Our August adventures in the U.P

We started our first full day in Copper Harbor with a lazy morning.  The day started off drizzly and gray, and we were ready to relax-even little Miss Mina.  

We took a drizzly late morning walk around town, stopping by some of our favorite spots.  After our walk, the girls ate a late breakfast and we prepared to leave for some adventures.  After a stop at the Genny, we headed toward Hancock with plans for me to check out some indoor spots that I don't usually have the chance to visit since it is either too hot or the off season when I visit.   

But before doing anything else, we had to stop for lunch at Four Suns.  I love their fried whitefish and risotto, and so do the girls!  While it was gray and 60 degrees, the rain had stopped so we sat outside at one of the picnic tables to enjoy our meal.  The girls waited patiently while I ordered.  They were pretty cute waiting for me.  

I finished my lunch and then headed off to visit the new dog park in Hancock.  It was quiet when we arrived with just a few other dogs, but they left shortly after we arrived.  This was a great spot because it is a huge fenced area that allowed Mina to really get in some exercise zooming around and sniffing everything.  She and Peaches played for a bit, until a new friend arrive.  Honey was a 125 pound 15 month old Great Dane who Mina quickly befriended and they ran and played for quite awhile until Honey and her owner left to go home.  After a little more time alone in the park, I decided it was time for us to leave.

We had enjoyed our time at the dog park, but it was time to head back toward the Harbor.  Along the way, we made a stop at Great Sand Bay because we needed to get our toes in the sand and in Superior.  We were the only ones on the beach which has become rare over the last couple of years, and boy did we enjoy our time.  We enjoyed it so much that I didn't even get any pictures.  Before leaving we even took a walk down the beach which is something we haven't done in a long time.  It had been a fixture of our trips in the past, and I was happy to take Mina down the beach for some exploration for the first time.

We took a short break when we got back to our cabin.  We had been busy and the girls needed a little nap.  But when I was ready to head back out for our evening walk, they were definitely ready to go too!  We had a nice walk, visited our favorite Copper Harbor horses, and picked up dinner on our way back to the cabin.  

It had been an excellent day and after we all ate dinner, the girls were soon sound asleep and snoring away.

Tuesday was another rainy start to the day and we had another drizzly morning walk around town, picked up a turnover, and headed back to enjoy some peace and quiet in our cabin.  After her breakfast, Peaches enjoyed sitting in the door and watching the world go by.  This was a regular favorite spot for her during the week.

We enjoyed the down time as the rain cleared up and then headed out for another walk and a visit to Lake Manganese.  I had a nice picnic lunch while the girls sniffed around and played on the beach.  We then took a walk through the woods along the shore.

 

Next we made a visit to Chance and Benjamin.  I had some treats for the boys and I  wanted to work with the girls on being calm around horses.  Everyone did pretty well, although Mina really wanted to say hello a little more enthusiastically than I wanted initially.  I was pretty proud of how well they did though and that I got a decent picture of all four of them.

We had another lovely walk and enjoyed the August flowers, and I was excited to find some thimbleberries with berries still on the plants. 

We happily spent a quiet late afternoon in our room until we went to met our friends Tom and Scott at feeding time for the horses.  It was so nice to see both of them!  Afterward, we took a walk to pick up dinner before the rain moved back into town.  We were nicely settled into our room eating dinner when the rain started.  

It had been another good day in the Harbor and the girls were quickly sound asleep for the night.

We woke up to another gray day, with a bit of rain in the morning, but the rain cleared and after our morning walk around town and breakfast, we headed down M-26 to visit some of our favorite spots along the way.  

We enjoyed a nice stop at Esrey Park, one of my favorite spots in the area.  The girls were once again sniffing around and checking everything out along the shore.

I couldn't believe that neither of them noticed this little frog.  Peaches nearly stepped on him, but was completely oblivious.  I'm glad that he didn't meet his end at the hands of either of the girls.  

Our next visit was once again Great Sand Bay.  The Fall color was already starting and I liked the contrast of this pretty leaf against the sand.

The beach was a lot busier this visit, but we didn't let that stop us from having fun.  Mina could spend hours chasing her ball along the shore and into the water, and I kept her busy doing just that.  Peaches also played a little fetch, chewed on sticks, and explored the beach.  They both had such a good time.  I sure do love this beach. 

On our way home from our beach time, we drove up Brockway Mountain.  It was so foggy that we couldn't see Lake Superior.  

The foggy scenery certainly was pretty.  I really enjoyed the eerie look. 

Mina was not happy that I was out of the car without her.  She would have preferred if I had let her join me for an adventure.

We made it back to the Harbor in time for a late lunch and then relaxed for a bit.  I enjoyed being able to just sit and enjoy a little down time while the girls napped. 

We made an early evening drive along Cliff Drive to enjoy the scenery.  While I was seeing Fall colors starting to pop all around the area, this was a great spot to stop and capture some of the change.  Fall is coming far to quickly!

Thursday we made yet another rainy walk around town to start our day.  We made a stop for a turnover at Jamsen's which I ate as we continued our walk.

These beautiful flowers caught my eye on our morning walk so I had to stop to get a picture.  So pretty.

After our breakfast, we headed to Fort Wilkins to enjoy the trails along Lake Fanny Hooe.  It was a bit foggy again and I thought the fog across the lake was pretty.  

We enjoyed a nice walk on all of the trails at the park along both Lake Fanny Hooe and Lake Superior.  These trails don't get a lot of use so I really enjoy our walks here.

The foggy Lake Superior shoreline was gorgeous and I love these quiet little beach areas which are rarely visited by anyone.

After we finished our walk, we took a drive down to the end of the road...where US 41 starts it's journey South across America.

Next, we grabbed a little lunch and took short break before heading out for a visit to Hunter's Point Park.  

While it was gray and foggy when we first arrived, the sun finally made an appearance for the first time during our trip.  I was so excited to see it!  While I love Copper Harbor any time, no matter what the weather, the day after day of gray skies with temps staying between 60-65 degrees all day(and night) and rain each night was getting a little old.  The sun was a refreshing change.

Honestly, I don't think I could ever take enough pictures of this area.  I love this park!

This was Mina's first time all the way out at the point and Peaches hasn't been out that far many times, so it was fun to explore it with them,  Peaches was even brave and went into the water.  This is a rare occurrence.

After a marvelous afternoon exploring the park, it was time for us to leave.  I had to feed girls and get dinner before our evening plans with our friend Bryce.

We were excited to make it out once again to Great Sand Bay, this time for an evening visit with Bryce and Hope.  I was so looking forward to visiting with Bryce and was excited to get Mina and Hope together for some play time.  It had been a whole year since we had seen them and Mina was just a tiny little puppy the last time she and Hope saw each other. 

We enjoyed a wonderful visit and the girls played and played.  It was wonderful to watch.  Peaches even got involved with the play on a few occasions.  After a beautiful sunset on the beach and lots of fun with friends, sadly it was time for us to head back to our room for our final night in Copper Harbor.

I look forward to the next time we can get these three girls together again.  They are so much fun!

We woke up early on Friday and took our earliest morning walk of the entire trip.  Sadly this was our final walk around the Harbor for this trip, and it was a quick one because thunderstorms were supposed to be moving into town.  We made it back to the cabin with breakfast  and I was even able to get the car packed before the rain started.  We sat quietly in our room enjoying the final hour in the harbor.  We had had such a wonderful, refreshing, and relaxing week there and I while I am always sad to leave, I felt like we had made the most of our time.

We left the Harbor and headed to our first stop in Hancock at the Houghton County Fair.  I arrived shortly after it opened and took a quick walk around the midway before heading to the barns.  It is a cute little fair and I am glad I stopped.  Before leaving, I bought an Indian Fry Bread Taco for lunch which I took back to the car with me.

The girls and I then stopped at a park in Hancock with a view of the lift bridge where we all ate our lunches with this lovely view.

The rest of our trip to Manistique was pretty uneventful, but I arrived at our hotel there with a migraine.  While I wasn't feeling well, the girls were ready for some fun, so it was a bit of a struggle.  Luckily they finally settled down and allowed me to rest until I was feeling a bit better.  Since our hotel was right on Lake Michigan, I was able to take them down for a slow walk along the beach before we settled into our room for the night.

Saturday morning we headed out to explore the area around Manistique.  I've never spent much time in this area and was interested to see what we'd find.  The stop at the Bishop Baraga Shrine and first church marker was interesting and informative and had lovely views of Indian Lake.

We then made the drive out to hike the Indian Lake Pathway.  This was a nice quiet trail and we enjoyed some time in the woods.  I was excited to find lots of blackberries along the trail and stopped a few times for a snack.

After our morning adventures, I was ready for lunch, and when we're in Manistique that means a burger from Clyde's!  I got my burger to go and took it back to our room so the girls could eat too and then we took a nice break before our next adventure.  

We were just a quarter mile walk from the Manistique Boardwalk trailhead, so we took a nice late afternoon walk there.  

It was a great day for a walk along the shore of Lake Michigan, and a majority of this trail is pretty quiet, so we had a really great walk.  We say lots of birds, chipmunks, and other small furry critters, and two snakes, on our walk.  What a nice way to spend our afternoon.

Our next adventure for the day took us out for an early evening visit to Kitchit-iti-kippi.  This is a beautiful spot in the UP that I have visited on multiple occasions, but this was Mina's first visit.  While Peaches was nervous on the raft, Mina absolutely love this stop!

We picked up a couple of geocaches while we were there and got a cute picture of the girls at the entrance before leaving.  After a really good day of fun, it was time to head back into town to pick up dinner and settle in for our final evening in the UP.

We took one last walk along the breakwall and enjoyed a little time on the beach before ordering a pizza for dinner, and then we enjoyed a nice walk around town while we waited for the pizza to be ready for pick up.

It was a beautiful final evening of vacation and we had had a wonderful day.  I was so thankful for a beautiful sunset to end our week.

Sunday morning we enjoyed a walk along the beach before breakfast and then settled in for a quiet breakfast in our room.  With the car packed and ready to go, we headed out for one last beach trip.  I had promised Mina some fetch on the beach and we had a wonderful hour playing and enjoying our time there. 

We made on last quick stop at the Paul Bunyan statue in town before the girls settled in for the trip East toward the bridge.

Before crossing the Bridge, I wanted to get in one more walk to ensure the girls were settled in for the rest of the trip home.  Lucky for us, the North Country Trail runs through the Straits State Park in St. Ignace and it was the perfect spot to stop for a hike.  

We finished our hike and the girls ate lunch before settling in for the ride home.  We had had a marvelous time in the UP, but it was time to get home.  With storms that had moved through the area on Thursday night, I needed to get home to see what damage there was and prepare for the week ahead.  

I left the UP happy and relaxed.  We had a great trip and, while I am always sad to leave, I was so happy that we had made so many great memories.  I can't wait until we make our next trip!