Grand Forks AFB and the foxes

We left Ely about 8:15, stopped for gas, stopped for a Walmart shopping outside of Virginia MN, and arrived at Grand Forks AFB  in NC about 4 PM.  Another long day, and we are all tired.  The sites here are nice, the setting is pretty, and there are only 2 other rigs here, so we are pleased with our choice of stopping place.  We will stay here 2 nights to rest up for the last long haul to Glacier.

The excitement here is a family of red foxes that have a burrow less than 100 yards from our rigs!  We watched them playing while we had happy hour and look forward to seeing them again tomorrow.  There are a mom and dad and six kits, so there is lots of activity.  Here are a few of the pictures Steve was able to get.

Memorial Day with friends and bears.

What a wonderful Memorial Day!  First of all, it was sunny and warm.  Strange how the further north we go, the warmer it seems to get!

Barb and Gary came over for coffee, just like they do when we're at home in Orange Park, and that was very nice.  We all piled into the cars and headed for the North American Bear Center, located in Ely.  We got to see and even visit with their "ambassador bears", Ted, Lucky, and Holly.  There were both  indoor and outdoor observation areas where we got to see the bears eating, playing, and doing enrichment activities.  Then we got to see them close-up on a behind-the-scenes tour. I was glad to see that, unlike  a zoo or roadside exhibit, these bears are given a natural 2 1/2 acre natural habitat in which to roam, feed, and hibernate.   The exhibits and videos in the Center were very interesting and informative, many of them based on knowledge gained from 12 research bears being studied in the wild around Ely.  I really enjoyed learning how bears, especially black bears, are so misrepresented in the media and in many public displays.

Ted, waiting for a snack.  

Ted loves people.  He was raised as a pet for years.  

Lucky and Holly get snacks too!

Ted

Ted's enrichment activity.  He has to figure out how to get the strawberries out of the holes .  

Ted's a big boy at about 550 pounds.  

In the afternoon Barb and I went shopping,  and she showed me around the town. Then back at the rigs we had a great Memorial Day cook-out with sausage dogs, burgers, and all the usual picnic accompaniments.   The weather was so nice that we were able to eat outside!

Enjoying our Memorial Day cook-out.  

Gary and Barb in Ely MN

Today was a really LONG day on the road!  We traveled some 440 miles from Germfask MI, across Wisconsin, to Ely MN.  We came here to visit our friends and former Alaska companions, Gary and Barb White who live in their home town of Ely during the spring and summer and return to Jacksonville for the fall and winter.  We have heard so much about Ely, and it is great to see it for ourselves.  BUT it was a LONG ride.  

We are staying at the Arrowhead RV Resort in Ely and had a great happy hour at our rig then visited Gary and Barb's homestead before a great dinner at the Grand Ely Lodge.  

Pictured Rocks

Today was very special as we took the Painted Rock National Lakeshore cruise out of Munising MI.  Of course, while waiting to board our cruise boat, we were not taking things too seriously.









However, once the Miss Superior left the bay and turned toward the rocks in the lake, we were stunned and awe-stricken by the beauty of what we were seeing.  The weather was cloudy but warmer than it has been lately for the first half of the cruise, and we did have a brief sprinkle of rain, but then the sun broke through for the remainder of the trip.  There is a 42 mile long hiking trail along the top of the cliffs and several beaches below.  The colors in the cliffs are created by the large amounts of minerals in the rock. The streaks on the face of the sandstone cliffs come from the groundwater leaching out of the rock.  With it come iron (red), manganese (black-white), limonite (yellow-brown), copper (pink-green), and other minerals.  As the water evaporates, these minerals leave streaks of color.

We highly recommend that anyone in this area take advantage of this cruise. In spite of the large number of pictures we took, I can only include a few here, but I hope they inspire others to see this beautiful area of Michigan.

Kayakers by the rocks.

Looking good!

Getting awfully close to chapel rock!

This tree extended its roots to the mainland for nutrients.

Bald eagle in the dead tree.  

Enjoying Lake Superior.  

Old wooden Grand Island Lighthouse

Germfask, MI

We left the Mackinaw area this morning in order to get closer to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Munising, MI.  For some reason, the guys found our campground in Germfask, about 40 miles from the Pictured Rocks. We are in a very rustic campground called Big Cedar.  It is really very pretty, with many trees and with a river running past it.  There is only one other camper here.  We have to pay $4.00 extra if we want to use our AC!

Pastie at Jolly's Bar

We set out at lunch time and stopped at Jolly's Bar in order to sample the local delicacy called pastie (pronounced PAST y).  It is made of onions, potatoes, carrots, ground beef and rutabagas wrapped in a crust, and the ones we were served were HUGE.  They are really quite good, but I can't imagine eating one all in one sitting!  We found Taylor's Grocery (on Ten Curve Road) and did a bit of shopping.  Then back to the rigs for naps, happy hour, a light supper, and dominoes.

Mackinaw City

After a nice breakfast at the Galley, we headed back across the bridge to see what Mackinaw City had to offer.    Before I say anything else about this area, I want to explain that I do not randomly misspell the names of these places.  They are spelled either "Mackinaw" or "Mackinac",   but they are all pronounced "Mackinaw".  It all has to do with the the different French and English interpretations of the Native American name of the area, and it is very confusing until someone explains that you only have to worry about one pronunciation.  

Our first stop in Mackinaw City was the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse.  Although it is no longer in use, it led a long and useful life guiding ships through the dangerous Mackinac Straights.  

The lighthouse keeper and his family lived in one side of the house while his assistant and family lived in the other side.  Climbing the tower involved 51 steps, an 8 foot ladder, and a relatively small opening to crawl through.  Our guide did this in a long woolen skirt!  

At the top of the tower with our guide.  

Jackie and David enjoying the view from the top of the tower. 

View from the top of the lighthouse tower.  

The Mackinac Bridge is beautiful from every viewpoint.  

The large red and white ship is the Coast Guard Cutter Icebreaker,  Mackinaw.  Steve and David toured the boat and learned much about how this type of ship is used to break up the ice on the Great Lakes.  While they were there, Sarah and Jackie enjoyed visiting the only multistory Starbucks we have ever seen.  

Steve imagines being the XO of the  Icebreaker, Mackinac.  

And these last pictures, friends, is what I have to put up with whenever I go shopping or sightseeing anywhere.   

Mackinac Island

The morning was chilly and foggy, but we set out for Shepler's Ferry to Macinac Island.  Because of the fog, we went straight to the island instead of getting a little tour under the bridge, but the island did not disappoint.  It was much more interesting than we had expected it to be.  Along the main street where you disembark the ferry are many interesting little shops, many of them fudge shops.  In fact, there are 18 fudge shops on the island!  Also on this street is Doud's Grocery Store, the oldest grocery store in the U.S.

Oldest grocery store in the U.S. 

Lego man.

Beautiful Mackinac.

Since there are no motorized vehicles allowed on the island, the streets are full of horse drawn carriages and bicycles.  After checking out a few shops and getting a snack, we boarded a carriage drawn by what I am sure are the two slowest horses on the island.  Our driver, Marissa, spent a great deal of time encouraging Wilbur and Orville to move along.  She told many stories about the features of the island and kept us entertained as we enjoyed the beautiful scenery, the charming houses, and the profusion of colorful flowers everywhere--especially the tulips.  

Petting Orville and Wilbur. 

Before transferring to another carriage, we visited the butterfly garden which was small but interesting and fun.

Butterflies on rocks.

Butterflies on Steve's Hat. 

Arch rock. 

The Grand Hotel--longest covered
porch in the world.  

Ft. Mackinac Post Cemetery.  

St. Anne's Cemetery.  

Mackinac Island State Park. 

Our next carriage, driven by Walker and pulled by 3 horses, took us through the Mackinac State Park, a beautiful and interesting place.  Walker was very knowledgeable and very entertaining.  We visited the old Catholic cemetery and learned about many incidents of haunting around the island.  We also saw The Arch (rock formation), Ft. Mackinac, and the Grand Hotel before returning to town where we  had snacks, then boarded our ferry for our return to St. Ignace.  The sun had come out and the weather was still chilly, but pleasant.

At Arch Rock.

Lighthouses in Lake Huron. 

On the ferry.  

Back at the rigs we had happy hour and grilled steaks for dinner.