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Thanks so much for stopping by! I believe that everyone can have a beautiful home without spending a fortune! One of my favorite things to do is find creative ways to re-purpose things I already have on hand, or have picked up at yard sales and thrift stores. Join me as I share with you some of my favorite ideas for crafting and decorating, as well as travel adventures, and fun things that I pick up on my treasure hunts! Much of my work is influenced by my love all things French, nature, and of course shabby chic! I have gotten so many creative ideas from you very talented bloggers out there, and I hope that I can be an inspiration to you as well!

Monday, October 4, 2010

Fall Foliage Tour!

Hello Ladies!  I hope you all are doing great!  We just returned last night from 2 weeks camping in our motor home in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (we call it the "U.P."), and had a really nice time.  With no internet connection, though I was having major blogging withdrawals, and missed you all so much!  I don't know how many times I thought to myself  "I can't wait to share this on my blog", or "I definitely have to take a picture of this for my blog"!!  Anyway, it feels so good to be home.  I think it will take a long time to get caught up with all of you, seems like we have been gone alot longer!
The colors were just gorgeous!  We were surprised that they were at their peak.
These first photos were taken at Porcupine Mountain State Park.  Yes, we have mountains in Michigan!  Ok, if you live somewhere like the Rockies, you probably wouldn't think of them as mountains, but to us they are!

This is called "Lake of the Clouds".  The colors were even more gorgeous than in these photos!
We saw lots of amazing waterfalls!  The U.P. is so different from where we live here in Southern Michigan.  It feels so much more remote, as not alot of people live there, and there are very few large towns.  The landscape is much more rugged and full of wild and natural beauty.  It really feels like you are in a different state!  You  can drive forever and the only thing you see are trees, and lots of wildlife.  I just love it!
In order to reach the U.P., we first have to drive over the Mackinac Bridge.  It's huge!  The day we drove over it, there were high wind advisories, so we had to drive in a "caravan" with other rv-ers and semi trucks, no more than 20mph.  I was a bit nervous!
This was my view looking directly out my window.  Yikes!  That's a long way down!!

Now that is one long bridge!

One of the highlights of our trip was visiting the tiny town of Eagle River.  Well, there really isn't much of a town there.  The main attraction is a little bakeshop operated by monks, and their gorgeous monastery is right down the road.  You certainly wouldn't expect to find monks in this neck of the woods.  Not only is it very remote, but they live on a very windswept and somewhat wild piece of land right along Lake Superior.
Their bakeshop, "The Jam pot", is just adorable, and was created out of an old, abandoned restaurant.
I loved their sign!

Their baked goods were so amazing, we had to go back again a few days later!  They sell delicious jam, truffles, cookies, the best muffins, brownies, and lots more!  My mouth is watering just thinking about it!  Our favorite was the pumpkin muffins with cream cheese frosting!  They were huge, and were chocked full of nuts and raisins.  Yum!  I was going to take a picture of them, but we ate them too quickly!!
Here is their monastery, which is across the road from the bakeshop.  Isn't is amazing?!  Unfortunately, it was locked so we couldn't go in, though we were able to walk the grounds and check out their gorgeous flowers.  We had visited there 3 years ago, and were so excited to be able see it again!


Their flowers were so pretty!


I just loved this tranquil spot!
And this was their view of Lake Superior!  Gorgeous!

Our favorite campground was McLain State Park, which we camped at for 5 nights.  That's our motor home in the foreground.  Right across from us was Lake Superior, which is the largest freshwater lake in the world.  It is stunning!  And it really looks and feels as if you are at the ocean! (except for the lack of saltwater!)


Loved the sunsets!


There are miles and miles of hiking trails in the woods, over looking the lake.  We walked alot, and our little dog just loved it!

I've got lots more to share, but I'll save that for later.  We did have a mishap that I'll tell you about later, too.  It involved a leaky roof, pouring rain, and collecting the leaks in tupperware containers!  Yikes!

Hope you all have a great night!

11 comments:

Christine said...

It looks like you had a wonderful time...I missed you and I'm glad you are back! The pictures are wonderful, thanks for sharing them with us...

PS I like that sign too...cool!

Debbie said...

Hi Donna...so glad you are back and blogging again. Missed you! Your pictures are amazing!!!
We are so blessed to live in a state with such a variety of sites to see. Your trip looks like fun...except driving over the bridge...gives me the goose bumps just thinking about...eeeeek! We rode a ferry over to the island for a retreat in late fall, and that was so scarey! the waves crashed over the front of the boat all the way over.
Welcome home.
Debbie@houseatthelake

Leo said...

Donna - I missed you!! So glad you are back. Love the beautiful photos. And the Lake does look like the ocean. Looking forward to hearing more about your trip.

Cindy Adkins said...

Oh Donna, We all missed you!!! The pictures are SOOO gorgeous--wow!!! And love the "no parking" sign and the foliage and the waterfall and the bakery and the beach---wow!
I'm so glad you had a great time...it is awesome!!!
Love,
Cindy

NanaDiana said...

Donna- I'm not sure who's following who...but wherefore thou goest-so goest us'ns! lol You hung out at all of our haunts! lol Don't you LOVE the jampot. Please tell me you did NOT eat the last gingerbread with lemon cream cheese frosting muffin!!!! We have to hit there on a Saturday because they are only open on Saturday in October (or is is Friday/Saturday?) Not sure but it looks like we are headed up there on Wednesday.

Isn't McCain park the most wonderful place ever? I am so glad you had a good time. Did you stop a the Cyber Cafe in Houghton (or didn't you go down that far)? THEY have internet access. Glad you are home safe and sound...hugs- Diana

Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces said...

Wow, Donna~ looks like a wonderful, refreshing vacation! The scenery is absolutely beautiful...the fall colors were gorgeous! Such a lovely post!

Tete said...

WELCOME HOME! Missed you bunches! I love all your photos of your trip. That bridge is something. Not sure I would want to do it in the wind, though. I have done the Chesapeak Bay Tunnel Bridge. It's pretty long, but broken up with tunnels.
I had to enlarge the photos of the baked goods. I had no idea there were monks in the UP.
The colors in the trees was wonderful. I miss that most here on the prairie. We have wooded areas but nothing vast.
I love waterfalls!
Michigan is such a large state with so much diversity. Glad you had a chance to explore the paths least taken. Superior is such a massive body of water and I always heard as a kid on Lake Erie that it had the worst temper, too. It looked so calm in your photos and I hope you got the chance to go out on her.
Fall started happening while you were gone here. We went from AC to turning the furnace on and even had our first frost!
Can't wait for the leaky post. Tupperware is good for so many things.
Hugs- Tete

Erin said...

Beautiful shots, I love the trees, and am glad you took these. This year where I live, leaves aren't going to be as pretty this year, so thanks for sharing:)

mizdarlin said...

You may not have the Rockies, but that exquisite colour and the scenic views are all yours, and beautiful..believe it or not, they actually advertize 'Fall Foliage Tours' here for people who want to go on a trip specifically for that, and the tours are sold out..
Wonderful pictures, quaint little towns and buildings..something else the West Coast has less of, which is history, and it can make all the difference..loved my little "tour" with you..thanks!

Morgane @ Bear,Dolly and Moi said...

I did not know it looks so beautiful over there! From your pictures, it seems that you had a great time, except for the leaky roof!

Anita @ GoingALittleCoastal said...

So glad you are back Donna. Thanks for sharing your fall foliage pictures. I do miss all of that color. Just beautiful. I think I might of had a panic attach on the bridge. I don't do well on tall bridges. Add some wind and I freak out a bit. The monastery is just so pretty. The lake surely does look like an ocean!