Where in the world is Beaver Island?

 May 27, 2021 Charlevoix, MI to Beaver Island

Warm showers host, John, offers to let us stay in his converted school bus camper in the town of Charlevoix.  His place is less than a mile from the ferry dock where we need to be very early tomorrow morning.  It is super cozy inside with a heater and a sink and a clean counter space to cook on the camp stove.  

  After supper in the bus we take a walk around town to see the mushroom houses.  They were designed by architect, Earl Young and look like something a hobbit would be glad to live in

You can see Beaver Island out there in the middle of the lake.  It is called "America's Emerald Isle".   Many Irish immigrants arrived in the mid 1800's.  Gaelic was spoken on the street and in church.  Long before their arrival, the Odawa occupied the archipelago for over 400 years.  They fished and farmed.  In 1832, Father Baraga came to the island in a canoe and baptized 22 natives.  This was the beginning of the end for the indigenous population.

The ferry to Beaver Island runs only once or twice a day.  Most locals take a 15 minute flight if they need to travel for appointments or whatever.  The ferry is 130' in length and 39' wide.  It can hold about 300 passengers, 20 cars, and one heavy truck.  Today there are about 100 people and just a few cars.   Each bike requires a $12.00 ticket each way.  The ferry is small enough that it gets tossed around and rocks and tips in the rough lake waters.  There are a few people getting sick over the rails outside.  Tom is calmly reading his book on his phone.  I am fine as long as I stand up and look at the water or horizon.  

The ferry takes just over two hours to reach Beaver Island. 

Charlovoix South Pier Light Station

view of Beaver Island's downtown

Looking out at Donegal Bay from McCauley's Point

Beaver Island is a quiet place.  The island's economy has shifted from fishing to tourism and home construction.  The year-round population hovers around 600 with about half of those staying through the winter.  The local school building is about as big as a small elementary school in Ohio, but it is a K- 12 school.  This year there were 9 graduates.

  We are staying at the Beaver Island Lodge which is the oldest hotel on the island.  It has nice rooms and a very fancy restaurant.  Despite being in the middle of a lake in the midwest, we have the best oysters we have ever tasted.

The sky is clear and blue for the entire Memorial Day weekend.  We explore quite a bit of the island - hiking to bluffs, looking for birds, etc.  I ride about 50 miles on gravel roads over the course of the three days that we are here.  Tom rents a kayak and does some fishing on an inland lake.  I finish a book and start another one.   If you hate quiet and solitude and nature, do not come to Beaver Island.

The Beaver Island Lodge is managed by a man from The Netherlands.  He has plenty of rental bikes for his guests and has compliled a list of bike route tours of the island for all ages and abilities.  

Han  doesn't bother to lock up his nice rental bikes.  Getting away with bike theft is difficult on a small island.

Our balcony faces west so we don't have to go anywhere to watch the sunset.

Everything looks clear and blue with the sky reflecting the water and the lake reflecting the sky.

Beaver Island's version of la passeggiata
Wild turkeys stroll down the middle of the road without a care

After making no forward progress for the entire holiday weekend we need to speed up our trip in order to get to the ferry to Milwaukee next Saturday, June 5th.  We are going to visit son, Peter, and his wife, Sydney, whom we haven't seen since October, 2020.  That is some pretty good motivation for a few longer mileage days.