2013 Schack Summer Vacation

We have officially been on the Waiting list for 1/2 of a month! I know, I know. Nothing big, but still kinda fun.  :)  Probably won't think it as much fun when it gets to 1/2 a year and beyond.

We've stayed quite busy the last couple weeks. Jon started a new job, I have been getting ready for the school year, Caleb has started a new sport-Soccer, and we went on vacation!  It has been a week since we returned home, but I thought it would still be fun to show our friends and family some highlights from the trip. We ventured to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and I am SO happy that we did. It was a great trip. I absolutely fell in love with the area, and am excited to get back again soon - which helps when we live so close to it now!

DAY 1 - On our way to Michigan for the first time!

First night in Marquette, MI - Presque Isle Park

We are at SUNSET POINT on the Black Rocks. 
We absolutely adored this area and went back many, many times, as you will see...

 DAY 2

Marquette Lighthouse and Maritime Museum

Climbing up to the top of the lighthouse 

Learning more about ship navigation at the museum.

 Caleb and Mom took a day trip back to the Black Rocks at Presque Isle, while Dad went for a mountain bike ride on Marquette's famous trails.

This is the famous cliff at the black rocks that people can jump off - into the VERY COLD water mind you.

None of us jumped, but we did enjoy watching others!

Maybe in a few years we will return - I have a feeling Caleb will be joining the others...

Testing the Lake Superior waters... it was quite cold though, so Caleb decided to try rock climbing instead 

 We like to have fun, nothing wrong with that!

Dad joined us at the end of the afternoon. Caleb had been begging to go swimming with Dad, but once Jon got there and in the lake, Caleb decided it was much to cold to actually swim. lol!

Went back to the campsite for the evening where we had our first fire-cooked meal (brats). 

Caleb did a good job of making new friends on the trip. Our campsite was right next to the playground so he had lots of fun while we were busy making food or getting ready. 

DAY 3

We took off an hour east of Marquette to Munising...

This area of Michigan is full of Waterfalls...100's! 

This is one within 5 feet of the road on the way to Munising. 

Caleb loved being able to walk under it. 

Munising is known for the PICTURED ROCKS that can be found in this area. 

There are only a couple you can see from land, so we took the Pictured Rocks Cruise.

The cruise was 2.5 hours long and totally worth every minute and every penny it cost! 

The rocks in this area have soft rock on the bottom and hard rock on the top, so the Lake has been able to carve some beautiful designs out of the bottom. The colors come from the minerals in the water that flow from the top of the rocks. 

Indian Head rock... can you see the jaw line, nose, eye, headdress? 

This was one of our favorite sites on the trip! This tree is living on top of a rock - a place with zero dirt. 

So how does it live???

Do you see the root protruding from the right rock connected to the left? All of the trees nutrients come from that root! In the 1940's (or 30's-can't remember!) there was a rock archway underneath the root that crumbled. At least 70 years later, the tree still stands and is beautiful!

 

I was in total awe of the color of the water. I felt like we were in the tropics some where - not in Northern Michigan!!! Absolutely breathtaking. 

Caleb made yet another friend on the way back to shore. They were quite happy to play together the last hour or so.The best part of this story is that his new friend had a stutter, that Caleb never once said anything about. I am proud that Caleb is accepting of others for their differences. He's such a genuine kid! Love him!!!

Another beautiful waterfall in Munising.

Caleb and I ventured out on the rocks where the waterfall made a stream. 

Late afternoon we spent time at the beach. We LOVED this beach. 

It is absolutely beautiful.

The sand is so soft, water is clear, and pictured rocks on the side... Amazing.

Oh, and kinda cold too!  :) 

The beach was on the other side of this rock. We are at Miner's Castle Lookout.

Breathtaking. Absolutely breathtaking. 

I stood in awe of God's creation.

Our little climber. 

Isn't this a Cool Tree Root!?!

And one more waterfall to finish the day.

Beautiful. 

 It had gotten to late to drive back the hour to our camp site to make supper, so we made our one restaurant trip to a local establishment...Johnny Dogs

YUM! YUM! Highly recommend!

This place was a Tiny little restaurant that primarily sold gourmet hot dogs and other ridiculous food that was oh so unhealthely fantastic!

Mara had the Porky French fries - french fries, pork, barbeque sauce, ranch dressing

Jon had Fresh battered White fish - he said it was fantastic

Caleb had the classic hot dog and fries

And we also had to try the Deep Fried Macaroni and Cheese! - Fantastic by the way! 

Told you it was tiny! Half of the building was the kitchen and a small portion for people to stand in line. 

The deck to the left was the only thing with tables.

Stop at the a roadside park on the way home...

 DAY 4

 Meet "Wormy".  He was lost, and then found, approx. 50 times - each time resulted in tears...

It was a long morning... lol!

 The last full day of our trip, Caleb and I hung out at the campsite while Dad went on another bike ride. 

When Dad returned, we went and explored the town of Marquette a little more.

First we saw the World's Largest Wooden Dome

 Next we went to a local festival - Harbour Days

Caleb had a great time in the bouncy house and obstacle course.

 He then made a couple boats in the STEM tent

(Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math initiative from the local college)

Racing his boat against Dad! Caleb won - of course! 

We then traveled just outside of Marquette to LAKENENLAND.

This is a sculpture park by a local artist. We saw a lot of fun sculptures!

It was very random, but we loved it! 

Caleb wanted to try his hand at taking the pictures - they're quite, um, realistic? artistic?...

It was turning into a warm day, so we decided to go check out the local beach. 

We went on the part of the shoreline known as Pebble Beach - it was FULL of beautiful rocks.

The water however, was not for swimming in, even if we were warm - SO COLD!!! 

By Caleb's request, and because we also loved it there, we went back to Sunset Point on the Presque Isle.

Absolutely beautiful.

 One last time jumping around on the rocks. It is amazing that Caleb is sitting down in this picture.

This area was the "playground" of all playgrounds. The jumping and running Caleb did on these rocks was a site I will cherish. I truly hope to come back soon so he can "play" again.

Ending the night skipping stones with Daddy 

DAY 5 - On our way home

As we were packing up the tent, we realized we never took a picture of our campsite! So a picture of our tear down had to suffice.  :)

We had decided that we would take the "long" way home, and make a couple stops along the way, in order to prolong such a good trip.  Right before Bessemer, we stopped at a small roadside travel information station. I told him we were thinking of going to the waterfalls north of Bessemer, and he told me to first stop on the way there to see the following gem that was Not on a Map, but off of the beaten path. Note the path we did find... beaten down grass that led to the noise of water...

We arrived, and I knew this was going to be one of the highlights from our trip!

We first slid down some steep rocks to see this view...

 We started to head back to the car when we realized that there was more beaten down trail.

The trail led us to the top of the waterfall where a rambling stream and several small falls were located. 

Paradise for Caleb!

  

 After an hour of a glorious waterfall, we headed just north of Bessemer to Copper Peak.

Here, copper was mined for in the early 1900's. 

Miners were known to be athletic and daring, therefore they made excellent ski-jumpers.

Upper Michigan began having ski-jumping competitions all over, and ski-jumps were being created.

Copper Peak wanted theirs to be the biggest, and one of the 6 Largest in the world was created - where athletes don't just jump - they FLY! Over 600 feet!

 We took a ski lift to the top of the hill, and then went up an elevator to get us up on the ski fly-jump. We then climbed another 8 sets of stairs to get to the very top. From there, we could see parts of MN, WI, & MI. One of the best views I've ever seen! Although, I would love to come back again in the fall.

 Looking down from the top of the ski fly/jump... yikes! 

Did we really climb up that? It is just hanging in the air! Oofta!

Trip back down on the ski lift

We then ventured into a small section of a cave that had been opened for copper mining. 

Caleb looked so cute in his hat! 

Before we went the last three hours home, we took one more trip to Lake Superior. 

It was so hot this day, that we actually wanted to swim! The beach had great skipping stones too.

It was really hard to leave and go home.

Alright, so much for just "highlights" from the trip! If you made it to the end of this, thanks for humoring me! As you can see, it was a great trip. It was the first trip we had taken, just the three of us, in over three years, so we very much enjoyed this time together. There are so many memories I hope I never forget.

Yey! to family and time!!!

In Christ,

Mara