Beaver Island - That's a Wrap!

Last Saturday, we finished all of our packing and cleaning, sent out final packages to our new home in the Alaskan bush, and boarded an airplane that would take us off of the island. We were, as we have so often been on the island, very blessed to know such wonderful people.  Friends stopped by our house in the morning and more met us at the airport to say one last goodbye. It was odd to leave the island and know that we probably won't be back any time soon.

This year was an interesting one on the island. There are many things I will miss about Beaver Island, like the sunsets over Lake Michigan, or cruising around the island with friends.  As a reflection of my time on Beaver Island, I've compiled a pros and cons list for living there (just like I did when we left Juneau).

Pro::The Beaches:: Beaver Island has some of the most stellar beaches in Michigan...maybe even in the United States.  The beaches are completely pristine  with crystal clear water and perfectly smooth sand.  For the most part, you can have these beaches completely to yourself, except maybe on a packed weekend in the height of summer. Cody and I used the beaches for recreation in every season.  We swam in the summer, went snowshoeing in the winter, and watched sunset over Lake Michigan all year.

Con::The Cost of Travel:: Traveling off and on Beaver Island is pricey because it has to be done by boat or plane.  The ferry is a slightly cheaper option, but it also takes 2 1/2 hours to get to the mainland, has limited run times, and isn't available year round.  Flying costs about $100 round trip, which adds up for two people and two dogs. This made it difficult to go visit family. Even though we were thousands of miles closer to our families than we were in Alaska, we still didn't see them very often because of the sheer cost.

Pro::The People:: Some of the best people in the world became part of our lives while living on the island. I met best friends and people I know I will keep in touch with for a lifetime.  There was also no shortage of incredibly helpful people on the island who would, and have, dropped everything to help Cody and I when we really needed it. I also had the opportunity to work with some of the most caring and wonderful teachers in the world, and in turn got to work with some of the most amazing children and families too. We couldn't have asked for a better experience with making friends, interacting with coworkers, and finding a support system.

Con::The Gossip:: Beaver Island is small and isolated, which can occasionally breed some nasty gossip.  I personally was pretty affected by gossip after finding out that, before I even moved to the island (or met anyone that lived there), a post had been made about how I shouldn't have been hired to teach at the school on the public forum.  Parents, students, and community members that I had to face daily gossiped about me before even knowing me (and they did it publicly where I could easily read it) and that was tough for me to swallow. The gossip was a pretty consistent part of our lives there for the entirety of our two years, especially in the winter when there isn't much else to do.

Pro::The Outdoor Activities:: The recreation on the island is pretty fantastic, especially for the Midwest. There are abundant hiking, birding, and biking trails and numerous inland lakes for fishing and boating.  Cody and I took advantage of the recreation most weekends.  We climbed dunes with the dogs, biked to the beach, and kayaked on inland lakes.  The wildlife was abundant on all of our outings and we had a blast getting to accidentally sneak up on the occasional turkey (and even a coyote once).  It's a great place for outdoor-oriented people to visit, or even to call home.

Con::The Cost of Living:: Coming from Alaska I was expecting our move back to the Midwest to be a great chance to cut some costs (especially considering I took a 50% paycut to leave my job in AK). Unfortunately, that just didn't happen for us on Beaver Island.  Our housing costs went down by only a couple hundred dollars a month, and our grocery, gas, and travel costs stayed sky high. On top of that, our first winter on the island saw temps in the -20's, which caused us some horrendous utility bills that made the difference in rental costs disappear entirely.

Overall, I loved our time on Beaver Island.  It's as beautiful geographically as it is community-wise. For the right type of person, it is truly an island paradise.  For Cody and I, it was a fun adventure, but it was also lacking a few of the things that we had grown so fond of in Alaska, which is why we chose to return to our beloved 49th state. In the future, I really believe we will return to the island, but this time just as tourists.

Your turn...What are some of the pros and cons about your current city/town?
Currently listening to...Doin' Time - Sublime

Things to Do on Beaver Island: Kayaking

Beaver Island is a great place for outdoor-oriented people to visit and spend time. There are super accessible hiking and birding trails, the biking is stellar, the fishing is good, the bonfires are big, and there is never a shortage of wildlife to view.

One of my favorite outdoorsy activities to participate in on Beaver Island is kayaking.  We have seven inland lakes (yes, you read the correctly, we have seven lakes just on our little island). We also have the added bonus of being entirely surrounded by the stunning body of water also known as Lake Michigan. You can rent kayaks from Happy Paddle, and they also have bikes and paddle boards for very reasonable rental rates. Cody and I use their bikes often and highly recommend checking them out.  (Now, if you're like me you can also opt for the inflatable kayaking route.  I'd definitely rent/use a regular one if you want to go out on Lake Michigan, but the inflatable ones work well on the smaller lakes.)

Last weekend, my aunt and I went out on Font Lake in the inflatable kayaks that she brought with her to the island.  Font Lake is the second largest inland lake on Beaver Island, but it is quite shallow which makes for some fun viewing opportunities while paddling around it. It also happens to be a loon preserve.  The loons are constantly making noise while you're out on the lake and it is beautiful.  You can also see (and try to avoid) swans, look for giant turtles, or try your hand fishing for largemouth bass.

We kayaked all around the lake, which was a pretty big job because it is a rather large body of water.  There are small "islands" within the lake that you can paddle around, but we tried to avoid them because some rather vicious looking swans had taken up residence near them.  The wind can get a bit ferocious out in the middle of the lake, so my recommendation is to hug the shore as much as possible, with the occasional side trip out into the middle to check things out.

Kayaking is a fun way to see the lakes and beauty of Beaver Island.  You definitely get a different vantage point of the island when you are cruising around slowly at lake-level. It's an activity that is totally worth it.

Your turn...Do you like to kayak?  If so, where is your favorite spot?
Currently listening to...Bubble Toes - Jack Johnson

Beaver Island Field Trips

When you live on an island in the middle of nowhere there are going to be a few adjustments.  There are adjustments in your personal life (like paying $2.50 for every bag of trash you throw away) and in your professional life (like teaching classes of less than ten kids).  One of the aspects of being a teacher that can take some adjusting is how one travels to and from field trips.  You see, there are very few ways to get off of Beaver Island, and air travel is the only year-round option.  So, when your class (or club/sport if you coach) needs to go somewhere you must travel.

Last Friday, my class took off on the airplane for the first of two annual elementary swimming trips. I took these trips with my class last year too, but somehow never managed to post about it.  It's definitely a post-worthy experience though because there are few places in the United States (with Alaska being the exception) where air travel is the norm for school functions.  Not only are we flying, but we are flying in small 6-8 seat airplanes. 

In the morning, my class and I showed up at the airport approximately fifteen minutes before our flight.  No TSA, no security lines, and certainly no need to arrive early. We simply showed up and hopped on the plane.  The kids in my class are all true islanders and think the airplane is the "normal" way to travel.  Honestly, trying to get them all to wear seatbelts once we reached the mainland was MUCH more difficult than throwing them in a teeny airplane, mostly because seatbelts are unheard of on the island. 

Once we went "across" (the local slang for leaving the island) we made our way to the swimming pool. The 1st-3rd graders get to go to Charlevoix Public Pool twice a year for swimming lessons, which is super crucial on the island because they all swim in Lake Michigan non-stop and many of them wander to the beach by themselves during the summer. After swimming, we all went out to eat at Subway, which is another exciting, new experience for the kiddos.  There is no fast food on the island and a few of my students didn't even know what Subway was. I had to explain the menu to them and ended up doing all of the ordering because of the confusion, which was fine because they aren't used to being around strangers in the first place and many of them were being pretty shy. 

The way home was similar to the way there.  No lines, quick departure, and smooth flying.  Taking trips like this one is incredibly important in teaching students how to successfully live off and on the island.  There are many experiences that our students just don't get to have, even simple stuff like placing a food order, and these trips are their opportunity to try out some of these new experiences. It's definitely a skill building event, albeit a rather expensive one!

Your turn...Have you ever traveled by small airplane?
Currently listening to...Act Naturally - Buck Owens

Cherishing These Days

These days are awfully busy on our little slice of island.  We are officially 6 weeks from our Beaver Island moving date (June 18th) and 10 weeks from our Alaska moving date (July 18th), which means that our days are being spent making lists, purging our clothes, selling furniture, booking plane tickets, and a million other little tasks.  My to-do list seems to be a mile long and no matter how many items I try to cross off it never gets any shorter.

With all the busyness we are trying to cherish the things that we love about the island, while we still can.  There are definitely things about island living that we will miss.  One of the big things is all of the outdoorsy activities.  We hike almost every weekend, and we often find ourselves at one of the amazing beaches to watch sunsets or climb the dunes. There's no shortage of nature to enjoy.

Last weekend, we took a spin around the island in our beat-up car (also one of our favorite island activities) and got out at lots of beaches and trails to walk around and play in the woods.  The footbridge is one of my favorite stops because it leads through the woods and out onto a big, deserted beach. It also just looks incredibly cool because it leads into some pretty thick forest and passes over a gorgeous creek.

We've never seen another human out at the footbridge beach, and it's far from town or any type of recognizable civilization.  There are a few beach houses in the distance, but nobody ever seems to be home. It's about 15 miles from our front door to the footbridge, which is a 30ish minute drive on the rough, unpaved roads on the island.  We spend most of the time bumping along, emphasis on bumping, at 20mph to get there.  The dogs are always anxious to get out of the car and run around on the beaches, undisturbed by other animals or people. They can really cut loose in places like this.

There are so many little gems like this one on the island.  Places where you can relax and be totally undisturbed.  Places where nature seems mostly untouched and you're just a visitor, not an invader. It's definitely something I am going to miss.

Your turn...What are some of your favorite local gems in your town/area?
Currently listening to...Closing Time - Semisonic 

Things to Do on Beaver Island: The Big Rock

One of the many, many exciting (and slightly silly) things to do on Beaver Island is visiting the Big Rock.  Seriously, it's on the map.

My dad was the first one to make it to the top.

Only 20% of the rock is actually visible, so it is a really big rock. Locals and tourists alike cruise out to Fox Lake Road and attempt to run up the side of the rock. It's usually accompanied by going on a boodle (aka a drive around the island that occasionally involves adult beverages). Boodle is a commonly used phrase on the island.  It's typically a summer activity, which often involves putting a picnic table in the back of a pick-up truck.

Jenny (step-mom) pretending to move it.

Dad and I on top of the rock.

Big Rock is a favorite cruising destination for islanders.  It's fairly far out and requires driving down some of our more interesting roads, which is saying something since all our roads are sand/gravel.  The roads out in this area are fantastic for cruising because they are narrow and heavily wooded.  Picturesque tree tunnels line the entire roadway. It's a great place to spend a leisurely weekend afternoon.  There's never another soul on the roads and you can set your cruise control at 5mph.  Perfect weekend cruising.

Currently listening to…Honey Won't You Let Me In - Tallest Man on Earth
Your turn…What are some of your favorite cruising spots?

Weekending: 9/18-9/20

It was another beautiful weekend on the island. Chilly temps followed us around most of the time.  I actually considered turning on the heat at one point because it was only in the 40's outside.  My stubborn side prevailed though and I am still holding out for October to run any heat.  Instead, we beat the chill by going for coffee and donuts at the local bakery.  I say "the local bakery" because it's the only one.  It has semi-limited hours, but Dalwhinnie Bakery is a must if you are on the island.

Specks and I did some serious walking this weekend too.  It was perfect weather for long strolls out into the wilderness.  I caught this picture of our shadows on Sunday morning, just after sunrise.  We were strolling at the beach near our house.  I'm going to miss these early sunrise days soon, but the days are getting shorter all the time.

Here's a little proof of the shorter days to come from one of our nighttime strolls this weekend. I'm sure the darkness will just keep creeping in until I am going to work and coming home in the dark every day.  Such is the pattern when you live in the north woods.

We wrapped up the weekend with some homemade chicken and dumplings, courtesy of Cody's grandma and her super-top-secret family recipe.  Cody spent a ton of time learning to make them with her and now he makes them a few times a year.  I don't eat them because of my meat aversion, but I do always help make the dumplings.  It's a fun project that we love doing together from time to time.

Your turn…What did you do this weekend?
Currently listening to…Across the Universe - Fiona Apple

Things to Do on Beaver Island: Little Sand Bay

Beaver Island is a downright mystery to most people.  They ask where I live and when I reply the responses range from…

"Are there beavers there?" to "Never heard of it."  to "Why?!?!"

I thought that if I started doing a Things to Do on Beaver Island segment of my blog people might be a little less confused…or not, whatever works. You'll probably notice that most of these things involve just (insert outdoor activity here) around in nature.  Honestly, that's just the majority of what there is to do here.  There are a few community events sprinkled throughout the year, but nothing super crazy.  For all of you outdoor enthusiasts though, it's a paradise!

Little Sand Bay Preserve is one of my favorite hikes on the island. Right past the airport there is a two-track trail that you can drive your car down.  A sign marks it for what it is. You drive a little ways back into the fields, but don't worry your car won't get stuck.  Another old, painted sign shows where to park.  I've never seen any other people out here hiking, so I don't imagine you'll be fighting for parking ever.  Next to the parking is an awesome abandoned house.  The house is from the original Mormon settlers on the island.

The trail is mostly a dirt path in the beginning and you'll traverse through some tall dune grass and abundant apple trees (feel free to snack).  The trail then heads into a winding, swamp-like section of the island.  Boardwalks dot the trail to help with the high water in some spots. It is very mossy with lots of fallen trees, which makes it seem like the Pacific Northwest or SE Alaska for a stretch.  Finally, the trees part and you are out on a huge, sandy beach with endless wildflowers.  It's pretty stunning to walk out of this dark and wooded trail only to be blinded by Lake Michigan. 

This trail comes highly recommended by me, especially if you are wanting a look into the islands many ecosystems.  It is also a popular birding trail and beavers are often seen building in the swamps, which is very cool!

Your turn…What are some of your favorite beach trails?

Currently listening to…New Slang - The Shins