Good-bye Canada, Hello Grand Marais

Day 5 Friday, 2013

Goodbyes are hard. There’s just no way around it.  I heard a saying once, “Don’t be sad it’s over, be grateful it happened.”  So, even though I am sad our stay in Canada has come to a close, I will be grateful for the adventures and memories made.  A big THANKS! to Bob and Cherie for having us and showing us such a great time.  You definitely get a 5+star rating!

 

Leaving Canada....

 

On the road again, we headed back into the U.P. towards Grand Marais, Michigan.  Even though we weren’t too far from Canada, the terrain was much different in the U.P.; much flatter and with a lot of scrub brush.

On to Grand Marais which holds a lot of memories.  Mike used to go there as a kid, mostly camping.  When we were first married, Mike took me there and then almost 10 years later we took the kids.  When you are this far north, you might as well go to Grand Marais.  It’s beautiful.  Right on the shores of Lake Superior; you can see forever.

The other “attraction” near Grand Marais is the Grand Sable Dunes which is part of the Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore.  Unless you see it in person, the pictures don’t do it justice.  The entire shoreline is one big cliff of sand. 

We "re-enacted" this shot from years ago when the kids were little...they jump, I photograph :)

A little history here…..Back in the late 1800’s, early 1900’s the logging industry in the U.P. of Michigan exploded.  They would ship the logs into the big cities like Chicago, Milwaukee,and Detroit via the Great Lakes.  With the dunes, they had to come up with a way to get the logs out of the forests and into Lake Superior.  One way was to create a “log slide” which was like a huge chute that went straight down (300-500ft vertical drop) to the base of the lake. One is still around and you can “go down it”.  (You probably know where I’m going with this….) Mike has done this before as a kid.  I. have. not.  Of course the kids wanted to see it and give it a shot.  There is a huge Warning sign at the top of the “log slide” listing all the accidents that could happen.  (There are even pictures of ambulances….Don’t get me started!) The last line says, “There have been many emergency rescues in recent years: Do not be a statistic! Which pretty much says, “I dare you, you big wimp!”  Here is my lovely family at the top of the log slide.  By the way, you cannot see the bottom from the top.

Happy and contemplative....

Here is my lovely family at the bottom; all in one piece J

What you don’t see and I didn’t see (Thank you Jesus!) is Todd doing a total face plant about half way down because his legs couldn't keep up. He flips over midair into a full out somersault, and smacks his head on a rock upon landing. All I got was the play by play from the people who were half way down watching it all happen.  Things a mother really does not want to hear at this point….  Things like, (woman gasping) “Oooh, I hope that kid is okay.” “Did he hurt his neck?” and “I think he hit his head on a rock”…..”Is that your son?” “Uh, does he have on a bright yellow shirt?” “Yes, he’s mine.”  All I have to say is if you are familiar with the famous "kayak story" from about 13 years, this is right up there.  I’m not going on about it.  He, of course, thought it was totally awesome, and hauled the rock all the way back up in the back to keep as a souvenir.  Kids. Oh, on a side note, he did throw up later that night, but “it was probably just something I ate”. Uh huh, yeah, let’s go with that while I look up the closest medical facility in the almost 12 page phone book (it was over an hour away just for the record. We are in the U.P.remember)  But really, what is a vacation without at least the chance of going to the emergency room….

Todd and his "rock"...he's very disappointed that the lumps don't show because of "The Hair"

Back on a lighter note……A few more pictures of this magical place…..

 

 

And last but not least...the sunset....from the point at Grand Marais

 

The wind and waves on Gitche Gumee...

 

 

Until next time,

 

Journey On,

Cindy