Pure Michigan Travel - State of Michigan Tourism Information

Pure Michigan Travel - State of Michigan Tourism Information

Oh thats right, Spring break

So long ago now that I forgot some more of the details of break. I also went on a short day trip to T.C. with Zach, stopping at various places along the Western Michigan Shore on the way home. This is just a quick post to show a few shots of the Point Betsie Lighthouse, the beach and ice formations that surrounded it.  

In other non related news; the new Coheed & Cambria cd dropped on Tuesday. It is an elegant musical fusion, the likes of which are expected from C&C. If you get the chance it is available in its entirety on their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/coheedandcambria give it a listen and then when you are hooked buy it at : 

Spring Break at the beach

So I omitted a small portion of my Spring Break from the last post.

I did get a chance to go to the beach, Portage Point that is. I welcomed the brisk wind of the day and took advantage of some great lighting for pics.

Enjoy:

-true symbolism of America unfortunately, frozen and rusting.

A few quick shots of the channel from the development site atop Onekama:

After the beach I went to Glen Park for a quick walk. The quaint park was so pretty under the canopy of the leafless trees:

Onekama, so pretty, and in your backyard. Love Michigan.

-J

Updates and a busy year ahead of me

Ok, so as with everyone of my other posts I will start out by saying that I have not updated in a while. Got that out of the way. Since the pre-4th of July post I have been on many adventures, and picked up a new hobby or two and taken some adventurous trips!

So to start out:

4th of July: We took the first, of what is to hopefully become an annual event, hike along the shore from Onekama to Arcadia.

It was a looong nine miles, and we braved a mini rainstorm but the things taken from the trip were well worth it.

The journey started out by finding an infinity shaped clump of seaweed which was a symbol that nature is everything. Further down the beach we came upon a true rarity, the remains of a sturgeon. This was quite possibly one of the coolest thing that I have ever seen in my whole life, due to their near extinction sturgeon sightings are definitely unique. It's a shame that this one was dead.

Nearing the end of our trip we feared that we would only leave with pictures and blisters, however much more was in store. Beneath the Arcadia Bluffs we happened upon two huge Petoskey Stones while searching for golf balls.

-one of the two large Stones we found

Following the Onekama-Arcadia trek I showed Chels the joy of kayaking on several short excursions in Portage Lake. During one of the trips we found ourselves in the middle of a sailboat race. Below are a few shots from our trip.

The fall brought a few hikes and trips home, but nothing too adventurous as I was studying for the LSAT and trying to get things in order for the upcoming year. However we did get the chance to walk around some family property and snap a couple shots of the beautiful fall color before it was blanketed by snow.

Finally with the LSAT behind me we celebrated a wonderful Christmas in the company of our great families. In fact, this could possibly have been the best I have ever had. Chels got me a Wii, which we have made good use of in the cold months, my grandparents got me a handgun and Chels's mom gave me money that I used to fuel our new favorite wintertime hobby; snowshoeing!

Talk about a healthy addiction, if you have never tried this relaxing sport you need to strap a pair of them on and go explore the places that are usually unreachable in the winter. Great investment.

With the passing of winter and spring upon us my brother and I decided to make good use of a decent day during our spring break and take to the Manistee River.

The trip took much longer than originally planned, you see we thought that it was 5-8 miles when in fact it turned out to be more like 22 miles and took about 6 hours. However it was a great trip, the ice cold river was refreshing. Found a few rapalas, fished a while and endured on and off sprinkles.

All in all it was a good trip.

This brings you up to date with the major outings of the past year.

For the future, I will be graduating from FSU in a few weeks, and going to law school in January. At first I was a little put off by the later start, but I now see the time off as much needed, and a chance to breath. Chels and I will also be using the time off to take as many adventures as we can. Some ideas include: Manistee River Trail Hike, as many kayaking trips as possible, multi-day camping in the UP and a trek to the East Coast around D.C. If you have any other ideas for us to try out I am happy to hear of them, preferably in the Northern Michigan area.

That is all for now, hopefully I will post frequently more on here, but time will tell. We also plan on beginning to review products as well under HopeThisWorks Productions, with links for the best places to find gear that we trust.

Take care, and remember that some of the bes adventures are not half way around the world, they are right in your backyard.

-j

Who is this guy?

Name: John Yonkers

Occupation: Student, Adventurer, Blogger Extraordinaire

Location: America's High-Five

Interests: Outdoor exploration, Fishing, Guitar, Hiking, Kayaking, Blogging, Reading, Bicycling, Music, Brew Pubs, Amateur Photography and Outdoor Stewardship.

Favorite Spots: Lake Michigan, The entire UP, Traverse City, Petoskey, Onekama, Ann Arbor, Old Baldy, The Big Manistee River, Bear Creek, Manistee, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Portage Lake and Lake Superior.

Favorite Gear: Gerber Multitool, REI 30 Liter Traverse, TNF Dry Weather Hikers, First Ascent Front Point Shell, Eddie Bauer Friday Harbor Rain Jacket, Motorola Quantico Cell Phone and my Olympus Stylus Tough 8010

Contact: Please email any inquiries to yonkerj3@gmail.com

4th of July

Very excited, I know I have not posted in a while, however this is news worthy of posting about! Over the 4th my girlfriend and I will be hiking the shoreline from Onekama to Arcadia! A short trip, but one that is a long time in the making, we have never had the time before, but now that we live elsewhere we are going to be able to do it! Pictures and blog to follow as well as pics and blog about our trip the the Upper, this summer is great! I finally get to be with this beautiful woman all of the time! I hope that anyone who reads this is having a fine summer as well. Off to see Transformers II!

Peace

sun up, i put in,

lake is flat, breeze cool

the heat of the soon to be sweltering sun lifts steam off of the water

as i board my tiny vessel i like to imagine that the ripples she makes start the waves for the day

check the dry box; phone, wallet, keys, improvised map of shore

this is going to be a great day...

still flat

however the sun overhead

its rays shine to the floor of the lake bringing many creatures of the deep into my sight

the small fish, undoubtedly ailwive and smelt

some carp

the behemoth rocks and dock pilings make up their world, their towns and vilages

ahead i see the remnants of an old ship pier

funny that the area on hte shore should be known as pierport, rather literal naming

looking down the shafts of the seemingly ancient poles i cannot help but drum up a small amount of fear of the creatures of the abyss from books and movies

of all the times not to have my mask and snorkel

how perfect it would be to tie up to one of them and descend to its depths in search of fishing lures and other treasures discarded by mankind

by now the sun is starting to burn

wet shirt, lay it across my shoulders

it brings a much needed cooling,

its the closest thing that i will get to shade for another few hours

time to turn around and head south to the place where my journey began

tomorrown i must return to the daily hustle and bustle