East Tawas, MI - for a change the ride was a pleasure!

Rarely are the seas as flat as they were today on Lake Huron. We cruised with ease and crossed paths with surprisingly few boats. We saw only one boat during the entire day as we cruised from Harrisville to East Tawas, a short 39 miles.

East Tawas Yacht Basin, entering the harbor around the breakwall.

East Tawas, MI is a really nice town. The Tawas State Park is nearby with camping and cabins available. Groceries and a Walmart are nearby as well. We did not need any groceries. We need to eat leftovers from the freezer!

We had never ridden our bicycles to Tawas State Park, so we took the opportunity to unload our bikes and head on out to Tawas State Park. Interesting ride as we viewed the homes and forests. After about five miles we entered the State Park and were interested in the campground. Few tents and mostly 5th wheel trailers and RV's lined the campsites.

Tawas Lighthouse. Originally there was a second residence for the assistant lighthouse keeper and his family. Looking at the register of previous lighthouse keepers, one man kept the lighthouse for 26 years.

View from the top of the lighthouse. Lots of tiny steps to reach the top. Can't imagine climbing those steps many times a day to check the light.

Jim was trying to decide what looked best for dinner from the kitchen cupboard.

The lighthouse was open for inspection and despite our numerous visits to lighthouses during the last 13 months, we took advantage of the  opportunity to view another lighthouse. The  original  Tawas Lighthouse was built in 1852 and as sand accumulated around the point, the lighthouse appeared to move inland until the lighthouse was over a mile inland. In 1876 a new lighthouse was built....with lots of steps to get to the top!

The beach below the lighthouse at the Tawas State Park.

Tomorrow is the cruise up Saginaw Bay, which is typically a pain! Since the winds primarily originate in the West or Southwest, waves build up on the shallow bay.  Tomorrow's forecast is for little wind. Would be best to get an early start before the winds start blowing.

Our friends Jeri and Jan on One More Day and Gordie and Gail on Weeks' End will probably be around for the weekend. Will be great to see them. Will be strange to dock at our home dock at Wheeler's Landing in Bay City, MI.

During the evening gnats were everywhere! I used the shop vac three times to vacuum the gnats on the ceiling above Big Red (the lamp!). The fish are going to be happy with all these insects on the water!

Dinner cruises to Charity Island look like fun. The area around the Island is shallow, so the pontoon would be the best option.

Adjacent to the State Dock is a camping park, but most of the "campers" are fifth wheels or big RV's. Some of the sights are on Lake Huron. Really nice.

Sunrise over E. Tawas Harbor. I love that still water (when in the trawler. When in the sailboat, I could cry when I wake up to water that looks like this picture!)