Hiking a Moraine

Today was a beautiful day to be outside. The temps reached about 60 and there wasn't a cloud in the sky--a nice reprieve from the rainy October we've been having. Bryan and I decided to head out for a hike this afternoon before watching the big game.

The Leelanau Conservancy has many natural areas, and Bryan and I have been slowly crossing them off our list. We decided to check out the Whaleback Natural Area. It didn't disappoint:

One of our first views as we entered the access trail. The colors have been spectacular this year.

The access trail, which leads to the actual natural area, is bordered by private land. Even these areas provide beautiful landscapes.

Our first view of Lake Michigan (look closely!) shortly after entering the actual Natural Area.

We've reached the viewing platform with crystal blue water as its backdrop...looks promising...

No matter how many times I see a view like this it never gets old. Looking southwest over Good Harbor Bay towards Pyramid Point.

This zoomed in photo of Pyramid Point turned out better than I thought. The view of its dunes is fairly clear. I've never seen it from this angle before.

We're just past peak color season and it was an advantage on this hike. With most of the leaves now off the trees we were able to see Lake Michigan for most of our hike along the bluff.

Bryan, leading the way.

I was a little nervous at some points because of how close the trail came to the edge of the ridge. Here we are looking down at a thick forest of cedar trees growing up the bluff, with a few other types of trees thrown in.

As we looped back around towards the parking lot we were rewarded with amazingly blue water and a view of Leland Harbor...

...and a beautiful sea of yellow (probably my favorite part of our hike).

The downed birch trees provided a neat contrast to the yellow leaves.

The sun peeked through the trees many times during our hike.

Whaleback is obviously an interesting name for a geological feature, especially on the great lakes (you guessed it, we don't have any whales here). According to the Leelanau.com Blog, Whaleback was given its name because of its resemblance to the unique whaleback cargo steamships that were fairly common on the Great Lakes during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Considering that Whaleback is not only a moraine but a drumlin, I'd imagine that this geological feature would look like its namesake from the viewpoint of those sailing on the lake.

Originally, we planned on hiking the Clay Cliffs Natural Area but decided against it because that area is open for bow hunting. Considering that we're currently in the middle of bow season it didn't seem very safe to head that way. The Whaleback Natural Area was definitely a great substitute. The hike wasn't too long or strenuous, and the views were worth every step...well, I didn't think it was that strenuous...;)

Oh, and for those of you who were wondering about "the big game", we were victorious! GO GREEN!

Great Lakes Shipping

Continuing with Tuesday's topic, this summer we witnessed a different type of Great Lakes Shipping.This was sailing through the Manitou Passage back on July 28:

The Pearl Mist is the first cruise ship I've ever seen sailing on the Great Lakes. Having never seen a ship of this shape and size on the lakes, it caught my eye immediately.

The Pearl Mist passing Pyramid Point. I counted five passes...it might have been more.

And it was seen docked at Mackinac Island.

This photo was taken by a friend of mine the day before I spotted the Pearl Mist in the Manitou Passage. I can't believe how short the Arnold Dock looks!

With a little research I discovered that this is the Pearl Mist and is a part of the fleet belonging to the Great Lakes Cruise Company. We've not seen anything quite like this on the west side of the state...I'm not sure they've even seen this before on Mackinac Island (and they get A LOT of tourism!). What a neat experience to be able to see the Great Lakes from this viewpoint!

The Great Lakes Cruise Company has been around since 1999. I've vaguely heard of great lakes cruise ships but didn't pay much attention until my friend posted her photo from Mackinac Island. When I saw it sailing through the Manitou Passage I knew it had to be the same ship. I saw it take five passes and assumed it was sailing up and down the Sleeping Bear coast...looking at the ship track on marinetraffic.com was rather humorous because of the zigzag pattern it created.

This past Monday another cruise ship popped up on marinetraffic.com, the MV Hamburg.

The German cruise ship MV Hamburg was seen in the west arm of Grand Traverse Bay on Monday. It's not owned by the Great Lakes Cruise Company. Definitely a unique sight! (photo: www.upnorthlive.com)

According to Upnorthlive.com, the German ship MV Hamburg brought visitors from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, all first time visitors to the Great Lakes Region. They left from Montreal, Canada on October 10 for their eighteen-day cruise, which will also stop at Mackinac Island. They picked a perfect time to cruise up here, if you ask me...the colors are beautiful this time of year!

Two different cruise ships owned by two different companies...it looks like large-scale pleasure cruising is becoming a thing on the Great Lakes. How fun would it be able to board one in TC?

A Safe Harbor (EDIT on 10/25/14)

I came home Sunday evening, walked up my stairs, looked out my window, and saw this:

Bryan took this awesome photo...you can even see its self-loading gear! He's good at taking night photos without a tripod...

The Great Republic was anchored in Good Harbor Bay, and was quite a sight. No matter how many times I see these ships they always fascinate me. "Beautiful" is an unusual word to describe it, yet is the only word that fits it. When I opened the window I could hear the hum of its engines between giant gusts of wind. It's quite relaxing.

Here's a photo from boatnerd.com (click on the link for some info on this ship), taken during the day:

The Great Republic (photo: boatnerd.com)

Last fall we hosted the Philip R. Clarke in Good Harbor Bay:

The Philip R. Clarke anchored in Good Harbor Bay, November 16, 2013.

Philip R. Clarke (photo: boatnerd.com)

I saw it pulling in one fall November morning and my curiosity was piqued. I scoured the internet for information on it and why it was there. I first found the internet real-time AIS maps (the ship had a name!). As I continued my investigation I finally, after taken a handful of hours researching (more than it should have taken :) ), discovered that the Philip R. Clarke, along with all of the Great Lakes Fleet, where anchored due to a prediction of dangerous weather. I can only assume that the Great Republic was anchoring for the same reason (although, I was not able to find any info to confirm or deny this).

Since I've discovered all of these different ship/shipping resources online it's become a hobby to track and document the different ships when I see them sail through the Manitou Passage. Currently I have 73 ships logged, and this is only since I began tracking them this past May (I'd have many more if I would have began documenting in the 2013 shipping season). Also, we still have about 2-1/2 months before the Soo Locks close for the season (things definitely slow down before this because of winter weather, but seems to be pretty much at a standstill after the locks close--at least this is what I noticed last year).

As of 2011 the Great Republic has sailed for the Great Lakes fleet out of Duluth, MN. I was surprised to learn this because it doesn't have the trademark GLF paint job. It has a somewhat interesting history, including its participation in the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay.

I checked the ship's itinerary and it seemed to have continued on its journey around 3:30 a.m. I'd hoped that it would be around in the morning so that I could go get some photos. Maybe next time...