One last Winter Adventure

This week has been a busy one at work.  The end of the quarter and all of the prep work I had to complete for an advisor training meeting next week, our first of three this spring, has kept me busier than normal.  Add in my annual eye exam and a couple of other meetings, and it made for full days.  

Lucky for me, the girls are mostly happy to nap the mornings away while I'm working.  But by the time we reach the afternoon, they sometimes can get a little antsy.  For the most part, the weather this week has cooperated and they have been able to spend some time outside in the yard during the day when they get bored inside.  However, it would really help if we could get on a better schedule of exercise and brain games again to ensure that they are getting all that they need in both physical and mental stimulation.

We were able to get out for a nice long visit to Soldan dog park on Monday right after work.  We hadn't planned on quite such a long visit, but I got stuck in a conversation with one of the other dog owners there, and while I was talking, Mina decided that she could explore on her own and didn't need me to entertain her by playing fetch the entire visit.  Then a couple of dogs showed up that Peaches quickly befriended and started playing chase with like she was half her age.  They were both having such a good time, and the weather was so nice, I was glad that we had gotten stuck for a longer visit. 

On Tuesday, I worked late and then was busy on a phone call, so instead of getting out for an evening walk, I headed back for a later than usual visit to the dog park.  When we arrived, there was only one other dog there on the opposite side of the pond, and soon after, they left the park, leaving us all alone in this beautiful 15 acre park.  It was so peaceful and it was such a beautiful evening.  Mina explored on her own for a while, but eventually she brought me a ball to play with her.  She was intently playing fetch, and she didn't even notice that she had broken one of her nails on her back paw.  She was bleeding profusely, but remained unphased as she continued to play.  Thankfully, the bleeding had nearly stopped by the time we left just after sunset.  I had thoroughly enjoyed this visit, and so had both girls.  

Mid-week, I got this adorable picture of Fiona from Nicol.  We're just five weeks away from her third birthday, and she officially no longer looks like a baby.  She's growing up and changing so fast!  

On Wednesday, the weather was gorgeous, and I decided we all needed a change of pace from all of our dog park trips.  So when I finally finished my work day, we headed out to explore.  

We ended up at Delta Mills Park and had a lovely walk along the paved trail nearby as well as in the park itself.  There were lots of other people out enjoying the weather, and Mina was especially intrigued by the groups of people playing pickleball.  When we finished our walk, I made the girls pose for a few pictures along the river before we got back into the car to head home.  

Thursday was my busiest day of the week, and by the time I had a chance to get the dogs out for some exercise, the dog park made the most sense.  I knew that I had some fun weekend plans, so I was okay with another dog park visit.  At least I know that after a good run at the dog park, Peaches is more likely to relax for the evening, so it is always a good option, even if I get sick of the same views every day.

I was so happy when we finally reach Friday.  I still had some final preparations to make for our meeting next week, but I felt much more relaxed than I had the rest of the week.  The work day went smoothly, and I was able to get out of the office by mid-afternoon to start our drive North for the weekend.  The roads were clear, the sun was shining, and the temperatures for most of our drive in the Lower Peninsula were in the mid-60s to low 70s.  But by the time I reached the Bridge, temperatures had dropped to near 40.

When we got into the UP, the smooth travel continued.  Peaches had happily napped most of our drive, and Mina was either napping or sitting with me as my co-pilot.  We arrived at our motel in Manistique around 6:30, unpacked the car, and then headed out for a short walk so the girls could potty and stretch their legs.  They were so happy to head out to the beach on the motel property.  We've stayed here enough over the last couple of years that they are very familiar with the property and couldn't wait for their beach walk.  I think they were a bit surprised by the amount of ice and snow, but also very happy about it.

After our walk, I headed over to Clyde's to pick up a burger for dinner.  I couldn't believe I was the only one there.  That never happens!

On the way back to our hotel, we stopped along the way at one of the beachside parks so we could take a nice walk on the beach and enjoy the sunset.

We were all very happy to be on the beach and in the sand.  I was really enjoying the beauty of all of this ice and the girls were loving all of the smells.

We had picked the perfect time to enjoy the beach and had it all to ourselves.  We had a nice mile walk on the beach and boardwalk before we got into the car to head back to the hotel.

When we got to the hotel, I fed the girls dinner and then sat down finally to eat my burger.  It was delicious as always. 

The girls watched every bite I took, hoping that they would be rewarded with a bit too.  Of course, I couldn't disappoint them.  What a wonderful travel day we had!

We woke up Saturday morning with no specific plans.  I just wanted to be able to relax and get out for a few walks and short adventures.  After a slow start to our morning, we finally got ready to leave around 11am.  First I made a stop to pick up some lunch, and then we were off for some fun.

We spent the first part of our day traveling to sites around Indian Lake, the first of which was the Bishop Baraga Shrine-the site of his first church in the UP.  

While we were there, the girls sniffed around, we found a geocache, and we checked out the buildings and the lake.

Then we visited the Raney Wildlife area. There is a short walk to a wildlife viewing platform and it is a very pretty area.  I love Cedar forests.

We walked out to the platform, enjoyed the views, and then turned around to head back to the car.

I was really happy that I had my ice cleats because a couple of spots along the trail were pretty icy.

Next we headed to Palms Book State Park to visit Kitch-iti-kippi.  We've been here many times before, but it's always worth a visit when we're in the area, especially this time of year when there are far fewer people.

After picking up a few more geocaches, we headed south down the Garden Peninsula.  This is an area I haven't explored much, although I have driven the peninsula in the past. 

I made the drive to the Sac Bay County park at the southern end of the peninsula and had hoped to get out for a little walk, but the trails were flooded and muddy and the wind was brutally cold.  So after a quick stop, we started our journey north again.

I was excited to discover this lovely little cemetery with beautiful views of Big Bay de Noc.  One of the benefits of geocaching is that it brings me to spots like this that I wouldn't have otherwise found.

This little Fisherman's cemetery was fascinating and I really enjoyed this stop.  When I die, I'd love to be buried somewhere just like this.  What a view!

We made a quick stop at Fayette, but the grounds are currently closed for some construction, so other than a quick walk from the campground to the boat dock we couldn't explore any farther.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Thompson Fish Hatchery for a little self-guided tour.

The path had several informative signs and I loved following the yellow fish road from stop to stop.

We finally made it back to our hotel in time to watch the end of the Michigan/Maryland men's basketball game and take a little break.  By the time the game was over, the girls were ready for dinner, but I had plans for one more walk before they ate.  So we headed to downtown Manistique and took a nice 1.5 mile walk.  Then I ordered a pizza from Main Street Pizza, and we drove over to the beach for a quick round of ball on the beach for Mina.  She loves ball on the beach.  I took them back to the room for their dinner, and then ran back into town to pick up my pizza to end our day.  It had been another great day in the UP.

On Sunday we were up early to make the drive to Marquette to meet up with my nephew, Mason, for a little more winter fun.  Peaches refused to eat her breakfast with her medication in it, and I had to dig the pills out of her dish just so she would eat, and I couldn't convince her to take the pills any other way, so she started the day a little more anxious, but I figured we would manage.

It was a blustery, frigid day with temperatures never getting above the mid-20s and wind chills in the single digits.  

After picking Mason up on campus at NMU, we headed out to visit the Eben Ice Caves.   Luckily this area is wooded and well protected from the wind, so we had a comfortable walk out to the caves.

It was a slippery walk, even with cleats, but we made it safely,  although I may regret my decision to slide down the final hill on my butt.  With the recent thaw, rain, and refreezing, it was a bit of a bumpy ride!  I may be a little sore tomorrow.

For the first time ever we were the only people at the caves for a brief period of time, and we only saw a total of 10 people the entire visit- 4 leaving the caves when we arrived, 2 who came shortly after we arrived, and 4 near the beginning of the trail as we were leaving.   It was pretty amazing to see all of this beauty without the crowds.

The walk back to the car went way more quickly than the walk out because climbing up all of the icy hills is so much easier than going down.  

Mina enjoyed her walk with Mason, while I got some quality time with Peaches.  I even worked up a sweat on the return trip.  It was such a fun time, and I was so happy to get to spend some time with Mason.

When we got back to Marquette, we stopped at Border Grill for lunch before dropping Mason off at his dorm.  It was time to start our drive home.

But when I realized the North Country Trail was less than a half mile from Mason's dorm, you know I had to make a stop before leaving town. 

The wind was brutal and this section of the trail wasn't very scenic due to construction along the route.  Due to the cold and wind, we only walked about one mile, but that gets us one mile closer to our 100.

While the girls settled in for our drive home, I had to make a quick stop in Au Train to marvel at the beauty of the frozen Lake Superior and the amazing power of the wind.  I also quickly stopped for a look at Scott Falls.

We continued our drive through the UP which was mostly uneventful until we reached the Brevort area where apparently some winter weather has passed through earlier in the day.   There were near whiteout conditions along US2 and Lake Michigan, and the conditions crossing the Mackinac Bridge were some of the worst I had traveled on it.  The outside lane was icy and there were high wind warnings, so it was slow going, but we made it safely across.

When we reached Mackinaw City, I stopped to get a Pastie from Mackinaw Pastie and Cookie Company for the drive home, made a potty stop, and filled up the gas tank.  I was not planning to stop for the rest of the drive home.

Because of the winter weather that had moved through the Northern Michigan snowbelt, the drive was dicey at points, but for the most part I felt we could safely make it home by just slowing down and taking our time.  There were a few miles north of Gaylord that several cars had gone off the highway due to icy conditions,  and I had told myself I would stop if I felt the roads weren't safe, but by the time we got to an exit with hotels, the roads had cleared enough that I didn't feel we needed to stop.  Finally, about 90 minutes from home everything cleared up and the rest of our drive was smooth sailing.  We made the last hour of our drive after sunset, getting home about an hour later than originally projected,  but we had experienced a gorgeous bright red sky immediately after sunset and are now happily safe and sound at home.

After our weekend adventures and the weather today, I'm officially finished with Winter.  We've had our Winter fun.  Bring on  Spring!