Cindy Conway & Mike Donnelly spent some time vacationing in the U.P. recently and one of the places they visited is DeTour Village on the eastern tip of Chippewa County. They toured the Botanical Gardens there and share some photos with us here today. Cindy said it’s very easy to find, right on the shoreline on M-134, south of DeTour Village.

She said: “The property consists of many individual memorial gardens dedicated to loved ones and maintained by family and friends. There is a delightful mixture of annuals, perennials, sculpture, benches, gnomes and birdhouses, and a nice little pond - a little bit of everything!

The shoreline pathway offers great views of Drummond Island and the ferry that takes you there, along with the much smaller and closer Frying Pan Island. We also caught sight of the Kaye E. Barker sailing north toward the Soo Locks. You can see her in the second to last photo. I’d be willing to bet that this could be the world’s only botanical garden that features a Great Lakes Freighter on their sign (in the first photo).”

So if you’re out that way, take the time to stop and explore their gardens. This link will give you more information about the gardens and how it all came about: DeTour Botanical Gardens

WIRED shares a human interest video about Kurt Steiner who is a record holding champion stone skipper—and a master of the physics that forms the basis for the sport. You’ll see where Kurt finds his preferred rocks and what qualities he looks for in them, along with the factors he considers in order to throw like a pro. With Lake Superior in our backyard here UP North, maybe we can get a few tips from Kurt to get better at rock skipping ourselves... Yooper skippers unite!

All very nice pictures. It's hard to pick a
favorite. I guess I'll add this to my bucket
list. Though I don't know when we'll get out
that way. Thanks for sharing these.

For those wondering; yes, we made it to the Keweenaw Sunday evening and are now enjoying this glorious weather. Even ran into Deb/Ron last night in Dollar Bay, quite literally! Deb says I have to start visiting/posting again on here, so.... ;-)

What a nice place to chill out!
And number four…is that a Muppet or Lady Gaga?

Capt. Paul, you mean you don't like 100+ temperatures?!

That place is pure magic. WOWOWOW......

Cool Skipping...haven't done that in a long time.