Without a doubt, it's South Manitou Island, part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. According to Native American legend, a raging forest fire in Wisconsin drove a mother bear and her two bear cubs into the lake, where they swam toward Michigan. The mother bear reached shore and climbed to the top of a high bluff to await the arrival of the bear cubs, but the cubs had tired and could swim no longer. They drowned within sight of the shore. The Great Spirit Manitou created two islands to mark the spot where the bear cubs drowned, and then created the solitary dune to represent the mother bear.
South Manitou Island lies about 17 miles offshore and is accessible by private boat, or passenger ferry. Don't plan on finding any modern amenities when you arrive at the island, however. Whatever you're going to need, you'd better bring yourself. Forget electronic devices if you plan to stay for long...once they're dead, you won't be able to recharge them ;-) You have your choice of three campgrounds to backpack to. We camped at Weather Station Campground, about a 1.5 mile hike from the dock. It lies on the southern end of the island and overlooks the Manitou Passage and Sleeping Bear Dunes. The sunrises and sunsets out over the open water are spectacular. The peace and quiet is awesome. When you disconnect from all distractions, your mind is so much more open to God as he speaks to you. Nature, God's second book, is abundant, from plants and flowers below, to virgin white cedar above. With no artificial light for miles around, the night sky shines with unforgettable clarity. There are unique features to the island. There are no deer on the island, so plant life exhists in a way not found where there are deer grazing on it. Twelve species of orchids can be found on the island. There are no skunks, porcupines, or red squirrels on the island, tho an abundance of chipmunks makes up for the lack of squirrels. Only one species of mouse, the woodland deer mouse, is found on the island. Snowshoe hares are found on South Manitou Island, but not on neighboring North Manitou Island.
Things to do while staying on South Manitou Island include a variety of hikes to see various natural features of the island; visiting the village (now used as housing for staff and volunteers) and museum, climbing the 117 steps of the lighthouse, visiting the old one-room schoolhouse and the cemetery where many of the island's early settlers rest awaiting Jesus' 2nd Coming. Longer hikes will take you to see the cedar forest, a shipwreck on the shoreline (the Francisco Morazon, which ran aground during a November storm in 1960), or the bluffs, the highest point on the island, from which you have a 360 degree view of Lake Michigan. There's also the ambitious 10-mile hike around the island on the beach, should you wish to tackle it.
I recommend bringing hearty food, and a good book or two to enjoy while you're relaxing in the peace and solitude.
Before picture, from maybe three weeks ago. Note the large blue storage tank...actually, there were two of them and they each held 60 gallons of sap.
Charred stump that has been used as a chopping block in the past.
Trash by the road, awaiting tomorrow morning's pick-up. The blue things are obviously the storage tanks. The greenish thing between them used to be a very large trash can. The buckets are his 5 gallon pails that he used to carry the sap that he emptied out of his tap containers.
Other side of the trash pile.
Well, he's been persistently wiggling the tooth next to the hole, and he informed me while I was fixing breakfast that his mouth hurt below where that tooth was loose, and that the tooth needed to come out, and the sooner the better!
