1,000 Mile Weekend

Klaron and I, well we like to travel... see new sites and immerse ourselves in the local culture. I love post cards and gift shops. And when we travel, we travel. We are not like those sane folk who take vacations. The ones who drive to their destination, maybe a few hours or a plane ride away, and spend a few days relaxing and enjoying one singular area. OH NO, this is not the Cramer Way. We have got to see it ALL!! Example, 2 years ago in 2006 over Memorial Day Weekend, we drove our Durango over 2,000 miles from Hartford, Connecticut, north to Nova Scotia, then further north to Prince Edward Island. After spending about 2 hours on the island we turned around and drove home. Driving a different route of course because we never like to see the same thing twice. We have been to 44 states, lived in 7 states and last year we filed taxes in 3 states.

This Labor Day Weekend was no different, except that I am now 6 1/2 months pregnant with our baby boy who still does not have a name. I have always wanted to see the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I am drawn to places that few people have seen and I don't know of anyone whose ever been to the U.P.

On Friday, Klaron got off work early and we started our vacation, destination: Pictured Rock National Lakeshore in Munising, Michigan. Being the fabulous and well organized wife that I am, I had packed the car with all the necessary items for a 4 day camping trip. Like the postman I was prepared for rain, sleet, snow and every other type of weather. I had even pre-made chicken enchiladas to cook over the camp stove for dinner. We were ready!!! After 4 hours, we made it to the Mackinac Bridge (spelled Mackinac but pronounced Mackinaw, and the locals will laugh and point if you get it wrong).



I really wanted my picture taken on this rock, but a little girl kept playing on it, so I had to wait for her to leave to take the picture. This is a very cool bridge. It is just short of 5 miles long and is the only connection between Upper and Lower Michigan. It also separated Lake Michigan to the west from Lake Huron in the east.

SATURDAY: We spent the whole day in Pictured Rock National Lakeshore. This Lakeshore is known for its painted cliffs, inspiring rock formations and numerous waterfalls. We started at the Interagency Visitors Center for some information and then headed into the park.



The whole morning we spend hiking. We hiked to Miners Falls and then on to Miners Castle Overlook. At Miners Beach we stopped for lunch and a little play time in Lake Superior.



The lake water was so pristine and clear and freezing!! But we did get in. We have now seen all of the five Great Lakes. Lake Superior being the last one to see.



After lunch, we were both exhausted!! But in the spirit of the Cramer Way, we went for another 3 mile hike to see Chapel Falls. This is Klaron's "we hiked all the way here just to see this" face. He was so ready for a nap.



The highlight of the whole day was the Pictured Rock Sunset Boat Cruise. This cruise took us 17 miles up the coast along the Pictured Rock cliff face. Above is a better view of Miner's Castle.

This is Chapel Rock on Chapel Beach, below Chapel Falls. The amazing thing about this is the lone tree atop the rock formation. Trees cannot grow in rocks, so the tree's root has grown over to the other rock structure to sustain the tree. Very adaptive those trees.

This is one of my favorite rock formations. Its a pirate!! Can you see it?

The Captain thought it would be fun to take the boat into this little cove. He was right, it was very swell.

The Pictured Rocks are known as "painted cliffs" and this is why. They are beautiful. I have never seen anything like it. There are so many colors on the cliffs. It really is something to see but can only be seen from the water.

Spray Falls... this was the last site on the cruise. When we got back to our campsite that night it was about 9:30 and dark. I had been waiting all day to eat those enchiladas, I was so excited. So while Klaron went to get fresh drinking water from the pump, I made the enchiladas. Now I say drinking water because you pump the water from a pump, one that you have to crank up and down to prim and then you get the water. It reminded me of that seminary video where the guy is walking through the desert and he sees a pump he has to prim but drinks the water meant for priming instead of actually putting in the pump. You know the story, now anyway... The water came out clear from the pump, but somehow in our buckets it turned a nice brown rust color and it was glacier cold. But beggars can't be choosers so we used it as face washing water. Oh, I should also add that the enchiladas were awesome!!!

SUNDAY: Now like I mentioned before, most sane vacationers would have spent another day in the park enjoying nature and the beautiful surroundings, BUT NOT THE CRAMERS. We drove 3 hours east over to Tahquamenon Falls State Park to see the largest waterfall west of the Mississippi. So here we are on the observation deck at Tahquamenon Falls.

This guy thought he would be brave and get off the trail to get a better look at the falls. Brave wasn't the exact word that came to my mind.

Falls in the morning then another 2 hour drive further east to Sault Ste Marie on the Canadian border. Our landlord told us the Soo Locks were an absolute must see and it really is. Here's the story. Lake Huron is 21 feet lower than Lake Superior. So for the mega carrier boats to cross from Huron to Superior man created the Soo Locks. What happens is the carrier sails into one of the four shoots, then the gate is closed behind them. The water is raised the needed 21 feet to be level with Lake Superior and then the gate is opened and the carrier goes on its way. It really is a site to see. The carriers are mega gargantuous.

Klaron was on the digital camera and I took the video, so if you have a yearning to see the Soo Locks in action, I got it on tape. All 35 minutes of it.

MONDAY: Labor Day 2008!! Day of the 51st Mackinac Bridge Walk. Bright and early Monday morning we came full circle back to the Mackinac Bridge, this time to walk across it. Crazy? It's 5 miles across! Tell that to the other 30,000 people that gather to walk across the bridge every Labor Day. We started at the Straits State Park. First let me tell you reader about the magic pass we have. Its a Michigan State Parks pass and it allows us to go everywhere, I love our magic pass. We just drive up and the ranger waves us in. Its great!!

We started the walk about 9am in St. Ignace. 10:30 we made it to the other side of the bridge in Mackinaw City. We were exhausted. To get back to our car, the local school district graciously gave their school buses to carry walkers back to the St. Ignace side for a nominal fee of $5.00 a person. We figured that if 30,000 people paid $5.00 for a bus ride, it turns into a pretty good day off for the school district. To get to the bus was another mile walk, but there were gift shops along the way, and of course we bought the "I Walked Across Mackinaw Bridge" T-shirt, so I didn't mind.

When we finally got back to the car we were exhausted, my feet hurt, my belly felt like the size of beach ball. We were both ready to go home. So we crossed the Mackinac Bridge for the 4th time, said farewell to the U.P and went straight home.