Boat Trip!

Posted on October 21, 2019 by Linda Schaub

Last year I took a two-hour riverboat trip on the E.V. Clinton out of Lake Erie Metropark.  It was a “discovery cruise” designed to combine a boat trip with a learning experience and was entitled “Eagle’s Eye Nature Cruise” and I really enjoyed it.  You can read my post about the trip here if you would like.

On that cruise, we explored Lake Erie and part of the Detroit River to check out eagles and eagles’ nests.  So, as a past Summer Discovery Cruises “cruiser” I was e-mailed information about a brand-new Fall cruise being offered by Lake Erie Metropark with a similar destination.

Well, I jumped at the chance to sail again and check out the Fall foliage and be part of the raptor migration for which Lake Erie Metropark is renowned.  Most Fall weekends at this venue, you will see photographers with long lenses, or folks with high-power binoculars, watching the skies for a myriad of raptors which fly over the boat launch area from September through November.  There are so many raptors that are in this annual migration, that they keep score of the totals and their species.

So I made a reservation the same date I got the e-mail, August 22nd. 

Though we had spectacular weather two weeks ago, this past week’s weather has been a bit of a dud.  We dipped to near freezing two mornings and had extremely high winds.  I felt like a tumbleweed as I did my laps around Council Point Park. On the other side of the Mitten State, the gales of November came early, with 13-foot waves crashing about and knocking back 20 feet of the Sand Dunes.

I had already decided that if the winds did not subside, I was not going on this boat trip – no way.  I don’t know how to swim!  Luckily, the winds were calm for the 10:00 a.m. trip, but it was cold when I left the house at 9:00 a.m. as you see below.

I debated what to wear as the day would eventually warm up and I wanted to spend the afternoon walking around Lake Erie Metropark post-boat trip.  On the other hand, I wanted to sit in the stern where it was all open to take photos without being obstructed by windows.  Do I take along another coat or a hoodie? Honestly, I fretted more than a teenager getting ready for prom night, but finally settled on a Winter coat, wool hat and my fingerless gloves with the flip-back mittens for taking photos.

I arrived at the marina early enough to get a few pictures of the calm water and the remaining boats which were not shrink-wrapped or out of the water for the Winter season.  It was picturesque and still.

We assembled at the dock while the crew was still squeegeeing the boat’s windows from the heavy dew which you see glistening on the grass at the marina.

We got on the boat at about 10:15, allowing for one passenger who arrived late – Carol was teased by the crew and passengers mercilessly, but it was all in good fun.  We walked up the metal gangplank, which swayed slightly, then each of us were given a hand and helped aboard by Captain Joe, who was also our Captain on the last cruise.  After we were seated, Captain Joe pointed to the life jackets stowed above and said “you won’t  need them but here they are” and also asked that we not all sit on one side during the trip as the boat would list to one side.  Then he added “oh, and by the way – no Titanic poses on the bow either, okay?”

As we pulled out of the marina and up a narrow passage into Lake Erie, the foliage colors we left behind were jewel toned and spectacular along the shoreline.

We were humming along, churning up the water from my vantage point in the stern.  Occasionally, fishermen standing up in their boats would give us a friendly wave.

As we glided on, the Fermi 2 Nuclear Power Plant was in the distance, easy to locate from the plumes rising out of the twin 400-foot towers.

The blue skies belied the fact that it was really late October, and, if not for the chilly morning, it could have been a mid-Summer cruise as we went past the Grosse Ile Yacht Club.

Our interpretive guide was Paul Cypher.  I’ve had Paul for some trail tours in the past, and his interpretive lectures are very thorough. He has worked in the Metroparks system for 25 years.  This is a picture of Paul as he was doing show-and-tell with an Ovenbird.  (This is a small, brown-speckled songbird in the Warbler family, not a turkey by the way.)  The duck decoy on the wall is a Canvasback duck.  In the background is Captain Joe in the wheelhouse demonstrating “look Ma – no hands” for a split second as he turned the wheel loose.  (No, the boat did not run away from the Captain.)

We learned about the migration of the Monarch butterflies to Mexico, and, if we didn’t blink, we could have seen two Monarch butterflies that flitted right past the boat.  These beauties should have donned their long underwear on this cold morning.  We saw photos on how to distinguish male and female Monarchs and a photo of them swarming together.

Though it is smack dab in the middle of migration, we only saw Turkey Vultures. Paul said there were thousands of them migrating through.  I saw a few far away, but didn’t take any photos of them.

It is always exciting to see freighters on the Great Lakes and most times, if you’re down near the Detroit River, from April through November lay-up, you’ll see a few if you’re lucky.  So, we were very lucky and saw three while “at sea” Saturday.  Paul had an app on his phone and was able to tell us the specifications about the freighters we saw.  We were really impressed with the MV Saginaw, which sails under the flag of Canada.   It is 639 feet (194.84 meters) long and carries up to 20,200 tons.  Here are two photos showing the bow and the stern.

We watched as she slowly disappeared from the area we had shared only moments before.

Here is another freighter on the horizon.

The cruise was over by 12:15 p.m. and I headed three miles down the road to Lake Erie Metropark where I spent the afternoon getting my steps in at that venue.  Peak leaf peeping here in Southeast Michigan is another two weeks away this year.  So, just like the shoreline, the trees were not totally vibrant colors yet, just the occasional pinky-red or yellow-orange leaf was scattered along the trail, but the trails were dry, which was welcome as the Cherry Island Trail was quite muddy and soggy the last time I visited from our incessant rains earlier this year.  I will write about my marsh meander in a separate post.

About Linda Schaub

This is my first blog and I enjoy writing each post immensely. I started a walking regimen in 2011 and in 2013 I decided to create a blog as a means of memorializing the people, places and things seen on my daily walks. I have always enjoyed people watching, so my blog is peppered with folks I meet or reflections of characters I have known through the years. Often something piques my interest, or evokes a pleasant memory from my memory bank, so this becomes a “slice o’ life” blog post. I respect and appreciate nature and my interactions with Mother Nature’s gifts is also a common theme. Sometimes the most-ordinary items become fodder for points to ponder over and touch upon. I retired in March 2024 after a career in the legal field. I was a legal secretary for almost 45 years, primarily working in downtown Detroit, then working from my home. I graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in Mass Communications (print journalism) in 1978, though I’ve never worked in that field. I would like to think this blog is the writer in me finally emerging!! Walking and writing have met, shaken hands and the creative juices are flowing in Walkin’, Writin’, Wit & Whimsy. I hope you think so too. - Linda Schaub
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78 Responses to Boat Trip!

  1. Laurie says:
    October 21, 2019 at 8:52 am

    That sounds like my kind of boat trip. You have the best excursions!
    I don’t know if I told you this, but when we were in South Carolina we counted monarchs for about an hour. There were over 300 that went past the house we stayed in. I guess they were on their way to Mexico. It was really amazing.

    I didn’t see an ovenbird this year. They hide in the forest pretty well. I heard lots of them calling me though this spring. They say “teach-er, TEACH-er, TEACH-ER!!!”

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:
      October 21, 2019 at 6:25 pm

      It was fun and we had such a good weather day Laurie. You never know what you’ll get this far into October. It was a shame we did not have peak color yet, but there was some color along the shoreline. The swarm of Monarchs in the photo Paul showed was impressive. I can’t imagine seeing them in real life. You were very lucky. I saw a group of Monarchs in the Fall of 2018 at Council Point Park. They alighted on a tree and were gone before I had time to realize what happened. I pulled the camera out and got a few in the tree, but the rest had flitted on by.
      That’s the first time I even heard of an Ovenbird – I need to learn more about our native birds and their calls. A call made just for you!

      Like

  2. Kate Crimmins says:
    October 21, 2019 at 9:43 am

    Sounds like a fun cruise. Our fall color is running late this year too. We have migrating geese that fly overhead but I haven’t seen any this year. I may have missed them as it’s getting late.

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:
      October 21, 2019 at 6:27 pm

      It was very nice Kate and an inaugural cruise. It turned out so many people wanted to do this cruise, they added three more trips. I guess the rain is what impacted the color this year. I have not seen any geese migrating this year – I wonder if I missed them too?

      Liked by 1 person

  3. incahootswithmuddyboots says:
    October 21, 2019 at 10:25 am

    Nice boat excursion, Linda! Good thing that the weather held up for you. Did you see any eagles on the cruise?

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:
      October 21, 2019 at 6:55 pm

      Yes, I was lucky we had clear and sunny weather Sabine. The cold I could deal with, but was worried about the high winds we had a few days last week here in SE Michigan and will have again over the next 24 hours. Parts of Michigan will get 26-foot waves (equivalent to those that sank the “Edmund Fitzgerald”). This is not near me however.

      We did not see any eagles, just turkey vultures – there were at least 1,000 of them spotted as they migrate over this park and area. I didn’t take any pictures- they were not close enough. I was at the park afterward – saw nothing there either. In fact it was rather desolate – the winds may take the leaves before the colors peak unfortunately.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. indianeskitchen says:
    October 21, 2019 at 11:35 am

    What a beautiful boat ride! Those days are just about done for.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Ally Bean says:
    October 21, 2019 at 3:19 pm

    I’ve never been on an excursion like the one you took. Most interesting and thankfully dry enough for you to enjoy the sights. You do find the things to do

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:
      October 21, 2019 at 7:20 pm

      It was a nice getaway and I was glad conditions were dry Ally. They have twenty different cruises, some focus on Lake Erie and the Detroit River and others are on the St. Clair River. I think I’d like to try one of their four or five-hour cruises next year. They also do educational cruises for school field trips as well.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Andy Finnegan says:
    October 21, 2019 at 4:24 pm

    I do like a boat trip. looks like a great trip.

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:
      October 21, 2019 at 7:22 pm

      It was a great trip Andy and I was concerned about the weather and it turned out to be fine. The cold I could deal with and just bundled up – I got lots of fresh air on Saturday. They have a lot of educational trips with 20 different themes. I think given your love of the water, you would really enjoy these boat trips.

      Like

  7. ruthsoaper says:
    October 21, 2019 at 4:41 pm

    What a beautiful day for your trip. A few days a go I saw a turkey buzzard standing on a deer that had been hit on the road. Guess he was gonna eat good. I said to my husband “I wonder where those birds live”. Do they nest in trees? They are huge. Right now we have quite a lot of fall colors. Even though they say it hasn’t reached it’s peak you never know because wind and rain can take down leaves before they reach “peak color”.

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:
      October 21, 2019 at 7:37 pm

      Yes, I was really lucky Ruth – it could have been bad given last week’s weather and you have to pay in advance – you only get a refund if they cancel the trip. When I went in 2018, it was a hot and humid day and that morning they had predicted a storm. I sent a message to Paul Gross at Channel 4 to ask if, in his opinion, it would be safe to go on the 2:00 p.m. trip and he said yes. The Clinton boat divides its time between Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie/Detroit River throughout the Summer. They have other longer trips (3-5 hours) as well. I saw my first turkey vulture at Elizabeth Park last year – I was amazed how large they were. Yes, I guess carrion is their main meal – not a nice sight for you to see. We’re having a big wind event tonight and a thunderstorm as well. Some folks have already lost power. Hopefully the wind doesn’t pluck those leaves right off the trees.

      Liked by 1 person

      • ruthsoaper says:
        October 22, 2019 at 5:53 am

        It is quite common to see road kill around here and there are often birds eating it – a lot of times it is crows but the turkey vultures seem to be more common now days.
        We had some rain and wind last night but no storms, I hope your power stayed on.

        Liked by 1 person

      • lindasschaub says:
        October 22, 2019 at 7:42 am

        I was leery going out to Lake Erie Metropark on Saturday morning due to deer running in the road as it is really rural out that way. There was that unfortunate instance a few weeks ago where the deer ran into one vehicle and the driver and car were okay, but the deer bounced off and crashed into the second vehicle killing the woman. Scary! My boss has a friend whose car was totaled and luckily he/wife sustained no injuries when a deer crashed into their vehicle up North. We just had rain and wind but I heard no rumbles either. I did not lost my power … if I have to lose it, let it be now and now in the dead of Winter, especially during a Polar Vortex event.

        Liked by 1 person

      • ruthsoaper says:
        October 22, 2019 at 7:56 am

        It is that time of year when car-deer accidents increase. I am super careful when driving but you just never know when one will run out.
        Can we not talk about a polar vortex – it makes me cold even to think about it. LOL!!!

        Liked by 1 person

      • lindasschaub says:
        October 22, 2019 at 8:00 am

        Yes, I was driving slowly and thankfully there is not much traffic on a weekend. I don’t want to think that far ahead either Ruth … just looked outside and still darkish out. Sigh. I am looking forward to the time change on November 3rd.

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog says:
    October 21, 2019 at 7:22 pm

    Not to scare you, but we watched a special on cyanobacteria (blue-green) algae as one of the causes of Alzheimer’s disease; the video was narrated by Harrison Ford. Lake Erie was one location that they mentioned as being very high in cyanobacteria. The National Weather Service has posts about when algal blooms are very high. When we have algal blooms in our river, i avoid going very near to it. Brother!

    Trees have not yet fully colorized here in Illinois. It’s so cool to see the red and golden hues when things really get going! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:
      October 21, 2019 at 7:46 pm

      Thank you for the tip Tom. I didn’t know that – the ducks and geese are smarter than the people who walk around it then!
      When I walked around Lake Erie Metropark after this cruise, I saw several areas in the marsh that were still covered in algae bloom, yet a few minutes later on the trail, the lagoon would be clear as a bell. It is worrisome to me after a lot of ducks were killed by algae bloom about ten or so years ago. Homeowners along the shoreline went outside to find all the dead ducks, similar to the 25 loons that were discovered last week from Type E botulism. I will remember that for next Summer as the algae was bad this year.

      I love the color change too and had hoped to see more along the shoreline, but we were told all the rain is what made the peak time slow this year. We have a lot of wind forecast for the next day or so, so there goes a slew of beautiful leaves most likely.

      Like

  9. Anne Mehrling says:
    October 21, 2019 at 10:18 pm

    I enjoyed your adventure. Lovely pics.

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:
      October 22, 2019 at 7:25 am

      Thanks Anne – I hope the weather is good in two weeks to get back for peak color. I can only go on a weekend as it is a 32-mile round trip for me, so I can’t do it on a weekday morning before work.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. AnnMarie R stevens says:
    October 21, 2019 at 10:32 pm

    Miss Linda……………………………..I really enjoyed your blog on your “discovery cruise” excursion……………..we have taken the tours in the past and enjoyed them too…………………….I always love seeing the big freighters on the river………………especially the Canadian “Saginaw.”

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:
      October 22, 2019 at 7:29 am

      Ann Marie – I wondered if you got the e-mail about this trip as I know you and Steven have also taken the boat tours in the past. They kept adding more trips as they kept selling out. I love seeing those freighters too and we were really up close to the Canadian “Saginaw” that morning. Our guide, Paul, said it was lucky for us to see so many freighters on one trip. I saw two freighters the day I went down to Belanger Park to see their lighthouse.

      Like

  11. writerinretrospect says:
    October 22, 2019 at 1:08 am

    I’ve never been on a boat trip; It sounds like fun! I love that kind of situation: a bunch of strangers thrown together, enjoying themselves and cracking jokes… People can be pretty cool.

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:
      October 22, 2019 at 7:38 am

      I enjoyed both trips and you are right Rachel- people are all thrown together and make friends easily, lots of camaraderie for those two hours. The one woman who was late, Carol, was contacted by Paul to see if she was still attending … she was on the road and hurrying and still a few miles away. Carol likely did not anticipate that everyone on the boat and waiting knew she was running late … she got on board and everyone cheered and teased her. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  12. Tofino Photography says:
    October 23, 2019 at 2:21 am

    good thing it wasn’t a three hour tour!
    Sounded like fun Linda!

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Shelley says:
    October 25, 2019 at 6:39 am

    Yay – glad the weather was nice enough for your boat trip. That sounds like a great time. Your narration and the photos are a wonderful virtual adventure for me. And…you got a 3-mile walk in too. Way to go!! How are you doing on your yearly total, you must be getting close to your goal right?

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:
      October 25, 2019 at 7:01 am

      Thanks – glad you liked the post Shelley. I am going to add up my miles the end of the month, as I have some daily totals jotted down on a pad of paper, then combine them with the other part of the list in the computer. Last total I had 1,009 miles and that was on October 15th – I have 1,242 miles to walk before year end. I had hoped to get to 1,100 by the end of October but may not make that. I’d not have had any issues if I had not added 80 extra miles when Canadian fellow bloggers said – “why not do 2,000 kilometers and make it a round number?” I should have stuck with my original goal of adding one more mile at year end and I would only need to reach 1,162 miles. If the weather turns bad, I may backpedal and say I only do one more mile than the prior year … hate to do that as I took on the challenge, but it’s been a challenging year, weather wise and with all the contractors and house issues during June/July I had to stay home to deal with. P.S. – BTW, Mike Posner reached the Pacific Ocean and took a dip upon completing his nearly 300-mile walk. That was done last Saturday and I’m going to mention this in my month-end post.

      Liked by 1 person

  14. thesecretblind says:
    October 30, 2019 at 2:31 pm

    Oh what a beautiful sounding boat trip ❤❤

    Liked by 2 people

  15. Blue Dog Creations says:
    November 5, 2019 at 10:34 am

    Ive still never been to lake erie metro

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:
      November 5, 2019 at 8:41 pm

      I was going to go last weekend Brian and I figured most of the leaves would be gone from all that wind and two solid days of rain (just the crummiest Halloween day/night ever). I’ll likely wait until December when the deer are done chasing each other and potentially running into the road into the car. I got my pass for next year – hopefully it is not flooded half the Spring/Summer like it was this Summer.

      Like

      • Blue Dog Creations says:
        November 5, 2019 at 9:10 pm

        One of the worst halloween nights ever then the following 3 days were super nice – felt so bad for the kids. Didnt feel like halloween at all.

        Liked by 1 person

      • lindasschaub says:
        November 5, 2019 at 9:35 pm

        I agree with you – I can remember rain, even one time when it snowed, but this was horrible. The upcoming days won’t feel like November either – they say more like late December – ugh!

        Like

      • Blue Dog Creations says:
        November 5, 2019 at 9:11 pm

        I need to take a bus down to Belle Isle and take some photos of there – I dont think Ive uploaded my photos of the plant room when I was there in 2017 yet. Cell phones have made me so lazy!

        Liked by 1 person

      • lindasschaub says:
        November 5, 2019 at 9:38 pm

        I have not been to Belle Isle since 1973 – I walked with a group of fellow students from LPHS in our senior year, in the March of Dimes Walkathon … the head of the “pack” was Bob Seger! I have a friend who bought a DSLR and now just uses her phone for everything and says the same thing – it’s handy and takes great pics.

        Like

  16. Eliza says:
    November 7, 2019 at 1:06 pm

    Looks like it was gorgeous! I’m glad you got another cruise… meet anyone nice?

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:
      November 7, 2019 at 6:27 pm

      It was a gorgeous day Ellie – I was lucky as it had been a very windy week, and record wind gusts, just a day or two before. The other cruisers were very nice and friendly, but I stayed to myself at the very back so I could take photos … they had mentioned we might see some migrating raptors so I was hoping to get a good view of them with no windows in the way.

      Liked by 1 person

  17. Sandra J says:
    January 27, 2020 at 8:48 pm

    I love the big ships, I have only seen them down in Georgia, I went to the battleship Alabama museum. So much history and a massive ship to walk on. I like stuff like that.

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:
      January 27, 2020 at 10:14 pm

      Me too Sandra and I saw the Christian Radich tall ship twice the Summer of 1976. We were allowed to go on and take a tour – I was writing about it in a post one day and I Googled to read up on it and it is all computerized on that boat now – it was very rugged when we went to the River to see it (in Detroit on our lunch hour), then a co-worker and me visited my grandmother and saw it at the Canadian National Exhibition a few weeks later. I would have loved to see it “at sea” with the sails on. But it was docked without sails. Also saw the replicas of Columbus’ ships when they came to Wyandotte to the pier.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Sandra J says:
        January 28, 2020 at 4:32 am

        They do a good job making the replicas. Once in a while some travel down the Mississippi River, I can’t remember what ships they are, I saw pictures when they were here. I think they were a little smaller then the actual boat. You can only see the big ones where you are or the oceans. Lake superior has a few come in up at the point. I am going to go see those one of these summers.

        Liked by 1 person

      • lindasschaub says:
        January 28, 2020 at 6:49 am

        Good morning Sandra. After I shut down and was in bed, I realized you were commenting on the freighters in that post … I have written about the old-time ships too in the past. I remembered we saw some freighters and one up close which was exciting on that trip on the “Clinton” boat. I spend a lot of time in the Summer down on the Detroit River, but surprisingly have not seen that many freighters and to see several in one morning was a treat. Actually my boss does labor relations work for several companies that own freighters and one in the UP which he visits when he goes up there. Another company out of Muskegon used to have his freighters hauling cement out of the bulk service terminal on the riverfront right near our office after we moved there from downtown. But then the City of Detroit wanted to expand Chene Park and have a river walk that goes (eventually) from Belle Isle to downtown Detroit (about three miles) so they moved the terminals to Southwest Detroit to where the old Boblo Island boats used to dock. My boss and I went over a few times at lunchtime and I was surprised how luxurious they are inside, but this one, the S.S. Alpena, takes paying passengers on the Great Lakes as well. My boss and his friend usually go for a boat trip each Summer on the S.S. Alpena and I think I have a few pictures he has sent while aboard the freighter that I used in a post or two in the past. He likes the trip. They usually board in Detroit and go to Wisconsin, then drive back. My neighbor toured the Columbus ships when they were docked at Bishop Park in Wyandotte and she was very petite and said the inside, especially the galley and sleeping quarters, she had to bend her head down as the ceilings were not very high.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Sandra J says:
        January 28, 2020 at 6:55 am

        Good morning, there is just something about the big ships that intrigue me. The massive size and engineering is a marvel in itself. I have never taken a lake or river cruise. I am going to have to look into that. Sounds like fun.

        Liked by 1 person

      • lindasschaub says:
        January 28, 2020 at 7:06 am

        Yes it was enjoyable – they have longer ones too, but they also have one out of Wyandotte called the Diamond Jack which goes right to Detroit and I may try that next year. Going to try to scoot out of here and hope it is better walking than yesterday.
        All the rain had cleared the pavement except for where snow/slush had dribbled across the path,leaving it a little icy in spots … I ended up just walking on the grass and the geese were stealing peanuts again, so hopefully better this morning. I never took out the camera as the landscape looks dull with all the snow gone and the sky was very gray. Have a good day Sandra.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Sandra J says:
        January 28, 2020 at 7:11 am

        You to Linda, have an enjoyable walk. I will be doing that shortly. Best time of day. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

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