July 30, 2013 All Day in the Park!

Everyday Lennie is up before me, & when he gets up, he sends Otis back to our bed, then shuts the bedroom door & goes about his business till he "forces" me & Otis to get up! This morning even with the bedroom door I could hear some loud noise going on beyond the bedroom door. I thought he might be saving or showering, but it was too loud for that!?! Yet.....I didn't want Len to know I was "sorta" awake!?! Pretty soon the bedroom door is opened & he tells me to get up & that he's already been a MASTER PLUMBER this morning!?! Seems when he got up he discovered a bathroom leak!?! It's a good thing he carries spare parts with us! He'd already replaced the leaky valve on the toilet, unfortunately that set us behind on our sightseeing plans!?! Quick breakfast & quick showers since we're getting off to a later than usual start!

Today we spent ALL DAY at the park! Now I'm not talking we jumped in the car & 10 minutes down the road we were at the park, NOOOOO!!!! We had such a drive that we went from Eastern time zone into Central time zone! Our park destination for today was Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, & yes, state park we had to pay a fee but it was worth it!!!This was a huge park, in fact it is the largest state park in Michigan, 60,000 acres. We went to Lake of the Clouds Overlook, still part of the park, for our picnic lunch & waterfall viewing.

Everything we did today was right here in the state park, so I am just going to make a picture collage of sorts of everything we saw today!

Lake of the Clouds

Lake of the Clouds Overlook

Then we walked to view (& climb up!?!) the 40 foot high Summit Peak Observation Tower. At 1,958 feet above sea level it is one of the highest points in Michigan! I can't believe I didn't get a picture of the tower

(it's on video) I'm operating 2 cameras at once!!!

Lennie & Otis lead!

It took me awhile to get to the top, I should have counted the steps!

View from the top....

View below!

My legs felt like wet noodles after climbing up & then back down! I wanted to see something with less steps involved!

Oh Nooooo, more steps!

but worth the walk down, then back up!!!

See what I mean!

Wildlife!

Walking to view Manido Falls

There they are!

We saw this deer off in the distance, almost too far for my Zoom lens, I begged him to pick his head up & he finally responded to me!!!!

One last fall before we leave the park!

These are the Nawadaha Falls

I'm ready to go back to the RV, my legs are like rubber, I am soooo out of shape I bet I get a charlie horse tonight!?!

We have a long drive back to the RV park, over an hours drive & a time zone! But on the way back Lennie makes one more stop! it's just a roadside park  but hidden down the path is the Agate Falls!

The Falls are hidden from my camera lens by the plentiful trees, you really had to be standing there to feel the depth of the falls....

As soon as you get out of your car at the roadside park, you can hear the waterfalls, but before you see them, you first spot this OLD train trestle.

It must have been something in it's day!

This tree caught my eye as we were leaving Agate Falls, I think it's been overworked by a woodpecker or something!?!

We're back on the road heading for Houghton. It's already past the time we usually have our dinner! I have my fingers crossed & so does Otis, that Lennie will stop & get us some "junk food" , but he doesn't!!! We had a quick dinner & just a short walk for Otis after all the walking we did today!!! 

Lights out early tonight, me & Otis are tired!!!

Tomorrow rain is in the forecast.....not good!

July 29, 2013 God smiled down on us in the form of Sunshine!

What a difference a day makes!!! Yesterday was only good for lazing, which we enjoyed, every once in awhile you truly need a lazy day! But today.....Len woke me up by saying,"Get up Wen, the sun is shining!"

Sure enough it was trying to peek out!

As always Len is up, dressed & has the coffee going before I even think about rolling out! I have coffee & breakfast before anything else, except to feed Otis!!! Len's excited about a sunny day so he's rushing me to get going! He packs our picnic lunch while I get ready. "Come on Otis, let's go potty so we can go for a ride" Magic words to Otis, he's always ready!!!

With the lunch packed & everyone ready we head out for what turns out to be a great day of sight seeing! WAAAYYY TOO many pictures! Our first stop is the record of snowfall! Surrounded on 3 sides by Lake Superior, Keweenaw County sees up to 300 inches of annual snowfall.(That's 25 feet!) The record: 390.4 inches in 1977/78.

A lot of us can remember TOO MUCH SNOW in 77/78 !?!

We are taking a drive up Brockway Mountain Drive.As the highest scenic roadway between the Alleghenies & the Rockies, it offers spectacular sunsets & views of Lake Superior's rocky coast a thousand feet below! the land of waterfalls & lighthouses & we're about to start snapping the camera!

The first falls we saw, Eagle River Falls, was my favorite!

It  has a vertical drop of 20+ feet

Next was Jacobs Falls

These falls could be easily viewed by the roadside.

They too had a vertical drop of 20+ feet.

Next stop a lighthouse. Eagle Harbor Lighthouse.But we have a handicap, Otis. There's a fee to go inside the lighthouse, we don't want to tour the lighthouse, Otis would have to wait in the car....I just want to take a picture of it! As we start leave the parking lot, I snap a picture of the back of the lighthouse.

Then much to my surprise, as we round the Lake, this very same lighthouse comes into view. Across the lake....but that's what the ZOOM lens is for!

                                              3 miles East of Eagle Harbor is Silver River Falls

It has a vertical drop of 5-20 feet

They all have that amber color, makes me thirsty for a root beer float!?!

Isn't it about time for lunch!?! 

Yes it is & it looks like someone is really hungry! I'm more interested in the view behind the park where we're having lunch!

The Blue building in the background is a Swedish Gift Shop! I'm going over there after lunch!!!

I was very disappointed when I got over there! It was a Swedish gift Shop & ROCK & MINERAL SHOP! More rock stuff than Swedish stuff!?!

From a distance.....I try to pull in the Isle Royale Light House. This is a state park & the only way to the Light house is by boat, which costs $$60.00 each & NO PETS are allowed any where on the Island!

Don't worry Otis, I don't want to go anywhere you're not allowed! Let's go look at another waterfall. This time Manganese Falls.

These Falls have a vertical drop of 20+ feet.

.The waterfalls are truly nature at her best, but there's more to nature than the waterfalls!
                                                                                  Like.....

& I have to click fast as they flutter from flower to flower!

Time to head back to the RV Park & I'm so happy it's still nice outside, we're able to grill out!!!

After dinner we take Otis for a long walk along Portage Lake.

When we get back, it's still nice enough to sit outside & wait for sunset! 

& WHAT A SUNSET!!!!

Just BEAUTIFUL!!!!

& then it's over & we go in.....

Good-Night until tomorrow.....

July 28, 2013 A Good Day to do NOTHING!!!!

This morning we woke up to POURING down rain, & the rain lasted on & off ALL DAY LONG!!! This is a good day to do nothing, & that's what we did!!! There was no reason to hurry for breakfast, tho the thought of hot coffee was very inviting along with a bowl of HOT cereal!?! Showers......they can wait, even tho the little electric fireplace heater has been going all night long & continues to pour out heat for us! We're really feeling laid back & lazy today. Lennie has plans to watch the race later today, maybe I'll work on my scarf, or not! If it doesn't hurry up & warm up I may have to knit myself a hat!?! I have become a real "Weather Wimp" since moving to Florida!

Eventually Lennie decides to brave the"STORM" & go out to the store to get us miniature marshmallows for our afternoon hot chocolate! The rain has stopped for now, but it's still damp & chilly!

Be careful out there Len!

An unsuspecting Otis is getting a bath while Len has gone for "supplies"! Not Otis' favorite sport, but he's fallen prey to a rainy day....sorry Otis!

When Len gets back, not only did he get the marshmallows, he came back with strawberries too! He also informed me it was 47 degrees out!!!! Yikes I didn't need to hear that! Keep blowing heat little heater!  Now I'm wishing I was Otis & already had my shower out of the way! I even used the blow dyer on Otis, he needs a haircut too but one form of torture is enough for the pup in one day!

Does the dog look like he's been tortured!?!

We didn't have lunch today, just a snack with our hot chocolate, because....we're having an early dinner so we can have our strawberries!!!

I can't put it off any longer, the RV is warm enough to get in the shower. I mean if it was warm enough for Otis! I dress in sweat clothes, definitely not going anywhere today! When the race is over, Len takes his shower & also put his sweat pants on!

 I am making turkey meatloaf for dinner. I don't know what I am looking forward to the most, the meatloaf, or the strawberries! I know what Otis is looking forward to, some meatloaf & then his nightly walk!! He definitely gets his wish. Then we do too, before we settle down to continue doing nothing.....we have our strawberry shortcake!

Completely Fat-Free & still YUMMY!!!

We are going out tomorrow regardless of the weather, we have raincoats & we have umbrellas! 

Please let it be nicer out tomorrow!!!