What a bonus two weekends in a row of perfect weather in Wisconsin on Washington Island- warm in the sun, cool in the shade and no rain. Dave said it was an unusual stall of high pressure causing this warm, no wind, no rain weather. It was glorious on the island now for the first two weekends in September- no cooling off yet this Fall. I thought my swimming was over but i had two great days of swimming- Friday late afternoon I swam in Washington Harbor- no boats and no wind so no waves at all-WOW!The water was now 70 degrees- having warmed up 6 degrees in 6 days of warm weather- surely the warmest of the season! I swam from Schoolhouse Beach to the end of the harbor and half way across the bay, and then Dave and Mike picked me up with the boat to go fishing. We only caught a few little guys, as Salmon season is really over now ,so t we threw them back in for the Seagulls to eat.
Then Saturday we spent the whole afternoon on the boat, boating to the Michigan coast near Fairport .As we approached the shoreline we saw a Bald Eagle fly off shore and out into the Lake- WOW!! I had a lovely swim from the boat along the shoreline, as Dave and Mike had anchored the boat off shore and took the rubber raft onto the shore to hunt the shoreline by foot looking for treasure. It was a beautiful spot with high limestone cliffs and one area of cliffs that had actually fallen to the beach making a huge pile of stone - looking like a large jig saw puzzle or a giant game of Jenga- hehe. We took lots of photos. After swimming for about 30 minutes I joined them on shore. We only saw one boat the entire afternoon probably heading on its way from Escanaba to farther up the coast.We had the Lake to ourselves- where was everybody on this perfect day on Lake Michigan??
Then Sunday we took the kayaks to Jackson Harbor and kayaked over to Rock Island State Park where we hiked to the beach and cliffs on the east side after beaching the kayaks.
We saw the lovely Indian cliff sculptures. There are three :one of an Indian warrior, one of an Indian paddling a canoe and one of an angel face. The are carved onto some cliffs that are on shore so you hike to them. You do have to really look closely to find them but they really are something. The beach on Rock island is beautiful, as you can see no civilization at all except a bit of the campground in the woods behind it. You can take a passenger ferry from Washington Island or boat across. There is a nice hike to the lighthouse, nice picnic area, historic boathouse and nature center and nice walk-in camping sites.Many visitors do annual camping trips once they discover the beauty of Rock Island. You just have to choose your weekend as Black flies , Mayflies and Mosquitoes can be a problem and cool rainy weather can occur. There are no services at all ,except for campfire wood to purchase and a water well ,and no inside areas open 24 hrs on Rock Island, so you have to carry in any food and supplies and carry out any garbage. This is a real rustic camping experience. There is a shoal between Washington and Rock Island, and in years when the water level has been low in Lake Michigan, hikers and campers have actually walked across the shoal to reach Rock Island in waist high water to get across to camp, picnic, or get back for supplies. But the ferry is always available from Memorial Day to Columbus Day (late May to mid- Oct). Many people just ride the ferry over for the day of hiking and picnicking.
After kayaking back we drove back to the house and loaded the car up to go home. It is the time of year I had to empty out the food from the cupboards and refrigerator to prepare to take it to Michigan at the end of Sept, when we change shores to Lake Superior for the colorful Fall and wonderful Winter months. It was three full days of sun and lake Michigan.... a glorious Fall bonus weekend. Perhaps this was our belated summer as it was truly the best week of the summer weather wise!! We hated to head for home.......but back to the rest of our life for now.
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