Looping with the Chequamegon Ark

Photographer Kraker from land. Ditto as we entered Ludington. Salmon on the Ark grill. Video of the 420 foot ferry the "Badger" coming into Ludington. The Badger is the last coal fired steamship still transporting passengers. Salad, salmon and sweet corn tonight. We awoke this morning to clear and fairly calm and left Frankfort for Ludington. The shores of the lake were lined with fishermen and  there were 36+ boats out in front of the harbor fishing the end of the king salmon run and the start of the coho run. This theme played out along our run to Ludington with boats clustered outside the mouth of every river. Nice marine themed kids playground right at the Frankfort marina. Very dog friendly also. Looking back at the marina on our way out this morning. Multiple marinas in Lake Betsie at Frankfort. Tugs. Coast guard station Frankfort. Frankfort lighthouse. We crossed paths with the Anderson again. More dunes along the shore. Big Sable Point lighthouse. Ludington lighthouse...

Sunset from the bow sundae. Fishermen lining the far shore - king salmon run?? Sunset over Frankfort marina. We had a fly by while watching the sunset. Cool legend. We cruised from Leland to Frankfort today 2-4 foot seas but pretty smooth ride. Interesting topography along the sleeping bear dunes. Very windy coming into the dock - dinged the swim platform but a trip to the hardware store and a little fiberglass work and we are back in action. Big fire at the motel in Glen Arbor. Practicing our selfies. Sunset in Glen Arbor. Ditto. Dave has been on a parallel tour - 1 if by land 2 if by sea. Frankfort entry lighthouse. Grilled cherry brats, fresh sweet corn, grilled peaches and zucchini. For those who haven't driven into Ashland the Ark is the front boat on the Hotel billboards. Dave had the view from the land. Another from Dave. Leland Harbor had the most tame wood ducks we've ever seen. Someone slipped/tripped exiting the boat. Our view from the water. North Manitou lighthouse...

We woke up and looked at the forecast for 25-40 mph winds and up to 10 foot waves along with scattered severe thunderstorms and we elected to stay in Leland today. Excellent decision because the weatherman was right this time. Nice marina and a quaint little fishing/tourist town. We bought some fresh lake trout for the grill and I helped a guy get secured to the dock at the height of the worst thunderstorm with 60 mph measured at the marina - he was a bit shook up. If everything looks good in the morning we are headed to Frankfort. Our dinghy repositioning and stabilization work from yesterday turned out very well. We got in yesterday to calm seas and a beautiful sunset. The quiet before the storm that arrived after midnight. This is the guy who I eventually helped get secured to the dock - the squall got a whole lot more intense before he made it into the harbor. We were on the bridge making sure things were secure. Video speaks for itself, by the time I had the guy tied to the dock I...

We got a window of mild air and made a run for open water. Nice 3 hour cruise from Charlevoix to Leland -gremlin free again today which is nice. It was nice to be tied to the dock last night - big storm here and I don't mean our golden retriever. Looking like wind tomorrow so we are likely exploring around Leland tomorrow. Huge number of migrating monarch butterflies out over the open lake today. Look close and you will see lots of rainbow trout in the garden pond. Our neighbor said he bought the "Phantom Bid" from Bob Seeger - maybe??? Our view of the Charlevoix marina from slip 13. Looking back at the marina on our way out to Lake Michigan. Another very large mushroom house near the lift bridge. Big industry right next to Charlevoix entrance. Brett and Storm are getting the hang of full-time cruising dogs.