Munising MI, Pictured Rock Boat Trip

A trip through Michigan's Upper Peninsula just has to include a boat trip to see the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore sandstone cliffs.

We took the sunset cruise, but the sky was overcast and we had a bit of rain, so there really wasn't much of a sunset. 

Our boat trip started by passing the Grand Island East Channel Light in Munising Bay. It was in service from 1868 to 1913 when it was replaced. 

We went over 30 miles along the cliffs and back in about two hours. It was very hard to choose which images to include. These are just a few of our favorites.

The sandstone cliffs are colored by mineral loaded water seeping through them. The boat narrator told us what each color was from, but I don't remember it all. I do know the reddish browns are from iron, and the white is from calcium.

Blue is quite rare.

The cliffs are constantly being eroded by the water and wind.

Large chunks and small crumbles can be seen.

The strong waves carve away at the lower part of the cliffs creating deep caves of many sizes.

This large formation looked like a big ship turning to go out into Lake Superior.

But as we passed by we could see that it was still attached to the main cliff by a stone bridge. 

Speaking of stone bridges, at one time there was a bridge between the formation with the single large tree on it and the main cliff. The tree roots grew across it to the soil there. Eventually the stone bridge either collapsed or was eroded away, and the roots still cross the gap. The tree stands tall and healthy.

The 70 foot Spray Falls was as far as we went on our cruise. As I have opined before, a waterfall is often a destination, or in this case the turning point.

I'm glad this is all a protected area. I like to think we are seeing the same untouched bluffs the Indians saw from their fishing canoes before the white man came.

As the daylight faded we motored back to the dock in a light rain. We could have had better conditions, but are OK with knowing that such things are sometimes out of our control. We feel very lucky to have been able to see so many of the wonderful places in this big country of ours, and this is surely one of them. 

I hope our adventure will continue for a long time and we will find more wonders to discover.

RV life includes many colors.

First day in Munising Michigan

The 127 mile drive from Sault Sainte Marie to Munising was easy in spite of rainy weather. It was raining as we hooked up, and rained on and off as we drove. We got a bit wet as we set up, but the hard rain didn't start until we were safely tucked in. We tuned into some of the coverge of Hurricane Dorian, and identified with the scenes from the first bands of rain in Florida as we experienced a deluge of rain pouring over the Alfa. 

After a while it let up and stopped enough for us to consider going into town to get some information about the area.

We heard there was a small Farmer's Market down by the dock. We love the very fresh sweet corn we have had in the last few weeks, so made a point to stop there.

We were not disappointed. There weren't many vendors, but we did get some corn and fresh tomatoes.

We are staying at the Munising Tourist Park Campground, which is a city owned RV park right on the shore of Lake Superior. The beach is about 200 feet from our Alfa. 

The color of the water and size of the waves changed from hour to hour with the storm.

I've been watching for leaves that are turning red, but these are not the kind I love to see. Poison Ivy doesn't grow in the West where I have spent so much of my adult life, but I recall many an itchy encounter I had with it as a Wisconsin child! The beach grass was full of it.

We stopped at a scenic overlook not far from our RV park. We will be going on a boat trip either Wednesday or Thursday to see the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore near Munising. Hopefully we will get some better weather.

I think this place promises some great sunsets.  

I'll catch them if I can.