f o t o t a k e r in M a n u a l A p e r t u r e M o d e: 5/5/19

So we have been back in Michigan again, and even took a few days off from our babysitting duties to visit the desolate area of Michigan's Upper Peninsular, also simply known as the UP (pronounced as U - P).

It's about a four-hour drive from Grand Rapids to the north of the lower portion of the state, and due to its shape, is called the "Mitten". Well, we were at the mitten for a few days and enjoyed it. Then we continued our travels to the UP by crossing the long Mackinac Bridge, then heading north. We met people while visiting Whitefish Point, and discovered we were there during a big birding event. We have never been to a birding meet before, but if there's a way to ID birds easily while snapping away, then why not?

The Mighty Mackinac Bridge connects the U P with the southern areas of Michigan

We had arrived on a Thursday, and while we were seeing a few early bird arrivals, it was still quite early for what was predicted as a big event with bigger amounts of birds due to recent wind storms. While we were there Thursday and Friday, we saw over 15 hawks and over 50 Sandhill Cranes! To make it even sweeter, there were at least five Bald Eagles in the air too!

To be honest, since we arrived at "The Mitten" and crossed the bridge to the UP, we'd seen already an eagle each day, and sometimes even more, and it's always an awesome sight!

One thing we did notice about the UP is that we both had NO cell or data coverage! Almost a week later, we asked a local about this problem, and were told that only one phone provider services the UP right now. We are both under a different company other than this company, which explains WHY we had NO service! Even after returning to the southern area of Michigan across the bridge, we still had NO service! We actually had NO cell service till after three hours on the road heading south toward Grand Rapids.

Otherwise, we really enjoyed the area! The vistas are fabulous, the people are friendly, and amazingly, the roads are fairly better than in most of Michigan, and MUCH better than the roadways in western New York (WNY)!

While in southern Michigan (south of the Mackinac Bridge) we already have already visited the International Dark Sky Park, and seen some of their area lighthouses. Did you know that Michigan is the one state of the Union with the most lighthouses? I never knew that!

Poor Sheila had to drive through a surprise snow storm that turned to white-out conditions at times while we were in the UP! We got through okay and stopped at a rest area to sit it out, as it continued to snow for a few more hours into the night! Smaller amounts of snow fell during the same week!

As a wrap-up to our UP portion of this trip, we stayed in a lakeside rustic cabin in the southern areas of the UP. For those not knowing the meaning of a "rustic" cabin, that means no TV or phone, wifi or water, no stove, no shower nor sink, and NO indoor toilets. The cabin DID have a tiny refrigerator and a smaller microwave. BUT We had the time of our lives then, and hoping to return once again when most of the hotels, campgrounds, and attractions and landmarks are open; we were told to forget visiting the Pictured Rocks area of the UP, since there may still be NO access to the area due to snow.

Within 3 days of arriving in Michigan, it snowed. Within minutes, this scene was completely white!

As of 29 April, we have now seen the lakes of Michigan, Superior and Huron within a two-day period (they all look alike - very watery). We have seen about five lighthouses during our trip thus far. We have (typically) walked in rain/snow and high winds yet again, though in a new different location, and we have spun yet another few numbers of the first three digits in the odometer of our spiffy minivan camper!

What's the highlight thus far of our yet-to-be-completed travels?

While camping at the UP area near the Tahquamenon Falls, we saw the Northern Lights!!! Even before starting our trip, we knew about a possible sun storm that would give us a great night lightshow during the early days of our UP trip. Though it was cloudy/overcast when we drove up, the overcast sky continued when we drove up to Whitefish Point, but took a detour to camp out under the stars. That night, I woke and looked straight up out the back window of the van. I started to see what I thought looked to be colorless swirling waves in the sky, and Sheila saw the same thing. I would also see what I thought to be a star, then that "star" would begin to bounce all over like a ping-pong ball, all the while the black sky growing lighter with those sky-waves splashing around and around over and over in the sky. After a bit of sleep, I woke again to see the same thing, but this time painted in a bright flaming red color BUT sunrise wasn't for a few more hours. It was so intense that it lit up the leaves of the trees over our van, and again, Sheila saw this too, though it lasted a few minutes only!