Fall color, sandy beaches, and old geocaches.

Last week we ended our quick weekend trip to the UP by leaving the Keweenaw and heading for a night in the Soo.  

After a stop at Great Sand Bay, we drove west across the UP enjoying the Fall beauty along the way.  It was a gorgeous Fall Sunday afternoon. 

I made a quick stop for gas and to pick up lunch, and then decided to drive through Marquette to stop at an adorable little bookstore, Snowbound Books, to buy a few gifts.  

We arrived in the Soo before sunset and after we checked in to our hotel, we headed out for a nice walk around town.

I had never stayed right downtown and really enjoyed being close to the locks.  It was a beautiful night with a gorgeous pink sky at sunset.  I ordered a delicious pizza for delivery for dinner and had a relaxing night in our room.

I worked from my room in the morning and then had the afternoon off to do a little exploring and make the drive home.  

We walked along the sidewalks outside the park for the locks, visited the beautiful county Courthouse, and then spent some time at the park on Rotary Island watching freighters go by.  The weather was beautiful and I didn't want to leave, but we had to start the drive home.

We made one last stop in St. Ignace to stretch our legs along the North Country Trail before crossing the Bridge. We then had a quiet drive the rest of the way home.

Tuesday was a busy day at work and then the girls and I had a puppy playdate with our friend Duke after work.

Wednesday and Thursday were filled with Teams meetings for work, and I was very proud of how well the girls did.  I had plenty of things ready to keep them busy and they settled in nicely for long periods.  Mina's face really showed how I was feeling about the long days!

We spent time out in the yard Thursday afternoon and after work I mowed and did some other yard work while the girls played in the yard.

The colors are really starting to come along in many areas of my neighborhood and this is one of my favorite trees.

Friday after work I headed out to the garden to do my final harvest of the season.  While I still have to do a final garden clean up, the growing season is over.   I'm pleased with my harvest this season.  I will have some goodies to use over the next couple of weeks and then all of the things I put in the freezer can help sustain me through the Winter.  I can't wait until next Spring to start again!

 

Saturday morning I started my day leading the Dog Walking Club at the shelters.  Trillium enjoyed her walk and she was pretty cute.

We had big plans for the weekend, so after dog walking I ran a couple of errands before heading home where I was going to meet Vanessa for a weekend adventure to Chicago for the Illinois Shorthair Rescue reunion.

While our trip got started a little later than planned when I locked myself out of my house, once we got on the road, the trip was smooth sailing.

Our first stop for the day was Grand Mere State Park for a walk through the Dunes and a beautiful view of Lake Michigan.

Our second stop of the day was Warren Dunes State Park.  While Peaches and I had been here before, this was a first for both Mina and Vanessa.  

Before heading to the beach, we did a little geocaching and hiking in the Dunes.  Climbing hills in the sand is quite a workout!

The girls thoroughly enjoyed their walk on the beach, although they really would have liked to chase the sea gulls.

After our walk on the beach, we headed to Warren Woods State Park for a hike and more geocaching.  It was our final stop in Michigan and the rest of the drive to our hotel was quiet.

After a pretty peaceful evening in the hotel, Mina woke up ready for some fun.  

Here they are, very concerned that Vanessa was in the bathroom without them.

Our Sunday morning plans were to head out to Beverly Lake for a geocaching adventure.  This park is the location of the third oldest active geocache in the world, and our goal was to find it.  And that's exactly what we did.  It's pretty exciting to find something that has been hidden in the same spot for almost 22 1/2  years!

We spent more time hiking and geocaching around the pretty little park and the girls loved every minute of it!

 

After our geocaching adventure it was time to head to the ISR reunion. 

The girls took part in the costume contest, the frosty paw eating contest, where Mina finished 2nd, and the other fun events offered during the day. We saw friends and had a great time.  I even won the 50/50 raffle and two baskets.  It was a great day!

After the reunion ended, we loaded up the car to head home.  Of course  we couldn't head directly there!  We took a short detour to visit Elkhart, Indiana to find Indiana's oldest geocache.  

We found the cache and then headed to downtown Elkhart for a short walk and a couple more geocaches.

Then we made the quiet drive the rest of the way home.  

It had been a fun weekend trip and the girls took away quite the haul of goodies!

I'm on vacation all this week and looking forward to some more fun adventures.  Life has seemed pretty hectic lately, so it will be nice to slow down and relax a bit.  Hope you all have a great week!