Wednesday, August 16: Perfect day for a 50 mile jaunt to Lundington. Our autohelm conked out awhile ago, was mailed to Ohio for repairs and then mailed to the Municipal Marina in Lundington. Could have used it today! But fortunately the sailboat that is barely visible on the horizon was also going to Lundington at our pace. Convenient marker to follow!
Going by Big Sable Lighthouse. Entering the channel way to Ludington.We come face to face with the defunct car ferry Spartan. Back in the day Ludington was an important, busy center for transporting lumber. As a railroad depot there were many times when there would be over 10 huge car/railroad ferries in the bay. One thing I’ve liked about all the towns in Michigan is that there’s an effort to not cut down milkweed. Hence, I’ve seen more monarchs in Michigan than I’ve seen in the past 3 years in NY. The nightly entertainment is to watch the car ferry Badger come in and dock. Badger is the last coal powered ferry still working. It’s 400+feet long and makes two trips daily across Lake Michigan to Manitowac, Wisconsin.Opposite our marina it drops its starboard anchor.Then it basically uses the anchor as a spring line to back against.
It turns 180 degrees so it can then back into its slip.Pulls up the anchor…and ties up to the dock. Meanwhile back at the marina, says the heron to the fish: “Gotcha!”A rare moment, a kingfisher landed long enough for me to take its picture. August 17: Nasty day. Bob rented a car to get our friend Bill back to the airport for his trip back home. It was nice to have him on board.
August 18: Still nasty (got tons of laundry done!). Went to the nearby Maritime Museum. This simulator for the car ferry was so much fun! A simulation of Captain Wallace Van Dyke gave instructions. This Captain lost his right arm in a hunting accident as a teen. Not to be deterred, he went on to captain sailboats transporting lumber. Then he “switched from sail to steam” and captained a coal ferry for decades. Bob happy to steer the boat between the breakwater piers. Also in the museum was this placard from one of the ships – good ol’ GE in Schenectady, NY!This sailing sculpture in the park next to us faces directly west. I was hoping to get a cool sunset shot through it, but not to be. Whimsical sculpture titled “Follow the Leader.”Just to be clear about the ownershipThe winds started to calm down Friday night so we went out in the dinghy to watch the Badger do its docking thing. Looper friends Bill and Laurie had the same idea. These folks are “gold loopers” because they have already completed the loop. They did it over the course of a few years in three month segments because they still work/live in San Diego, CA. They are currently enjoying loop 2. Backing in to the connecting “apron.”Off comes a greyhound bus. A much calmer night. Looks like we’ll be able to move on tomorrow morning. Badger heads out at 9 PM.
Islandia Grabo's Blog 
Really enjoyed the blog, as usual! Loved the milkweed story, the ferry, and the simulator captain.
Liked mine mine mine the best!
Love you
dt
LikeLiked by 1 person