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The Ontonagon Harbor Lighthouse is a smaller lighthouse than some others in Michigan. But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in history. The Ontonagon Harbor Lighthouse is located off M-64 near Ontonagon. It does not have a driveway or road that leads directly to it; instead, you need to enter through a parking area for a riverside park and then follow the signs that lead you to the lighthouse. We had been to Ontonagon a few times before this trip and just realized there was a lighthouse in this town on this trip. Because the Ontonagon Harbor Lighthouse does not sit at the edge of Lake Superior, it is easy to miss. When speaking with a guide from the Ontonagon County Historical Society while at the lighthouse, we learned that the most common question they are asked is , "Why is the lighthouse so far from the water ?". The guide explained that after the breakwaters were built, jetting out into Lake Superior were first built in 1851 because the river was too shallow for the ships to enter the harbor. Over the years, sand and rocks built up on the pier's west side, creating the land between the lighthouse and the shore that can be seen today. The U.S. Coast Guard decommissioned this lighthouse in 1964. This lighthouse was placed on the National Register of History Places in 1975. In 2003, a patent was issued officially conveying the lighthouse to the historical society. The Historical Society invested over $100,000 into the lighthouse in 2008 and 2009, restoring it to its 1915 appearance. Watch a short video of our tour of the Ontonagon Harbor Lighthouse here! There is a small fee to take a self-guided tour of the lighthouse. When we visited in mid-October, an excellent former 4th-grade teacher provided history about the lighthouse and the lighthouse keepers and answered questions. We chatted with her for quite a while, and it was easy to see and feel her passion for the lighthouse and the area. All rooms are open, and there is nothing roped off. The antiques used to furnish the lighthouse were beautiful. We could climb the spiral staircase to the top of the lighthouse for a look around. If you are a history buff, particularly a Michigan history buff, you will love visiting this lighthouse. Just walking in gives you a sense of stepping back in time. For more information about this lighthouse and other historical places in Ontonagon County, please visit www.ontonagonmuseum.org .

Not far off Hwy. 41 in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, is the quiet Boston Pond Nature Area. We stumbled upon this little gem while driving around backroads searching for treasure spots. As soon as we pulled into the boat launch at Boston Pond we spotted a bald eagle gliding along the tree line. We watch this magnificent bird soar around for about ten minutes. Sadly, we were unable to capture clear photos of him while he was in the air. He landed in a tree on the opposite side of the pond quite a distance from where we were parked. This photo was taken using maximum zoom on our digital camera. Aren't these majestic national treasures just amazing? We accessed the boat launch from Boston Road (F-19). This map does not show the boat launch or the 2-track that took us to it. Interestingly, across the pond from the boat launch we could see some traffic on Hwy. 41. We have driven that highway many, many times and have not noticed this beautiful nature area a single time. There is not really a lot to see and the pond looks almost like a flooding area of some type. But, there are bald eagles nearby for you to see. Not far from the Boston Pond boat launch road, on the west side of F-19 (Boston Road), we found a ghost building. The building is visible from the road and what first caught our eye was a a very old cart of some type. Although rusty, with some bent metal, this cart seemed to be surprisingly well preserved. Once we turned on a 2-track next to where the cart can be seen, we realized that what appeared to be an old barn, was much more. We've done some research in an attempt to find some history on this particular unique structure to no avail. There were no trespassing signs posted, so we did not get out of our vehicle to walk around. Boston, Michigan, however has a fascinating history. This so-called ghost town was settled in 1893 on the Mineral Range Railroad (later called Soo). In 1909 the population reached 100 and the town's name was changed to Demmon. Boston (or Demmon) have a claim to fame as the home of the "the biggest man in the world". "Big Louie Moilanen" stood 8'4" and weighed 450 lbs. He lived in a nearby ghost town, Salo, but worked in the Boston mines as a youth. Big Louie died in 1926 at 26 years old. It is said that one of his suits is on display in a Calumet museum and that his gravesite is in Wasa Cemetery near Hancock. We will be checking out the Calumet museum and the cemetery (if we can find it). The cemetery is not showing on Google maps. ( source: Ghosttowns.com ).

During our recent trip to the Upper Peninsula, we visited the Black River National Scenic Byway in the Ottawa National Forest. This area is absolutely beautiful and we will be making a return visit to do more roaming around. On this day, we had a mixture of sun, overcast skies and drizzle, as a result, we did not get to spend as much time exploring as we would have liked. We did chalk up a good six miles of hiking despite the windy, rainy weather! We visited a series of waterfalls along the Black River in Gogebic County – Great Conglomerate Falls, Potawatomi Falls, Gorge Falls, Sandstone Falls and Rainbow Falls. The first was Great Conglomerate Falls. The water flow was impressive, but we could only imagine what this looks and sounds like in the spring with the snowmelt. The hike to the falls was a fairly easy 3/4 of a mile hike on a well worn path to follow, with some stairs to the viewing at the end. The surrounding forest was stunning and mostly still green with little color change on the day we visited. A minute-30 of the Great Conglomerate Falls. * * * * * * * * * * * * * Our next stop was Potawatomi Falls and the Gorge Falls. There is an easy hike between these falls. Gorge Falls was difficult to photograph as the viewing area was closed. We could only see through the trees. The hike was stunning and worth the time and effort even without the falls!

On September 16 we hooked up the travel trailer and set out to visit paradise on earth in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. We did pass through Paradise, MI, but did not spend much time there on this trip We've crossed the Mighty Mack a few times this year, but haven't gone further west than the Tahquamenon Falls area. We have not been to the Western U.P. since 1998…yes, I said 1998!! Why you ask? Well, the years between 1998 and 2006 were our busy years. We have 4 children and the oldest began high school in 1998 with the other 3 were following closely behind him. We didn’t have time to take many vacations other than the occasional weekend camping trip. After our youngest graduated in 2006, things slowed down for a minute until we entered the wedding and grandbaby birth years. There was always something preventing us from making the long trip to the Western Upper Peninsula…until this year. We began planning this trip last winter. It began as a 10 day trip with 2 long travel days. However, like all great adventures, our plans changed as we went along! Three days in we decided to extend this trip by a few days and quickly changed our existing reservations. We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. Most daytime temperatures were in the low to mid 70s with the nights cooling down in the 40s and 50s. Our first few days were unseasonably warm with highs reaching 85 degrees. That made for some long, sweaty hikes! Aside from just getting back to this area, our goal was to visit as many waterfalls as possible. Believe me, our 14 days did not even come close to being enough time! When one hears the word waterfall in Michigan, typically the first thing that comes to mind is the great Tahquamenon Falls followed by all the falls in the Munising area. We were very surprised to learn that the Western Upper Peninsula has hundreds of waterfalls. We didn't even make a dent in the list. Of the 25 or so that we saw, by far Bond Falls is the most beautiful. It is easily accessible with some unmaintained hiking along the waters edge if you choose, although it is not necessary to see the best of what Bond Falls has to offer. Bond Falls took our breath away. It's one of the most majestic waterfalls we've ever seen with its foamy white water flowing over the dark rocks. This is a true Michigan gem. One of the last things we did while staying at Lake Gogebic State park in the far Western U.P. was hike to the top of Wolf Mountain. Admittedly, when my husband said "let's hike Wolf Mountain" I wasn't exactly thrilled. We had already hiked nearly 50 miles on this trip and the thought of one more uphill hike made me cringe. However, it wasn't that bad and didn't feel like you were climbing straight up. It is somewhat strenuous and difficult in places and not for everyone. Wolf Mountain has an elevation over 1,800 feet. Those views from the top though, just WOW! We missed peak color by just a few days, but what we did see was so worth that one last uphill, tree-rooted, rocky hike!! These photos do not do justice to what your eyes actually see! More blogging, photos and videos from this trip coming soon!! Follow us on Facebook and follow our YouTube channel