TRAVEL LOG
June 25, 2011 - Took my first trip to the west coast of Michigan. We went to South Haven and St. Joseph to see the Lighthouses there. The temperature was just right, but instead of being a partly cloudy day, it was sunny. I had to use a polarizer filter to reduce the glare from the sun. In the evening I was able to get some sunset pictures of the St. Joseph North Pier Lights.
January 9, 2011 - Late in the afternoon, I took a short trip to Milford. I wanted to take some sunset pictures at Kent Lake. The lake had ice and snow on the surface. It turned out to be a great day for sunset pictures.
September 30, October 1, 2010 - Decided to take a trip back up the thumb for a couple of days. Day one; drove to Port Austin by access of M-53. Had lunch in Port Austin, afterwards I took some pictures. Then drove west on M-25 to the Port Crescent State Park. After my visit there I made my way east to Grindstone City and eventually I visited the Pointe Aux Barques Lighthouse in Port Hope. Day two; First we went to the Log Cabin Village in Bad Axe, then drove east to Harbor Beach, where the Harbor Beach Light is. From there we headed to Port Sanilac to see the Port Sanilac Lighthouse, and then Port Huron along M-25 headed south.
September 12, 2010 - My sister and I went to Grosse Ile to take the tour of the Grosse Ile North Channel Front Range Light. To get to the light you have to walk through private property. The Grosse Ile Historical Society has the tour one day a year. As it turned out the tour was worth while and we both had a great time.
August 5, 2010 - Decided to head on over to Milford and take some sunset pictures. There was road construction along I-96 west, which slowed down my driving time. At first I thought it was going to rain, but only a few sprinkles came down and it started to clear up. I was able to take a number of pictures of the sunset at Wild Wing Lake.
July 3, 2010 - Went to Detroit in the morning to see the Windmill Point Light. It was a hot day, the temperature was a high of 91. The Light is located at the Detroit Mariners Park, a few miles away from Belle Isle. There were plenty of locals fishing along the fence, that runs from the tower up the Detroit River. After that I drove to Belle Isle to see the William Livingstone Memorial Light.
June 18, 2010 - Drove to Milford for the day to take Wildlife and Landscape pictures. My first pictures that I took were of a Painted Turtle, that was standing on a log near Wild-wing Lake. Then I took pictures of a group of White Pines along the trail. On my way back to my car, I noticed a Eastern Chipmunk. (Note: I have taken trips to Milford before, but didn't bother to mention in the travel log because it is only a 35 - 40 minute drive from home).
December 12, 2009 - My Girlfriend and I went to Frankenmuth for the day and I had to photograph the covered bridge while we were there. It was a sunny day instead of cloudy like the weather forecast predicted, but I made the best of it. We both decided to try our luck and walk down the side embankment (covered with snow) along the Cass River so I could take some pictures of the bridge down there.
September 20, 21, 2008 - Day one; first we went to Ocqueoc Falls in Pres Queisle County. This is the only waterfall in the Lower peninsula. It was a sunny day and not a good day for photographing waterfalls. Next we headed over to Cheboygan to see the Old Cheboygan Lighthouse Ruins, River Range Lighthouse and the Cheboygan Crib Light. Day two; Visited the Old Mackinaw Lighthouse and then took a ferry to Mackinac Island. We were on the island for about 6 hours. From there on our way home, we stopped off in Gaylord to see the Elk.
July 4, 2008 - Drove to Port Huron area for the day. Visited the Port Huron Lightship, was able to go onboard. After that we went to the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse and took pictures. On the way home I stopped by Marine City to see the Peche Island Old Rear Range Light. It was a nice drive on M-29 along the St. Clair River.
June 14 to 18, 2008 - Went to the Upper Peninsula to photograph waterfalls and some lighthouses. Most days we visited about 4 waterfalls. After the second day of this trip I was completely exhausted. Most trails are about 1.5 miles hike one way. We visited the Black Slate falls, Lower Silver falls, Duppy falls, Hungarian falls, Jumbo falls, Wyandotte falls, Reany falls, Canyon falls, Horseshoe falls, Chapel falls, Miners falls and the Scott falls. We also visited the Big Bay Point Lighthouse, Presque Isle Harbor Light and the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse.
November 24,25, 2007 - Drove up to Rogers City to visit the Forty Mile Point Lighthouse. We then traveled south on US-23 to the Old Presque Isle Lighthouse and the New Presque Lighthouse. It was a cloudy day and there was about 2 inches of snow on the ground. On the 25th we visited the Sturgeon Point Lighthouse near Harrisville and Tawas Point Lighthouse in Tawas City.
October 2007 - Visited the Upper Peninsula with a friend for about 6 days (did not make a notation on the days we went). First we went to Munising and took the Pictured Rocks Boat Cruise. The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a nice place to visit. Then we headed over to the Western Upper peninsula. We visited the Porcupine Mountains and seen the Lake in the Clouds. We also visited a number of waterfalls on this trip including; Bond falls, Agate falls, Rainbow falls, Sandstone falls, Gorge falls, Manido falls, Tahquamenon falls, and Bonanza falls.
June 6, 7, 2007 - Went to Michigan's thumb to visit lighthouses in the area. Visited the Point Aux Barques Lighthouse, the Port Sanilac Lighthouse, and the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse.