Michigan: New Buffalo (Day 2)

Day: 67
No Travel

With no need to rush off anywhere, we got up and about today at our leisure.  Before I knew it, it was time for lunch, so we grabbed something on the boat before heading off to explore the area via kayak.  We traveled the Galien River Marsh Water Trail through The Louis J. Sims Great Lake Marsh.

Galien River Marsh Water Trail map

The trail map shows from boat launch to boat launch the trail distance is 2 miles; however, we started  from the back of our boat which is docked well before the city boat launch, and we added a trip out to the beach on Lake Michigan on top of the marsh trail completion, so the complete kayak trip for us today must have been up around 5 miles or so.  We had to contend with wind from different directions depending on the bends in the river.  Sometimes it was very hard to buck the wind.  The last stretch back to the boat was against strong wind when I was already quite tired.  The relatively short distance seemed to take an inordinately long time to cover.

The Louis J. Sims Great Lakes Marsh

Clark captured the sites on the Marsh Trail from his kayak including a variety of marsh grass, flowers, and lily pads.

Marshes we kayaked through

Lily Pads in Abundance

At the Dept of Natural Resources boat ramp a kayak and paddle board rental company was doing a booming business.  We passed many of both variety of water sport fans as we traveled along the 2-mile trail.  One of the kayaks had a very interesting and attentive passenger as shown in the picture below.  After sitting in the kayak for almost the full four miles of the trip, he was allowed to jump into the water and swim the last bit to the launch ramp.  His name is Leland, named after the town on the shores of Lake Michigan where the owner spent her younger days.

Lots of Kayak users enjoying the waterway
including this very attentive dog named Leland

 I knew that Clark would insist on kayaking all the way to the boat launch to see where all the kayaks were starting out from.  He just can't stop in the middle of something when there is anything potentially marking the completion of an event or activity.  Reaching the launch ramp gave him an objective to meet.   Just before the launch area we passed under a low bridge, so low in fact that when I went under the bridge I had to bend in half at the waist, so I wouldn't conk my head on the cement above me.

After about three hours we had met the Marsh Trail goal, and by the time Sea Moss came into sight at the end of the trail, my neck was complaining about the abuse of so much shoulder action.  I was not surprised, however, when Clark set his next objective as kayaking to the beach.  At first I told him I wanted to stop because of my neck tension, but then I acquiesced and agreed to travel out to the beach to have a look around.  Clark did not need to be told twice.  As he paddled past me, he very kindly pointed out that the return trip would be against the wind.  Gee thanks!

After the marshes Clark wanted to see Lake Michigan
I had to slow down for the no wake sign :-)

 Unlike the Marsh water trail where we had to dodge other folks in kayaks, on the way to the beach, we had to dodge big, power boats coming and going from Lake Michigan and turning into the various marinas in the inlet.  Chasing Clark around in the kayak I had to cross the inlet a couple of times and pass in front of a variety of power and sail boats to do so.

Clark actually kayaked out into Lake Michigan, but I did not want to attempt that maneuver with all the boat traffic, so I hung back, off to the side, and waited for him to return.

Clark in Kayak in Lake Michigan

We started our kayak exploration just after 1:00 and we got back to the boat going on 4:30.  I checked my "Lose It" app on my phone, and the calculated calories used for kayaking came out to over 1200. No wonder I needed a snack when I got back.  Clark needed one too before our next event.

Having seen the beach by kayak and worked up a sweat in the process, Clark suggested we walk to the beach for a swim.  The dip in cool water sounded good, the hike to the beach not so much, but I said yes anyway.  It wasn't overly far to the beach.  On the walk, like the kayak trip, there was a steady stream of opposing traffic only this time on foot.

Once we got to the park with the public beach we found a place to leave our towels and outer clothing and went for a swim in Lake Michigan.  Fortunately the waters were calm and it was a "green flag" day for swimming safety.  After our dip in the lake, we found out that the reported water temperature for today was 70 degrees.  My guess was 72, and  I was surprised  my guess was higher than the actual temp because it didn't feel all that cold.

View from on high of the beach where we swam
in Lake Michigan 

After our swim, as we walked the beach, we came upon trails through the dune grasses leading to steps up to an observation deck.  Of course Clark needed to go up there to look around and take some pictures like the one above showing where we went swimming.  By the time we headed back to the boat I was dragging myself down the road.

As soon as we got back to the boat I took off for a shower then, when I felt revitalized, I made dinner, which fortunately was reheated leftovers from yesterday.  I love leftovers and thankfully so does Clark!

For my final achievement for today I defrosted the fridge on board.  Clark went to talk to Bob and Sharon on Sno-Daz and it gave me the perfect opportunity to pull everything out of the fridge and get the job done.   Upon his return, Clark read some suggestions on Google about what might cause the fridge to frost up excessively.  The user manual seems to indicate that I need to keep less food in the fridge if I want less frost.  That's pretty tough when shopping every day is not an option.  On the other hand, a couple of folks recommended that we either turn off or turn down the refrigerator at night once a week to reduce ice buildup.