The Northwoods and Some Finishes

Usually, this blog concerns all things stitching, but today I thought I'd share my little end-of-summer trip with you, too.  We went to a place that I'm guessing not a lot of people have visited - Upper Michigan.  It's a hidden gem.

When we were planning a trip this year, this describes my state of mind perfectly:

We drove up through the Lower Peninsula.

The two peninsulas weren't even connected before 1957!

In Mackinaw City there is a little museum

on the second floor of a pizza place

that tells the story of building the Mackinac Bridge.

It's interesting (and quirky) and free.

If you squint at the horizon to the right

of the bridge, you can see St. Ignace

in the Upper Peninsula.

The "mighty Mac" is five miles long.

We stayed at a cozy, rustic cabin in Hulbert.

The next day, we traveled to Munising which is the gateway

to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

We took a 2-hour boat ride to view the rocks,

which extend for miles up and down the shoreline.

They probably would have been more

brilliant if the sun had been out.

After the boat ride, we ate lunch at

a local cafe/book store where I found this...

The dust jacket is a little frayed,

but the pages are fine,

and for two dollars I'll be happy to

peruse it and pass it on.

Another stop was the

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in 

Whitefish Point.

There have been over 500 shipwrecks

on the Great Lakes since records were kept.

The majority of them occur

in Lake Superior between

Munising and Whitefish Point.

This is the actual bell from one of the most

famous wrecks, The Edmund Fitzgerald.

A replica bell was made and engraved

with the names of all her crewmen,

and lowered down to the wreck

to serve as a memorial.

The crew remains at the bottom of

Lake Superior with the ship.

Just beyond the museum is a small beach

where you can walk or just gaze

at the big lake...

The clouds look ominous,

but we encountered only a few sprinkles that day.

Tahquamenon Falls State Park is nearby.

There are several smaller lower waterfalls...

...in the back among the trees...

and a larger upper falls...

On our way west across the peninsula,
we stopped at the
Michigan Iron Industry Museum
just outside of Marquette.
The Upper Peninsula was rich
in both iron ore and copper.

This was very interesting to me personally
because both of my grandfathers
worked in the iron ore mines.

Our last stop was at the
western end of the peninsula

where I got a chance to visit

with some of my cousins...

OK, enough blathering about my trip.

Here are a few recent stitchy finishes:

The Summer Foursome from

Prairie Schooler's Summer Breeze

leaflet was finished,

and I just happened to have

this frame in my stash.

Heart in Hand's Stitching Bird

got stitched and FFO'ed.

I added the four small buttons, 

which were from my stash.

Good that I'm using up stash, eh?

And almost in time for September

(it's not pillowfied)

is September,

from Little Dove's Year.

Well, that's it from here.

Hope your August was fun.

Thanks for visiting!