Muse by David Teitsma: Inland Waterway Trip

11.15.2008

Inland Waterway Trip

This fall my parents and I took the Inland Waterway boat trip. Three sizable lakes in the Northern section of the lower peninsula are connected by navigable waterways, creating one of the longest waterways for a boat with a large draft.

I've taken this trip several times before. This qualifies for one of the coldest trips on the Inland Waterway for me.

Here is the trip, click the image for stats about it:

Leaving early Saturday morning we drove up to Crooked Lake and put the boat in the lake. Then the rest of the day is spent boating up to Cheboygan, MI (it's about a 6 hour trip). Most of the day is spent going down the rivers connecting the lakes.

Leaving Crooked lake, there is a lock that we have to go into to be lowered down about a foot or two. In the past this lock was free to use, but now it costs around $5.

It was beautiful looking at the beautiful trees with the bright colors off fall. The overcast makes for some interesting high contrast pictures.

After several hours on the water we made it to Cheboygan. We stay at Fleetwood Inn and Suites which is right on the river, so we use their dock to for the night.

Once again the setting sun and the clouds made for some beautiful pictures. This is one of my favorites.

After settling into our rooms, we walked to Scalawags for dinner. They were closed so we went This Old House Pizza. I stayed behind and walked to down to the pier and Lake Huron. I walked a total of 6 miles!

I then walked to the restaurant and ate with my parents and the other couple that came.

Sunday morning we loaded the boat up and went out to Lake Huron. Along the way is another lock. This one is much bigger though at around twenty feet, oddly though it costs the same as the 1 foot lock.