STL DPB ON THE ROAD - MUSKEGON LAKE

Muskegon Lake is about 40 minutes northwest of Grand Rapids, just in from Lake Michigan and connected by a channel. It's pretty good size, about 2.5 miles / 4 km wide and 5.5 miles / 8.9 km long. My son, um, suggested that I rent a pontoon boat for the day big enough for the five adults and three grandchildren. My son knows how to run a boat; I do not. We could go no farther than the second red tower, the end of the jetty into Lake Michigan proper. Then we went to a beach with shallow water and the kids had a very good time.       

JUST FOR SHOW

This pic was taken on the same day as the last few posts, some distance north at the old river town of Grafton, Illinois. Long ago there was a booming boat building industry. Times and technology change. The big hit came from the Great Flood of 1993. We flew out of STL at the height of it and it looked like there was a sixth great lake around the confluence of the Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers. 

Part of Grafton is along the riverside and part up the bluffs. The low lying parts were inundated while the section on the hills survived. The population went from something over 1,000 to 600. There is no need for a lighthouse on the river. The pushboats' GPS navigation systems are all that's needed. The lighthouse is just a symbol of return.          

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - MT. DESERT ISLAND

We are on a large-ish island just off the coast of Maine. It's several times the size of Manhattan. Odd name, since it's very green. A French explorer, Champlain, I think, noted three bald mountain tops as he sailed by.

The economy is based on tourism and the season is short. It doesn't get into full swing for a week or two. We took a boat ride Monday morning around the area. The top photo is of a lighthouse at the end of the harbor. It has been fully automated for several years. The second shows sea kayaks. That would be fun. I've done it once in Alaska's Inner Passage but I don't think my joints and spine would take it now.