Charlie's Log: Michigan Upper Peninsula 7/23

Road trip and camping to the UP via Minnesota to hook up with Brett, Maia, Quinn & Wes.

There's a lot of corn in the mid-west but, also, because of the humidity, a variety of roadside weed(s).

First stop


The basic set-up--camper, 2 screen enclosures and a tent.

Sundown on Superior--unenhanced

Kindling splitting using the ancestral Paterson Boy Scout hatchet--the dark side

A short walk down some steps and across a washout from recent storms and we're at the beach.

Surf's up

Because of rough currents the near-shore water has some sediment.

Shoreline sumac

Tannin filled Presque Isle River in the southern Porkies. Largest in the State Park.

Plenty of fungi

Varnish Conk

Indian Pipes

And some nice other stuff, too--Bluebead Lily

Superior creates some good sunsets.

Several miles of hiking done in the Porkies, most of it dirt through the forest, however, there's a lot of wetlands to be negotiated


and some steeps.


The hearty crew.

Next stop is Bay Furnace SP where we plan to tour Grand Island by bike and take a shipwreck tour in a glass bottom boat. On the way we stop at another roadside attraction

Mega masonry

One of many.

Our campground for Grand Island is Bay Furnace, referring to this structure which served the thriving iron ore industry now, generally, struggling or extinct.

Grand Island is a very short ferry hop and a great bike ride around the southern perimeter and through the middle

with many opportunities to dip down to crystal clear Lake Superior.


Although Superior seems quite clear, the view of shipwrecks through a glass bottom boat is murky, not easily photographed and seems sort of like watching a National Geo movie. The view up from the lower deck is somewhat clearer.


On our way to shipwrecks we pass this wood-sided lighthouse wreck. Extremely picturesque but not clear why it's at this location, and it's not really very tall!

Shipwrecks and lighthouses are a big part of the Superior coastline of the UP

Whitefish Point houses the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, which is very thurough, as well as maintaining a tall light and, in the beige building, a former fog horn.

Point Iroquois Light Station is equally picturesque and includes native history as well. The life of lighthouse keepers seems to range from isolated to fairly domestic.

Love this little boat that they used to row out to make rescues--really? That barrel near the bow is for fresh water, in case they get thirsty! A new Olympic sport!

The Locks at Sault Ste-Marie (would you believe pronounced "narrow river between two gigundus lakes")

Yikes!

Tour boat before and after. Only takes about 5 minutes to raise around 20'

In order to avoid descending into lower Michigan we make our last stop in St. Ignace at the northern end of the Mackinac Bridge (for pronunciation see Sault Ste-Marie)

View from our campground

And, of course, we visited Mackinac Island

Gotta take the rooster-tail ferry boat

So, while the Mac has a wonderful, paved circle road that is all bike and horse travel, to this Colorado boy it's basically a flipflops and credit card, east coast reesort. I expected to run into the Kennedys or Roosevelts around any corner. I guess that's what you get when history goes back more than a hundred years.