We made it to Green Bay!

Our crossing of Lake Michigan on Thurs. was not very pleasant...the wind died down from the day before, but the waves were often 4 ft. and the odd one was 5 ft! It was a long ride, but we finally made it to the much calmer Green Bay. We headed north to Fayette, MI, the home of Fayette Historic State Park. There is no marina, just a dock to tie to, on a first come, first serve basis. We were lucky to get a spot on the wall around 2...but it was full by supper time. The wind started howling again so it was an easy decision to stay a second day! 

Fayette was the home of Jackson Iron Co. from 1867 to 1891. The state is restoring the buildings, and the history of this recent ghost-town really comes alive with the informative plaques and the restored furnishings, etc.  I now understand how pig-iron is made...and what it is! The limestone cliffs look like they could be from the Georgian Bay side of Tobermory. We spent two days here and met up with Charlotte and Steve on Jackets II, also doing the Loop, who we hadn't seen since the Hudson River!

Georgian Bay or Green Bay?

Using locally-made charcoal, these furnaces produced molten iron that was shaped into ingots.

Snow Cat at the dock

These openings are part of the unfinished "company store."

Skilled workers could rent a house for $5/month, while earning $50-$100/month.

Some were furnished and quite nice inside.

Typical bathtub of the 1880's

After our many walks along the park trails, Kate would enjoy a drink and swim!

Friday night was fish fry at Sherry's. We walked about a mile with Charlotte and Steve to this local eatery!

On Saturday morning, the winds and seas were fairly calm, and we headed south to Sister Bay in Wisconsin. It was Don's birthday, and we had a delicious meal at Al Johnson's Scandinavian restaurant, famous for their goats on the roof!

Now that is a BIG moose...at Ace Hardware!

Thunderstorms are likely on Sunday so we will stay in Sister Bay and hopefully get some time between the showers to clean the outside of the boat and do laundry! We can't have fun all the time.....