Log Slide Interpretive Photos and more

Just to finish up the pictures I took during my hike with Clare a couple of days ago, here is a shot of Sable Lake taken from the overlook.



The trail head sign informed us that the trail to the log slide is 2.7 miles. Since we went into the dunes and hiked north through the dunes before going west and walking back the trail, our total distance was over six miles. Of course, a mile of walking in the dunes is worth two miles of walking on a flat trail through the woods.



The trilliums are almost done with their blooms, but other wildflowers are everywhere.




In the last few years they have done a lot more on the Grand Marais end of the national park to add interpretive signs. At the log slide, they even built a building and have displayed a set of the big wheels as well as the logging sleds used 100 years ago to move the timber. The county and township in which Grand Marais is located were named after Alger and Burt, respectively.






Although I cannot see the sun set all the way to the horizon from my house due to trees in the way, you can still see the color over the water.



After watching the sun set, we then watched the full moon rise.

Sand Dune Hike

Friend Clare and I took a 4 hour hike in the dunes yesterday. We went in on the Masse Homestead trail located about half way between Sable Lake and the Log Slide. We walked up the trail 7 or 8 minutes and then caught the path that accessed the dunes. From their we hiked northwest to the Log Slide and headed back the lake shore Masse Homestead trail. It was truly a glorious day.



We say 4 or 5 telegraph poles. One of these days I have to purchase a GPS so I can mark the coordinates of each and figure out how many there are. I would also like to find out when the telegraph line was installed to connect the lighthouse keepers at Au Sable Point with Grand Marais. If any of you know some of this history, please send me an email to Karen@agatelady.com.



Some of the views in the middle of the Grand Sable Dunes are spectacular. We certainly did some up and down hiking.



Each view from the dunes is a little bit different.



Here is a shot of Clare.

Hot in Grand Marais

Today the temperatures are supposed to hover around 80, but the past two days have been near 90 during the heat of the afternoon. It was hotter these past two days (in May!) than it was all last summer.

My friend, Clare Comstock, from the Denver area is here visiting. We decided to walk out onto the pier to try to get some relief from the heat. It was a bit better out there, but not as cooling as I expected since the wind was from the south. Here is a shot of the lighthouse at the end of the pier. Although it was not foggy, the fog horn was on when we first starting to walk out toward the lighthouse. I'm not sure how it operates these days, but the horn turned off as we approached.



It has been quite some time since I walked all the way out to the end. I was surprised to see damage to the concrete at the end of the pier.



Here is a shot taken from the end of the pier looking back toward the inner harbor lighthouse.



From the pier I took this shot of the coast guard station, which is now an office for the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore as well as quarters for summer workers.



Here is a shot taken from the pier looking west.



Next, Clare and I drove to Sable Falls and walked down to the beach. Here is a shot documenting the quantity of rock that is currently on the beach.



The mouth of the Sucker River is picturesque right now. The river is split and enters into Lake Superior by two different paths. Notice the "beach art" someone left for everyone else to enjoy.




This picture I took at a friend's house the other night. Last fall many of the apples did not fall from the trees. This shot documents last year's apples with this year's blossoms.

More Vermont Photos

Today I'll post the rest of the Vermont photos. First, here is one of my son, Kevin, and my daughter-in-law, Jericho, and their dog, Quincy.



Although most of the covered bridges in Vermont are for cars, there is one right down town for pedestrians. Pictured is my friend, Dianna.



We had some extra time one day, so we drove up one of the mountains surrounding Stowe to visit the von Trapp family lodge. This is the family that the movie Sound of Music was made about.









While hiking one day we came across this snake. It is proof of how warm it was in mid-May.



There are many structures in Vermont that date back hundreds of years. I'm not sure how old this house is, but I like the architecture.



When we flying out of Marquette, we were told about this Russian plane. Apparently, someone did not have full authorization to have the plane, which is a converted military plane from WWII. They needed spare parts and ended up in Marquette. Due to the questionable status, apparently it wasn't allowed to leave. There it sits, mounting up a huge parking bill.

Vermont Trip

This past weekend I went with my friend, Dianna Bell, to Stowe, Vermont to attend my son's surprise 30th birthday party. Kevin certainly was surprised. His wife, Jericho, did a great job with all the arrangements.

I will probably post some more photos of Vermont tomorrow, but here is the first batch.

Vermont is known as the Green Mountain state. That is an appropriate description. There are hills and small mountains everywhere -- all of which are covered with trees. One of the classic photos of Stowe, VT is this one I took of the church.



There are apparently more covered bridges in Vermont than any other state. Here is one located just outside of Stowe.



We took several hikes while we were there. On our last day we walked up some of the Von Trappe Family trails to the top of Round Top Mountain. Here is the view from the top looking back over Stowe valley. There is also a shot of some of the rugged terrain that we had to scale towards the top of the trail.




We also hiked up to the Moss Glenn Falls in the CC Putnam State Forest. The falls in total is well over 100 feet in length.




After visiting the falls on our way back into town, we were stopped by the longest line of cows I have ever seen. There were hundreds of cows that stretched the length of 3 or 4 football fields. Here are just a few of the cows.

Hike from the Log Slide to Au Sable Point

Yesterday I decided that I had to get out hiking. With all the driving and travelling this past six weeks, I have been remiss. So friend Lee Finkle and I decided to hike from the Log Slide to the Au Sable Point lighthouse. Although it was supposed to rain according to the original forecast, we were glad that instead the skies were nearly cloudless and the temperatures were in the mid-50s. Below are some of the photos I took, including a couple of the renovations that are underway on some of the ancillary buildings at Au Sable Point lighthouse.