Road Trip – 2018/2019:
March 16 to March 22 (Stanwood, MI)
North Central, Michigan. This is a very beautiful area with lots of lakes, but not much to see and do in the winter. We drove around a lot, into Grand Rapids and several other small town in the area. Mostly just sight seeing.
Click on the photo for each day to view that day's photos.
Day 138- March 16, 2019
After two long days on the road we took it pretty easy today. First thing was a wonderful sunrise from our window. Then later on a quick trip to Big Rapids, Michigan for some supplies so a few shots on the trip. Lastly a few around the resort.
Stanwood, MI
Day 139 - march 17, 2019
Another quiet day. There is not much around this part of the world in the winter. We just took a quick drive around "Canadian Lakes". This is the area here. The streets are all named after places in Canada.
Beautiful terrain, some really good looking golf courses (for the summer) and some great residential districts around the lakes and golf courses.
"Canadian Lakes" district, Michigan
Day 140 - march 18 2019
Grand Rapids is about an hours drive from where we are staying. There are several things worth seeing but you can't see them all in one day so we chose the Frederik Meijer Gardens to start.
We really didn't know what to expect but turned out really cool. Not only are there some great indoor gardens but there is a butterfly garden as well. We got some wonderful butterfly shots.
Then we went off to a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. He was very much ahead of his time. This house looks like a 1960's mansion bit it was built in 1908! We took some shots of other homes in the neighbourhood to highlight the difference in architecture.
Then the drive home included a shot of the road sign indicating the horse and buggies of the Amish in the area and a couple deer.
Frank Lloyd Wright designed home circa 1908
Day 141 - March 19, 2019
Another day driving the neighbourhood. Today we found more deer, some Trumpeter Swans and a few Mute Swans (a first for us). Along with a couple pairs of Sandhill Cranes, various ducks and Canada Geese.
Then we went to Manistee, and nearby town and walked the main street.
The I got a couple shots of the (almost) full moon.
Trumpeter Swan
Day 142 - March 20, 2019
Another wet, lazy day. The weather was dull and it ended up snowing (see last picture). However we did manage to get a couple shots of a woodchuck (a first for us) and some wild turkeys.
Woodchuck
Day 143 - March 21, 2019
A little sad today. This is the last day before we start for home. Yes it will take four days to get there (assuming all goes well) so we are not quite done yet.
Anyway we just took a short drive to Mt. Pleasant, a small town near here. I still love small towns and their character. On the way home we found a great restaurant for dinner.
Mt. Pleasant, MI
Day 144 - March 22, 2019
Well, all good things come to an end. We are headed home now. It will take four days to get there and this was Day 1. Just a few pictures along the way.
We got a couple shots of a weird tree with dozens of shoes hanging from it. We also drove through some snow and blowing snow, then over the Mackinac Bridge over the straight between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Around the bottom of Lake Superior into Ironwood. Wow! Lots of snow here.
