A brief sojourn on 'South Beach', Lake Superior

Dwight Peck's personal website

Summer 2023

A photographic record of whatever leapt out at us

You may not find this terribly rewarding unless you're included here, so this is a
good time for casual and random browsers to turn back before they get too caught up in the sweep and majesty of the proceedings and can't let go.

A brief sojourn on 'South Beach', Lake Superior

27 August 2023, we're almost there. This is Bear Creek Drive. It's just off Four Mile Rock Road, which is an otherwise-deadend just off Lakeshore Drive, which is about four miles east-north-east of the mouth of the Ontonagon River.

[In Ontonagon, MI (UP)]

Kristin has just successfully wrestled the rusty padlock off the driveway chain, and . . .

. . . next comes the driveway . . .

. . . to the family cottages referred to nowadays as 'South Beach',

Every year what the winter's left us as a beach will be different, sometimes disappointing but . . .

. . . not this time.

Looking northeastward up the shoreline towards the mouths of the Flintsteel and Firesteel Rivers

Choupette's obligatory explorations

(That clock is entirely wrong! The people of Ontonagon, and of most of the Upper Peninsula, consider themselves in the Eastern Time Zone. The correct time is 12 after 6! CDT!)

Now what? We'd better go see if all's well up there.

Oh, just relaxing.

Ready to come down now

Choupette is doubtful on her first trip up and down again, but the muscle memory from last year soon comes to the rescue.

Some of us are settling in, and . . .

. . . some of us are just zonked.

Until dinner time

The guest house at South Beach

A chilly morning exploration of the beach

'Found art'

A hands-on art lover

The beach is altogether different every year, but the driftwood invasion is usually less violent up this way.

Explorations

-- C'mere, Choup.

It's time to head back.

Our beach, with the pirates' flag some of the kids put up last year, which hasn't got through the winter all that well.

Choupie trying to figure out what we need a window up here for (we ask ourselves the same thing).

-- Did you bring the Greenie treats??

Melvin's been renewing his familiarity with the terrain at his own pace.

-- Dare me!

Choup is fearless, and Melvin seldom approves.

The grand leap across to the other side. (It turned out to be extremely easy; despite Melvin's cautions.)

A walk farther along our two tier beach, towards the southwest

A lot more of Nature's Wonders along in this direction

Something rustled in the foliage. (-- Oh, never mind.)

Choupette taking the path of least resistance

Not to be indelicate, but Melvin is attempting to answer a call of nature, and not getting any privacy at all.

Fastidious Melvin is tidying up afterwards, and ignoring Choupette.

Having been so summarily ignored, Choupie prepares her revenge . . .

. . . and bursts through the bushes to take Melvin unawares. But as usual, she was just trying to startle him, and dashed right past him at max speed.

The winter's contributions to this year's beach array

Melvin's just caused an unsettling sand avalanche, and backpedals.

Back into the main cottage to set up the laptop -- the wifi signal is good here, but there's no cell phone service (and no piped water).

After a fine small dinner at the new eatery in Ontonagon, The Squeeze on Main (the main street is actually called River Street), good short order panini, sandwiches, and salads, and a fresh vegetable market (where Kristin found a radish the size of a watermelon), and a very friendly staff (we ate there on two evenings) . . .

. . . we're back on the shore.

Kristin's just been admiring that half-buried tree, noting that . . .

. . . it's about the same length as that fourteen foot alligator recently in the news from Mississippi.

A short walk to the northeast again.

That eagle on the branch up to the right is a regular here. We'll ignore it.

Starting back already (one doesn't seem to shuffle as far up the beach as one used to . . . not that long ago, to the Flintsteel, in fact)

Creative beachgoers leave their artsy constructions for us to enjoy.

What's that, then? It looks familiar.

Ach! no wonder, it is familiar. It belongs to Kristin's new grandson George, who's left it behind on a recent visit.

He'll be so pleased to get it back. Actually, he always seems so pleased about everything.

Picture the winter wave that dumped that thing here.

The next cottage down the shore, with jury-rigged access to the sunny beach.

Presumably a feature of the underwater topography here, this stretch of the beach seems always to be in the most awful nick.

Poor folks . . . imagine coming down to spread your beach towels out here for a quiet sunny afternoon. (And very likely, your cottage is going to be gone before too long.)

The South Beach sun porch

The front porch (we're about to get our obligatory haircut)

Exploring the rolled-up path planks from the cottage out to a favorite sunset viewing point

Downtown Ontonagon -- civic mural art seems to be catching on everywhere, and more power!

This is part of Ontonagon's RICC Park (Regional Inclusive Community Coalition), not bad for a small town of only ca. 1,200 citizens.

Long day -- see you tomorrow.

Next up: Tomorrow, the Peepsock and Nara Nature Trails