Eagle Alley: Illinois River

 

Here was a typical barge. The tugs pushed lego-like barges one to three “legos” wide and one to eight times long! They were firmly tied together with cables.

THE BIG PICTURE

I would guess that most people think we cruise down the Mississippi River to cross from Lake Michigan to the Gulf of Mexico. It turns out the Mississippi River has few marinas that provide services (slip, fuel, water, pump outs) for recreational boaters. We're told it's very industrial and therefore not scenic. 

Instead, there's a confluence of rivers that Loopers take East of the Mississippi River. This travelogue covers the first leg of the route. (In truth, we travel on the Mississippi for just three days.)

THE CALUMET RIVER

We entered these American waterways via the Calumet River, at 581 feet of elevation. By the time we finish our last lock in Alabama(1) we'll be once again at sea level. So we have many travel days with locks to look forward to.(2) 

Per usual, we were excited to start a new leg of the loop. Once again, almost all the places we'll stop in the river system will be first times for us.

In the top half of Calumet River, there were a lot of low, old-timey bridges that opened for us. It was quite dramatic--like curtains opening. On this waterway, we passed under the lowest stationary bridge on our Loop.(3) One of the challenges with the waterways we entered is that they are in constant fluctuation. Rain, runoff, and the needs of commerce or power generation use will change the depth--and the height between the water and stationary bridges. The Calumet did not increase or decrease as much as the rivers to the South. We knew we could make it under.

As we passed underneath each historical bridge, with some stationary and others opening for us, you can imagine the smell of rust and humid earth, and feel the cool shade on these hot September days.

Looking left and right we saw a lot of busy, industrial action. Raw materials such as coal, gravel, and grains were dug, scoped, dumped, loaded into barges, and floated--and ultimately unloaded. Many people were working hard in this area. It was our job to stay out of their way! 

We looked at the left and right banks, guessing at the enormous piles. We saw this unusual and vibrant chartreuse pile—just once. Then, we smelled the characteristic smell of rotten eggs. We guessed it was sulfur. 

We passed by a huge Ford car or truck plant. It became clear that this was a corridor in the heart of America's industrial might. Here was a sophisticated chemical plant we saw. So many pipes! 

 

Before long, we reached a unique waterway feature: an electric fish barrier in Romeoville, IL. It was erected in 2010 to prevent carp from entering the Great Lakes. Large signs warned boaters against going into the water (like we would, anyway!?) or anchoring.(4) When you used the river as we did, it was apparent that managing these rivers' resources was an ongoing challenge. There's been pollution for more than a couple of centuries, there's invasive fauna and flora (like the Kudzu ivy), and a primary need to control the water flow. 

BALD EAGLES APLENTY

Another unexpected sight grew in numbers: bald eagles. Most of the eagles were juveniles. It's easy to recognize their broad wing spans, chit-chit-chittering cries, and characteristic glides. It felt surreal--while also adding to the Americana-ness--that the industrial Illinois River would have so many bald eagles sailing around, eyeing and diving into the water. They seemed happy to eat the carp. 

We also saw small groups of migratory white American Pelicans like those resting here in this photo. Each day we saw lone, orange, beautiful, and fragile migratory monarch butterflies as well, always flying South.

We saw some modest waterfront homes. There were no water slides or toys on the Illinois like there were in the Trent-Severin Waterway. Locals we spoke with admitted their dismay regarding the polluted water and how carp are real pests. We definitely mangled a few carps as we pushed through a school here and there. There is a short history of these fish and how they were brought in to the waterway—on purpose!(5) 

BARGES AND LOCKS OF THE ILLINOIS RIVER

There was one thing all the tugs had in common: a smoker/bbq right outside the port side exterior door! See the red bbq?

Near the end of day one, the Calumet River meets the Illinois River. We stopped at a city dock in Joliet, IL. The second day was at a nice marina (with a pool!) near Ottawa, IL. Much like the captain's briefing we attended way back in Delaware City, the harbor host/owner held a captain's briefing, here in Ottawa, as well. He was a former tug boat captain and Army Core of Engineers employee. We hung on to every word he spoke in reverence for his valuable knowledge.

He laid out specific anchorages and tie-ups we Loopers would use for the next week. There would be no marinas with services for six days. 

Part of his tutorial focused on tug captain lingo. We needed to communicate with the tugboat captains as we squeezed by them in dredged channels.(6) As it turned out, most of the contact we had was business-like and friendly.. 

The size and power of the locks on the Illinois River were impressive. However, this also made them mind-numbingly slow. We were in the final dozen or so of locks for the entire Loop, so I concentrated on that happy thought. Here’s a few seconds of my view of the floating bollards we tied to in those locks. We went down inches every ten seconds, or so:

INNOVATIVE ANCHORAGES AND TIE-UPS

Our next stop was a simple anchorage, snuggled behind a mid-river island. We buddied up and traveled with two other Loopers those day and went through locks together. It was safer to travel in a pack, since there were almost no resources for recreational boaters. It was also the preference for lockkeepers and tug captains.

We stopped at multiple behind-the-island anchorages at the end of a cruising day. Even though I found the water a tad stinky and muddy, I enjoyed the consistent bald eagle shows. This is Mike’s drone shot. He wrote on the photo to share with some Loopers who were a few days behind us. We, in turn, received helpful information from Loopers ahead of us. It was important to know if the anchorage was deep enough in the current week.

AMAZING SITES ON SHORE

At Peoria, there was a derelict dock owned by the city. We choose to anchor for an afternoon across the river, outside the shipping channel. We dinghied over and found that gulls and Canadian geese were making the most of the dock. 

The key reason for stopping is to see the Caterpillar Museum. No, I'm not referring to caterpillar-to-butterfly caterpillars. It's the Caterpillar brand of tractors and mining equipment. It was more fun than I imagined. We enjoyed the cavernous series of historical displays and modern cockpit simulators. 

Here was a quarter of the two-story Caterpillar Museum behind us.

One of the old-time photos in the Caterpillar Museum. Important advertising history: they were demonstrating that these buckets of beans were the same low cost of one day of diesel for the tractor. 

Mike enjoyed the novelty of sitting on an old yellow tractor.

Honestly, it was scary how Caterpillar proudly illustrated their machines moved mountains and destroyed nature. But I know that I benefit from that too, so... We saw many large, active quarries by the rivers.

During one day's cruise, we approached a crazy-looking industrial plant. It reminded me of the descriptions from some steampunk novels and movies. We smelled it before we spotted it. At first, it smelled like Coca-Cola, maybe? Or sourdough bread? No! It was an old brewery. The exclamation point, as we floated by, was seeing an immense amount of effluent spewing into the Illinois River from the brewery.

South of Peoria we tied up overnight at a restaurant's derelict dock with just two spots that Loopers could use. Because we stayed at the dock, we met the charming owner. She admitted that it was too expensive to keep up a dock along the Illinois River. She said partying people abused it. And there was also the abuse from the river, itself. She said she'd have to redo it each year in order to keep it in decent shape. 

Check out this crazy wonderful drink-appetizer combo Mike had at the Peoria’s restaurant’s marina we stayed at. Take note: that’s a Bloody Mary with a slider, meatballs and traditional accompaniments of celery and green olives. 

We were starting to see more houses now, on stilts. The people here were accustomed to dramatically changing river heights. The River often freezes in winter, lowering the volume. The melt-off in the Spring raises the level. Also, heavy rain raises the level for a few days as well. This time of year, in September, when Loopers travel on the River, the level is fairly low. 

HOW TO THREAD THE NEEDLE

After another pretty anchorage behind an island, we headed out. Shortly, the U.S. Coast Guard informed us via VHF radio that a barge ahead of us ran aground and was blocking traffic. 

As we approached, we saw one tug off to the side, perhaps in mud. Two other tugs were pushing around barge lego-like pieces.

Mike hailed them and asked if we could go around them. We received a nebulous response, laden with a Southern accent. It went something like, "You'll see as you come in whether you can pass us." We took this as an invitation to try. 

We passed the grounded barge to our port safely enough. The other tugs were moving from our left to right (to starboard) and moving with the current. As we started passing, the captain emphatically stated via VHF, "You gotta get up! Get up!" We took that to mean, "Put your pedal to the metal!" So Mike pushed the throttles forward. As we passed them, throwing our big wake, we covertly listened to the two tug boat captains' jargon, complicated for us by their Southern accents. The only thing we heard for certain was, "Yeah, the Devil's Elbow is tough...".(6) 

Loopers' next overnight stay is a tug company's barge at the quaint old town of Beardstown, Illinois. 

Beardstown. I direct you to the upper left hand boats. A smaller, blue-topped boat was rafted to us We were the white boat. We were rafted to a large tug. The tug was tied to their company’s barge. This tie up was the only overnight spot for this day of the journey. Loopers were fortunate that this tug company allows Loopers here, for a small fee. 

Via rusty metal steps, we climbed up and over a sea wall to civilization. This town, like other small towns we had seen recently, had lost its gleam. The downtown square was devoid of people and had closed-up businesses. We came in for a quick grocery run and Mexican meal and were surprised that most residents were not speaking English. This was the heart of the Midwest, in a middle-class town, after all. After some Googling, we read that immigrants were filling the lowest-paying, undesirable work positions in the area: at a Cargill meat processing plant. (7)

After seven days on the Calumet and Illinois Rivers, we unceremoniously spilled out into the Mississippi River on September 10. The river widened for us, although the shipping channel we carefully followed was still the same width. It was a bit emotional, in a good way, as we started down the Mississippi River. It was hard to explain, but we felt we were really in the heart of America now.

Here was the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi River. This enormous American flag flew on the East side of the river in the little community of Grafton. This flag was large! Really large. It was 80 feet by 40 feet.  

Next, we stopped in St. Louis, skirting Missouri, then entered the Ohio River. I’ll cover this and our initial adventures in Western Kentucky in my next travelogue.

FOOTNOTES FOR FUN FACT FANS

(1) The last lock we go through is Coffeeville Lock on the Tombigbee River in central Alabama. We are likely to exit past Mobile, Alabama and into the Gulf of Mexico at the beginning of December.

(2) When we are moving with the flow, the water empties/drops in the locks. When we move against the flow, the water fills/rises in the locks. 

(3) They say, "If you can't make it under the bridge here, your Great Loop becomes the Great U-Turn!" We had perhaps a foot to spare. 

(4) The electric barrier we passed was built in 2010. It was considered not successful enough. There were plans to build more barriers in the river system. Invasive fish are a serious threat to the Great Lakes and many millions of dollars are going into continued efforts.

(5) We heard stories from other Loopers about how jumping carp landed on their decks. They died as they did this and we're told they stink. What a mess! One Looper wrote the dead fish looked like this, “Have half a gallon of Bloody Mary mix, one cup of vegetable oil, three tablespoons of glitter (fish scales). Mix well. Shake and spray all over your boat.”  

(6) As we left the controlled melee behind us, we entered an area of increased current and turns. We noticed popped up and moving tree branches and possible dead heads--although they were outside the channels--for the most part. Branches in the river system were among the most dangerous aspects of The Loop.    

We heard of a Looper that was too close to the back of a tug. They got sucked in towards the tug, spinning them. They were safe and the boat didn't receive any damage, but it was a good lesson to learn. 

(7) In Beardstown I did a grocery run and it reminded me of some of the towns and grocery stores in the rural parts of Alaska. Few vegetables. Basic canned goods. A lot of cookies and frozen pizzas. It surprises me to see a “food desert” in the middle of America. 

Lake Michigan Sparkle

In our dinghy along the Chicago waterfront. 

There's much that sparkled along Lake Michigan.(1) There was clear, Caribbean-like water. The towns were sparkling clean. And, the incredible thunderstorms sparkled with lightning.

We listened to sage advice from locals and experienced Loopers. They described their plans and strategies for traversing down the Wisconsin side and the Michigan side of the lake. We had to pick one or the other, because Lake Michigan was too wide (65-ish miles) to cross back and forth. Ultimately, we made a game-day decision by looking at the wave projections. The waves were smaller on the Michigan side. Decision made.

The West Coast of Michigan had a unique, dependable pattern of harbor-lakes. In each of its harbors, boaters navigated past breakwaters, and into canals that open up into lakes.(2) This made for snug harbors to wait out windy days.

As you can see, we went to Petoskey (four nights to wait out the wind), South Manitou Island (for an afternoon), Leland, Frankfort, Ludington (five nights to wait out the wind), Muskegon, and finally, South Haven.

On our way from an extended stop at Petoskey (due to weather) to Frankfort, we made a welcome side trip here to South Manitou Island for an afternoon. It really was this beautiful. Mike captured this from his drone. We’re the second boat up from the bottom.

There was nothing to dislike about any of these small towns. If you visit, you can expect ice cream shops and breweries. There were nice shops with maritime kitsch and jaunty sweaters. And nice Midwestern people. They are clean and entirely pleasant. (I'm referring to the towns, not the people. Although the people were clean too.)

This sunset in downtown Petoskey was lovely enough for this pose. I found the charming turn-of-the-century architecture and quiet streets typical of the Western Michigan coastal towns.

What I'll remember most are the Looper friends we got to know better. There were dinners, poolside lounging, docktails, and game-playing.(3) 

Here was an evening of working madly together on a COVID-era puzzle with my fellow Looper ladies/deckhands. We found it a relief to share similar, funny stories about the communication challenges we have onboard with our skipper-husbands.

Movie night(4) on our boat. The fisheye lens doesn’t capture how we somehow shoe-horned eight people into this modest space.

We also spent time cleaning and waxing Sacagawea. There were a lot of mayflies of all colors and sizes in the lakes! They make a mess every morning.

Here in Ludington, we stretched our legs with a walk to the pier during one of the windy days. Only the heartiest large fishing boats went out on the lake this day:

Did you know there are huge dunes on the Western Michigan coast? I did not. For miles in various spots, there are tall dunes. The tallest are hundreds of feet. The best known are at Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. We didn't find a convenient time or method for visiting the dunes, but they were pretty cool to see from our unique vantage in the lake.

In some of the towns, we were surprised to see so many recreational fishermen congregating at specific hot spots in the lakes and the entrances to the lakes. We saw them cleaning the bright orange-pink meat of salmon at every fish station, each day. We found recreational fishermen fiercely rooted in their fishing spots and they made it challenging for us, occasionally, to transit by them safely. The modern history of the salmon that were introduced into Lake Michigan is really interesting. 

On a more pleasant note, we found ourselves with front row seats while at anchor in Muskegon Bay. We were surprised to see we were near a turn point at an early morning regatta. Who doesn’t love seeing sailors raising their spinnakers?:

CROSSING LAKE MICHIGAN

The day of our big seventy-five-mile crossing from South Haven to Chicago, Mike was recovering from COVID. He slept, snugly in the stateroom, while I piloted Sacagawea. I enjoyed my day: I listened to whatever books, podcasts, and music that my heart desired.

For two hours in the middle, I couldn't see land on any side. I anticipated feeling wary about this. However, I kept to my books and such, and I was attentive to the instrument readings. Time just went by. I was hyper-focused on anything out of the ordinary because all I could see were gentle waves and hazy horizon.

There were so few birds—pretty much just gulls. I saw no fish jump. Once I saw a butterfly caught in my draft. "Oh no," I thought, "I hope I don't kill it--or cause a hurricane somewhere."(5) Its flight was so jittery and precarious, I can't imagine that it made it to land. Another time I saw one sparrow and had the same thought.

After six hours, and 20 miles away, the broken toothy Chicago skyline resolved behind the hazy horizon…

…and here at 15 miles out…

…and here 10 miles out…

…and here at about one mile out after eight hours. It was time to stir Mike and get ready to enter our next home base! 

We stayed in a comfortable, centrally-located marina: DuSable Marina. It's directly South of the Chicago River. We stayed for nine hot, humid days and filled every day with something fun.

CHCAGO: MOST ANTICIPATED MOMENTS

When we were apart, Mike did lots of boat maintenance-related work. I visited the Art Institute of Chicago (maybe my fourth time there) and did some mall shopping.

Here at the Art Institute of Chicago I noticed the couple in the giant “Paris Street, Rainy Day” by Gustave Caillebotte looking out at 2024 as we were looking in at them in 1877. Don’t you love how art is a time machine?! 

I also got a few precious hours with my dear friend, Natalie, who was visiting Chicago from California! (I don’t have a pic of this—it’s in only in my heart.) Gosh, I really miss you all! We’re half way through The Loop, y'all! I’m still glad to be on the quest.

ROCKIN’ IT UP AT WRIGLEY FIELD

Originally, we wanted to see a Cubs game at Wrigley Field. However, there were only away games during our stay. Instead, we saw the sensational band, Pearl Jam, at Wrigley Field. They still rock. Like better than ever.

That bespectacled couple is us, at Wrigley Field. We wanted to share with you the beautiful graphics at the Pearl Jam concert. In my estimation, the concert-goers were mostly contemporaries of our grunge era. Some of you know we lived in grunge central, Seattle, in the 1990s. 

Below is a clip worth listening to. For a bunch of old guys (our age actually) Pearl Jam can still rock. I mean REALLY ROCK AND ROLL. Wait for the split jump:

HUMID MEALS AND OTHER EVENING DRAMA

We had one great dinner out after another. We hit many countries with those meals: Japan, Peru, Greece, Mexico, and Midwest American steaks.

It was hot and humid during most of our stay. You can practically see the humidity in this pic. We paused one evening at a brewery along the Chicago Riverwalk. We learned that the Riverwalk was only completed in 2016. It seemed like a natural and essential part of Chicago, from my tourist perspective. We walked through it virtually every day.

Near the end of our Chicago stay, we took an hour dinghying over to the swimming spot North of the Chicago River entrance. It was so very hot. There were dozens of lake boats all around us. 

Our friend snapped this pic of us. Shortly after, we noticed a huge, round cloud surrounding a hazy-looking thundercloud to the Northwest of our spot. It was time to split! We raced back to Sacagawea and got ready to meet some Looper friends for dinner.  

While we called a Lyft, we could see on our weather apps that rain and wind were about to hit us. But you really don’t need a weather app when you see this outside the back of your boat:

We walked quickly up to the Lyft pick up when the weather hit us with a vengeance. We were immediately drenched and had to take shelter behind a small building to avoid the sideways wind, rain, and blowing branches and leaves.

After dinner and drinks—all of us drenched—we made our way back to our boat to watch the lightening all around us. Watch this one, which was many miles away, from inside our boat: 

I don't think I've ever experienced a storm like this. Midwest summer weather was no joke!

EVENING ARCHITECTURAL TOUR

We opted for an evening architectural tour on the Chicago River. It was sensational. We craned our necks like owls and non-stop smiled in appreciation for the architectural artistry. The energy, pride, and creative spirit of downtown Chicago was palpable when you floated through it at night.

LA PORTE, INDIANA - HOME SWEET HOME FOR MIKE’S EXTENDED FAMILY 

Like many of our August evenings along Lake Michigan, we saw a soothing, colorful sunset from the back of our boat. This pic was on our last evening at DuSable Marina. You were gorgeous, sparkly Chicago!

We waved goodbye to bustling Chicago and headed East on Lake Michigan to Hammond, Indiana. 

I had never met most of Mike’s extended family and we had been anticipating seeing as many as possible when we first started The Loop.

In Hammond, we met up with Mike's cousin Diane Searle, and her husband Brett. We spent Labor Day weekend meeting Mike's local extended family and doing drive-bys through the town of La Porte, Indiana, where Mike's mom, Marcia, (as well as her parents, siblings, and cousins) grew up. We were able to match places with the youthful stories we had heard about.

Hello First Cousins, Once Removed, Donna and Claudia (Mike’s Godmother). “Nice to meetcha!” As we arrived for the get together at Mike’s cousin Diane and husband Brett’s home. 

Here’s Mike with Great Aunt Susie. She’s 104. (No typo!) We especially enjoyed and were touched that she made her signature dish for us: golumki. I learned what a lovely person she is while we talked about our Great Loop experience.

Brett and Diane took us to some of the best Southern Michigan wineries on day two of Labor Day weekend. Where else can you see vineyards on the left and corn fields on the right? We hope to reciprocate Cousin Diane's hospitality when we have a home in the U.S. again.   

NEXT: THE RIVER SYSTEM

The weather cooperated and we were able to push off as planned into the river system. Summer ended and it was time to leave the sparkling days, weather, and water of Lake Michigan.(6)

FOOTNOTES FOR FUN FACT FANS

(1) Lake Michigan is a Great Lake, but not a superior lake. There already is a Great Lake called Lake Superior. Ba dum tss.
(2) It makes sense to have this lollipop configuration. You can't have a harbor on the side of Lake Michigan. The lake has been known to have 5 - 10 foot wave heights regularly. On rare occasions, it has wave heights of 20 feet or more during storms. These would decimate exposed boat harbors.

(3) It was Captain Ron, of course!
(4) Rummikub! Anyone want to play?!
(5) The Butterfly Effect

(6) Even if we lowered Sacagawea's antennas and anchor light, we may have hit a stationary bridge or two in the Chicago River. We decided instead to enter the river system via the Calumet River. Its stationary bridges have taller spans.

Blueberry Days in Georgian Bays

My persistent memory from the Northern Channel will be blue-colored. At most locales, the islands were spotted with carpets of wild blueberry bushes. We arrived at the peak of the season. It was heaven to sit on the moss, in the shade, and pick off the tiny, sweet blueberries. You know how it goes: some in the basket and some to taste! We mostly enjoyed them as blueberry smoothies and we had one lazy morning with blueberry pancakes.

 

THE NORTH CHANNEL OF GEORGIAN BAY

New Englanders, Great Lakers, and Canadian boaters we met along the Erie Canal and 1000 Islands always asked us: “Are you going to the North Channel in Georgian Bay?” After we answered, “yes,” they eagerly shared, “Let me tell you about some great anchor spots I’ve been going to for years…”. We had to narrow the number of bays to try.

After we finished our week in the greater Parry Sound area in East-Central Georgian Bay with our neighbors onboard, we continued towards the North Channel of Georgian Bay. See our route in red below.

I read that some people call Georgian Bay the sixth Great Lake because it's so vast. It's actually part of Lake Huron. The Northern part is about 150 miles wide so it's quite a stretch for weekenders. We saw markedly fewer boaters. And, there were fewer cottages. Stretching across the 150 miles were only a handful of marinas in micro-sized towns. 

We were told that people only visit the cottages during the summer. During Winter and much of Spring, these waters ice in. A trickle of recreators who drove to the area used snowmobiles to wiz around. Another consequence of being remote with limited seasons was few hiking trails. 

Most of the Loopers we were buddy-boating with at this point liked to anchor. Consequently, it was fun to enjoy all these anchorages with our new friends. We anchored a week, then came to town a night to fill up our fresh water tanks and get a pump out. Then we repeated it for another week. It was late July and early August, and the weather and water temperature made conditions just right for swimming. Some days were decidedly humid which would break with a breeze and then rain. 

CROKER ISLAND

At a few small coves we could only anchor if we also tied our stern to shore, so we wouldn’t swing into other boats. In this photo, Mike took our orange stern line to shore, wrapped it around a tree and was returning to the boat. I was at the helm making sure Sacagawea didn’t rotate and kept tension on the anchor. 

From Parry Sound, after a long day of cruising North-Northwest, we arrived at the first of many remote anchorages: the Bustard Islands. There, similar to all the anchorages, we were not alone. Other powerboaters and sailors were enjoying the clear, freshwater, pine-scented air. 

At the Bustard Islands we shared an impromptu bonfire with some Ontarians while watching a yellow sun set. 

DINGHY RUNS

Another unique pastime in the Northern Channel was at our next stop: Bad River anchorage. Along the anchorage were a series of finger-like rivers that were too shallow and narrow for motor boats, but perfect for exploration via dinghy. 

At a few of these narrow long fingers were two to three-foot-high chutes/waterfalls. These comprised a series of what can only be called "dinghy runs." Our Looper friends were there the day before and were lucky enough to have a local guide them through a long run up, avoiding chutes, and then downhill another route through a maze of chutes. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the local or figure it out ourselves. In any case, we still had fun going through the calmer part of the maze via dinghy.(1)

Here we got as far as we dared in our dinghy and then began to float down among mini whirlpools:

COLLINS INLET AND BAIE FINE

After Bad River, we continued West. We chose a relatively short inside passage called Collins Inlet. The North Channel was fifteen miles long (North to South) so there was ample opportunity to grow nasty fetch. We went through Collin's Inlet and avoided wave-ridden open water. 

In quiet and naturally straight Collins Inlet. We were all alone during this short and rainy cruise. Wet rock walls were tall, colorful and lovely. 

One of the most remarkable bays we stopped in was Baie Fine. It's eleven miles long and a half mile wide. It ends with a jog like a hockey stick at a cove called The Pool. Our anchorage in The Pool was surrounded by green hills, water-lily-topped shores, and mirror-like water. What made this cove different was a pleasant hike via a marked trail through a shallow stream, gently uphill, to Lake Topaz. Yes, Lake Topaz was a beautiful blue. The surrounding boulders and fir trees reminded us of Yosemite.(2) 

Here, the bright green birch and fir forest as we hiked up to Topaz Lake. Wowza. The video below is Lake Topaz. 

Our friends snapped this as we picked up anchor and left The Pool early in the morning. Notice rising mist in the left background. Mirror-like water. 

HOSPITABLE HOTHAM ISLAND

Another memorable experience was when we nestled into a cove at Hotham Island. It was known for two Americans who hosted a happy hour at their cottage dock each day. They tooled around in their dinghy from boat to boat in the cove and invited everyone to their deck. Then they introduced everyone, answered questions and we got to know each other.

The hosts took this pic as we dinghied into their dock at Hotham Cove. 

Here was the view from the deck. Our host told us, "We would rather look at friend's boats from our deck than stranger's boats. That's why we do this." Too cool.

BACK TO CIVILIZATION

We knew that it was time to call it quits in the Northern Channel when we were in yet another cove, and spent yet another lazy afternoon floating around in our inner tubes, examining beaver homes and lily pads.

I was getting too used to this! Time to paddle the inner tube back and plan the cruise South back to civilization. 

We took off to a small town called Thessalon to fill our water tanks and have a pump out. All said and done, that was our Northernmost point on The Loop.(3)

We re-entered into the U.S.(4) at quiet Lime Island in Northern Michigan. There, we had a great day with a buddy boat, sharing dinner and a bonfire on shore. 

Our arrival back to civilization was at Mackinac Island. We heard conflicting advice about whether to visit it or not. On the one hand, we heard about great bicycling. On the other, we heard it smelled like horse poop (?!) and was just another fudge/ice cream/T-shirt town. We chose to go for bicycling and ultimately appreciated it for much more. 

First, we had to traverse South for ten miles in the protected water that splits the U.S. (Michigan) and Canada. Then, we had to cross for thirty-five miles in the open water of Lake Ontario to make landfall at Mackinac Island. We liked the less-than-2-foot wave predictions and made our move.  

Per usual, I didn't do much research about our next destination. It so happens that there has been a car ban on Mackinac Island since 1898! Visitors walk and use bicycles to get around. Locals use horse-drawn wagons to carry heavy and bulky items like garbage or supplies. We saw locals with electric bikes as well. This made for a unique culture. There was an abundance of horse-drawn carriages for island tours. Thus the horse poop. But, we didn't find the odor distracting. And, we easily avoided the fudge and T-shirt shops--except for the time Mike purchased a clean and bright white T-shirt.

Mike’s drone shot shows the clear water at the Mackinac Island marina. On land, people were walking or riding bikes. On the left was the two-square-blocks of stores and restaurants. In the top left was the notable Grand Hotel.

Clop, clop, clop is a soothing sound that doesn’t grow old:

There was an eight-mile, flat, paved road that circumnavigated Mackinac Island at the beach. The ease and joy of this bike ride was worth the stop. Here we stopped to just enjoy the shades of blue.

Mike surprised me when he asked if I wanted to do a guided horse ride after biking. So we switched from our bikes to a horse. I have little horse-riding experience, so I'd say I tolerated it with controlled terror. For me, it was scarier than cruising the open waters of Lake Ontario! We push ourselves to try new things and then move on, don't we?

NEXT LEG: LAKE MICHIGAN

We had been collecting intelligence on how to traverse down Lake Michigan. It's a mighty big lake with plenty of cautionary tales and sad songs. Should we traverse the Wisconsin side or the Michigan side? What online resources do locals use to predict the waves? Warm and talkative locals helped us with these types of questions and more. 

We pushed off from Mackinac Island, heading West for a long day to Petoskey, MI. We were impressed by our first milestone, the Mackinac Bridge. We were surprised that this bridge looked so much like the vermillion colored Golden Gate Bridge that guards San Francisco Bay. The uprights were white and the bridge was green, but it otherwise resembled the bridge we knew. 

Mackinac Bridge from a mile away. We could have sworn it was a sibling of the Golden Gate Bridge. 

…and as we floated underneath the Mackinac Bridge high above us. This is the meeting point for Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. It was the beginning of our next leg: Lake Michigan.

FOOTNOTES FOR FUN FACT FANS

(1) We learned that on the same day we explored via dinghy, one of the eighty-year-old "boys" in a nearby boat attempted to run one of the little cataracts. Apparently he had been doing this for years. He turtled his dinghy! He fell out and dunked his little motor. When we saw him, he and some buddies were trying to revive his dinghy engine. We heard his wife was none too happy about his misadventure. 

(2) DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T LIKE SNAKE STORIES.

As we departed our boats in our dinghies for the hike, our Looper friends were caught by surprise. We heard them shriek. There was a snake wrapped around their dinghy motor.  He told us he scrambled out of the dinghy and got a boat hook. He was able to safely unhook the snake using the boat hook. Off it swam. 

Later, when we arrived at Lake Topaz's edge, we were surprised to see two more snakes slithering along the shore. The snakes easily swam to a hiding place to avoid us.

This garden of Eden had snakes, eh?   

One of the snakes that scurried away as we approached. 

(3) Latitude at our Northernmost point: 46.257 N. To compare, the Ballard Locks in Seattle, WA is at 47.666 N. One degree (46 to 47) of latitude is about 70 miles.  

(4) It was a simple process for boaters like us to return. We populated some information into a government app. Then it gives us a clearance number. That was it. The border agent could have told us to report to a nearby Border Control facility during the call, but they did not. It may help that we cross back and forth each year for the last twenty years.

BONUS PHOTOS

Our little hike to Topaz Lake from The Pool was accented by mushrooms. I don’t recall seeing any of these before. I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of spotting mushrooms. Maybe it’s a worthy retirement hobby in my future?

Black trumpet mushroom???

I have no idea what this is called. It looked like a wet egg, over easy!

After a quick search, I think these are wildflowers—not mushrooms. Indian Pipe flowers?