July 27, 2014 Sunday
We arrived here at Mitchell about 1PM and got setup. The weather was sunny and warm. We put the Bote together, launched it and docked it at the seawall. Shortly after doing so the wind kicked up and the sky darkened. A thunderstorm followed with big rain and lightning. It stopped long enough to grill a couple hamburgers but then the rain started again. It continued with on and off storms until dark.
July 28, 2014 Monday
Cold, cloudy and a brisk NW wind greeted us this morning, Thought we would try a bit of fishing, but stayed close to the shore. It was slow, and only managed a few pan fish. We called it a day around 4:30. Cooling down big time. Had to use the heater to stay warm.
Following are a couple of sunsets over Mitchell Lake.
July 29, 2014 Tuesday
It was calm and quite cool this morning. We bundled up and went for some more fish. We ventured down toward some condos on the north shore of Cadillac Lake where we had some luck last year. Other than a bitty perch, nothing, so at 1PM we gave up. We travelled into town to visit the Cadillac Visitor Bureau for info about a trail along the Manistee River. We finished off the afternoon at the Wexford Library for use of their WiFi to get email.
July 30, 2014 Wednesday
Since fishing was a bust, we decided to hike some of the Manistee River trail. It is a total of 20 miles in length, but wanted to see a waterfall and suspension bridge at the northern 2 miles or so. Both were below the Hodenpyl Dam. The plan was to park near the dam, walk to the bridge then hike or drive to the waterfall. When we arrived at the dam, it was gated with “No Trespassing and No Parking” signs.
So we decided to drive to the access point for the waterfall. This journey took us down about 4 miles of dirt road, actually a 2 tire track path. We entered the trail through a gate. After about a mile in, we came to the falls. What a disappointment, this thing was really puny, not even the 8 foot the VB info touted. Oh well, now we started our hike to the bridge, about 2 miles away.
The river is quite scenic. It lies within the Manistee National Forrest. Many people canoe/kayak down, but getting back is a problem, unless you have a friend willing to pick you up at the lower end. You have to travel all the way to Red Bridge as there are no access roads close. The area is closed to commercial use so canoe liveries and pick up are nonexistent.
The bridge was pretty cool. It provides the only access across the Manistee to the North Trail. From locals we spoke with we found it was possible to exit the trail through the “No Trespassing” gate and that we could actually park there; like next time???
That was good info as it cut our return hike in half. So next time, forget the waterfall, unless you get here in spring, and park at the power plant for the short walk to the bridge. Make sure you park away from the gate so as not to block passage through the gate. The property is owned by Consumer’s. Power. Round trip, about 6 miles! We’ll sleep well tonight!
A couple of our favorite pictures follow:
July 31, 2014 Thursday
It looked like a pretty good day to try some fishing today, and we did pretty well catching a pike, bass, perch, some bluegills, and a rock bass. After some fish cleaning and an early dinner, we headed into town for Cadillac’s Jazz in the Park. The concert was enjoyable. The quartet played some old classics, probably because of the white hair in the audience.
August 1, 2014 Friday
The place is getting zooey. Starting last night and into this morning a steady string of campers were arriving. By days end, there were very few sites open, and this place holds over 200 campers. The wind was calm and the lake was dead flat so we thought we’d try our luck fishing. We couldn’t get anything to bite, and as midday approached the boats and water skis activity were really churning things. So we motored up to head back… except for a minor problem, Dan didn’t put gas in the motor…hmmm. Yep, we rowed back the last mile.
August 2, 2014 Saturday
Time to go, and not too soon. We are not big on crowds, so we look forward to our next stop at Hartwick Pines State Park.
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