Nice quiet night at our campground with a delightful chill in the air. Awoke before Beth and turned on the furnace since it was 52 degrees! Drove over to Munising at 8:30 so we would have a place to park. No issue – we backed into a spot with a harbor view.
The Grand Isle was one of two vessels departing for Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and we were welcomed aboard with a group of Michigan State Student Interns and a group of Harley Davidson riders. All of the crew had graduated from high school, but only the captain by more than a year ago. They did great and took us sixteen miles up the shoreline and back. The captain gave our safety briefing and, after telling us the water temperature is 54 degrees at the surface, mentioned that the whole “captain going down with the ship” idea is only applies in tropical waters!
Rock cliffs towered two-hundred feet above the water with interesting striations. A couple of places had arches where shoal draft boats could slip through.
Kayaks were out in abundance, all of them yellow for safety.
One tree illustrated the tenacity of plants. Check out the roots; they stretch from the isolated rock back to the mainland for nourishment.
With the wind from the South, the lake was exceptionally calm and our captain pulled us into Chapel Cove, a space not much larger than our boat. A waterfall inside and dripping rocks insured everyone on the top deck got cooled off. It was an impressive bit of boat handling. Here’s a short video trying to capture the fun…
Heading back to port we cozied up to an old lighthouse on Grand Island, most of which is now a national recreation area only reachable by boat in the summertime. It was once owned by someone who stocked it with Elk and Moose to hunt. The first winter, most of the animals walked across the ice to the mainland!
Back in Munising, we disembarked to a town full of people and lines stretching the length of the long pier waiting to get on tour boats. Our parking spot was in great demand, though we didn’t give it up until we had fixed lunch. We had front row seats watching a dredge expand the municipal harbor.
Before leaving Munising we stopped at the National Park visitor’s center to get information on which roads would be okay for our van. Armed with that info, we set out for Miner’s Point and Waterfall. Both trails were great with rewarding views, one of a gorgeous waterfall and the other of Lake Superior.
Rangers helped us identify the plant below as “Cowslip,” a plant to avoid as it causes a rash worse than poison ivy.
Our final stop was Munising Falls where a short walk rewarded us with another tall cascade of water.
We always offer to take a photo for couples or families whenever we see one person being left out. Occasionally someone reciprocates and we get to share a photo of us.
Back at the campsite we dumped our waste tanks and refilled the van with fresh water. Salmon burgers were the main course for dinner and Beth reminded me to call a microbrewery on Manitoulin Island for a place to stay next week. We’re now set with campsites through next Sunday.