Michigan Roadtrip - Episode 1 -- July 1, 2018

It's July already!  I'm about the only one left at the Marzinski Horse Camp.  The only people here are a one-man tent and a couple who are never actually here.  Must hang out at the beach every day.  So, we virtually have the entire place to ourselves...not that it's been busy here at all since we arrived.  We didn't beat the heat so much starting yesterday.  HOT like everywhere else.  Oh well.... can't change it.  At least there is a very nice breeze!  But even with the breeze, it has been very warm for Bo.  He has made his cooling space in the sand under the picnic table with ice chip treats....poor guy.... 

Ok -- I got through my 187 photos of our Thursday road trip.  It's going to be another 2-part report.  Just too much for one post.

We headed north along the lake shore... Rt 22.  Our destination was Frankfort, MI - about an hour away.  The town just a few miles north of Manistee is Onekama - "A Two Lake Town".  Lake Michigan, of course is one and Portage Lake is the other.  

I just grabbed a quick shot of Portage Lake as I was driving.  Past this point there weren't many other good views from Rt. 22, plus inevitably, another driver is right behind you when you want to slow down and get a good shot. But, I liked this one!

 

Route 22, like most of the roads around here is pine-lined and two lanes.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but I'm glad it wasn't some kind of busy highway.  There were several old farms --- basically just "rural" scenery.  This neat barn wasn't too far out of Onekama.

A few minutes past the barn was the outskirts of Arcadia, MI.  I saw a "scenic view" sign and decided to pull over and see the scenic view!

It was morning, so there was mist and low, thin clouds over Lake Michigan, but it was still a great view.  It was almost hard to know what you were looking at.  If I hadn't known it was Lake Michigan I'm not sure I would have known exactly what it was....it didn't really look like water.  More like an azure blue abyss.

Looking a different direction, it was obvious we were at a high elevation.  Really pretty!

Taking our time, we continued up 22. 

 The next thought provoking sign we saw was for the public access road to 

[LAKE]

I figured, "why not?".  So we turned down a little lane and came upon the lake's boat launch area...

 

This was a pretty decent sized lake and looked like the perfect spot for some fishing!

After a few shots, we headed back out on 22, only to go a short distance to what else but...

[LAKE]

 

I couldn't not go down the access lane...after all, we were right there!

 

Another pretty lake!

Back out to the main road we go....three stops already -- that weren't planned.  But, if you have the time, there's no reason not to check out what's behind the scenes. 

 

Now to the main event! 

 

Point Betsie Lighthouse, Frankfort, MI

This unique lighthouse started operations in 1858, after 4 years of construction.  It's mostly just photos from here on.  I didn't take the $5 tour because Bo was waiting patiently in the van.  It was a perfectly pleasant day, not too warm, but he can only be in the van for so long.  Basically, I'll just do a "walk around" the property. 

 

 

 

 

 

The views from here were wonderful!  You can see from the photo above that the lighthouse sits well above the plane of the water.  Here are some random views from different vantage points....

Moving on around the property....

Some interesting facts --- The lighthouse was built at a cost of $5,000.  It's height is 37 feet; it's focal height is 52 feet; and the sight range is 23.9 nautical miles.  Maybe next time I'll take the tour and learn more. 

So, that was our visit to The Point Betsie Lighthouse.  Pretty cool!  Now for the reason this roadtrip post will be divided into two episodes.  I had read about another spot I thought would be fun to investigate, but had really discarded the idea because I wasn't sure I really wanted to drive up there...originally thinking I would be driving directly from our campsite.  But, it was still early enough and it was going to be last cool temp day, so I thought, again, "why not???".  From this location, the next destination was only about a 30 minute drive.  We had already come this far, so what was 30 more minutes??  

I'll post the next sequel in a day or two!

Til then, I hope everyone has enjoyed a nice weekend wherever you are!