The only downside was too many people. But of course, we were some of them! We tried our best to go to the less popular areas though, including an 8 mile (13 km) hike that we did where we hardly saw anybody else.
We set out early again, but didn't have to drive far to get to the town of Munising (pop 2,200). There, we had breakfast and used the free library WiFi.
There are a couple of different waterfalls near the town itself, so we went and checked them out. There were too many people though and it was tough to stay 6 feet away from them so we wore our masks (as did about half the people) even though we were outside. We just had a quick look and then got out of there.
Wagner Falls.
The trail to Munising Falls.
Munising Falls.
Highway 58 is a paved secondary road that runs close to the south shore of Lake Superior through Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The area where the "pictured rocks" are is 3 miles (7 kms) off that highway and is not paved. The only way to see the shoreline of this area is to drive that unpaved road and do a hike, or do a commercial kayak tour, or do a commercial boat tour.
The commercial trips are too expensive in our opinion, and so we went to do the drive and hike. But, there was quite a lot of other traffic on the unpaved road, and the road itself was in very poor washboard condition. Unfortunately, we did less than a mile and then turned around. Sherman was not enjoying the rough ride, and either was I.
We carried on to the parking area for the Au Sable Lighthouse Trail.
Everything sure is green!
One of the lake viewing platforms.
Nice beach.
This stream had a very brown mineral color to it as it emptied into the lake.
The 1.5 mile (2.5 km) trail one way to the lighthouse was not very exciting.
You can't tell from any of my photos, but because it was an easy walk there were actually quite a few people.
Occasionally you got a view of the lake.
The shoreline rock was interesting.
The Au Sable Lighthouse.
When we got to the lighthouse, we discovered another trail that led to a place called Log Slide. It was a beautiful day, and we figured there wouldn't be anybody on this next part of the trail because it was much more of a hike than a walking path.
You can see in the background how the landscape will change.
This was a fun path... lots of obstacles!
This bridge was a little sketchy... but we made it!
We only saw 4 other people the whole time!
Common garter snake.
Beautiful views!
Can you see the lighthouse we came from?
Near the Log Slide.
This guy didn't look very stable there!
So, the log slide is a steep sandy embankment where back in the day they used to haul freshly cut logs and simply slide them down the bank to the water to be loaded. Now, people will quickly slide down the sandy cliff, but there are signs warning that it might take you an hour to get back up!
Young people swimming down at the bottom.
On the way back, there was one section of trail where we heard a lot of screeching birds. They sounded like noisy seagulls. We were right by a steep cliff, so we went off the trail a little bit to see what was making all the noise. It turned out that we were only about 20 feet away from a bald eagle nest, and it was the young ones that were screeching whenever mom showed up with some food.
We couldn't get a good angle at the nest for a photo, and we would have waited to get a shot of the mom coming back with some food, but as soon as you stopped hiking, the mosquitoes found you really quickly.
The best shot I could get of a bald eagle nest with youngsters.
Sorry we couldn't have done better!
By the time we made it back to Sherman it was 5:00pm and we had done 8 miles (13 kms). What a beautiful day!
But, we had no idea where we were staying for the night. There is no "free" camping inside the park itself, so we drove about 30 miles (50 kms) back to the main highway and found a quiet side street to overnight on in the town of Seney.
We were turning one corner, and both of us spotted a ball of black fur in the grass near the side of the road.
"Is that a bear?" we asked each other at the same time.
Yup.. it was a little cub. He looked up at us as as we slowed down, and scampered off into the woods. Too quickly to get a photo!
Lots of different smaller lakes along the way.
This morning, we were up early again to drive to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, which is where we will spend the day getting prepared for our long drive on Saturday and then our 14 days of house arrest.
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Nice deal on the 5 Pack of Men's Fruit of the Loom Boxer Briefs
And in Canada...
Now you are in my territory! I have a place on Sugar Island which is next to Sault Ste. Marie. The UP is a wonderful place. You are catching it in high season. The brown in the water you saw is from the tannins in leaves. Tahquamenon Falls which is northeast of Seney by Newberry is the second largest waterfall east of the Mississippi (after Niagara.) Seney National Wildlife Preserve is an interesting place. Also the boat trip at Pictured Rocks is worth the price. But good for you that you got to see a lighthouse and the Log Slide!
ReplyDeleteYou are not that far away from us then! It is a lovely area and we really wish we had more time to explore it but it will have to wait for another time, although we have been through this area a few times before. Our mission now is to get back to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and do our quarantine time so that we can then visit with our families who we have been missing. :-)
DeleteBeautiful! We were just in Keweenaw Peninsula but didn't have time to travel over towards Sault Ste. Marie. Will definitely be going back some time.
ReplyDeleteThe entire area around Lake Superior is gorgeous, it is hard to try and explore it all. Good thing it will still be there next time for us all to visit another time. :-)
DeleteWell the day has come “House Arrest” just days away! Funny
ReplyDeleteMajority of the worlds population would think; wow the Reid’s have just lived the last 10+ months living in “House Arrest”. Traveling in a box on wheels being so cost effective and being able to continually stay active daily. But I would ask at what cost without time essential water for bathing and washing of cloths among many other safety concerns? The travels are so wonderful from the me prospective and I applaude both Kevin and Ruth but the life style has a risk everyday.
I’ll stick with my permanent roof over my head and continue to follow the life travels of Kevin and Ruth.
We are very happy that you will stick with your permanent roof over your head because it just makes more room for us when there are less people doing what we are doing. It is nice that we can all enjoy life differently.
DeleteWe aren't quite sure why you would think that our living in a motorhome is unsafe or that our lifestyle has a risk everyday though? Everybody lives with risk everyday of their life! We have running water so we can shower, we have a toilet, we have a fridge and stove so we can have food. We do our laundry just like everyone else, we just have to stop at a laundromat. You make it sound like we are dirty and destitute! We choose to be wise with our money, rather than waste it on frivolous things. We think it is important to conserve our resources including our money and we think more people should feel this way. We think living the life that we are leading has made us richer in so many ways and we couldn't do it if we didn't watch our pennies.
We are happy that you will continue to follow our travels but please don't put down the way we live, we don't do that to you. :-)
I hope you can talk about your experience crossing the border.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, you can be sure that we will tell you about our border crossing experience in tomorrow's blog post.
DeleteLake Superior always takes my breath away. Love it. Safe travels.
ReplyDeleteIt is a beautiful lake, we loved how clear the water was and how blue it was and the scenery is so pretty. One day we might even take the time to do the full loop around the lake and explore all the nooks and crannies but for this trip it is time to head to Ottawa to spend time with our families. :-)
DeleteDefinitely lots of beautiful scenery.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
It seems that most places we go, there doesn't seem to be a lack of beautiful scenery. This world of ours has so much to offer. :-)
DeleteLake Superior could easily be mistaken as an ocean by my imagination! Hahaha. Such beautiful pictures as usual. Safe travels and happy crossing over!
ReplyDeleteWe agree, we jokingly kept calling it the sea, lol!
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