Enjoying some fresh air and fun

After far too long away, last Sunday we finally made our way back to the Keweenaw.  After spending Saturday night in Manistique, we continued our journey North on a cloudy, cool Sunday morning.

The main goals I had for the day included a stop to get potato pancakes at the Swedish Pantry in Escanaba to eat as we drove to Hall Farms to visit the Sunflower fields, after which we'd continue on to Copper Harbor. 

Unfortunately we weren't able to order take out, so we skipped Escanaba and headed right for the Sunflower fields.  The clouds grew darker as we drove, and eventually the rain came.  Thankfully it was short-lived and had stopped before we reached the farm.

This was the final day of the season for the sunflowers at Hall Farms since they were beginning to droop their heads and lose some of their luster.  But I thought they were still beautiful, especially against the dark blue sky and moody clouds.

This is a great spot to stop with the girls because there are so many smells and I make them work as well.  I'm always so proud of Mina when she obliges me when I ask her to do silly things.

After a nice long walk around the fields and lots of pictures, both girls cooperated with me for one final picture in the giant Adirondack Chair.

Then it was back in the car to continue our journey.  

We finally arrived in Copper Harbor and quickly got checked into our room for the first night, got unpacked, and headed out for a walk.  Our walk took us around town and out to see the horses where we ran into our friend Tom.  Then the girls napped, and we had another walk before dinner, with a stop at the Genny so I could grab some food and the girls could be spoiled by their friend, Stacy.  

We enjoyed some quiet time in our room after dinner and got out for our traditional evening potty walk to the Sixth Street dock at sunset.  We were all in bed early and slept soundly all night.

I woke up before the girls on Monday and had showered and gotten the car nearly packed before Peaches made a sound.  Mina had already gone out for her morning potty and was ready for breakfast when Peaches finally woke up.  

We headed out the door right away to get Peaches out for her potty walk, and along the way we stopped for a Thimbleberry Turnover at Jamsen's, which we shared while sitting on the dock. Then it was back to our room so the girls could have breakfast before we started our day of adventures. 

Later in the day, we'd be moving into our cabin at the Minnetonka for the rest of the week and we had a few hours to explore before we could check in, so we headed down M26 to visit some of our favorite spots along the way.

Our first stop was Esrey Park.  I love this little park so much and I am always so happy when we visit it.

I can honestly say that this is my absolute favorite spot along the Lake Superior shoreline.   It just makes my heart so happy to be there.

We walked through the entire park enjoying every inch of it, then I sat on the rocks to enjoy the peaceful sound of the the water lapping against the rocks. The girls were nice enough to give me a few moments of quiet to really enjoy the moment of solitude.   It was the perfect start to our day.

Next we stopped in Eagle Harbor for a visit to the Lighthouse and a walk around town.  I even found a couple of Thimbleberries which is unusual this late in the season.

Then we made a brief stop in Eagle River before continuing our journey for the day. 

Next we drove down Five Mile Point Road for a stop at Veale Park.

After reaching Ahmeek, we jumped onto US41 to make the drive back to Copper Harbor to check in to our cabin and get settled in for the week.

The girls quickly made themselves comfortable in their little home away from home while I unpacked and got us all set up for our stay.  Then I sat down to join them and relax a bit.

Before dinner we got out for our customary walk around town and out to see the horses.  Mina and Peaches love this part of their day and insist that we visit the boys at least once a day when we're in town.

We had dinner after our walk and then spent the evening relaxing at the cabin.

Everyone was tired after a long busy day, so our evening potty walk was just a short walk around the Minnetonka property before we headed to bed.  The girls were both quickly sound asleep.

All of the fresh air and exercise Monday led to Peaches sleeping in on Tuesday.  I once again beat her out of bed and I finally had to wake her up shortly after 9am so we could start our day.

We started our Tuesday morning with a walk around the Harbor and a smoothie from the newest place in town. 

We stopped at the Third Street Dock dock to watch this fishing boat for a bit before heading back to our cabin.

Then after a brief nap, we headed out to explore the Keweenaw South shore. There was rain in the forecast later in the day, so we wanted to make sure to have some fun before it arrived.

The best part of our day was spent at Bete Gris enjoying a walk on the beach and being harassed by a Sandhill Crane along the way.  It was a unique experience and the girls were so excited about the big birdie.

We made the walk all the way to the end of the beach to check out the view of the Mendota Lighthouse.  The girls did some exploring in the big rocks there as well before we turned to make the walk back down the beach to the car.

It was just about the perfect beach day made even better since we had the entire beach to ourselves the entire visit.

As we continued our drive, we made a stop at Point Isabelle to explore, but didn't stay long because there were other people there with dogs that didn't seem to enjoy us being there.

Since we were close, we made the drive into Hancock for a late lunch/early dinner at Four Suns, a must visit for us when we're in the area.

The girls ate their lunch at the picnic table while I waited for my food, and then, of course, I shared some of my fish and fries with them.

Then we made a quick stop at the Hancock Dog Park, since we were just a couple miles away, so that Mina could burn some extra energy chasing her ball.  We only had about 20 minutes for our visit before thunderstorms were forecast, but that was the perfect amount of time.

As we left the dog park to start our drive back to the Harbor, it started to rain. But it wasn't long before it had stopped again. 

As we drove past Great Sand Bay, Mina was whining incessantly, so we pulled into the parking lot for the public beach and headed down the stairs...and who should we see down the beach?!? Bryce and Hope out for a little afternoon break. So of course we stopped for a visit.

With more storms headed our way, we didn't stay for a long visit, but it certainly was nice to see them both.

We stopped quickly at Esrey Park as we drove back to the Harbor and got back to our cabin before any storms started.

I was prepared to hunker down in the cabin for the night with thunderstorms in the forecast, but other than a few sprinkles nothing came of the storms.

So the girls and I took an early evening walk to get some ice cream and enjoy it with a view.  It had been a very long, busy day, and after our walk around town, we settled in for a nice quiet evening.  We wanted to make sure we'd be well rested for another day of adventures. 

The forecast for Wednesday had originally shown a day of rain and thunderstorms.  I had been preparing for that weather by making sure the girls got plenty of exercise and mental stimulation before it arrived.  I figured they'd be tired enough for a lazy day inside if that were necessary.  But we got lucky and the forecast changed by Wednesday morning. 

It was cloudy, and I was still prepared if rain did decide to move into the area.  We had a slow start to our day, but by late morning we were ready for a walk.  I didn't want to leave town so we drove down to Fort Wilkins State Park to walk the trails.

We rarely see anyone on this trail after getting past the fort buildings so it's always quiet and enjoyable. 

And I love the woods and views of Lake Fanny Hooe and Fanny Hooe Creek.

By the time we finished our walk around the park, we had walked 3 1/2 miles and we were all ready for lunch.

I stopped for a veggie burrito from the Mornin' Sunshine food truck and then went back to the cabin so I could feed the girls before eating.  Then we just spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the cabin.  Boy was that nice.

Before dinner, we drove to the top of Brockway Mountain to stop at the overlook.

Then we headed back down the mountain and into town for our pre-dinner walk to visit the horses.

We had a brief chat with Tom and then continued on our way so we could go back to the cabin for dinner.  Afterward, two very exhausted girls settled in for a quiet evening.  Other than a very short evening potty walk aftet dark, the girls didn't move the rest of the night.

Peaches was up early Thursday, so we got out for a short walk before breakfast and ran into Scott on his way in to work.  We had a nice chat with him before he continued on his way, I grabbed a breakfast burrito from Mornin' Sunshine, and we headed back to the cabin.

After breakfast, Peaches was happy to go back to bed for a nice nap.  Eventually we got up and around so we could get out for some more fun.  We first made a stop in Eagle River so Mina could get some zoomies out at the dog run in the park there. Then we made a quick visit across the street to Eagle River Falls before heading down the road to the Monk's trails outside of Eagle Harbor. 

This was our first time visiting these trails and I was not disappointed.   There were some lovely spots along the way and the view of the Jacob's Creek Gorge was pretty special. 

The girls also thoroughly enjoyed our walk here.  

Next we headed to Great Sand Bay.  I wanted to take a blanket down to the beach and just enjoy some quiet down time after all of the hiking we'd been doing all week.

I was able to get Peaches to lay down, but Mina was mad at me for not playing ball with her.  She was especially mad since there was another dog just down the beach that was playing ball...and I'm sure she thought I was a terrible dog mom for torturing her like this.

Eventually I did get her ball out to play for a bit while Peaches and and I sat watching the water.  We had to pack up and leave earlier than I had planned because storms were moving into the area.  But I was happy that I got to enjoy some beach time.

On the way back to Copper Harbor, we took the long way back on Brockway Mountain drive.  We made a stop at the top and watched as the rain came blowing in from across the Lake.  It moved so quickly that we actually got caught in the rain.  The girls were not happy about that.   But it was pretty cool to see first-hand.

There was more napping before our walk out to see the horses. We also saw plenty of wildlife along the way.

We ended our evening at the final Performances in the Park of the season.  It was a nice end to our day.

Somehow Friday arrived much more quickly than I expected.  The week had gone so quickly!  I was torn between getting out to explore more or having a more relaxing day.  I decided to compromise and do a little of both.

So after a slow morning, we headed back to the State Park to explore the trail that runs along Lake Superior with views of the Copper Harbor Lighthouse. 

The weather was perfect for this beautiful walk and we all enjoyed it so much.

I even gave Mina some freedom to explore and climb rocks since I wasn't going to be able to do it with her because of Peaches.  While she would have tried valiantly to climb like Mina, she's just to wobbly now.  So I kept her safe and let Mina go off on her own.

After lunch, we visited Hunter's Point Park for more rocky climbing.

I was glad that Peaches was still up for the adventure because the terrain can be hard for an old girl.  But she did great.  She may be a frail old lady, but she's still got the heart of an adventure dog.

After another break, we took our evening walk out to see the horses before another quiet evening at the cabin.

We had a really nice walk around the Harbor to start our Saturday.  Then we went back to the cabin for a late breakfast and some quiet time.

I knew I wanted to get out of town for a bit and, after much thought, I decided to head back to Bete Gris. I couldn't believe how much the trees had changed from just a few days earlier.  Fall is slowly heading our way.

The beach was beautiful once again, and we were all enjoying our walk there.

We watched as fog slowly crept it's way across the Lake.

Eventually, I found a piece of driftwood to sit on so I could sit with my feet in the water and continue to watch the fog move in across the Lake and along the beach.  It was really beautiful to experience. 

It was such a nice way to spend our early afternoon.  

When we left the beach, we took some crazy backroads to get to Central Mine for a short visit.  It was such an interesting drive.

Then we made a stop at Esrey Park before continuing on our way back to Copper Harbor. 

We had an early dinner when we got back to the cabin and the took our daily walk to visit the horses before we had to get in the car to head out for an evening at Great Sand Bay.

We had a lovely visit with Bryce and Hope and enjoyed a wonderful sunset.  We stayed until well past dark and enjoyed our time there so much.  Spending time with friends is one of my favorite parts of my visits to.the Harbor.  It the perfect way to spend our final evening

I was up early on Sunday morning as we prepared to leave the Harbor after our amazing week there.  I had the car nearly packed and was ready to go before the girls were even awake.  

Once the were up, we took our morning potty walk out to say goodbye to the boys.  Then we took a short walk around town.  I got a breakfast burrito,  walked to Jamsen's to get a turnover for the drive home, and headed back to the cabin where we all ate breakfast. 

 

I finsihed packing the last few things, including the dog bed, into the car and came back to find that the girls had made themselves comfortable.

We sat for a short while longer, and then I had to get a picture of the girls with the Minnetonka dinosaurs before we left.  I know Fiona is going to love this picture!

As we headed toward home, we had to make our customary stop for one final walk on Great Sand Bay.  It was a beautiful morning and we had the entire beach to ourselves.   It was magical.  Forty minutes later, we were back in the car to continue our journey home.

We stopped for gas in L'Anse, and finally stopped to stretch our legs when we got to Munising. 

We took a short 20 minute walk along this new bike path so the girls could potty and burn some energy.  

I called in an order for a burger from Clyde's as we drove toward Manistique.  The order was ready when we arrived, and I got the girls out so that they could have their dinner while I ate mine.  Then we hit the road once again. 

We had rain and more traffic than I like between Manistique and St Ignace, and I was both happy and sad to see the Mighty Mac. The rest of our journey home was smooth and easy.

 

Sadly our week in the UP had come to and end, but it had been such a good week and we were all happy, relaxed, and glad to have spent the week together in such a special place.  I'm so grateful to have gotten to make such special memories with my girls.