We made it to Hancock, Michigan, which is right on the canal that sets apart the tip of the Upper Peninsula. According to signs, there’s a lot of these activities around here: Snowmobiling Drinking in roadside bars Hunting Selling handicrafts (these seem to be mostly wooden spoons) Living in giant, rundown frat houses (Michigan Tech). […]
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Goodbye Perch Lake + Planning
We’re leaving this gorgeous lake today and headed for our final northern camping spot in Hancock, MI, before big plans. Here are a few final photos. Banjo’s Morning Repose One cold morning she dug this hole to hunker down and wait for the sun to reflect off the lake. Finally, sunshine. I think she’s part […]
The Mosquito Hike
You know things are quiet around here when I follow a post about seeing a bird’s nest with one about taking a three-mile speed walk around a wetland. But it gives me an excuse to provide your weekly mushroom slideshow! We booked it around this loop, skimming the interpretive signs and keeping Banjo on track […]
Eagle’s Nest Island
I’m one of those pitiable people who grew up when bald eagles were endangered and never saw them. I was in my 40s when I’d occasionally see one over the Potomac River in West Virginia or over Lake Anna in central Virginia, and I’d have a spaz attack. Now that I’m where they’re plentiful (Perch […]
The Sky on the Lake
I just can’t get enough of it. I would have spent more time on the water this evening had I realized when I got in the boat wearing my rainboots that eventually they wouldn’t really fit in there. Rainboots plus workout pants. My evening sky-appreciation attire.
Watching the Ducks Go By
That’s about as exciting as this campground gets. Of course Banjo’s all over that. These ducks are used to being fed by campers so they creep up to our lawn chairs as we’re having coffee and tea, and then, explosion! when they flutter away from Banjo. Her favorite morning activity, no matter where we are, […]
Why I Do This
This is where we live this week. It’s just a site by a lake, in the woods, on the upper peninsula of Michigan. Nothing exotic: it’s not the Keys or the Utah Arches, just a lake. But reflecting on this spot this morning once again confirmed why I’m living this challenging lifestyle. Travel days are […]
A Couple-hour Vacation
Here’s how I enjoyed this campground the most: by packing as if for the beach and driving through the campground—a full five minutes—to a pull-off by the lake, then setting up for just a few hours. Like a mini vacation inside a vacation. I floated in slow circles on the blue water and watched a […]
Downtime in the Woods
I’ve described the campground where we decided not to stay and even the one we stayed at last, again, but I haven’t said much about this campground, and we’ve been here for five days. It’s peaceful here, so there’s not a lot to shout about. Biking Back Roads All the land around this lake is […]
Choosing Solitude
Or: Luckily Missing Out on a 1980s Dead Show When Jerry Wasn’t All There We’d had that campground at Ontonagon, MI, on our summer to-do list for quite a while due to its rave reviews online and the waiting list for campsites directly on Lake Superior. If so many people love the place, surely it’s […]
