Rapid River Afternoon in the Rain

On our way home from Michigan we made one more stop, this time in Rapid River.  It was there that I spied some creations by local artist Ritch Branstrom. If you go to his website click on the link for Favorites to see a slideshow of some of his past work.  I personally liked the mosquitos and the owls the best.

When I went to his website I discovered this very tall wading bird that is easily seen from Highway 2 is currently for sale.

Rapid River is very tiny, and it is the gateway to the Peninsula Light in Stonington. The road to the point passes a really nice Hiawatha National Forest campground called Little Bay de Noc.  Not for bigger rigs, but a beautiful non-electric campground with 3 hiking trails.  I liked it so much I might go back for a solo tent trip.

At the end of the point the road turns to a single dirt lane for the last mile.  This is where the Monarch butterflies gather for their yearly trek to Mexico.  We didn't see any ourselves, we were either too early or too late.

To be sure we couldn't find any hiding we walked out onto the beach but found these darling little blooms instead.  I searched for identification but didn't find an answer.  They were growing in sandy rocky soil and remind me of violets just a little bit.  Anyone know?

 The Monarchs come from nearby clearings where milkweed grows so we kept our eyes peeled on the way back.  No butterflies, but so many daytime deer that I lost count, as well as four different sightings of cranes!

Crane says "What do you call a deer with no eyes?"

Doe says "I have no eye-deer."

"Why do birds fly south?  Because it is too far to walk!"

Sometimes the tiniest towns have the best things to offer!  That's it for our September trip, now I'll have to ferret out some interesting things closer to home to photograph.