The plan for our last full day of our trip was to let the kids sleep in, head to Seney National Wildlife Refuge for the afternoon, and then have dinner at the fire ring with my brothers and some of our nieces. A pretty low key day to end our trip, just what everyone needed.
I had been doing research and had discovered that there is place called Fiborn Quarry and Karst Preserve very near Trout Lake. The town that existed while the quarry was in operation is still partially standing, so I really wanted to go check out the “Ghost Town” and see if I could get some cool photos. I planned to get up and check it out in the morning while the kids slept in, and Keith decided to go with me. It was really nice to have an adventure on our own during our trip. The walk back to the town is along what used to be the train tracks that took all the stone out of the quarry. It was a beautiful walk with so many birch trees – the wind in their branches sounded like trickling water at times.
The path was relatively straight back, so it was surprising to me when we suddenly came upon buildings.
We enjoyed poking around and exploring the different buildings. It was so weird to think what they would have been like 100 years ago when the town was actually inhabited and the quarry was active. We came upon an area that had lots of these interesting rocks, so I picked up a few to share with the girls since we did not invite them.
Probably the most exciting part of the whole adventure happened when we were in the car on the road back out of the preserve. We came around a small curve and there was a black bear in the road! We spooked him, so he bounced off into the woods quicker than I could get out my phone to take a photo, but we both saw him. I have never seen a black bear in the wild in the UP, so that was a first for both of us. We were very excited to share the whole adventure, but especially that part, with my family that evening. 🙂
We got back to the house and got the kids up and around to go to Seney. We did not pack our lunch because we were running low on supplies and would still need lunch on the way home the next day. We also knew we would pass a Subway on the way, so we decided to get lunch there and have a picnic at the Seney Visitor Center. This is where things took a bit of a turn. It seems that they are building a new visitor center, so they have a temporary one set up about 20 minutes further away. It does not have the store or the displays or the lovely lake with a hiking trail around it. It is on a dirt road and very small. They did have picnic tables, though, so we at least had a place to eat. We went in to talk and found out that they still had some of the drive open, so we decided to take a slow loop and see if we could see anything. We did end up seeing a lot of waterfowl and what was probably a muskrat or mink. The refuge is beautiful anyway, whether you see any wildlife or not, but it was nice to at least see a couple things.
At that point, it was time to find a restroom and then head back to the cabin to make curry. We did stop at the cabin to make sure they did not need us to cook anything else in our house since we had electricity and an oven, but they were set. Keith took the girls back while I visited with my family for a little while, and then I went home to make rice and curry to share. The dinner at the fire ring was wonderful – it was great to spend time with so much of our family in one of my favorite places. I got the traditional photo of everyone before it got dark, and then it was time to eat. 🙂
I love that my parents had a special fire ring made that says Howard City Club. It is so pretty when the fire is going and it gets dark.
And just like that, it was time for one last sleep at the rental house and then the long trip home. We said a quick goodbye that night because we were all planning to meet for breakfast before heading our separate ways in the morning. We got up, packed up, straightened up the house, and made it in to town just in time to meet everyone else. Breakfast was wonderful – it was so good to be with both of my brothers and my parents. The kids even got to know each other a little better at the younger adults table. I was sad to leave, but we had to get going as we had a few stops we planned to make. The first stop was Castle Rock just north of St. Ignace. Somehow I didn’t take a photo of Castle Rock, but I found this old one. As you can imagine, it takes a lot of steps to get to the top.
Once we got back down, we made our way into St. Ignace the back way as the express way was pretty backed up. We kept seeing Mini Coopers and found out it was because there was a gathering of Mini Coopers called Mini on the Mac – that was a surprise! We got across the bridge pretty quickly all things considered and then made a couple stops in Mackinaw City. Charlotte and her friend Steph had been shopping in Mackinaw about a week prior (while on vacation with Steph’s family) and a ring Charlotte bought had chipped, so we stopped in to see if it could be repaired. They did a little work on it and we shopped and explored. Then it was time to stop at Alice’s Kandy and Korn – one of my favorite traditions. Their caramel corn is addictive and their chocolates are amazing. I’m a huge fan of the chocolate covered sea foam especially.
We got on the road headed for a scenic rest stop for a picnic. Of course the one I was hoping for was closed, but we made it to another that was very nice. Then was the long slog home. We stopped for dinner at Chipotle in Toledo, and then Maddie and I were on our own to drive home – no more caravan required. It was so nice to get home and unloaded. I can be on my dream vacation and have the time of my life, but there will always be a feeling of peace and contentment that washes over me when I get home. It’s seriously the best.
And that’s all she wrote on the great Emigh vacation of 2023. Thanks for coming along on the ride. Did one of our adventures stand out to you? Is there something you are planning to do after reading about it? Is there something you will now avoid? Let me know in the comments!
Adventure. Create. Relate 