Michigan: Beaver Island to Harbor Springs

Day: 53

Travel Time: 4 hours

NM Today: 32

NM Total: 1146

Locks Total: 70

So I start today’s blog with a retraction of the fiction I posted yesterday regarding the Irish on Beaver Island.  I misread the placard regarding which island the Irish were forced to leave.  The island they were evicted from was Ireland itself.   Clark read my blog and told me I got the story all upside down and inside out.  The boat the Irish were forced onto did sink but on the trip back to Ireland after the Irish had already been delivered to America. Some of the residents on Beaver Island are direct descendants of those Irish forced out of Ireland.

Story of Irish Leaving Ireland and Coming to America

We targeted Harbor Springs in Little Traverse Bay as our destination for today.  Before today we traveled north and west; this is our first destination heading southward.

As soon as we docked and got ourselves organized, we hopped on our bikes to go touring.  Before exploring the area, we stopped at the Irish Boat Store to buy a replacement fender for the one that we busted in Drummond Island.  Then we went to the recommended bakery for scones.  They were sold out of everything except one muffin, so I am hoping to get back there tomorrow morning before we leave town to try again to get a much-longed-for scone.

Those chores done, we had two distinct exploring opportunities today - the bike trail to Petoskey and the Harbor Springs downtown area.  We opted for the bike trail first.

Map of Bike Trail around Little Traverse Bay

The bike trail goes all the way from Harbor Springs to Charlevoix which equates to about 26 miles one way.   We had no intentions of going that far, but we heard that on the way to Petoskey, we could find Petoskey State Park.  At a distance of about 5 to 6 miles from the Harbor Springs marina, that seemed like a reasonable point of interest to investigate.

On the way we passed the Harbor Springs airport.  The bike trail follows the edge of the airport property.  A couple of planes took off / landed in the short time we took to pass by the airport.  We saw these signs as we biked on by.  

Signs Read ...
Low Flying Aircraft and
Caution Jet Plane

Entrance to Petoskey Park was free for us on our bicycles.  For cars a Park Passport must be purchased, so we were happy to be on bikes.  The park provided all the typical aspects of a beach including beach volleyball,  I have gotten so used to boats, boats, and more boats that the lack of boats and the presence of a full-blown beach took me by surprise - a delightful one at that with a little reminder of the Jersey shore.

Sun Glistening on Little Traverse Bay
with Clouds Brewing in Background

We had up and down terrain while biking to the park with the last bit of the ride a very pleasant coast right up to the beach.  Every time I coasted downhill though I thought of the price I would be paying on the uphill ride back.  I have gotten used to the temperatures being cooler than we had today, and I felt the heat as the trip to the park became quite hot with the sun beating down on the paved trail.  I bought two bottles of water at the park for the trip back having used up the bottle I brought with me on the trip to the park. As it turned out, my worries over the terrain were for naught as the trip back had a reasonable mix of up and down with minimal areas of huffing and puffing on my part.  Clark never huffs and puffs ... so irritating.  

We arrived back in Harbor Springs at 6:00.  Clark wanted to go explore the town, but I told him I was so hungry I could eat my bike.  We went back to the boat for dinner before going out to bike around town.  Having biked about 12 or more miles to the park and back, I needed a break before getting back on the bike anyway.  I grilled hamburgers and cooked up the rest of my Drummond Island zucchini.  We went back out right after we finished eating, leaving cleanup to greet us upon our return.

The town of Harbor Springs is very pretty with beautiful flower gardens and a variety of statues and fountains (from the springs) scattered around.  

Gorgeous Pansy Bouquet
(made me think of my daughter-in-law Heather as she loves purple)

One particular alleyway was especially well done with flowers along a cobblestone path culminating at a fountain.  For some reason this scene made me think of England.

Flowered Alleyway in Harbor Springs

One of Many Fountains Made from Harbor Springs' Springs

As we explored town we passed by the docks and saw sailboats and power boats in the harbor and at the docks.  Very pretty!

Sailboats in Harbor Springs

Note the Reflection of the Boats in the Water

When we made our last run to the washrooms for the night, I was taken aback by the stars overhead.  Even with the lights of the town, the show was quite impressive.  We tried a few times in Canada to see stars, but the full or nearly-full moon obliterated them.  Tonight I got my first taste of a sky filled with stars and it was breathtaking!  With NYC so close to where we live, I don't get to see many stars in NJ.

Overall an excellent day and a great choice for a stop on our Great Loop adventure. Recommendations Clark solicited along the way on our travels are definitely paying off big time.