The Weight Family: July 2005

Hey All,

Well, it has been a week since we got back from our trip and I am finally sitting down to put this entry together. I planned to do it earlier today, but Cami picked up Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease this past week and she has been really miserable today. It is so frustrating that there is very little we can do to help her feel better.

As for the trip...... We had the most fabulous time. For those who don't know, Ford has always shut down their plants during the week of July 4th. During this time, work is done to all of the lines. This year, they decided to shut down all of product development (to save money), which means I was "asked" to take the entire week off. Since we didn't have a choice, we decided that it was time to get out and see the rest of Michigan. After talking to some native Michiganders (that is what I call them at least), we decided that we really wanted to go to the UP. Now you are probably asking yourself "UP? What and where is that?"

That is why I decided to include the following map.

The UP is the Upper Peninsula. Detroit, etc. is in the lower peninsula, but if you aren't from Michigan (and are not a geography buff), you probably had no idea that Michigan had an Upper Peninsula. I know that Amy and I had no idea until we moved here.

Well, it does, and it is beautiful. We decided that we would make the 7 hour drive and camp for 3 nights near White Fish Point. It is the red star located in the UP in the map above.

We arrived at the camp site mid afternoon and set up camp. There are about twenty campsites in this state forest campground. We were only about 30 yards from a fairly good size lake that was very beautiful. Too bad we didn't have a canoe.

Cami really enjoyed looking around and getting to know the area. We had a fun time watching her. We also liked to see how brave she was. We would let her walk ahead of us until she would notice that we weren't there. She would then stop and wait. At first this was about 15 feet, then it grew to 25 feet, then a little more. By the end of the week, not surprisingly, we were having to run after her to keep her out of the lake.

One of the first funny things happened the first night. We finally got Cami ready for bed and put her down. We then sat around the fire and enjoyed the wonderful evening. There was still a fair amount of sunlight, but Amy really wanted to get the smores out, so we did. After the smores, there was still light, so we sat around some more. After a time, we both were hesitant to admit that we were tired because it was still "early" because there was so much light left, but we couldn't go to sleep yet, we hadn't even lit our new camp lantern. After some more time I just couldn't take it and I decided to see what time it was anyway. To our surprise it was about twenty minutes after 10, and there was still enough twilight to see without getting out the tents. Both of us had forgotten that we had just traveled 7 hours due north and that the sun was setting much later than we were used to. Needless to say, we were not "embarrassed" to go to bed while it was still light the next night.

Campsite with the lake behind it

Cami playing on the first night

Cami and Amy down by the lake

Cami exploring along the lake

The Lake on the first morning. Absolutely still and very beautiful.

Cami playing while we cook dinner

More of Cami getting into things while we did camp chores

On our first full day, we decided that we would drive about an hour over to Sault Ste Marie (pronounce Sue Saint Marie). This is a small city in the upper right corner of the UP. The motivation behind the trip was to visit the Soo Locks. These locks connect Lake Superior (the largest and coldest of the great lakes) on the West with Lake Huron on the East. It turns out there is about a 50 foot drop between the two lakes. We all found the locks to be very interesting. We were surprised by how large the ships were that were traveling through the locks. It turns out there are still about 200 ships that travel around on the lakes. Of course there were 15,000 of them 150 years ago. The lakes have always been a major mode of transportation. Best I can tell they are still used today to mostly transport ore from mining operations.

Soo Locks 1 and 2 going into Lake Superior (Notice the ship in the distance)

Ship we passed while on a ferry ride during another part of the trip.
Gives you a good idea of the size of the ships.
If you look on the left just to the front of the ship, you can see a ferry that holds about 100 people passing on the other side of the ship.

While in Sault Ste Marie, we had the chance to try native white fish caught the day before in Lake Superior (there is still a fairly large fishing industry also on the lakes). We had it grilled with lemon pepper. I think it was probably the best or second best fish I have ever had.......

On the way back to camp, we traveled along a scenic highway that followed the coast. We also stopped at Point Iroqouis Light House, a light house that has been fully restored. The tower was build in 1871 and was retired in the early 1970s.

It was beautiful. They even let you climb up into the top part of the light house (Glass part). It was fun to imagine what life would have been like 150 years ago and the effort involved in keeping the light going.

Point Iroqouis Light House

Cami sitting on a bench near the light house and looking at Lake Superior

Lake Superior as seen from the top of the lighthouse

(Don't let the land in the distance fool you. This is where the lake narrows
down to form a river that leads to the Soo Locks. This lake is massive)

That afternoon, we went and visited Tahquamenon falls. These falls are located on the Tahquamenon river and were beautiful. Unfortunately, the falls are located inside a state park and the place was packed with people, making them hard to enjoy. The falls are not really large, but the are beautiful. They are interesting too because the look like rootbeer. It turns out that acid is leeched from the trees in the area, causing the water to turn brown and foam. We want to go back and check out all the other waterfalls in the UP that are not located directly next to a parking lot. Perhaps there will be fewer people.

Upper Tahquamenon Falls (Largest of the two)

Our Family at the Upper Tahquamenon Falls

Cami Playing on the small hike to the falls

On Friday, we went and visited the famed Mackinaw Island (at least it is famous in Michigan :) It is best known for four things: Fudge (it is everywhere on the island), no cars (only bicycles and horses), "Somewhere in Time" (Filmed on the island - staring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour), and Fudge (it is every on the island)

After driving for about an hour, we stopped and caught a ferry ride over to the island. Cami really loved the ride over and kept saying "Wa-Wa". Yes, there was a lot of Wa-Wa.

Type of Ferry that we rode on

Mackinaw Bridge - Connects the lower peninsula with the upper and is supposedly the longest suspension bridge in the world.

Mackinaw island as we approached by ferry

We really enjoyed portions of the island. We were able to take our bikes with us and there is an eight mile path that completely circles the island. It was very beautiful and we were able to stop and look at things like the arch seen below.

Arch that we stopped to see

Path can be seen following the coast line

Break time during the bike ride. Cami wanted to get out and use her legs.

We also really loved the fudge (no surprise). The part that we didn't like so much was the super touristy feel of the rest of the island. There is really only one major street with shops on it. The picture below shows the street and the crowds. Notice all the bikes parked along the street. It was a mad house.

The other part of the island we visited with the Historic Hotel where the movie "Somewhere in Time" was filmed (Amy really wanted to see it). Unfortunately, this is as close as we got since there is a security guard that won't let you enter unless you are a guest. Since we didn't want to spend $1,000 a night to become a guest, we didn't get to enter. It was a little bit of a let down (especially since we had to ride up a really steep hill to get up to it) but we understand that the guests wouldn't really want us in there taking pictures.

Perhaps my favorite part of the trip we did later that night after having dinner back in our campsite. We borrowed a very detailed Michigan map (Actually 117 pages of maps all covering Michigan). On the map that covered our campsite, we noticed that there was another lighthouse at the end of a very long, isolated road. We decided that we should go and see if we could find it, so we set out a couple of hours before sunset.

After driving some on very nice paved roads, we found the correct turnoff onto a dirt road. The dirt road was actually very nice (I would say it was even nicer than most of the roads in Detroit, which really isn't saying much). That road lasted for about 20 miles, at which we took another turn off onto what I thought was a much "funner" road (deep ruts, tight turns, lots of trees, etc.)
We knew we were headed in the right direction because there were little lighthouse signs posted on trees.

After about an hour and 10 mins (from the camp), we turned a corner and could see the Crisp Point Lighthouse (Built in 1904). This light house too was very beautiful. The best part about it was that there were only two other couples at the light. One visiting to take pictures and the other acting has historic hosts (they were camping at the site for the weekend). As it ended up, they had the light house open and not only could go to the top, but we could climb outside on the balcony as well. The view from the top was amazing and the coastline was gorgeous. We only had to wait about 40 minutes or so to watch the sun set over Lake Superior. I will never forget get.

Crisp Point Lighthouse

Cami and Brent at the Top of the Lighthouse

View of the cost to the West

View of the coast to the East

The next morning we got up and had a good breakfast. We then went and saw White Fish Lighthouse and museum which was only about 5 mins from our campsite. There was a shipwreck museum (I guess White Fish Point was the most dangerous part of the lakes, there are over 200 shipwrecks near it), but we didn't feel like paying to see anything so we walked around the lighthouse and walked down to the beach. We then went back to camp and packed for our trip home.

White Fish Point Lighthouse

We were a little nervous about the drive home since the laptop stopped working while on the trip (The power plug broke). Cami was a good sport most of the way home, and Amy and I got really tired of singing "Popcorn Popping" and "Patty Cake Patty Cake", two of Cami's favorite songs at the moment.

Cami in the Truck ready to go home

All in all, we had a wonderful trip. The weather was great, we got to spend a lot of time together, and we saw some wonderful things. There is just no substitution for quality family time and memory building. I think Amy and I will always remember this trip. We just wish we could have shared it with our extended family and friends.

We hope everyone is doing well.

--Brent, Amy, and Cami (and the new little one)

Well, after almost two years of living here in Michigan, we finally put the effort and time into going camping.....and we had a blast.

There are many reasons why we haven't gone before now, most of them legitimate, some of them just excuses for being lazy. Either way, we hope this is the first of many trips in the near future.

We ended up camping near a small lake named "Crooked Lake". It is big enough to take small boats on for fishing, but not large enough for water skiing.

After arriving, unloading, and setting up, we got some coals going and started some potatoes in the dutch oven. We then had a couple of friends arrive (The Gundersons and Neddos) to enjoy dinner with us. They brought the dessert and BBQ.

While the food finished cooking, we took the kids down to the lake. They all enjoyed it, but Cami really loved the floating dock. She kept standing by the railing and looking into the water. You could see some fish and turtles if you looked close enough.

After a great meal, we sat around and enjoyed the fire. Amy of course couldn't wait long to break out the marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers to make one of her favorites - smores.

The tent that we borrowed from our friends worked out ok. It was a little small when you have a 17 monthy old rolling around the tent at night. It worked out ok and Cami even let us sleep in until 8:00 despite her waking up at 5:30. (Next time we are taking the pack and play)

After a great breakfast (it is funny how we eat better when we are camping than at home), we loaded into the car and went to find a hiking trail. We found a trail head not far from the camp site (in the State Park). All three of us enjoyed the 2.5 mile hike, even if Cami eventually fell asleep.

After returning to camp, we all laid down for a mid morning nap. Amy was nice enough to let me sleep extra long when Cami refused to go to sleep.

All in all, it was a fun trip with many good memories. The camping trip was actually a trial run for a big camping trip we have planned for the week of the 4th. We thought it would be a good idea to try it out and get our gear together.

As a result of the trip, we ended up getting a used Coleman stove for $15 off eBay, a nice lantern, a new huge tent big enough for almost the entire Rice family (well almost), and several other things. We think we are now ready to go camping for 4 days in the Upper Peninsula, which we have heard is beautiful and very rustic. We can't.