Old Faithful Winter Expedition

Our fifth visit to Yellowstone National Park took place early this year. "Lodging and Learning" vacations are offered through Yellowstone Forever, the educational arm of the park.  All of our trips to Yellowstone have centered around their lodging and learning offerings.  

We'd originally been scheduled to go on this trip in February of 2024.  We had to cancel that trip due to unforeseen circumstances.  So, we decided try again this year!  This was our first wintertime visit to the park.  The program we attended, Old Faithful Winter Expedition, was held February 12 - 16.  We flew from Madison to Bozeman, MT on Monday, the 10th.  We then traveled to Mammoth Hot Springs on Feb. 11th, via Zanterra’s winter shuttle service.  We purposely arrived early in order to acclimate to Yellowstone’s high altitude.

Our expedition group included 10 participants plus a naturalist guide and a snow coach driver.

Winter is a great time to see Yellowstone.  Only two of the park lodges are open during winter and we stayed in both of them.  While the lodges were full, there were FAR fewer visitors than we've seen on any of our previous trips.  Most of the roads are closed to private vehicles in the winter.  Travel is only by snow coach or snow machine (snowmobiles as we call them in Wisconsin).

I took hundreds of photos on this trip.  I'm posting just a few of them here. Usually we'd drive to Yellowstone, but this was a winter trip, so we traveled via Delta Airlines.  The first photo shows the Bozeman/Yellowstone Airport.  The setting is very pretty.  Other photos show scenery near, or in, Yellowstone.  The last photo (which doesn't want to be centered) features my yarn haul from "STIX" in Bozeman.  I bought the locally produced yarn on the last full day of our trip. I then had it shipped home to Wisconsin. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                      

                    All text and images ©️Suzanne Myers Otto

Michigan's Upper Peninsula, August 2025

I had the pleasure of visiting the Upper Pennisula of Michigan in early August.  My husband and I rented an Airbnb for the second time.  "Graystone Cottage" is located near Lake Linden, MI.  The cottage sits on my favorite lake, Lake Superior.

 We spent one night in Eagle River, WI along the way north, from our home in Madison, to the U.P.  Once we reached Houghton, MI, we headed for Portage Quilt House, not far from Michigan Tech.  A considerable amount of fabric was purchased.  In fact, we made a second stop there later in the week!  A large amount of hand dyed yarn was purchased at the Wood 'n Spoon in Mohawk, MI.  They also sell fresh baked, yummy cookies.  Be sure to stop there if you're visiting the Upper Peninsula. 

Heading into Houghton, MI.

Graystone Cottage (Airbnb photo)

Graystone Cottage (Airbnb photo). Lake Superior is in the background.

Beautiful sunrise.

                                                  Another pretty view from the cottage.

                                             

                                                          Pretty road, Upper Peninsula.

 

 

All text and images ©️Suzanne Myers Otto

North to Alaska!

Note: after a long absence from updating this blog, I’m now adding a number of new posts. Many have been backdated (I’m adding them months later).  Hope you enjoy them!

We had the great pleasure of visiting Alaska again.  We have been there many times, but never in winter!  Our trip, a Holiday Vacations tour, was scheduled in  mid-March, giving us a chance to see the Northern Lights from the Last Frontier.

The tour started in Anchorage, a beautiful city in a beautiful setting!  It was cold and icy, with record snowfall on the ground.  We were well prepared with down coats, long underwear, and snow boots.  We spent several nights in Anchorage, before being bussed to Talkeetna. Talkeetna has a quilt shop these days!  And, the world’s best pizza at Mountain High Pizza. Oh, and the Mayor is a cat!!  With very limited time, I visited the quilt shop and was unable to meet Mr. Mayor.  Some members of the tour group met him . . . said he was quite friendly.  I purchased some Alaska-themed fat quarters at the quilt shop.

 

 

 

 

Anchorage, as seen from the 14th floor of the Hilton Hotel.  This view is looking east towards the Chugach Mountain.

 

 

 Couldn't pass up a visit to the Musk Ox Producers Co-Operative.  It's a six block walk from the Hilton Hotel.  Record snowfall in Anchorage meant big piles of snow everywhere.

 

 

View from our bus, while traveling north from Anchorage to Talkeetna.  This view is looking westward towards the Alaska Range. 

 

 

Following a bus ride to Talkeetna for lunch, we visited the Dallas Seavey Kennels.  Dallas was racing in the Iditarod at the time, so we did not get to meet him (he later won the race).  Visiting the kennels and being pulled by a dog sled was one of the highlights of our trip.  Jim served as a musher for our sled.

 

 

 

After our sled adventure we cuddled with our lead dog.  

 

 

 

We spent one night at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge.  The lodge is slightly southeast of the town of Talkeetna.  Added note: we saw 3 moose IN Talkeetna as we were leaving to head for the lodge.

Lots of snow in this area!  Really nice hotel! 

Watching the northbound train pull in at the Talkeetna Depot.  The Alaska Railroad calls this train the 'Aurora Train" in winter.  Our destination was Fairbanks.

 

 

 

The train made a brief stop at the Denali Park Depot.  I've been here in the summer when there are hundreds of passengers waiting for the train.  Nobody waiting this time.  Passengers were allowed to get off the train and stretch their legs.  Second photo below: Jim and I, with the train's conductor. He spent some time chopping ice of the stairways to the train during this stop. 

 

 

 

       

Another highlight of the trip: Northern Lights viewing at the Aurora Pointe Activity Center.  This venue is approx. 12 miles northeast of Fairbanks.  Our group had reservations for 3 night in a row.  The center is open from 10 p.m. til 2 a.m.   These first two photos were taken on the first night.  The lights were not seen the next two nights.  The last photo was taken in Fairbanks at the Westmark Hotel just before our tour group was taken to the airport for the overnight flights home.

   

    

  

 

     

 

 

 

 

All text and images ©️Suzanne Myers Otto

Scenic Washington Island, WI

I took many photos while on my trip to Washington Island, WI last month. 

Here are some photos for you to view!

 

I stayed at the Inn at Frog Hollow, while on Washington Island.

Jackson Harbor, an old fishing village, is pictured below.  Rock Island is in

the distance in the first photo.

Schoolhouse Beach, on the north side of Washington Island.  The smooth

limestone rocks that line the beach are quite unusual . . . and protected.

Norwegian Stave church.

Trip to Washington Island, WI

I recently traveled northeast, from Madison to Washington Island.  I was last there 

in 2017, enjoying a weeklong vacation!  The purpose of this trip was to take a 

weaving class offered by the Sievers School of Fiber Arts.  I will cover Washington 

Island sights, and Sievers and the weaving class, in the next few blog posts.

The class started June 14th.  My travel started early on Sunday morning June 13th.

I took a slightly scenic route from Madison to Manitowoc, and on to northern 

Door County.  After stopping in Manitowoc for coffee and food, I headed north.  

My original plan to stop in Two Rivers was shelved due to major road work 

on highway 42.  I created my own detour around the construction, ultimately

arriving in Kewaunee.  A pretty Lake Michigan coastal town, Kewaunee offered 

an interesting antiques mall for exploration.  It didn’t look large from the outside, 

but it is, in fact, quite cavernous!

Photo: Lake Michigan breakwater, at Kewaunee.  As you can see, I had a 

beautiful day for my road trip!

Below:  Kewaunee Antiques Mall

I found a nice vintage tablecloth at this mall.

After my stop in Kewaunee, I drove on to Algoma.  My “must see” list

included the Quilted Fish, a small store packed full of fabrics and other goods.

The owner and fellow customers were very friendly and welcoming.

After my quilt shop stop I “put the pedal to the metal” to make up for time lost

due to slow service at my earlier restaurant stop and, due to road construction.

I beelined through pretty Door County towns.  I made a stop at a grocery 

store in Sister Bay to pick up some refrigerated goods (I had a cooler with me).

When I reached the Washington Ferry Dock, in Northport, a ferry had just

arrived.  I had less than a five minute wait before driving onto the ferry!

Current roundtrip cost for a car and driver is $41.  A ferry employee told

me that on summer weekends, the ferries travel back and forth as quickly as

possible . . .the printed schedule basically doesn’t apply.  This worked out

well for me, both coming and going!  The half hour ride to Washington

Island is quite pretty!

Photos below:  onboard the ferry, approaching the Washington Island ferry dock.

Seasons's Greetings!

 Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season!

All text and images ©️Suzanne Myers Otto

A Visit to Isle Royale National Park and Michigan's Upper Peninsula

My husband and I recently were able to check another item off of our joint bucket list!
We both have long wanted to visit Isle Royale National Park and our chance came this
year.  We signed up for a tour to the park, sponsored by the Natural Resources Foundation
of Wisconsin.

Our tour officially commenced on Sept. 2nd.  We worked our way up to Michigan's
Upper Peninsula several days ahead of time.  We wanted to explore the U.P,
including Michigan Tech University and the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Believe it or not, I was quick to find a quilt shop in the Houghton, MI area.  I
found heaps of batiks at the Portage Quilt House, just a few miles down the road
from Michigan Tech.

Photo below:  Wood 'n Spoon, Mohawk, MI
I knew that I might find some handspun yarn at this
store.

Sure enough, yarn was found and purchased at the Wood 'n Spoon.
Photo below (taken after I returned home) shows a hat-in-progress.
















Now, for the heart of the story!  Our Isle Royale tour group
met up for the first time on Monday night, Sept. 2nd.
Once there, we were informed that our planned Tuesday
sailing to Isle Royale had to be delayed a day . . . this,
due to gale warnings on Lake Superior.

The Ranger III, a National Park Service boat, was rescheduled
to sail on Sept. 4th, a spectacularly beautiful day!  The Ranger III
sails from Houghton, MI to Rock Harbor, MI several times a week
during the warmer months.  The trip takes 6 hours.
The boat is shown as it's being loaded prior to our Sept. 4th trip.

After a slow ride through the no-wake Portage Lake Ship Canal,
we reach  Lake Superior.  The lighthouse shown below is at
McClain State Park,

 

Arriving at Rock Harbor (Isle Royale).

We quickly fell in love with the beauty of Isle Royale National Park.
The following photos show some of the scenery in the park.
A magical place, that's for sure!

 

 

All text and images ©️Suzanne Myers Otto