September 2017

Only 1.5 miles ferry ride to offshore Island. Remote island formerly owned by Cleveland Cliffs Iron. Now owned by US Forest Service. Rustic camping, no cars, & bears on island.

Camped just offshore on Lake Superior in Munising, Michigan in the UP (Upper Peninsula). Record hot day of 90F so Brenda went swimming in Lake Superior. Rare to swim in this Lake!. Large amount of shipwrecks in Lake Superior. Mostly preserved due to icy cold water. Munising has Pictured Rocks Lakeshore, & glass bottom boats to see shipwrecks through.

Info on Lake Superior...
Lake Superior is not only the largest of the Great Lakes; it is the largest body of fresh water on Earth. The lake is about 160 miles (257 kilometers) wide and about 350 miles (563 km) long. It has a surface area of 31,700 square miles (82,100 square km) and water volume of 2,900 cubic miles (12,100 cubic km). The shoreline measures 2,726 miles (4,385 km), according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
How deep is Lake Superior?
The deepest point in Lake Superior is 1,300 feet (400 meters) below the surface, making a complete freeze a rarity. Lake Superior boasts extremely clear water, with an average underwater visibility of 27 feet (8.2 m). It takes almost 200 years for the lake to refill with new water.

Lake Superior water temperature
The average water temperature is 40 F (4.4 C) — lower than the other Great Lakes, which are farther south. The water temperatures during the summer months average about 55 F, but surface temperatures reached a record 68.7 F (20.4 C) in August 2010 and are affected by the amount of surface ice during the previous winter.

Didn't want to take the boat tour to see the shoreline, so took a short trip to Miner's Castle and hike to Miner's Waterfall. So we can save money and spend more time in the same rocks on Grand Island another day. Had to have some of the 'Best Pasties in the UP'. They were amazing. Small meat pies, with carrots, beef in a pastry crust. Saw a shirt that said they were considered the 'soul food of the UP'. Yoopers sure take pride in their section of the country!

So after Tahquamenon Falls decided to go to Pictured Rocks. Put in 'Eastside' Entrance. Didn't know there is no 'entrance' to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Took turn it recommended, first ran into ATVs at a stopsign, that wondered what we were doing. Then logging road w/cut logs on both sides. Then finally ruts, water and looked like a bicycle path. Directed us to take Sawmill Cut Road.... Finally ran into a local, he said you need to turn around, go back, you can't get there this way! Said a group of people from India got lost in mud hole a week earlier in rental car thanks for GPS.
On road out, saw a dogsled road that led to dogsled hotel. Snowmobile roads everywhere!

Have now been to 4 of the Great Lakes. Didn't realize until we were in Michigan that MI is home to 4 of the 5 Great Lakes.
They now have tshirts w/ Great Lakes logo everywhere, and are changing state's motto from Industrial to 'Pure Michigan' not sure what slogan is, but sounds nice LOL