6 Sep - Search for Petoskey Stones and Preparing to Depart Traverse City MI

 This morning we said goodbye to Bob & Jill Junco and headed north up Route 31 to a location on the shore north of Elk Rapids MI in search of the elusive Petoskey stones.  We were told about this spot by one of the locals.  I get the impression they hold closely places where the stones are found similar to how we hold closely locations where we pick mushrooms at home!

As explained before, the Petoskey stones are actually a rock and a fossil. They can be found on various beaches and inland locations in Michigan, with many of the most popular Petoskey stone beaches stretching from Traverse City to Petoskey along Lake Michigan. We drove about half way between the two this morning.  

The road dead-end's into the water.

The scenery was awesome here.  We were told to wade out a bit and look at the submerged stones, not necessarily the ones on the shore, but it was pretty windy today and the waves were crashing in to the shore.  Doreen headed south along the shore and tried her best to scoop some of the stones in between waves, but she got soaked!

Looking south

Wet and cold Doreen!

I worked the stones at the end of the road and then joined Doreen at the shore.  Did I mention the water was very cold!!

Looking north along the shore.  

One of the large boulders along the shore.  

We spent about an hour looking for the Petoskey stones and we found a few.  Had the water been calmer we could have likely had better luck.  Here is what we found:

The following stones are not Petoskey stones but have nice or unique shape or color:

I will fire up the rock tumbler when we get home and see how these come out.  Also, we have one or two lighthouses to see from St Ignace and one of them is near Petoskey, so we might look again for the elusive stones!

Tomorrow we say goodbye to Traverse City and move north over the Mackinac Brisge to St Ignace.  We are only there for three nights before moving on.

Next report, St Ignace MI - the Upper Peninsula!