Trip to Michigan October 2022

I like to visit places I have never been, and the Great Lakes had been one of those places so I planned and recently completed a week-long trip there. I decided to concentrate on Michigan and would have liked to see both the lower and upper peninsula (UP), but couldn't take more than a week off work and found no way to be able to fit both into a single week visit, so will have to go back for the UP someday and decided to instead focus on the lower peninsula. While doing research I did find and document a lot of locations I want to visit on the UP which will make it easier whenever I finally get around to planning a trip there. I'm sure I'll work it out to visit Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota on the same trip, possibly even getting into parts of Ontario.

In a separate blog entry I explained how I plan a photography trip and I used that same process for this trip, finding the locations, organizing them by proximity, then planning a day-day route. Over the past year the airlines have had issues with staffing negatively impacting baggage delivery and flight timeliness, so I decided I'd be better off driving. That opened me up to camping from my Subaru (details on Subaru camp setup) as well, so I also found and booked campsites for all nights except for one. From my home in Virginia it was about a 12-hour drive so I just included a stop or two en-route, and also spent the night on the way there and back in Dayton, OH to minimize the total amount of driving I had to do on any day.

Day 1 Saturday:

I found Statts Mill Covered Bridge, WV (a type of structure I like to visit) was around seven hours from home and I hadn't ever been to it before, so I got up at 3AM and left around 3:45 allowing me to visit it and also Hocking Hills State Park, OH on the first day before spending the night in Dayton, OH. Unexpectedly my route took me right past Cathedral Falls in West Virginia. I had visited the falls twice previously and both times it was bone dry. However, due to Hurricane Ian having dropped rain in the area, it was flowing well so I made an unplanned stop to photograph it. Then I stopped for gas outside Charleston, WV and drove on to the covered bridge.

While the rain was great for Cathedral Falls, it also made for boring light at the covered bridge so I got some shots but they weren't the ideal, snacked on some oranges and crackers, then continued on to Hocking Hills. I planned it so that I visited the three sites I wanted to see in Hocking Hills in order from closest to furthest, so my first stop was Ash Cave. It was a Saturday around noon and the parking lot was pretty full, so I knew there would be a lot of people at the cave as well. I just made the best of the situation and photographed it with people in the frame, then left and drove to the visitor's center so I could see the Devil's Bathtub and A Frame Bridge. (Virginia also has a Devil's Bathtub while has grown quite famous since around 2010; likely due to exposure on social media.)

Unfortunately, Hurricane Ian's rain hadn't made it to Ohio so the stream had only a trickle of water, but I still got decent shots of the bathtub and a quick shot of the A Frame Bridge between groups of fellow hikers. Finally I drove up to the Rock House. It took me a while to figure out where the trailhead there started since there were two separate parking lots but after figuring it out I parked and hiked down to the Rock House. I set up at one end and kept waiting but, like the other two Hocking Hills locations, this one had a lot of visitors as well so could never catch the house without other people inside. I decided to just shoot 30 second exposures to somewhat blur the people out. Then I went back to my car and drove the final leg of the first day to Dayton, OH where I prepared some dinner, took a shower, set my alarm for 8 AM, then went to sleep. My first stop the next day was the Clifton Mill and it didn't open until 9 AM, which is why I set the alarm that late. It was also nice to be able to sleep a bit more after the short previous night.

Day 2 Sunday:

I woke up at 8 AM, went to the bathroom, made and ate breakfast, brushed my teeth, then drove to the Clifton Mill leaving around 8:30 AM. They had their large back parking lot closed leaving only street-side parking, and it was full with everyone there for breakfast (it appears as though the mill has a great breakfast) but I was able to squeeze myself parallel parked between two other cars. Unlike the previous overcast rainy day this day was partly cloudy. I scouted the location and the only views of the mill were from a covered bridge, and the windows in the bridge had wooden slats over them preventing me from being able to use my tripod or even get a clear view with the camera. I resorted to hand-holding the camera propping it against the slats for stability and got a few shots then hopped in the car for a long 4-5 hour slog up to my first lighthouse of the trip.

Unfortunately I had to pass through Detroit to get from the Dayton, OH area to Port Huron, MI and the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse. My exit to change freeways was blocked too, so I had to get off and feel my way in a Northeasterly direction through most of Detroit since the next three on-ramps I needed to use were also blocked. I eventually got through Detroit and found an open on-ramp so got back on the road and proceeded to Ft Gratiot arriving around 2 PM. I caught it open so was able to tour the keeper's house and climb the tower, grabbed some snacks from my cooler and food storage bin in the car, then drove on to Port Sanilac Lighthouse. That lighthouse would have been best to photograph in the morning but time limitations had me there in the afternoon so I made the best of the light available, then drove another 1.5 hours to a hotel (my only one of the trip) for the night. I splurged and bought some fast food for dinner since I didn't have a campsite where I could prepare the food I had brought with me. I ate my food, took a shower, brushed my teeth, and set my alarm for 6AM to catch the hotel breakfast, then went to sleep.

Day 3 Monday:

I got up, washed my face, dressed, then went down to the hotel lobby to eat breakfast. After breakfast I brushed my teeth, checked out, and drove the short distance to downtown Frankenmuth, MI. There I photographed a scene in the Frankenmuth River Place shops that was on a jigsaw puzzle I once had before the sun rose. Frankenmuth is a German Bavarian-themed town (similar to Leavenworth, WA) and I thought the puzzle scene was from somewhere in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland until seeing images of Frankenmuth and realizing the photo was actually from here in the US. While there I also photographed a mill at sunrise and saw the Bavarian Inn in nice morning light so photographed it as well, then drove 3 hours to the Sturgeon Point Lighthouse. There were few people at the lighthouse and it was a really nice out-of-the way location lit by mid-morning light, on a nearly cloudless day, so I enjoyed my short time there, but had a few more stops planned so moved on to Presque Isle to photograph the two lighthouses there.

Unfortunately I caught the larger, New Presque Isle Lighthouse in the middle of brick repair work so wasn't able to get a clean photograph of its exterior, but climbed both lighthouses then drove to the 40 Mile Point Lighthouse. Coincidentally I ran into another person there from Hampton Roads, VA and chatted for a bit while photographing the light with a nice Ford Model A parked nearby, then walked down the beach to photograph the Joseph S. Fay shipwreck. The shipwreck was covered with sand that was loaded with footprints, so I tried to smooth some out flinging nearby sand over the closest footprints to get a more natural look, then drove to my first Michigan State Park Onaway for the night. I got there early around 4 PM so walked around a bit exploring then made dinner, took a shower, and went to sleep early with my alarm set for 6 AM (the sun was due to rise around 7:40 AM).

Day 4 Tuesday:

I woke up, went to the bathroom, made breakfast, brushed my teeth, washed my face, then drove to Mackinaw City where I had to fill up on gas then went to the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse; arriving just after 8 AM. They didn't open until 9 AM so I spent some time photographing both the lighthosue compound from outside the fence and also the Mackinac Bridge. When they opened I went in and toured the site then climbed the tower, finally leaving to the nearby McGulpin Point Lighthouse which opened at 10 AM. I also photographed it from outside then paid to go in and climb the tower, snacked on some food at the car, then drove 3 hours to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Seashore. Fortunately it was another sunny near cloudless day. Unfortunately, I arrived in the early afternoon so didn't get the best light on the cannery or on the Coast Guard station. The cannery would have been best in the late afternoon, and the station would have been best at early morning. Again, due to my limited time I had to make the best of what I had available.

On the way out I stopped at the D H Day barn and also stopped briefly at another beautiful red barn to photograph both, then went to a nearby covered bridge only to find that it was now private, so moved on to Point Betsie Lighthouse. I had actually planned to go to my campsite to check in first then go to the lighthouse, but it was a 40 minute drive each way so flipped them around and went to the lighthouse first. I got some decent shots of the lighthouse but didn't want to stay until the nice sunset light knowing I had a 40 minute drive ahead, so left with the sun still fairly high in the sky headed to my second Michigan State Park Interlochen for the night. When I arrived at my campsite I caught a cute black squirrel so took some photographs of him, ate dinner, then took a shower. I had heard of water problems in Flint, MI but I believe Interlochen also has some problems since the shower water smelled like it was 10% kerosene and 90% water. I was careful to not get any in my mouth and, fortunately, after drying off I couldn't smell that chemical smell any more and never experienced any weird side effects from getting the strange-smelling water on my body. I used it to brush my teeth too but was careful to spit everything out. Anyway, after showering I went to bed.

Day 5 Wednesday:

In the morning I followed my regular camp routine which is to go to the bathroom, wash my face, prepare and eat breakfast, brush my teeth, then drive on to the next location. In this particular case that was the Manistee North Pierhead Lighthouse. Unfortunately this morning was overcast and I wasn't sure how long I'd need to get to my other locations nor how long I'd spend at each, so after getting a few photos in the flat light I didn't wait around for better light and drove on to the Big Sable Point Lighthouse.

I knew I had a decent hike there and thought it was 3 miles round trip, but it actually ended up being 3.6 miles. Regardless, I fueled up on some oranges and crackers then started the hike. About 0.5 miles down there was a sign about a shipwreck and old lifesaving station so I followed that path through the dunes. I ran into some people headed back so asked them if they had seen the shipwreck and they said they couldn't find it, but I pointed out the foundations from where the lifesaving station had been to them since they seemed to have missed them on their way in. I was near the shore of Lake Michigan when I ran into them so decided to keep walking and walk North on the beach in case I found the shipwreck remains. I did not but decided to just finish the remainder of the hike along the beach, walking near where the waves from the lake were breaking on the sand to make the going easier (wet sand is more firm than loose dry sand). That allowed me to get some shots of the lighthouse down the beach, and I was also the only person on that entire stretch of beach which was nice. Anyway, I got to the lighthouse and found they let veterans in free (thanks!) so toured the old keeper's quarters and climbed the light, then came down and followed the regular gravel & sand road back to my car. When I got back to the car I ate some more food then drove on to the Little Sable Point Lighthouse.

For some reason I took the names of the Sable Point Lighthouses to refer to the size of the lighthouses but they actually refer to the size of the points jutting out into Lake Michigan. Thus, the Little Sable Point Lighthouse is about as tall as Big Sable Point. (I looked them up afterward and see Big Sable is 112' while Little Sable is 107'.)  When I arrived there were a few people around the light but as I explored and photographed the site all but one left, allowing me to get some shots of the lighthouse without people. Then I drove to my favorite camp location of the trip Grand Haven State Park. I say that because it is right on the beach and right beside the beatiful Grand Haven twin lights. I was able to get some shots of them that afternoon, that evening at sunset, at dusk, and again before the sun rose early the next morning. I also ate a light dinner and showered before setting my alarm for 6 AM and going to sleep.

Day 6 Thursday:

I woke up, went to the bathroom, made and ate breakfast, then got my camera gear and walked over to the beach to photograph the Grand Haven Lighthouses in the dawn light. After doing that for a while I then got in the car and drove to the Holland Harbor Lighthouse. You can only access it from across the ship channel and, even with morning sunlight, I wasn't too happy with my shots so didn't spend much time there before driving on to the Peterson Grist Mill. This site appeared to be someone's house and even the back of the mill had a deck with a table and some chairs so I suspect either someone lives there or rents it out. This was also a quick stop after which I drove on to the South Haven Lighthouse.

The sky had flat overcast light when I arrived at South Haven but after a while the sun peeked out from the clouds for a brief moment, and I quickly got some shots off before the sun again disappeared behind the clouds. I could tell it would be a long time before the sun came out again so moved on to the St Joseph Pier Lighthouses. When I arrived at the St Joseph Lights it was fully overcast and I found you had to pay for parking (no biggie and only $2/hour). There were only a couple cars in the parking lot including a police SUV with at least 10 different cameras mounted all over it. Seriously, that thing looked strange with so many cameras everywhere, and it actually drove off shortly after I arrived even though I hadn't noticed someone inside. I thought it had been left there to video every angle of the parking lot. Anyway, I did the best I could with the flat cloudy light here, walked the pier to the end, then drove to the Michigan City, IN lighthouse.

I didn't realize it until I crossed the MI-IN state line, but it appears that's where Eastern and Central time zones cross. (I looked it up afterward and see that for some strange reason a small sliver of IN on Lake Michigan is in the Central time zone.)  My car and cell phone went back an hour making it appear I had gained an hour, but I planned to spend the night in Dayton, OH again and knew it was on Eastern time. Regardless, I got a few shots of the lighthouse then drove the short distance to the Old Lighthouse Museum arriving around 12:30 PM. They didn't open until 1 PM but let me in 15 minutes early. One of the volunteers there was kind enough to show me the model of the Edmund Fitzgerald he had built and displayed in the museum, which he had filled with iron ore he had found at a different shipwreck on Lake Michigan. He had also built a neat map of Lake Michigan with LEDs marking the locations and matching the colors of the lights for every lighthouse on the lake. Anyway, I enjoyed the museum and learned the building had been the original St Joseph light before the pierhead lighthouse was constructed. I had a 4 hour drive ahead of me to get back to Dayton, OH, however, so didn't spend too much time and drove to Ohio, just making it before running out of gas. I filled up, hit the campground, didn't even eat since I had been snacking while driving, took a shower, brushed my teeth, and went to bed setting my alarm clock for 8 AM.

Day 7 Friday:

I woke up before the alarm because I had to go to the bathroom so went, made and ate breakfast, brushed my teeth, then drove to Huffman Field to kill some time. This was where the Wright Brothers returned after their initial flight at Kill Devil Hills, NC in 1903. They built two subsequent and successively better Wright Fliers here with flight controls, allowing them to completely control their aircraft. Apparently the initial model used at Kill Devil Hills was only capable of powered flight but wasn't able to be controlled. They also developed a catapult system to be able to launch in any direction regardless of wind while at this location. There was a mock-up of the catapult and their hangar at the site. From there I drove to the Air Force Museum which opened at 9 AM, arriving shortly after it had opened. I walked through the exhibits fairly quickly, leaving around 12:30 PM then drove the long haul home finally arriving around 10:30 PM. If I hadn't been stupid and paid the toll to stay on Interstate 64 east of Charleston, WV, I would have gotten home half an hour earlier. I didn't realize it at the time but they were working on the Interstate maybe two miles past the toll booth and had closed it down to a single lane causing a 1.5 mile traffic jam when I hit it, which I imagine only got worse given it was Friday afternoon and people were leaving work for the weekend. The main thing is that I wasn't tired and able to keep on driving so did.