Tawas City and the Lumberman's Monument

August 13th we headed North up the east side of Michigan's Peninsula to a campground called Northern Bear Paw in Tawas City. Tawas City is located on the shores of Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron.

The next day, we took a trip to the Lumberman's Monument in Oscoda, MI. We spent a couple of hours hiking around this beautiful park-like setting on the Au Sable River.

Au Sable River from the Lumberman's Monument

There were interactive exhibits depicting how loggers lived and earned a living during a time when the lumbering industry was vital to the development of Northern Michigan in the1800s. We learned what they ate, how they slept, and what happened when there was a dangerous log jam in the river. We walked down the 250 steps to the river where there was a replica of a riverboat (called a wanigan) which was the loggers floating kitchen. A buffet of a variety of foods was displayed inside the boat as an example of what the loggers would have eaten after a long, hard, exhausting day of work. Pat and I found it fascinating, and the setting was absolutely gorgeous.

On the way back to the campground, we drove through East Tawas. We stopped for a quick visit to the Tawas Point Lighthouse located on Lake Huron in the Tawas Point State Park.

There was a dog beach located in the state park, and Myah couldn't resist plunging into the clear, cool water on this hot August day.