A Day at Home on White Lake.

After waking late....when we pull the drapes in the bedroom, no morning light comes in to wake us up, and besides, the light is coming in later, these days!:(...we dawdled over our coffee and then making food...mid morning. No need to rush anywhere, today. We did want to go to the breakwater and see the old Light House and Museum...and as luck would have it, we forgot that we needed money to get in..duh!

It wasn't until 4pm-ish that we finally left the boat to tie up at the Wheelers dock so that we could walk down the road to the Light House.

On the way to the house (not very far) I stopped off at the pond to take these photos of the water lilies...Why wouldn't you?:)

Just down the road from their house is the little P.O. of Wabaningo...yes, just as it sounds! Very old one, I might add.

 You can get there by road, of course, but there is also a dock out front. Good idea!

 We walked along the road for a while and then up a steep hill (it is relative!)

 This is where the 'toys' live when not on the water...you know, the big blow up things that get towed behind the speed boats et al.

 Half way up the hill was this tree stump that had been planted with Geraniums...Wonderful color!

 The sidewalk didn't go along the roadside, but kind of paralleled the road through these glorious tall trees.

 This lovely butterfly was lying on the road, so we rescued it!

 At the top of the hill...Waz is waiting for me per usual!...and down the other side to the end of the road, and literally the end of the little sand dune that meets at the White River Channel. Condos on the right, and Light House on the left. Just as we were heading down the road, we saw two deer cross the road in front of us:)

 Fantastic! someone in this house is an artist!! Love it when someone does something out of the ordinary!

 This meadow is opposite the condos and where the deer disappeared without trace...as they do. How pretty is this, though! The path leads to the beach.

 

Aren't these Tiger Lilies gorgeous! there were a few stalks growing in the front entry garden to the Light House!

 The Light House building...Circa 1875, as you can see.

 From the large garden surrounding the Light House, you can look out to Lake Michigan. This Yacht is coming into the White River Channel. It might be a gorgeous day now, but the rest of the day was thundery and wet/overcast etc.

 Bird house on the corner of the Light House residence.

 The whole structure from the rear of the garden. Lovely!

 The prow of an ancient wooden vessel, in the front of the Light House Museum.

 We walked down the front steps to the channel and then left to the current light house, but the red marker. The Green marker is on the opposite side.

 There is a seat along the way for contemplation and rest.

 Looking back at the old Light House from half way down the concrete channel wall.

 We watched this pontoon boat in fascination, as they bucked like a bronco in the chop inside the channel. If they thought this was bad, they should wait till they were out in the lake. They had the wisdom to turn around half way down the channel!. The little girl on the front was having the time of her life:)

 Just stunning!

 A few others were curious to see what the lake looked like, ...out there.

 A few folks ventured onto the shore after I took this photo. I love the way the cloud on the left almost mirrors the sand and dunes.

 Opposite us was the green marker and current light. Hardly call it a Light House, now, could we?
You can see how choppy the water is, coming into the channel. The water was coming into the channel at an angle, only to bounce repeatedly off the walls all the way down the channel, making it a bit of a washing machine.

 

We rather liked this sign, right before the steel supports of the water tower. Hmmm...

 

 

 

Late afternoon light through the lovely oak trees.

 Waz came across this dead Dragon Fly on the pavement, on the way home. It was about 4 inches across.

 Once down on the flat again, this was the view out into White Lake. Note the lack of hills! The only REAL hills in these parts, especially when we look at the Topo charts, are the Sand Dunes, which can be 600+ft high.
The Jetty go out so far because the water is so shallow in close. It drops off so quickly though. One minute two feet deep, the next 20-40!

 I was standing on the Wheeler's concrete wall, taking this photo. This area is known as Sylvan Beach, and the Post Office is just about three Jetty down.

 The birdhouse in the Wheeler's yard somewhat mimics the Red Barns we have seen in these northern parts.

 I am fascinated by the Cloud Fronts that form in these parts (my new favorite expression?) Perhaps you would be too? Because the land mass is so flat, there is nothing to stop the weather from just rolling over. If there were tall hills or mountains, the weather would be quite different, of course.

 They are quite different storm clouds to the ones we see in NZ.
Of course the dark sky makes the late afternoon light all the more brilliant. Our neighboring yacht  and the greens of the trees look the more colorful for it.

 ...and it is gone...the cloud, that is.
The sunset tonight was not a patch on the previous evening, mores the pity. Cant have one every night, I guess:(

After our expedition to the Light House...which we couldn't enter because we forgot to bring money..duh!...we made our way via dinghy around the headland you can see on the right. Tiki-touring along the coast a little, but there wasn't a lot to see that hadn't been seen before.

We have to mention, at this juncture, that we are really ready to say goodbye to the wide open waters of the Great Lakes, and its fickle weather patterns and make our way south to the Fall colors and the slightly more predictable rivers, Locks and Dams. The difference will be the size of the locks and dams, because we are now entering a period of heavy industrial use on the rivers, so the locks etc are sized accordingly. We will take you there, don't worry.

I haven't felt much like blogging, for a few days, so I am catching up. More in the next blog.