Day 17 - Arcadia Lake to Ludington - July 23, 2011

Our original plan had been to go from Arcadia Lake to Portage Lake and anchor out another night.  However, when we checked the marine forecast and the radar, we decided to head straight to Ludington.  The radar showed two different storms headed our way, a small one already in Lake Michigan and a larger storm cell covering most of Wisconsin following close behind.  We thought being tied to a dock was a good idea for riding out these storms.

We departed Arcadia Lake under overcast skies with wind on the nose and waves around 2 feet.  The shoreline along this route is more beautiful sand dunes – much shorter than the bluffs north of Arcadia Lake – and with much more character – they are more like rolling hills with dune grass and small trees and shrubs.  Again, not a great day for pictures, but we took a few just to capture the day.  As we got closer to Ludington, the weather cleared a bit and we got some sun.  As you can see, the coast is more beautiful when the sun is out.

Ironically, the storms we saw on the radar managed to miss us almost entirely.  The first storm went north of us and the second one brought only a short 45 minute shower the next morning.

the dunes north of Big Sable Lighthouse

the dunes north of Big Sable Lighthouse

Big Sable Lighthouse

Big Sable Lighthouse
(check out how blue the water is when the sun is shining)