2014 Eastern U.P. Calender of Events

  Birch Lodge and Motel at Trout Lake Mi, is just about a half hour from all these events!  You might want check these events out while you stay with us!




June 6-12th     Mackinac Island Lilac Festival   Daily events, hayrides, festivities celebrating the beautiful Lilacs of the area, some of which are over 200 years old!

June 7-8th   Free Fishing Weekend!   Throughout the State fish for free

June 20th   St. Ignace, MI 18th Annual Antiques on the Bay Restored classic and  antique vehicles displayed along the bay

June 26th -29th  St. Ignace Car Show Weekend

June 26th  Kewadin Casino Cruise Night...Classic Cars Cruise from St. Ignace to Kewadin Casino

June 27th   Down Memory Lane Parade.....Cars, floats, and entertainment downtown St. Ignace

June 28th   St. Ignace Mud Run......4pm at Little Bear East.  Also Kewadin Casinos Monster Truck Throwdown

July 4th   St. Ignace Fourth of July Activities beginning at 2:00pm parade, activities, fireworks.

July 12-14th   Port Huron to Mackinac Yacht Race  92nd Year

July 19th  St. Ignace Fish Feast   Music, entertainment and lots of fish!

July 19th-22th  Chicago to Mackinac Yacht Race 106th Race!  Yachts leave Chicago Sat. morning, arrive Sunday to Monday depending on conditions.

August 9th Hessel, MI  Les Cheneaux Antique Boat Show  Restored Classic Wood and Glass Boats dating from the early 1900's on display.  Music, food, events.   Held in conjunction with the Festival of Art, a juried art show and sale featuring the works of many Midwestern Artists.

August 15-17th  Wild Blueberry Festival, Paradise, MI  Music, entertainment and lots of Blueberry pancakes, muffins, pie and buckle! 

August 17th   28th Annual Honda Gold Wing Ride  Grand Rapids to St. Ignace, MI  Bikes ride at night and arrive about 8:00a.m. in St. Ignace.  Show, parade, festivities.

August 22-24th St. Ignace, MI  Rendezvous at the Straits Powwow....Reenactment of French Voyagers and Powwow

August 30-31st, St. Ignace, MI  Arts and Crafts Dockside  Music, Food, Fun and Art Dockside at the Marina

September 1st,  St. Ignace, MI  Labor Day Mackinac Bridge Walk

September 5&6 St. Ignace, MI  Owosso Tractor Parts Antique Tractor Show and Parade..Antique Tractors Cross the Bridge and 9:00 a.m. Show, Parade, events.

September 12-13th St. Ignace, MI  24th Annual Car/Toy/ Truck Show and Swap Meet...  Cars, Collectible Toys, and  Trucks show, swap and sale.

Birch Lodge, Trout Lake, MI,  Update 2014, Part Two

View from Upper Deck, Birch Lodge, Trout Lake, MI

The last post ended with the new lakefront suite over the Dr's Suite downstairs.  Across the hall on the second floor were three small bedrooms and one bathroom.  

   The new bedroom across from the lakefront suite over the Dr.'s Suite does not have a sitting room, but it is now a generous sized room with a large bathroom all it's own.

 It is now one of my favorite rooms with a view of the lake through the tops of the birch and pine at the end window.  Frequently there are warblers outside in these tree-tops, sadly I have no photo of that window!  This room is full of light!.

New Bedroom with Bath

Bath

 The second floor lobby at the lodge was washed, scraped walls repaired and re-painted.

2nd Floor Lobby Before

2nd Floor Lobby After (Actually During)

  The long hallway to the rear of the lodge was also repaired and repainted, and the two rooms on either corner of the lobby and hallway were turned into corner suites.  The corner suite on the north side of the hallway had the doorway into the bath re-opened, and the bath redone.  When we re-opened this doorway, we found the 2 x 4 with a note from Cliff Badgley on it! (We saved it.)

Badgley 2x4 note

Corner Suite before doorway behind chair was reopened

 

















We opened a doorway into the next room further down the back hallway to make a "sitting room" for the suite.  Now it has it's own bath and sitting room!

Corner Suite After

Corner Suite Bath

Next we took out the remaining partition walls over the Birch Bar and in two areas over the kitchen to complete the demo of the remodeling, and finished most of the drywall in those areas.  Some photos of those areas will be in the next post!

Birch Lodge, Trout Lake MI Update 2014 Part One.....

Birch Lodge, Trout Lake, MI

We have finished our fourth year now at the motel, and work still continues on the lodge.  This year we finally started on making the rooms into suites.  Removing some non-bearing walls,  Closing some doorways, and re-opening some others that had been closed.  More bathrooms added.  The floor plan is now adjusted for an 8 unit bed and breakfast.

We still have finish work to do, but five of the suites have finished baths now, and have been re-wired, plumbed and painted.  We also have new furnaces in the lodge with air conditioning!    Pictures are greater than words, so here are some before, durings, and afters!

Downstairs Lakefront is the old Dr.'s Suite:

Dr.'s Suite Before

Dr.s Suite After

Across the hall from the Dr.s Suite, were four small bedrooms.  These have now been transformed into a suite with a bedroom, a sitting room and a large bathroom.  This is planned to be handicap friendly, and we will be installing a ramp on the side door of the lodge.

Handicap Suite in Progress

Handicap Bath in Progress

On the second floor over the old Dr.s Suite were two lakefront rooms, a double one nearest the stairway, and a small blue bedroom with two twin beds.

2nd Floor Lakefront over Dr.'s Suite Before

2nd Floor Blue Bedroom Before

 These rooms have been transformed into a lakefront suite with bath, bedroom and sitting room. The wall with the alcove doorway was removed,

Old alcove doorway coming out, new alcove doorway cut into blue bedroom

 and a similar alcove doorway added in the wall to the blue bedroom... now the sitting room.   A new bath was also added.

New Lakefront Suite (view from previous Blue Bedroom)

New Bath

Next blog we will continue upstairs......

Birch Lodge Tree Time

On the Porch at Birch Lodge, Trout Lake, MI

It's hard to believe we have finished our fourth summer at Birch Lodge. We've come a long way, but realize we still have a  long way to go.  Even as work continues on the Lodge, it also keeps us busy taking care of the grounds.

Things didn't get off to a good start this spring... a large spruce fell across the drive, taking out our power. We could only get into the property because Mark Beaudoin of Beaudoin Sanitation, who plows the drive in the winter, sawed open a "drive through".  Mark also collared the Cloverland Electric Coop guys who were eating lunch in town and got us back on line.  Thanks Mark!



 We also removed a few large diseased birch trees that overhung the cabin and trimmed some dead branches near the lodge.

 American Tree Service expertly did the job, after arriving in their vehicle with its uniquely Yooper hood ornament.

Yooper Hood Ornament

  We have also begun transplanting young birch trees across the property and encouraging the young sprouts at the bases of the large old trees.

 We must encourage these little birch for future generations. As Bill is fond of saying,

 "Without the Birch trees, its just, ...Lodge." .