Thunder Bay RV Park & Campground And Sturgeon Point Lighthouse

                                     Saturday 5/17/2014

After our night at the Wal-Mart in Tawas City,we continued north on Hwy. 23. You pretty much follow the lakeshore from Tawas City.

At Harrisville the highway pulls away from the lakeshore. At this point we also got a little rain.

About 20 miles south of Alpena the flat terrain turned to hills.

About 1 mile south of Alpena city limits we saw a sign telling us our campground was 1000 yards away. Good thing I saw the sign, because the GPS had us going 4 more miles. Who knows where it was taking us this time!

We were told on the phone that the park had open just 2 days prior. No one would be at the gate house, and we were to self register and find a spot.

The park does not have sewer hook ups, so we only planned on staying 2 days. There were only 3 other RV's in the park.

I know this site looks like the tree is leaning toward us, but it actually is leaning on the other side of the road and leaning parallel to the road. Most of the park is 30 amps, so we had to find one that was high and dry with no trees above us. Joe doesn't like trees because they drip on his clean roof, and I don't like trees because I don't want one falling on us during a storm. The sites are gravel/grass, and the in roads are gravel. This park seems to sit low because there is a lot of standing water especially around the perimeter of the park. We are paying $25 a night for electric and water hook ups.

The next day we drove back down Hwy 23 for 23 miles to see the Sturgeon Point Lighthouse.

The lighthouse grounds were closed still for the season, not opening until mid June, so we parked and walked in a very short distance. Next to the outside gate is one of the few remaining one- room schoolhouse left in Michigan.

The lighthouse was established to warn mariners off a reef that extends 1.5 miles lakeward from Sturgeon Point. It is today regarded as a historic example of a Cape Cod style Great Lakes lighthouse.

Joe checking out an old wood boat.

Mallery wanted me to show you how big this anchor was compared to her!

This metal boat was built in 1906 in New York.

We walked out to Lake Huron, and I pick up a Lake Huron rock to go with all my rocks from all around the USA.

Looking south. We have yet to see Lake Huron in the sunlight.

Looking to the north you can see the Sturgeon Point sand bar that goes lakeward. The lighthouse warns of the reef that goes 1.5 miles out below the water.

The lighthouse was built in 1869.

The lighthouse was fully automated in 1940 and the light remains active, aiding navigation to this day. In the summer, you can climb to the top of the tower. There is also a museum in the lower part of the lighthouse that can be visited when it opens.

We saw a couple of these stone homes close by the lighthouse.

We guess they were built using stone from Lake Huron.

This house may have been added on to the stone part in later years. The stone part has been maintain so well!

On the way home we got a picture of Babe and Blue Ox in the town of Ossineke. This is the 4th Babe and Blue Ox we have seen in our travels. We first saw them in Bemidji, MN, then in Crescent City, CA., in the Redwoods, then last summer in St Ignace, MI. Are there any more?

Across the street from Babe and Blue Ox was a Lumber Yard and building supply store, which was fitting for Babe the Lumber Jack.

Another picture we got on the way home, was of Jesus holding the world and a dinosaur. Now those two are definitely a pair! The dinosaur was advertising for Dinosaur Gardens, but we were not sure what Jesus holding the world was for.

Never guess what is hanging from this tree.

Pairs of tennis shoes hanging from a tree on Hwy 23 just south of Alpena.

About two miles from the city limits of Alpena we cross then 45th parallel halfway between the North Pole and the Equator.