Pure Michigan Travel - Cabins & Cottages Highlights

Cabin on the lake in Lake Michigan

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:49:55 GMT

Staying at Crooked Lake is so nice. 6 Cabins are on Crooked lake , Sandy beach, great fishing lake , Playground for the kids, relaxing, peaceful,and friendly. We have our family reunion there .It's perfect , take all 6 cabins and the whole family gets to spend time with each other. It's location is in Clare County. It's just a short drive ,they have , snowmobile trails across the road, boats, bait shop, snowmobile rentals, their cabins are completely furnished . I just have to bring my clothes ,food . It makes a vacation very affordable . They have something for everyone.

Fly fishing for a chinook salmon in Michigan is truly amazing!

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:16:32 GMT

The circle of life of a chinook salmon near Michigan is truly amazing! They complete an extraordinary migration, often over hundreds of miles, to return to the exact tributary where they were hatched, to spawn and complete their life cycle. Chinook salmon, are the largest of Michigan salmon species. The state record is a whopping 46 pounds 1 ounce but they average around 12-14 pounds. This is the same average weight of most Chinook found in Alaskan waters. My son and I personally got the opportunity to witness salmon spawning while fly fishing the Pere Marquette River, in Baldwin Michigan, with Mike Marsh of Marsh Ridge River Guide Service. During the spawning process, the female salmon lays on her side and use her tail to dig a hole and lay her eggs. She then chooses a male salmon to fertilize them. And then they both guard their nests for approximately four days to insure predators don’t eat the eggs. This is why it is “very important” that fisherman try not to capture the females nesting on the gravel beds or their eggs will die and less salmon will return in the following years. Try to catch the males only if near a gravel bed – they can usually be found in nearby shaded areas, and not too far away from the females currently nesting. Our guide, Mike Marsh, was very knowledgeable about a chinook salmon and kindly explained, in detail, their circle of life. My son and I learned that a chinook salmon’s life, marked by both tenacity and transformation, represents one of nature’s most unique journeys. They are also very challenging and fun to catch. I highly recommend that you learn more about Mike Marsh by visiting his website and reserve a fishing trip. He is U.S. Forest Service Permitted for The Pere Marquette River (The PM River), The Big Manistee River, The White River, The Little Manistee River and The Pine River. Circle of Life of a Chinook Salmon: Chinook salmon lay eggs in nests, called redds, excavated by the female. After a female salmon lays eggs in the redd, one or more male salmon may fertilize the eggs. After fertilization, the female buries the eggs by lifting gravel upstream of the redd onto the eggs. Chinook salmon die after spawning, completing the circle of life. The bodies of the salmon provide nutrients to the river ecosystem to help young salmon grow. When the eggs emerge, they are referred to as “alevins” or yolk-sac fry. Alevins remain in the gravel where they survive by absorbing the nutrients in their yolk. As baby Chinook salmon grow, they become fry. Fry wiggle out of the gravel and move to areas with little current near shore. Fry feed on small insects and crustaceans. Young chinook salmon migrate downstream to the estuary anytime from immediately after they emerge from the gravel to after rearing over 1 year in the river. The majority of young Chinook salmon migrate out of the rivers in the spring months. As young Chinook salmon prepare to enter the great lakes, they go through a physiological process called smolting. During smolting, many physiologic processes prepare them for life in the marine environment. After Chinook salmon enter the great lakes, they grow rapidly on a diet of other fish. Eventually, as fully-grown adults, they find their way back to the rivers. Chinook salmon generally spend 1 to 4 years growing in the great lakes before they return to the rivers to spawn. Some may stay in the great lakes 5 or more years. Once back in the rivers, chinook salmon will migrate upstream to an area very near where they were born. When home, chinook salmon will find a suitable location to spawn and complete their life cycle. By Sherri, operations manager of Hess Lake Rentals

Sunrise on DeTour Passage

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 09:53:18 GMT

Rodney and I sat at the picnic table watching the sun rise over the St. Marys River. It was 6:15 am and the sky above was deep midnight blue. One star was still winking at us to the east and an orange strip was just beginning to make itself visible on the horizon. I sipped my coffee and turned to Rodney. “ This is nice,” I said. “Quiet, kind of chilly out…I like it.” Actually the fall morning was pretty cold. My breath fogged between the two of us as I attempted conversation. “I’m glad to be spending this time with you, Rodney.” My uncommunicative companion stared at the water. Slowly the orange was pushed out of the way and replaced with yellow. Layers of color were waking up and stretching as I drank my coffee. Yellow, orange, light blue, dark blue, midnight, black. The little star twinkled. The water in front of our rental cottage was DeTour Passage: the bottom of the waterway linking two of the Great Lakes. On the other side of the river sat Drummond Island. Ships traveling the Great Lakes waterway squeeze through this passage to make their way down from Lake Superior to Lake Huron or the other way around. We had been witnessing this happen over the last few days from our front porch. Now as we watched, a huge ship lit up with yellow lights in the morning gloom and puffing a wisp of dark smoke against the orange sky lumbered slowly past. Looking up squinting I could just barely make out our friendly star, shining feebly. “What should we do today? We could take a walk into the town a little later when things open up. I know you are suspicious of that Halloween scarecrow out in front of the post office, but maybe you’ll feel better about it today. What do you say?” “Woof.” “I’m not sure what you mean.” “…..” “Fine, I won’t push it. Want to walk the pier and look at the boats? You can bark at that buoy in the water some more.” Rodney sat up and wagged his tail energetically, looking at me with doggie intensity. I had no idea what he was thinking but figured I couldn’t go wrong with a walk on the water at sunrise. Coffee cup now in the sink, I plucked my friend’s leash from its hook and, leaving the door unlocked, we headed out into the perfect morning.
(The above is an example of the things I'm posting on a blog I just started related to my travels around our beautiful Great Lakes State. I incorporate photos and will either give a narrative about what I experienced or write a little story. This example is a story. Feel free to go to my blog to see the true format and other examples: nasunto.blogspot.com)

Houghton Lake Idyllic Vacation At Sportsman Resort

Mon, 11 May 2009 13:10:20 GMT

I booked a trip to Sportsman Resort last weekend. I thought I would do some early season Walleye and Crappy fishing with my wife. I figured it would be a "sportsman" kind of resort but were we wrong. This is a family style resort with spacious 2 bedroom cabins. There is a bait and convenience shop on the premis and the Zagers were first class hosts. Jeff put me on the fish and I ended up taking two limits! I'll definitely be telling my friends and family. We'll be returning in the summer. Check out thier website. It's at www.sportsmanresort.net

Ludington (a great small town experience)

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 22:05:12 GMT

Hello: I'm writing because, I wanted to thank Ludington for giving us the best summer vacations. Younger my mom,dad,myself always went on summer vacations rather it be to the family trailer where I spend weekends with my cousins growing up or we went to see Mackinaw City or spend time at Frankenmuth shopping.. as my parents... I wanted to give my kids the same experiences. So as I have taken them to the same places and memories to hold onto. Until my husband was searching online and found your little town and we loved the lighthouse. When we first drove in five years it was amazing since then new things have been added. Very first trip we went to the city and state beach and swam and hung out at the water walked to the lighthouse and up the steps to the top it was a great memory we will never forget (including seeing everyone was so sunburned :) I have tried to get into town every summer for at least the weekend but it has become so popular that its hard to find an open hotel/motel room (which is the only way we stay we need the tv,showers) But we always have a great time.... swimming, playin in the sand, riding bikes, hitting the downtown stores, walkin through the state park everything is a beautiful site even if you go up during the fall season (which we have also done) and just a place you feel like you cant leave and always welcomed. We even went for the weekend and stayed for the week one year...I thank you much Ludington for all the great times we've had so far in the past summers (we made it up for a weekend last year too). We couldn't ask for more..... to spend the time on vacation as a real family. We want to come visit again this summer.... Sara PS. Picture I've sent is my kids on the beach last summer,2007

journey's end vacations

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:29:43 GMT

AT THE AGE OF 3, MY PARENTS FOUND THE BEST VACATION SPOT ON THIS EARTH. WAS IN HILLSDALE AND A LOG CABIN ON A LAKE, AT THAT. FROM THE AGE OF 3 UNTIL THE AGE OF 14 WE RENTED THE SAME CABIN ON LAKE WILSON FOR THE FIRST 2 WEEKS OF AUGUST.. IT WAS A WONDERFUL, RELAXED TIME FOR ALL OF US DURING THE LAST YEARS OF THE 50'S AND THE DIFFICULT 60'S. I AM SO DRAWN NOW AT THE AGE OF 56 TO COME BACK AND CHECK OUT THE END OF LAKE WILSON WHERE THE 4 LOG CABINS WERE ON A QUIET SMALL ROAD CALLED JOURNEY'S END ROAD. I KNOW IT IS THERE FROM MAPS, BUT I CANNOT FIND ANY INFORMATION. BECAUSE MY INTERNET IS OUT RIGHT NOW I CANNOT RECOVER ANY INFO, BUT IT SHOULD BE BACK UP SOON. I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE THE MANY PICTURES I HAVE, BUT OF COURSE THAT DARN INTERNET. IF ANYONE CAN SHARE SOME VACATION MEMORIES OF LAKE WILSON, I WOULD APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU SO MUCH... JEAN

W. W. Lodge Family Time

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:30:55 GMT

Having family and friends with us at the Lodge brings such joy into our lives. Watching the kids try and catch frogs, minnows, and fish along with all the other simple outdoors activities is very refreshing. Taking time to sit and talk and learn about what our famiy's dreams and joys of life are is reassuring. We had an egg toss, scavanger hunt, and splashing contest. Watching the waves gently roll into land, listening to the loons, and following the eagle's search for fish brings such peace into our hearts. The W. W. Lodge really allowed us to rest, relax, and renew at an affordable price.

Grand Rapids Women's Chorus takes a Michigan Apple break on the front porch of Khardomah Lodge

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:02:30 GMT

The Michigan Apple Growers "Check In to Michigan Apples" campaign interested Khardomah Lodge management enough to purchase HoneyCrispe apples from the Grand Haven Farm Market and invite it's September 29-30 guests - the Grand Rapids Women's Chorus - to participate in this "guests eating Michigan Apples" photo op. The GRWC traditionally kicks off its season with a practice session/business meeting each year at Khardomah Lodge in Grand Haven, Michigan. GRWC Director, Lori Tennenhouse is 2nd from left in back row. Gayle Gerig, Khardomah Lodge Manager, took the photo "in celebration of apples, music, and guests who enjoy the lodge".