locals always see them. Even though we have not seen moose, we have certainly seen some really beautiful country. 

Along the way we do see some wildlife. This roughed grouse was a nice sight as was the chipmunk.

We topped the day off with worship back in Green Bay. The brethren there are quite friendly and received us warmly. 


You can click on any image to see a larger copy. Download them if you like but please do not publish them on the web.


We'll try again on Friday and see if our luck continues to hold. This time we'll be going to the eastern part of the peninsula. Today (Thursday) we'll probably spend around the cabin, either on the water, biking a nice trail nearby, or just resting and breathing fresh air.

Pictured Perfect Day

Near Munising, Michigan is the Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore. It is located on Lake Superior's southern shore. Because Superior is such a large lake, it looks and feels more like the ocean. The shore is very high here and Superior's continual beating against the rock walls along with the iron ore in the rock makes the pictured rocks seen below.

From the point at which I took the picture above, you can walk a mile down to the lake shore. Everything is very green, coming alive from the winter. Nan and Jeff were ahead of me.

The trail follows a winding creek which empties into Superior. The picture below is near the point at which the creek empties into Superior. It is a beautiful place.

The lake shore here is sandy, unlike much of Superior's shoreline. Trees that fall into the creek are sometimes carried down to the shore.

The tree lined hill below is the starting point of the mile-long trail we hiked. You can see that Superior looks like the ocean here.

 On our way out of the Pictured Rocks LS we stopped by Munising Falls. These falls drop about 30 feet. Since the snowfall was light this year, the falls do not have as much water as usual for this time of year.

We arrived back at the cabin just in time for the sunset. Venus was shining brightly and seemed right for a picture.

 On this day the temperatures really dropped. It was very windy and about 40 degrees when we got back to the cabin. The sky was perfectly clear so we built a bonfire, roasted marsh mellows, and watched the stars. I saw 3 meteors as we watched. We also heard the howling of gray wolves which are in the area as well as a whip-or-will and a great horned owl.

We had a great day. Hope you enjoyed travelling along as well.

Hardwood Hideaway

We're in Hardwood, Michigan at our cabin. Below is a panorama of our backyard. We are loving it here. A bald eagle and an osprey nest on the lake and are continually flying by. Loons sing in the morning and in the evenings. Last night we saw about 6 deer on the road and there is evidence that they come through the yard. The lake is very inactive and we went out on the canoe and paddle boat today. Jeff and I canoed around the island. I'm hoping that the videos I've taken of the eagle will be worth posting. More to come.


You'll want to click on this image and view it full-sized.

Chicago, Chicago

Jeff suggested that we visit the Field Museum in Chicago. He has never been but had heard it was a good stop. Below is the entrance with the banner for the Genghis Kahn exhibit (which we saw) and below that is a shot of the main hall. It is quite a large place.

We then took a cab up to Millennium Park, another place Jeff had heard about. He is quite the tour guide even though he has never visited Chicago before this trip. We found this reflecting pool with two towers on either end. The towers display videos which reflect into the pool. Jeff took a great shot of this reflection and I got him taking the shot.

Also at the park was the Cloud Gate, a round set of highly polished stainless steel plates that reflect the city as well as those around it. Look closely at the center and you can see Nan and me. The Cloud Gate is huge and quite interesting. Seems that Chicago has you do a lot of reflecting when you visit.

Here is a shot of Nan and the some of the buildings along the Magnificent Mile. The Mag Mile is very nice and cleaned up. Other parts of Chicago are run down and dirty. I guess that is like a lot of cities but the size of each area is just larger in Chicago. Still, a very nice visit. Our two cab drivers were extremely nice, drove crazy like all other cab drives, and made the trip enjoyable.

Hope you enjoy these shots. We are in a very different world now that we have arrived at our cabin on the lake. Pictures from here tomorrow.

Lots in the Moose

We stopped in Chicago and went to the Field Museum, Millennium Park and ate Chicago style pizza at Giordano's. This is a picture of a little bit. The rest made its way into our mooses. More later. Really fun day.

MQ 2012 Has Begun

We're headed up to Bowling Green To pickup Jeff. We'll spend the night near Chicago. Tomorrow we end up in Green Bay and will worship with the brethren there on Sunday. We then end up at our cabin in Michigan's Upper Pennisula. The cabin is just a few miles from the largest concentration of moose in Michigan. I found out that there Re also wolves in the UP so perhaps we'll get to see them as well. Thanks for travelling along. Will start posting pictures soon...maybe tomorrow.