FRIDAY JULY 22ND, 2011

Once again we had flat water for an open water crossing. Ross keeps telling me we will have to pay the piper at some point. I’m not liking that!

Shortly after leaving De Tour Village we passed the De Tour Reef lighthouse. Constructed in 1931 it marks the entrance to the St. Mary’s River, which connects Lake Huron with Lake Superior. If any of you are lighthouse keeper wannabees, there is a program that you can sign up for and stay on this lighthouse for 3 days and 2 nights. Here’s the link you can click on for info and to apply.

Link to the be a lighthouse keeper












A loon who popped up close to us. Gives you a good idea as to how calm the water was.












Mackinac Island. Left here by the glaciers receding some 12,000 years ago. Now a tourist Mecca. It is slow paced and relaxing. Everything is geared toward the tourist.

There are no motorized vehicles allowed. Not even riding lawnmowers. You walk, bike or ride.

Now this is my kind of biker rally!!










And my kind of horsepower! Everything is unloaded off of ferries and delivered by horse and wagon. From supplies to UPS deliveries.

Around 1885 the resort industry started to grow here. It was the place for the wealthy to come and spend the summer. Horse drawn carriage is how they got around. When the “horseless carriage” first arrived on the island there was uproar as the noise from them frightened the horses. The drivers I’m guessing also could see the handwriting on the wall as far as losing their jobs. So they went to the city council and there was a ban on all motorized vehicles on the island. The horse is still king here. They don’t even have to wear “biscuit bags”.




Fudge is synonymous with Mackinac Island. Back in 1887 a guy name Murdick opened a candy store. One of the many sweets he made in his shop was fudge. It was a hit and now there are fudge shops about every 10 feet along the main drag.

We sampled some fudge in one store while watching this guy as he worked his magic.







Didn’t buy fudge, but Roscoe bought some orange/pineapple ice cream.













Here’s picture of a hydro jet ferry. I looked at the schedule of the 3 main ferries that run back and forth to the island. There are at least 155 scheduled ferry arrivals here daily! And these are not small ferries. That’s a lot of fudge.



We ran into our Looper friends from GULLWING, so of course went out to dinner.

THURSDAY JULY 21ST, 2011

Before heading out this morning we went for a bike ride with Dave and Linda Tuls. They know the area well and took us on a scenic route for the out of shape. It is a lovely area and we could see why they keep coming back here. I survived the bike ride and we really enjoyed visiting and spending time with them.

It was a short trip today to De Tour. Only 8 miles. We have started to see Freighters and Lake boats again as De Tour (which in French means “turning point”) is located on the St. Marys River. This river joins Lake Huron so it is known as the turning point to Lake Huron.

This Laker is heading up the St. Marys to Sault Ste. Marie where it will pass through the locks and enter Lake Superior. The other direction would take it into Lake Huron.

We will spend the night at the De Tour Harbor Marina.










A walk down the dock brought us past this U.S. Customs and Border Patrol boat. Check out these bad boys! 1200 horsepower on a rigid inflatable? This would be fun to go for a ride on.










This is the most creative watercraft I have ever seen.
It is a hot tub boat! Complete with motor and
registration so it can go anywhere.



















And yes, it is a “hot” tub. Notice the woodstove door and chimney.  The door to the stove is gold colored and to the left of the base of the stovepipe. We could smell smoldering wood as we got close.
















Glad to see they do have a fire
extinguisher on board.











We walked up town and toured a little museum by the ferry dock. It was hot so we sat in the breeze and watched the ferry unload and load. Ross counted 32 vehicles go on. That included a small semi and a car with a trailer. Those guys know how to pack them on. It was fun watching vehicles come flying down the street at the last minute trying to make the ferry. Most of them made it on, but they filled and pulled away. Leaving the last two cars to wait an hour till their return.

We stopped at the grocery store on the way back to the marina. Ross and I tend to buy box wine while boating so we don’t have to deal with glass bottles. I promise this will be the last time I whine about Canadian prices. A box of the cheapest wine is Canada is around $40 with tax. At this store we bought a quart of milk, a dozen eggs, potato salad, jar of salsa, bag of pretzels, 2 bags of Chex Mix AND a box of wine for a total of $33 bucks and change. God bless America!!!

Close to the marina is this carving from a tree that was struck by lighting in early 2000. It is called the Passage Keeper. The tree itself was referred to as “one of De Tour’s witness trees”. Having absolutely no idea what that meant, I asked the lady at the museum. Well, she had no idea either. So once again the Internet had the answer. Surveyors in the early years used trees to mark corners of sections and quarters. The survey data was carved in to the tree.














We enjoyed dinner on the boat and an colorful sunset.

WEDNESDAY JULY 20TH, 2011

We awoke to fog. Undaunted in our plan to go home we switched on the dual radars, set the autopilot, and with eyeballs straining into the mist we pointed the ODDYSEA towards the U.S.

We were in and out of fog the first 2 ½ hours. When it got really thick it made me wish I hadn’t watched that show on the Weather Channel the other night called Super Fog.

Other than the fog, the conditions were good for crossing North Channel. It is 20 miles across at its most unprotected spot where it is exposed to the Mississagi Straits, which is exposed to Lake Huron. We had a slight swell and a bit of chop but nothing much.


Shortly before arriving at Drummond Island, Michigan, where we will clear U.S. Customs and spend the night, Ross took down the Canadian courtesy flag and replaced it with the quarantine flag.

We started to look for cabins flying the American flag. It was quite a while before we spotted this one. As I snapped this picture Ross commented that it was on La Pointe Island. Significant to me because La Pointe is my mom’s maiden name and her ancestors emigrated from France to the U.S. via Canada. Who knows???? Hey, I have a lot of time for my mind to wander as we slowly make our way.



We cleared customs, no problem. (thank God they let us back in!)



















To our great surprise our Looper friends Linda and Dave Tuls from PERFECT TIMING were vacationing here. They keep their boat in Grand Haven, MI but come up to Drummond Island each year on vacation. We first met the Tuls back in the fall of 2009 when we all were just beginning the Loop. Our paths have crossed numerous times since and it was wonderful to see them once again. They invited us for a visit on their boat and we enjoyed catching up. For any of you who know the Tuls, yes the kitty is still hanging in there and she is still 20.

TUESDAY JULY 19TH, 2011

It was a calm day and the water was flat calm. Lucky for us it was overcast or we would have fried as we traveled today. The trip was uneventful and we stopped for the night at Gore Bay.

Our plan was to leave in the morning and head to an anchorage at Bear Drop harbor. After Bear Drop we would head across the wide unprotected part of the North Channel to Drummond Island where we clear customs and enter the US again. The weather is predicted to get windy so it’s possible we may be stuck at Bear Drop for a few days. So off we walked to the grocery store to stock up, just in case.

Nothing to speak of for photos today but this blog needs a splash of color so here’s some flowers we saw on our walk.

Canada may have cheap prescription medications, but I think that’s the only thing that’s cheap. We shopped around the grocery store for the items on our list. Before we left the states we were advised to “provision, provision, provision”. Its not because there isn’t anyplace to shop….it’s the prices. Milk is over $6 a gallon. A dozen eggs are well over $3. A pound of butter is over $6. Chicken must be considered the filet mignon up here, as boneless, skinless chicken breasts are over $9 a pound! I picked up a package of 2 chicken breasts and the price was $12.93. I put them back. Looking at the prices, we decided to just go home.

So the plan is to leave at first light and travel 78 miles to the U. S. of A!!!! (and to cheap chicken)

MONDAY JULY 18TH, 2011

This morning Ross and I walked up to the Anchor Inn in Little Current and sat in on the Cruiser’s Net broadcast. Roy Eaton is a retired gentleman who each morning at 9:00 hosts a radio broadcast on VHF channel 71. He reads the marine forecast for various areas and then gives a bit of world news.

He then asks boaters in specific areas to radio in their boat name, location, and if they are headed someplace.

He and his group keep track of everyone who radios in. He also relays messages from one boat to another who are out of radio range of one another. In the event of an emergency, Roy can track down boaters fairly quickly as he has a good idea as to where to start searching.

At the spring Rendezvous we listened to his talk about the North Channel, which is where we have been traveling. It is fun to meet him and listen in on one of the broadcast. We now have a true appreciation for what he does each morning. How he can filter out the boat name from some transmissions is amazing. Many folks have horrible radios and the static and feedback is painful to listen to.

After the broadcast we headed out toward the Benjamin Islands. Our little trio is going separate ways today. GULLWING headed to Gore Bay and RUNNING ERINS is unfortunately waiting to be pulled to learn the extent of the prop damage. But I have a strong feeling we will all cross paths again.

It was only 18 miles to the Benjamins, and a lovely anchorage.


Many boats are anchored in here and there’s lots of swimming and jumping off the rocks going on.



It’s a popular vacation spot. We could see many people hiking the rocks.


We did have a thundershower roll through and got a good drenching, but it cooled off and we had a pleasant evening. And no bugs!

SUNDAY JULY 17TH 2011

It was a tranquil morning back in The Pool. We all wanted to get an early start so we were busy pulling up anchor by 7 a.m. It took quite a while to accomplish this task as the anchor chains are full, and I mean full, of weeds. And the only to get them off is by pulling them off by hand, or with the boat hook.

We finally were on our way and navigating slowly through the rocks to leave The Pool and return to deeper water in Baie Fine. We were almost out when RUNNING ERINS radioed that they had run aground. We waited while they threw out their anchor so Ron could dive and take a look. He reported back that one of the props was seriously bent. Luckily they have twin engines and a bow thruster so could still proceed and navigate the tricky spots.

Our little group hung together and limped the 25 miles to Little Current where there are facilities to lift their boat and work on the prop.



We all waked up to The Anchor Inn for dinner. Prime rib was the special so several of us ordered it. And guess what, it came covered in brown gravy!! Afterwards we walked down the dock and happened upon and ice cream shop. Ross got the last of this flavor in his cone so asked for the bucket. (and a spoon) Hey, you don’t ask, you don’t get!

SATURDAY JULY 16TH 2011

We started off the day with a communal breakfast on the dock. Here’s Bill from GULLWING cooking up the blueberry  pancakes.  Seems warming the berries brings out their flavor and sweetness. They were perfect for pancakes. We filled out the meal with bacon and scrambled eggs.






Today we are all headed to an anchorage called The Pool. It is at the very far end on the right of map. Traveling from Kilarney (the red dot in the lower right corner) we traveled to Frazer Bay. Crossing Frazer Bay we entered Baie Fine (the long narrow waters to the the right of Frazer Bay) and traveled 8 miles to the end. If you click on the photo it should enlarge enough for you to make out The Pool at the very end.




 
 

GULLWING leading the way as we enter Baie Fine.

We watched carefully and made out way through the rocks without any mishaps. It is a beautiful little spot back in here. This spot is where Ralph Evinrude (ya, the motor guy) and his wife, singer/actress Frances Langford had a little cabin. She used to tour on USO tours with Bob Hope. Ralph and Frances lived in Florida but used to love coming up here and spending the summers. They would arrive in their crewed 118 foot steel DeFoe from Florida. The cabin here was very modest and the generator from their boat, Chanticleer, powered the cabin. 

We were warned about the weeds in the Pool so the advice is to let your anchor and chain drop but don’t pull back on it to set it. Just let it work its way down to the bottom. So after waiting to see if we had a firm hold, which we all did, we took the dinks (the dinghies) and headed to shore for a hike to Lake Topaz.
















Lake Topaz is a “dead lake”.  Made so years ago by acid rain from nearby coal fired industry. It is perfectly clear and has an aquamarine color to it.










It was a long, hot hike and the swim was refreshing to say the least! Here's Ross and Erin cooling off.

FRIDAY JULY 15TH 2011

 Our day began with a walk to the Gateway restaurant for breakfast with Phyllis and Bill. Notice below the sign that you can also get nautical charts here, along with food.









The giant caramel roll was a must have. It was really, really tasty. But still not as good as yours Mom!

















Today we are taking an adventure in the dinghies. We are still traveling with our companions from GULLWING and RUNNING ERINS. We all packed coolers and headed to a cove called Covered Portage where there are suppose to be blueberries.

The scenery up here is so spectacular. Photos just don’t do it justice. It’s all on such a grand scale that no matter which direction you look it is breathtaking. The quartzite mountains are so harsh and rugged looking but the pines soften the look. What those pine trees could possibly be thriving on is beyond me.


We beached the dinghies and started climbing a path to the top of ridge. Berries were few and far between until Ron found the mother load! It’s blueberry pancakes for breakfast tomorrow.

The low bush (and it is low) wild blueberry bush is 6 – 10 inches high. I think short bush would be a better description. The berries are the size of a pea and not very sweet or flavorful when we tasted them.







 




They better make good pancakes because it was backbreaking to bend over and pick them.



















Our berry hunt brought us up on top of one of the quartz hills. Behind Ross you can see Frazer Bay in the distance. We crossed it yesterday coming to Killarney.













We gathered several cups worth and decided we had enough so climbed back down and ate our sandwiches. Heading back to the marina you can see the hill we had climbed to the top of.













 

For supper we went up to the bar at the marina with Bill and Phyllis. We noticed something on the menu called Poutine. None of us knew what it was so we decided to order it and find out. Turns out that its French fries smothered in brown gravy and white cheese curds thrown in for a little added cholesterol. Turns out it’s a dinner staple originating in Quebec, so of course the name is French. And being French it isn’t pronounced the way it is spelled. It is pronounced “poot sin”. Go figure. It is so popular throughout Canada that it is even served at Burger King and McDonalds.





After dinner there was a singer with a keyboard for entertainment so Erin and Ron joined us. The singer took requests so we had fun calling out tunes. Here’s Phyllis bustin’ out and showing us her moves.













Ron joined the singer and they did a duet of Desperado. It was a fun night.

THURSDAY JULY 14th, 2011

Today we are traveling to Killarney. This is the Pointe Au Baril lighthouse at the entrance to Georgian Bay. The weather forecast is for light winds so we left the small craft channel and went out into Georgian Bay to check things out. Conditions seemed perfect so away we went.


As we got on the bay side of the lighthouse we noticed this barrel up on a pole.
As the story goes, early fur traders lost a canoe near this point. Their canoe included a barrel of whiskey that was found by stranded traders the next spring. After a drinking spree the barrel was left on the point as a beacon. French mariners were soon calling it Pointe au Baril. Later this marker was improved to include a lantern in the barrel that would be lit by the first fisherman returning inland to light the way for the rest of the boats. What would those people think if they could see the electronics we navigate by now?









It was a smooth trip but pretty boring as we are a long way from land for most of the day so there isn’t much to look at besides water, and more water. Coming into Killarney you immediately notice the change in topography, as the large hills are white quartzite. They are 3 ½ billion years old and believed to have once been as high as the Rocky Mountains are now. Wow!












Killarney is a quaint little village.


We are spending a couple of days at the marina at the Sportsmen’s Inn. The guy in the blue shirt is named Dave. He’s a local. Being familiar with the area waters he offered to brief the captains on anchorages. Local knowledge is always the best!







For supper we all walked down to the Herbert Fisheries. It is the place to eat. Only thing on the menu is fried walleye (although up here they call it pickerel) and french fries. That works. The place is an old school bus permanently parked and from this they crank out the fish dinners.





 

Lots of picnic tables to sit at, but we still had trouble finding an empty one. Busy place.