East and UP

0843  47,815  64°  Dump tanks and fill water. Leave Saxon Harbor and head east into Michigan.

0845  47,826  We checked out Little Girls Point Park & Campground. Sites are between the road and Lake Superior. No Verizon cell signal and no vacancy.

0920  47,844  66°

Ironwood, Michigan

Having very little hair, I’m always interested in finding hats. Back
in 1903, a railroad engineer named Stormy Kromer needed a hat that wouldn’t blow off and would keep his ears warm. His wife, Ida sewed flaps on a baseball cap, and later sewed an entire wool cap. They started selling them and over a hundred years later Stormy Kromer hats are still being produced. These are a few of the historic hats the factory has on display. A tour was available later in the day, but trails and waterfalls beckoned.

I did get a chance to try a hat out front, but it was a wee bit oversized.

Beth noticed some unique steel sculptures a few doors down and across the street from the hats.

We stopped and talked to the folks at Cramblits Welding. In addition to trailer repair and general welding, JulAnn Cramblit produces beautiful metal art, like this owl.

No room in the van or our budget for something like this, so we continued on our way to the Porkies.

1017  47,872  67°  Porcupine Mountains –
Presque Isle Rustic Campground – No Vacancy

Bought MI State Park Annual Pass $36.

1025 Presque Isle River Scenic Area

Parked near Lake Superior and walked to three pretty waterfalls

Manabezho Falls

A powerful Ojibwa spirit-god is named Manabezho

Mushrooms growing on trees reminded us of ice cream cones. It may be a red-banded or red belted polypore. If you know what it is, please leave a comment.

Manido Falls

Manido means “spirit” or “ghost” in the Ojibwa people’s language

The finely terraced rock over which the river flows is called the Nonesuch Shale.

Round potholes in the riverbed form where an eddy current continually swirls pebbles and sand grains in a circular path.Over time, the scouring action of these materials wean away the softer shale, forming large, smooth-sided potholes.

(Michigan State Park signage)

Lush moss and ferns grow in the moist forest.

A sand bar stands at the river’s mouth where it meets Lake Superior.

Timber and cables hold a pedestrian suspension bridge allowing visitors to cross the river without getting wet.

It took just an hour and a half to wander the waterfall loop trail. Definitely one of our favorites of the trip.

1320  47,881  Little Carp River

Not far from the parking lot we found the very photogenic Overlooked
Falls.

A ranger told us that the name doesn’t really fit as Overlooked Falls
is one of the most visited places in the park.

1451

Note: The time on our phones changed several times in this area. The four counties bordering Wisconsin are in the Central time zone, while most of Michigan is in the Eastern time zone.

1523  47,898  77°  Porcupine Wilderness State Park Visitor’s Center
Stopped and picked-up maps and information. There were no campsites available at the state park’s Union Bay Campground 1535

1545  47,899  Union River’s Big Bear Campground

Just outside the park we found this private campground and they had a spot for us!

Back-in site 23 was  $37

Met fellow Pleasure-way owners Rhonda & Bill from Wisconsin in an Excel.

The campground has a really nice timber and knotty pine bathhouse.

The owners lit a fire and dusted off seating for sunset viewing.

Nasty looking clouds looked like they were going to block the sunset.

But the clouds lifted just enough to let the sun illuminate them from underneath. The first photo in today’s post is also from this unique sunset.

Good night from Union Bay.

We would definitely stay here again.

Today’s Route