WI / MI Big Trip

[dirty6]

After about a year of living in Wisconsin, summer rolled around and we had the opportunity to take another “Big Trip” with our 560 (Muiriel). We had lots of ideas and a lack of motivation to pick a route and build a plan, so it all came together pretty late. We considered:

• Isle Royale National Park
• Minnesota boundary waters area, Voyageurs NP
• North Dakota - the only state I haven’t been to, either a quick jaunt to Fargo or all the way out to camp at Theodore Roosevelt NP
• Lower Michigan north of Ludington (we lived for a year in Michigan but never made it past Ludington)
• Upper Peninsula of Michigan
• Oshkosh EAA Airventure airshow

That’s more geographic space than we could cover in one trip, and eventually our haphazard planning started to come into focus with a couple cornerstones. First, the youngest teenage child’s birthday present a few months ago was tickets to a Mumford and Sons concert in Minneapolis on the last day of July. That would be the far boundary of the trip. Then, we agreed to test the waters of the EAA Airventure a couple weeks before the big concert, which formed the near boundary of our trip.

With that shell, we elected to stay north and east with Michigan itinerary options rather than spending the bulk of our time driving out to ND and back. Thankfully, that helped us to dodge the wildfires in northern Minnesota that weren’t on the radar when we made these choices.

Initially, we drew up a plan for Oshkosh, then the ferry from Wisconsin across Lake Michigan, then a lazy wandering hook headed north in Lower Michigan, across the Macinaw Bridge into the Upper Peninsula, and back down to our Wisconsin home before re-setting for a couple days in Minneapolis.

However. That ferry was going to cost north of $800 (!!) for the car, camper, and 3x tickets. Considering the drive up and around the UP from Oshkosh would be 8-9 hours and the trip with the ferry would be 6-7 hours total, it didn’t make sense for us to spend that much to cut out 5-6 hours of driving while only shortening the entire trip by a couple hours. So we opted for the “out and back” route. The itinerary:

Day 1: Drive to Oshkosh (2-3 hours total), set up camp
Day 2-3: Oshkosh EAA and airshows
Day 4: Drive Oshkosh north, skirting Lake Michigan, across the Mackinaw bridge, and down to Traverse City
Day 5-6: Traverse City and local area “stuff”
Day 7: Drive Traverse City north into the UP with a tourist trap stop at Mackinaw Island
Day 8: Sault St. Marie
Day 9: Drive Sault St. Marie to Munising with a detour north to Grand Marias to allow a drive through Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Day 10: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore cruise
Day 11: Drive home, clean and drop camper, re-set from “camp mode” to “hotel mode”
Day 12: Drive to Minneapolis, Royals vs Twins baseball game
Day 13: Minneapolis “stuff” and the Main Event: Mumford and Sons concert
Day 14: Drive home (or, in my case, get dropped off at the airport to begin a work trip)

I’ll add multiple posts to this thread with our activities along that itinerary and some pictures.

 

[dirty6]

Oshkosh and EAA

As a bit of a huge nerd, I have always been fascinated with aviation and flight. My first real dream (dashed by a pair of glasses in the third grade) was to fly Tomcats off of carriers. I grew up loving airshows, and have had the chance to take my kids to a few. But, life is life and the military often constrains when I can attend things, so I haven’t been to an airshow in more than a decade now. When we moved to Wisconsin, I was aware that Oshkosh had “a big airshow” and it was a priority for me to make it there. But I also knew nothing about what this “big airshow” was.

After some solicitation for assistance from this audience, I eventually pieced together some of the construct. We joined EAA for a year as members so we could have access to camping, I sort of started to grasp the map of the grounds and the schedule of events, and we had the beginnings of a plan. While I could have stayed all week, I was worried that the flavor of the daily airshows would not change much (incorrect), and I was also worried that the appeal of the event would soon wear off of my spouse and my daughter since they represented two-thirds of the traveling party but only 10% of the interested party. We settled on a plan to arrive on Sunday, go hard on Monday around the grounds and airshow, and have a slower airshow day Tuesday. Despite the encouragement to not miss the Wednesday night airshow, I thought three days of airshow would be too much for our crew so we decided we would leave on Wednesday morning (and collect our camping refund). Instagram showed me later why that was a poor choice. You all were quite right.

The camping was … certainly something. There was a fun energy to the place, sometimes it was a bit much for us. I can see why a big rig or a proper RV is appealing for an event like this, since it affords some privacy we didn’t have in the Camp-Inn. We also arrived late to the free for all for camping spots and got pretty tucked away in a corner. While we were close to a bank of porta potties, it took a few days for us to figure out the shower situation.

Monday at the EAA grounds was a hot zoo. I was enamored with the Warbirds section. I’ve never seen so many old aircraft together in one spot. I have a particular affection for P-51s and was gaga to see multiple of them parked on the grounds. While the majority of the vendors (catering to the aviation crowd - I don’t have any particular need for an all-glass cockpit) and the forums/lectures were a little beyond even myself, we enjoyed racking up the miles walking around and taking in the event. The afternoon airshow itself did not disappoint, starting with an F-22 teaser and ramping into a number of fun acts. We enjoyed the static displays as well. My family was once evacuated in a real-world emergency from an overseas tour via C-17s, which is a crazy military family memory. My daughter was quite excited to walk onto a C-17 for the first time since then and stand roughly in the spot where she had occupied a seat during a hasty departure from her then-home. Oh, and despite the advanced schedule saying nothing of the Blue Angels or the Thurnderbirds, I was delighted to see Thunderbird 8 scream into the airshow and then park on the grounds for static display.

After racking up the miles on day 1, we took day 2 a little slower. I was even less interested in the vendors at this point, my spouse needed some internet connection to do some remote work, and my knee was achey from all the walking on the first day. We took it slow, went into town for lunch, and didn’t make it onto the EAA grounds until the early afternoon. Our plan was to take in just a little bit of the airshow and then head back to camp for a quiet night. I was still under the impression that the airshow would mostly be a carbon copy of the day before; this was a very mistaken impression. We ended up finding a shady spot without our chairs and reveled in the “theme” of the day’s airshow, with flight after flight of multi-ship WW2 aircraft formations rumbling across the sky in presentations that i’m sure I’ll never see again. We also got a surprise B-1B flyover, which I have never seen in either airshow world or in real world military work.

All the variance helped me to realize maybe it would have been worth it to stay a couple more days and keep experiencing what was new (even the static displays kept changing), but our course was set. We went back to the campground and enjoyed catching a number of the VTOL/STOL shenanigans close to us while settling in for a quiet dinner and preparing for a long road trip the next day. This is my daughter’s new camping gear for the season - a wearable puffy fuzzy blanket and a clip-on LED reading light.

All in all I was overwhelmed and blown away by Airventure. I can’t even begin to list the great things we saw on the ground or in the air. P-38, check. Multi-ship DC-3s, check. BONE, check. Multi-ship P-51s, check. Wild aerobatics performances, check. F-22 and F-16 demonstrations, check. Gorgeous restored DC-6, check. Acres of warbirds, check. Static displays for days, check. The place was chaos but I’d do it again. And, I’m quite grateful we had good weather (not blisteringly hot) and the wildfire smoke abated just before we got there. Now I just need a plane, and a license, and million dollars ….

 

[JohnC]

Thank you for all the photos. (Feel free to post more.) They add a lot for those of us taking it all in vicariously.

 

[dustinp]

Oshkosh and EAA

As a bit of a huge nerd, I have always been fascinated with aviation and flight. My first real dream (dashed by a pair of glasses in the third grade) was to fly Tomcats off of carriers. I grew up loving airshows, and have had the chance to take my kids to a few. But, life is life and the military often constrains when I can attend things, so I haven’t been to an airshow in more than a decade now. When we moved to Wisconsin, I was aware that Oshkosh had “a big airshow” and it was a priority for me to make it there. But I also knew nothing about what this “big airshow” was.

After some solicitation for assistance from this audience, I eventually pieced together some of the construct. We joined EAA for a year as members so we could have access to camping, I sort of started to grasp the map of the grounds and the schedule of events, and we had the beginnings of a plan. While I could have stayed all week, I was worried that the flavor of the daily airshows would not change much (incorrect), and I was also worried that the appeal of the event would soon wear off of my spouse and my daughter since they represented two-thirds of the traveling party but only 10% of the interested party. We settled on a plan to arrive on Sunday, go hard on Monday around the grounds and airshow, and have a slower airshow day Tuesday. Despite the encouragement to not miss the Wednesday night airshow, I thought three days of airshow would be too much for our crew so we decided we would leave on Wednesday morning (and collect our camping refund). Instagram showed me later why that was a poor choice. You all were quite right.

The camping was … certainly something. There was a fun energy to the place, sometimes it was a bit much for us. I can see why a big rig or a proper RV is appealing for an event like this, since it affords some privacy we didn’t have in the Camp-Inn. We also arrived late to the free for all for camping spots and got pretty tucked away in a corner. While we were close to a bank of porta potties, it took a few days for us to figure out the shower situation.

Monday at the EAA grounds was a hot zoo. I was enamored with the Warbirds section. I’ve never seen so many old aircraft together in one spot. I have a particular affection for P-51s and was gaga to see multiple of them parked on the grounds. While the majority of the vendors (catering to the aviation crowd - I don’t have any particular need for an all-glass cockpit) and the forums/lectures were a little beyond even myself, we enjoyed racking up the miles walking around and taking in the event. The afternoon airshow itself did not disappoint, starting with an F-22 teaser and ramping into a number of fun acts. We enjoyed the static displays as well. My family was once evacuated in a real-world emergency from an overseas tour via C-17s, which is a crazy military family memory. My daughter was quite excited to walk onto a C-17 for the first time since then and stand roughly in the spot where she had occupied a seat during a hasty departure from her then-home. Oh, and despite the advanced schedule saying nothing of the Blue Angels or the Thurnderbirds, I was delighted to see Thunderbird 8 scream into the airshow and then park on the grounds for static display.

After racking up the miles on day 1, we took day 2 a little slower. I was even less interested in the vendors at this point, my spouse needed some internet connection to do some remote work, and my knee was achey from all the walking on the first day. We took it slow, went into town for lunch, and didn’t make it onto the EAA grounds until the early afternoon. Our plan was to take in just a little bit of the airshow and then head back to camp for a quiet night. I was still under the impression that the airshow would mostly be a carbon copy of the day before; this was a very mistaken impression. We ended up finding a shady spot without our chairs and reveled in the “theme” of the day’s airshow, with flight after flight of multi-ship WW2 aircraft formations rumbling across the sky in presentations that i’m sure I’ll never see again. We also got a surprise B-1B flyover, which I have never seen in either airshow world or in real world military work.

All the variance helped me to realize maybe it would have been worth it to stay a couple more days and keep experiencing what was new (even the static displays kept changing), but our course was set. We went back to the campground and enjoyed catching a number of the VTOL/STOL shenanigans close to us while settling in for a quiet dinner and preparing for a long road trip the next day. This is my daughter’s new camping gear for the season - a wearable puffy fuzzy blanket and a clip-on LED reading light.

All in all I was overwhelmed and blown away by Airventure. I can’t even begin to list the great things we saw on the ground or in the air. P-38, check. Multi-ship DC-3s, check. BONE, check. Multi-ship P-51s, check. Wild aerobatics performances, check. F-22 and F-16 demonstrations, check. Gorgeous restored DC-6, check. Acres of warbirds, check. Static displays for days, check. The place was chaos but I’d do it again. And, I’m quite grateful we had good weather (not blisteringly hot) and the wildfire smoke abated just before we got there. Now I just need a plane, and a license, and million dollars ….

Yes, even though I tried to explain the enormity of it all to you when you were first inquiring about making the trip there earlier this summer, it's really difficult to do justice to it without actually taking it all in personally.
Your departure and my arrival pretty much coincided, so I'm sorry we weren't able to meet up.
In the 32 yrs I've been flying, I've attended AirVenture approximately 20 times. At first it was every year, and for most of the week, but eventually it got to be every two or three yrs, but never longer than that, and like this year, and several in the past, I have said OK this will probably be my last time here, in a yr or two or three, I find it calling me back. The popularity of the event has been both a boon for the EAA, and a curse for those who remember what it was like decades ago when the daytime crowds were smaller, the campground much less congested, and just a less commercial flavor to it all. Despite those negative changes over that time frame, the fantastic spectacle of it all is hard to resist.
Glad to hear and see that you were duly impressed, and enjoyed your time there.

 

[dirty6]

Many apologies for the long delay in adding to this trip report. Turns out that coming off of vacation implies returning to work, and all the chores associated with work …

As I mentioned above, our original hope had been to travel from Oshkosh WI to Traverse City, MI via ferry crossing of Lake Michigan, and then execute a meandering loop back to our home. However, the cost of the ferry proved prohibitive. The second best route became the primary route: a long “out and back.” We essentially drove in one day to Traverse City, up and around the northern side of the UP and across the Mackinac Bridge, and then spent the rest of our trip slowly “retracing” that route until we were home.

The drive from Oshkosh to Traverse City was quiet and calm, as you might expect that route to be. None of our traveling party had ever been in the UP, and the uncharted territory was exciting. We didn’t take much time for stops since it was a long driving day. My daughter was generally flabbergasted that this enormous ocean we were driving by was in fact a fresh water lake. I would have preferred a little more scenic driving along the lakeshore (much of the route was just driving through trees a quarter mile away from the lakeshore) but the coastal scenes were gorgeous when they popped out.

Some UP friends informed us that we had to enjoy the staple cuisine of the peninsula. Having never heard of pastie before, my wife and I were intrigued. I was even more intrigued when I picked up the paper sack and realized I had purchased a seven pound brick of calories. I’m not quite sure how they get the bread to contain that much filling while keeping its shape, but overall we enjoyed the dish and were impressed. No ketchup for us out of town tourist losers.

After a lengthy day of driving we settled in to a private campground just outside Traverse City right on a private pond/lake. The campground was the sort that many TT owners rent out for the entire season as an alternative to a “lake house.” A handful of tent spots right up on the waterline made for a scenic spot, and the crazy golf cart racing teenagers calmed down after dark. After a very humorous interaction with a kind camper who brought us over some firewood (office was closed), we settled in for the night with plans to meet up with dear friends the next day.

 

[dirty6]

Day 1 in/around Traverse City started with a lunchtime link up (don’t you love vacation where the first thing that happens in the day is lunch?!?) with dear old friends for pizza and beers at a local place. These particular friends are both in the education world and spend most of their summers unplugged from their home, enjoying the road and camping in a well-maintained Class A motor home.

After lunch, we wandered around to a small coastal town of Frankfort and took in more of the ocean (lake) shore views as well as an adorable small town of shops and coffee shops. Multiple times on this summer trip we took in views of Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Superior and observed just how much this appears to be some distant Scottish shoreline.

At our lunchtime link up, our friends invited us to their campsite in the evening for a boat ride followed by a campfire and s’mores. They were emplaced at Interlochen State Park in a nice spot and had been there for a couple weeks already. My daughter leapt at the opportunity for a boat ride.

Day 2 in Traverse City started with a drive through the city and up onto the Old Mission Penninsula. The drive was more than scenic, surrounded on both sides by vineyards in the near field of view framed by East and West Traverse Bay water views in the far field of view. A mandatory stop at a fruit stand proved expensive, and the Mission Point Lighthouse and Beach at the very northern tip of the peninsula offered a less costly experience. My wife and daughter thoroughly enjoyed the history of the old lighthouse

After a return jaunt down the peninsula, we spent some time exploring the Sleeping Bear Dunes, impressive in both their elevation and their length. We hiked up the massive front face of the dunes but didn’t have the time to continue the hike (more like a slog) through miles of sand to the eventual descent to Lake Michigan shoreline. I’m sure it’s a pretty shoreline and walk, even if it is a trudge through a lot of sand.

Part of the reason we didn’t have time for more hiking was an evening event we had stumbled into. On our previous night, when arriving at Interlochen State Park to visit our friend’s campsite, we observed a surprising amount of traffic and off-road parking. I didn’t realize that Interlochen was more than a state park, but my spouse was familiar with the arts academy located there. Turns out a famous artist was performing at the concert venue as a part of their summer concert series, and all the traffic was connected to her show. Out of curiosity, we looked up the artist (Emmy Lou Harris) just to see who was on stage. From our friend’s campsite and from the boat ride, we could barely hear a bit of the music. But what really shocked me was the next detail I stumbled upon. While Emmy Lou Harris was performing that first night, just who was slated to go on stage the following night? None other than my very favorite beloved singer songwriter rocker musician of all time: Jason Isbell. I have a bit of a saga of trying to go see him and failing based on work, timing, commitments, location, driving times, etc. I normally keep an eye on his concert schedule and know when he is going to be close by (and then argue with myself about why driving 4 hours away to see a concert on a work night is a bad idea). But, this took me completely by surprise - I had no clue that he was going to be performing anywhere along our summer vacation itinerary. Lo and behold, not only was he performing at a location along our itinerary, he was performing *tomorrow night at the same location we were camping at.* Five minutes later we had tickets. And so, on our second day of camping, after sweating up and down the Sleeping Bear Dunes, we took in a magical concert at a beautiful venue on the shore.

And I got a shirt.

There’s a joke in this shirt that is deeply connected to the artist and the community who follow him. I’ve wanted this specific shirt for years and was gaga to find out they were selling it at the concert.

The next morning we woke up in Traverse City and wandered into town to find a proper bag of single origin, fresh roasted coffee (success) at a quaint spot among a reimagined property that has been transformed from a mental inpatient institution to a mixed used residential commercial district. And off we went back to the north - with a plan to pit stop at Mackinac Island on the way to Sault Saint Marie for our next stop.

 

[JohnC]

Thanks for the photos. The stories are so much nicer when accompanied by photos!

 

[dustinp]

Thanks for sharing your fascinating adventure with us and the great pics to go with it!

 

[Sweeney]

I've been through the UP and northern michigan once or twice -- absolutely beutiful up there. I'm inspired to make that trip next year!

 

[The Postman]

Wonderful writing,@dirty6

 

[dirty6]

Headed north out of Traverse City, our next destination was Sault Saint Marie. But, first a pit stop along the route to visit Mackinac Island. We had been warned by trusted friends that M.Island is a bit touristy, particularly if only visiting for an afternoon. Our plans didn’t have room for an overnight stay or a bicycle ride around the island or really anything outside the main town center, so we were prepared to be “underwhelmed.” That started with the parking experience, which quickly escalated beyond annoying into “annoying and you’re paying money for it and we’re unprepared and you’re waiting for a bus.”

The ferry ride out to the island was quick, with a nice view of the bridge along the way. Our weather was generally good and overcast, which beat the heat and kept the sunshine off my scalp (as a pale bald guy prone to skin cancer, I always appreciate that).

We had lunch and wandered the shops and took in some of the old houses, which proved to be the highlight of the excursion to the island for us.

We did get to see a wedding party traveling to their reception via horse drawn carriage (and wondered aloud just how crippling that wedding bill would be). We also had a chance to dip our toes into Lake Huron, which officially set this up to be a 3-Great-Lakes trip overall (Michigan, Huron, and eventually Superior). That also makes it official that my spouse, daughter, and I have all had our toes in all 5 Great Lakes at some point in life.

But the highlight was the old houses (and, also, some curious wondering about just how crippling those mortgages are).

After the return ferry ride to mainland lower Michigan, we waited (again) for a bus to return us to our parked rig and set course back across the bridge for Sault Saint Marie.

SSM was a destination on this trip primarily so that I could visit with an old Army buddy from an all expense paid trip to Iraq. We were stationed together in Alaska, but he has since retired and returned to his hometown area in the UP. When my family was ordered to Wisconsin a couple years ago, a visit to my buddy’s homestead became a “must make it happen in the next two years” kind of item.

After a few back and forth phone calls trying to plan a camping site for this leg of trip, he called me back one afternoon and claimed to have the riddle solved. It turns out, his parents (who live 1 mile away from him) were going to out of town that particular weekend so his father could visit an old Navy buddy from his Vietnam service days. The offer was on the table: why not just camp in their driveway? We’d have access to the house for bathroom needs and would otherwise be in a prime spot. We accepted, and ended up in a premium little spit of land right on the shipping channel. Driveway camping isn’t usually our jam … but this was a pretty remote driveway and was frankly probably a lot more private than any campground we ended up on.

True to claim, the freighter ships do in fact pass right in front of our camped location.

The next morning we wandered into town and enjoyed a short tour of the shipping locks. We managed to catch a large Canadian flagged shipping freighter hauling ore as it entered the locks and dropped dozens of feet. Then we beat feat down the road to the brewery and enjoyed a rooftop beer while watching the same freighter steam by.

After beer and a grocery stop, we wandered back out to camp and saw the same freighter once more as it passed by our site.

Next, we loaded into my buddy’s pontoon boat for a family boating day complete with anchored swimming (a little chilly), a beach landing and campfire dinner, and some sunning. We even managed to chase down the freighter that we had seen go through the locks and got an up close view of it from the pontoon. The kids were absolutely tickled that they successfully got the ship’s captain to toot the horn by making the classic “honk honk” gesture as we approached from the stern.

While swimming at our beached location, I stepped on something firm and cylindrical that kept sinking into the sand. I kept playing with it with my feet, trying to see if I could get it worked out of the sand. Eventually I managed to get ahold of it, and when I pulled it to the surface I realized I had found a fully intact glass bottle (delightful to think I had been stepping on that with my bare feet).

Upon further inspection, this actually turned out to be quite the find. The bottle was clearly not modern. It was stamped as a Cocal Cola Bottle from the local Sault Saint Marie facility … which hasn’t been open for decades. In fact, my friend didn’t even know it had ever existed. This prompted a lot of excited Googling and phone calls back to his father, before they concluded that I had uncovered a fully intact bottle from a long since closed bottling facility local to the area … from something like the 1960s. Not every day you step on an antique while swimming!

My friend was pretty fascinated with this bottle and its connection to his hometown’s history. The next morning as we left town, we stopped at their house for breakfast. I put some water and a flower in the bottle and left it where it belonged - with his family to tell a story for years to come.

 

[dirty6]

Reunions complete, we headed east out of SSM with a plan to visit Grand Marais, drive through Pictured Rocks, and end up at Bay Furnace Campground just outside Munising. A stop had been recommended at Tahquamenon Falls State Park, which extended our drive time considerably but not obnoxiously. A short hike to the Upper Falls provided some beautiful UP scenery.

It was pretty unique venturing north towards the air conditioner called Lake Superior. In the middle of the UP, the temp was in the mid to high 80s. As we turned north and descended through just a bit of elevation, the temp dropped considerably. Foggy haze took over our clean sight lines and we rolled into GM without much of a view, but a temp in the mid 50s. The overall feeling was very similar to our visits to the Pacific Ocean coast in Washington. Wrapped in spooky fog and uncommonly chilled damp air, we soaked it up. Unfortunately, the fog kept us from seeing much of the scenery, but we did find a cute spot for our lunch.

We sort of borked the drive through Pictured Rocks by taking the wrong route, but eventually we found some scenery and a chance to hike down to a beach area.

We pulled into the beach parking lot right as lightning and thunder crescendoed above us. A small storm cell was moving inland from the lake. We donned our rain gear and started to trek down to the beach area, and as we went downhill in rain gear, shoes, and some warm clothing we passed dozens of beachgoers sprinting back to their cars in swimming suits and sandals. The effect was eerie when we stepped onto the sands of Lake Superior and had the entire beach to ourselves. Based on the number of people we had passed along the way, the beach must have been pretty crowded, but the storm had gifted us a private experience.

After dipping toes in our third Great Lake of the trip, we trudged back up to the rig which was now all alone in the parking lot.

A short drive later and we were encamped in our final spot for this trip. With beer, of course.

The key event of our Bay Furnace time came the next day, when we boarded a tour boat for a day trip to view the Pictured Rocks shoreline from the water. I have dozens of pictures of this trip, but here’s a few highlights:

Once again along another section of Great Lakes shoreline, we returned to the most frequent refrain of this trip: “Is this Scotland?”

 

[dirty6]

After a couple nights at Bay Furnace and a short day trip over to Marquette to visit the college, we hooked up the 560 one more time and pointed the rig towards home. Our camping trip was over, but vacation wasn’t. After we dropped the camper at our house (and took showers), we drove out to Minneapolis for a couple days to catch a baseball game and attend a concert. 5 hours after that concert was over, I boarded a plane to Kentucky to get back in uniform and back to work. Now vacation was over!

By the numbers:

Miles: 1355

Nights: 10

Campsites: 4

Boat rides: 3

Mackinac Bridge crossings: 2

Great Lakes: 3

Pasties: 1

P-51s: more than a dozen

Thunderbirds: 1

B-1 flyovers: 1


If you’ve hung in so far, thanks for reading and helping me record our summer of memories!

 

[JohnC]

Reunions complete, we headed east out of SSM with a plan to visit Grand Marais, drive through Pictured Rocks, and end up at Bay Furnace Campground just outside Munising. A stop had been recommended at Tahquamenon Falls State Park, which extended our drive time considerably but not obnoxiously. A short hike to the Upper Falls provided some beautiful UP scenery.

It was pretty unique venturing north towards the air conditioner called Lake Superior. In the middle of the UP, the temp was in the mid to high 80s. As we turned north and descended through just a bit of elevation, the temp dropped considerably. Foggy haze took over our clean sight lines and we rolled into GM without much of a view, but a temp in the mid 50s. The overall feeling was very similar to our visits to the Pacific Ocean coast in Washington. Wrapped in spooky fog and uncommonly chilled damp air, we soaked it up. Unfortunately, the fog kept us from seeing much of the scenery, but we did find a cute spot for our lunch.

We sort of borked the drive through Pictured Rocks by taking the wrong route, but eventually we found some scenery and a chance to hike down to a beach area.

We pulled into the beach parking lot right as lightning and thunder crescendoed above us. A small storm cell was moving inland from the lake. We donned our rain gear and started to trek down to the beach area, and as we went downhill in rain gear, shoes, and some warm clothing we passed dozens of beachgoers sprinting back to their cars in swimming suits and sandals. The effect was eerie when we stepped onto the sands of Lake Superior and had the entire beach to ourselves. Based on the number of people we had passed along the way, the beach must have been pretty crowded, but the storm had gifted us a private experience.

After dipping toes in our third Great Lake of the trip, we trudged back up to the rig which was now all alone in the parking lot.

A short drive later and we were encamped in our final spot for this trip. With beer, of course.

The key event of our Bay Furnace time came the next day, when we boarded a tour boat for a day trip to view the Pictured Rocks shoreline from the water. I have dozens of pictures of this trip, but here’s a few highlights:

Once again along another section of Great Lakes shoreline, we returned to the most frequent refrain of this trip: “Is this Scotland?”

Beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing!