The Adventures of Kinky Reggae: A Vagabond for Beauty

Yesterday was an unexpected day, but a good one.  My day started at Canyon Falls. I loved this spot! Not only were the falls beautiful, but the river cuts through a canyon with sheer black walls. I read that there is a good cliff jumping spot further downstream. (No thank you!)     Then, I located the Hilltop Restaurant in L'Anse, famous for their sweet rolls that weigh over a pound and are as big as your face.    It was delicious, but I was just a little disappointed that it didn't have cream cheese frosting. I think it will take me several days to finish this monster.  And then my car wouldn't start at the gas station. Someone jumped it, and I headed to the O'Reilly's in Houghton, which has only been open about a week. So lucky! The guy who installed my new battery was super nice and also a Chicago native.  Since it was a rainy day, I figured it would be a good day to visit the national park located on the Keweenaw Peninsula. I was surprised to find that it actual

I saw six waterfalls today! My first stop was Miners Falls at Pictured Rocks. This is one of my favorites!   These pictures just don't do them justice.  I stopped at the Miners Castle area on my way out of Pictured Rocks. Apparently one of the hoodoos fell down a few years ago, so it's not as impressive as it once was. But I still thought it was pretty great.   Then I stopped at Munising Falls, which were in the town of Munising.   Just outside of town were Wagner Falls:   And Alger Falls:   (Which was crowded because you can see it from the road) I attempted to visit Horseshoe Falls, but it was on private land and they wanted $6 to see the falls. Nope. The next falls were a total win. I'm on a mission for my buddy, Deeps. He moved from SLC to Minneapolis and I am scouting out waterfalls for him that are rappel-worthy. This one would be great!   It doesn't look it, but Laughing Whitefish Falls is over 100 feet high. There are great anchor options at the top, and stairs

I saw six waterfalls today! My first stop was Miners Falls at Pictured Rocks. This is one of my favorites!   These pictures just don't do them justice.  I stopped at the Miners Castle area on my way out of Pictured Rocks. Apparently one of the hoodoos fell down a few years ago, so it's not as impressive as it once was. But I still thought it was pretty great.   Then I stopped at Munising Falls, which were in the town of Munising.   Just outside of town were Wagner Falls:   And Alger Falls:   (Which was crowded because you can see it from the road) I attempted to visit Horseshoe Falls, but it was on private land and they wanted $6 to see the falls. Nope. The next falls were a total win. I'm on a mission for my buddy, Deeps. He moved from SLC to Minneapolis and I am scouting out waterfalls for him that are rappel-worthy. This one would be great!   It doesn't look it, but Laughing Whitefish Falls is over 100 feet high. There are great anchor options at the top, and stairs

This place was legit gorgeous.  A lot of the time, when I go places in the Midwest, I say, "Oh, that was pretty... For the Midwest. But this place is amazing.  I started off the day checking out Sable Falls. Very nice.   Then I managed to snag a campsite at Little Beaver Lake Campground. I got so lucky! Only 8 sites, and they fill up by mid morning. In fact, I ended up sharing my site with two couples from Grand Rapids. They were about 10 years younger than me and just desperate for a place to pitch their tent.  Anyway, I planned to just hike to Chapel Falls, which is a 3 mile hike. But the trail was flat and easy, and I was feeling good about life, so I decided to do the whole 6.5 mile hike to Chapel Beach and Chapel Rock. I am so glad I did! Chapel Falls was beautiful.    And when I got to the beach, I was delighted. There was a creek flowing into the lake that formed this natural waterslide.   The water was the most brilliant shade of blue; it reminded me of Fossil Creek. They

A few weeks ago, Nancy and I arranged for a play date with our boxers. Nancy has two sweet boxers, Jackson and Tyson. And my aunt and uncle have Jack. I've gotten to know Jack pretty well since I stay with my aunt and uncle a lot, and I am head over heels for this dog. He is my buddy. I love how his butt wiggles because he's happy to see me, and how, when he's really excited, he'll run back and forth through the house because he just doesn't know what to do with himself.  Here is Jack relaxing and watching TV with us at night:   And here is Jack several months ago, when my aunt told him it was my birthday:   Anyway, we arranged for our boxers to have a play date at a dog park, and they had so much fun. We did, too!   (Me and Uncle Nick)   (Jack, Tyson, and Jackson)

I skipped a whole lotta stuff, but I'll come back to that later. Yesterday I left Chicago and drove to Traverse City, stopping by the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes on the way. They were pretty and all, but dunes just don't do it for me. I even forgot to take pictures.  I spent the night at Traverse City State Park and was so irritated. There was tons of traffic; it was so crowded. I couldn't understand why anyone would want to visit this place! Then, in the morning, I found out their big cherry festival is happening. So perhaps I'd give Traverse City another chance when there aren't a million people there.  I ventured into town this morning to check out Potter's bakery. The ugly fritter was amazing! (No glaze, just cinnamon sugar and pecans. They told me that's what makes it dirty.)  I stopped along the shore between Charlevoix and Petoskey to look for Petoskey stones and I FOUND ONE!!!! I never find stuff, and I didn't think I'd find one of these. It'