Before we went down the town for breakfast we checked our suitcases at the bell desk so they could tag the bags and have them sent down to the dock. We said we’d be on the 9.30am boat but asked if there was any chance they could get the bags on the 9am – the girl repled, only of the horse feels like it! What a great place 😂
For breakfast we tried the Pancake House which has a real 1950s diner vibe, I passed on the pancakes but enjoyed my smashed Avocado toast.
We strolled up to the point again one more time before heading to the dock to catch the ferry. While we waited a broad Australian voice said – “My boy tells me you’re Australian?” . Yesterday we’d chatted with interest to the young bloke who ran the bike rental place, because his father is Australian. Typcially of a teenager he couldn’t remember what part of Sydney his Dad was from. So it was a nice coincidence to run into young Harrison and his Dad Rodney who were waiting to catch the ferry over to St Ignace too. It turned out Rodney was from Gosford but had lived on Mackinac Island for 17 years, after he’d met and married a girl who worked at one of the hotels. He was telling us how he really loves the winters on the island – when the Mackinac Straits freeze over they can ride their snowmobiles across to St Ignace!!
The ferry ride back was breezy and cool and when we arrived at the dock both the luggage and the car were waiting for us. A very smooth transfer indeed. Our first stop for the day was just up the road, The Castle Rock. It’s a high bluff that looks out over Lake Huron and the island. The climb up the 220 steps was an energetic start to the morning but the view was nice.
At the bottom we saw our very first Paul Bunyan and Babe statues. Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack in American folklore.In urban legends and tales Bunyan is described as a lumberjack of gigantic stature and size with titanic power and strength. In American folklore he and his blue Ox named Babe are said to be responsible for the creation of several American landscapes, landmarks and natural wonders.[ For example they are said to have created the 10,000 lakes of Minnesota by their footprints and Bunyan is said to have created the Grand Canyon by pulling his ax behind him! There are statues of them scattered all over the North woods areas of the USA and I’m sure we’ll see some more of them.
We left St Ignace and took Scenic Highway 2 that runs along the north shore of lake Michigan for several miles. It’s a quiet area that looks like it’s fallen on sad times – we passed many old motel’s that were abandoned and desintigrating. yet, there are still some businesses that are thriving on the summer vacation market. We stopped briefly at the Cut River bridge, a striking cantilever bridge that spans the Cut River just before it flows into lake Michigan
About an hour further along we stopped in at Seney National Wildlife Refuge. The visitor centre was manned by enthusiastic volunteers who encouraged us to watch the short video about the work done her to promote and protect the local wildlife. Neil had an interesting conversation with one volunteer who responded with pleasure when Neil told him we were Australian. The guy said he really liked Australias gun laws, because there were too many people getting shot in the USA!
From the Visior centre we drove the 7 mile loop through the refuge looking for wildlife, but all we saw was a snake, some trumper swans and some ducks .
We had another half hour drive further north to bring us to the town of Grand Marais and our first look at the final Great lake of this trip – Lake Superior. It was pretty chilly when we hopped out of the car to buy some drinks, fruit and cheese for our picnic by the lake.
After lunch we stopped in at the visitor centre for the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, an area of land bordering the lake that is managed by the National park Service. It protects the spectacular sandstone cliffs that run along the shoreline. We’d be seeing more of the cliffs later in the day. We drove along the pretty wooded road through the parkland and made one stop at the Log Slide Overlook. A short walk from the parking lot past historic logging equipment leads to the Log Slide area on top of the dunes.
Here logs were sent down the tall dunes on a dry log chute to the waiting ships below for transport to ports further down the lakes.
We had another hour drive to bring us finally to the town of Munising where we are spending the night. The Beach Inn Motel is right on the lake with a lovely lawn out the back for relaxing on.
We asked the desk clerk for suggestions for dinner and he directed us to the Logpatch restaurant, but suggested we might find it busy. We went for an early dinner as we had to be ready for our evening cruise at 6.30, but even at 5pm the Logpacth was packed. We got the last empty table by the window and enjoyed fresh lake whitefish, soup and salad.
The highlight of the day was our Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Cruise
Pictured Rocks derives its name from the 15 miles of colorful sandstone cliffs northeast of Munising. The cliffs reach up to 200 feet above lake level. They have been naturally sculptured into a variety of shallow caves, arches, and formations resembling castle turrets and human profiles.
There was a big crowd already waiting when we arrived at the dock and we missed out on an open deck seat, but as it turns out I think we did better with our front row , inside seats. it was much warmer down there and we had a great view!
The cruise went up the coast on a 34 mile round trip, passing some striking scenery along the way.
The sunset coming back was lovely too.
Back at the hotel, we’ve had to do some rearranging of our luggage. Tomorrow we catch the seapland to Isle Royale National Park for 2 nights and we can’t take our big suitcases. I don;t think we’ll have any WiFi on the island so the next post may not be up for a few days.