Day 15 - Last day on Beaver Island

The days are flying by very fast.  This morning was pretty normal for us. We have decided to make a run back to Green Bay waters tomorrow and I felt the whole day that I was rushing to enjoy what was left of our time here.  We had left over tacos for breakfast and Kona had fun shore time.  She is getting really good at Frisbee and it is fun to watch her do trigonometry as she figures out where the Frisbee is going.

We relaxed a little on Ciara late morning. Kona got some swimming in; however, the water is still really cold and even she is done with it pretty quick right now. I wasn’t too sore so I suggested taking Baby Barney for a ride again while Captain rode his scooter and ran Kona.  We took the short, paved bike path to the north side of the island.  There is a little campground there that has to be one of my favorites.  The campground is up on a cliff looing north over lake Michigan. Garden Island not far off on the horizon.  The waters below are crystal blue and from way up you can see the sandy bottoms.  One fellow camped there had a very nice camera pointed north and I can only assume he was Aurora Borealis hunting.  I’d highly recommend this campsite if you ever find yourself wanting to take a ferry ride to an island to camp. We stopped on the way back and checked out some of the old farm equipment on display from the local historical society.

I so badly wanted ice cream on our return but we had suggested happy hour on our boat to Michelle and Bill and it was just after 4pm so we headed back to Ciara.  We shared some beers; I had my gin and tonic and I laid out some amazing Wisconsin Cheeses to share.  That filled me up for the night so Captain made leftovers for his dinner.  We enjoyed our visit with new friends very much and now we have friends in the SW corner of Colorado :D

Taps at 9pm and one last walk and play for Kona before we called it a pretty early evening. The sunset was beautiful and the waters have calmed again to glass. We have a long crossing back tomorrow. It is hard to believe we have been at anchor here at Beaver Island seven days.  Both of us are feeling like we have so much more to do here and very much loving the relaxed island pace.  Having little to do and focusing my attention on reading and writing as emptied my mind and changed a bit how I perceive things.  The smells of the fresh lilacs, the way the light hits the coast guard station with its red roof and the blue waters at sunset are stunning.  Our bikes in deep quiet woods only interrupted by an occasional chipmunk or deer.  Getting to know everyone you meet because when you are on an Island no one is a stranger and the feeling of safety is undeniable. To quote Denise, a long-time resident, “If someone gives me any trouble, I’ll just call the ferry and no one will be leaving this island until it’s taken care of.”

We will leave Beaver Island early tomorrow after we pump out and get water. I suspect there will be a weed ball for me to deal with at 7am.  I will miss it here and we very well might come back later this summer yet.  We look forward to another week, this time very likely all by ourselves.

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Day 16 - Back across Lake Michigan

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Day 14 - Biking Beaver Island