9-28 to 9-30-2018 Michigan Paddlers Rendezvous

It's been several years since we were last able to go to the Michigan Paddlers Rendezvous, so we were happy to attend this year.  It's four days of camping and canoeing/kayaking some beautiful, fast-flowing rivers in the forests of northern Michigan, and usually the leaves are nearing their fall glory.  Paddling groups come together from all over Michigan and Indiana.  This year we didn't make the first day of paddling, the leaves had only just started turning colors, and it was cold (highs in the 40s, lows in the 30s) and somewhat rainy.  We still  had a lot of fun, though.

Friday Trip:

The Friday trip with our Indiana friends started at Dobson Bridge on the Pine River.

This guy (Stockpot) wasn't going to be left behind.

The lady standing gave up her boat this day so the dog could ride instead of swimming in the (cold) water. Of course, the
dog ended up swimming anyway.

Cara was bundled up with multiple layers, raincoat, waterproof pants, and rubber boots.
It may not have been pretty, but she was warm.

Lunch break at Peterson Bridge access point.

Saturday Trip:

Cara's shoulder wasn't up to paddling on Saturday, but Eric joined the trip of another group of friends from Michigan, and
the sun actually came out for the start of their trip.

This is a little play spot upstream of the putin

The Group is getting ready....These paddlers are from a Michigan paddling group called the Wolfpack

There is a really easy access and we were camped just a couple of miles downstream, so the shuttle is easy

Believe it or not this guy hit a log and it put a hole in his boat?  It was some kind of hard plastic that must have been pretty brittle.

The take-out at Low Bridge access point.

Saturday evening was the always enjoyable pitch-in dinner. 

The campfire ring and drink sharing/tasting table.

6-3 to 6-5-2018 Anniversary Trip to northern Michigan

We had finished work with our client in northern Indiana, and our anniversary was coming right up, so we decided to head
north to one of our favorite towns - Traverse City, Michigan. We found a good deal at the historic Park Place Hotel in the
heart of downtown, so we booked two nights.

The view of downtown and the bay from the rooftop bar of our hotel.

   

There was a cold spell going on, and it rained a lot one day (should have checked the weather before we came here, I guess), but we still enjoyed wandering around and seeing how things have changed in the five years since our last visit.

What had been a liquor store and parking lot is now a food truck court.

We looked at our lunch options and decided on Cordwood BBQ.

We tried jackfruit for the first time in the form of a "Sloppy Jack" sandwich with BBQ jackfruit, and we both loved it!

We also loved the waste disposal options at this food court.

We checked out the waterfront parks.

 

 

We had the $6 burger and beer special at Firefly restaurant (Cara was able to sub a nice veggie burger).

After checking our of our hotel we headed over to nearby Torch Lake to surprise some friends we met in Belize who own a
marina there. (Unfortunately, we failed to get a photo.) They were working, so we decided to drive around the lake and visit
the small towns. We stopped for lunch in Bellaire.

We had a nice lunch at Short's Brewing Company.

We drove on and stopped in Elk Rapids to walk around.

 

We stopped at the Short's Brewing Company production facility. We later met one of our friends for dinner at a nearby
restaurant, and again failed to get a photo. We decided to drive all night back to northern Indiana after that.