Friday August 25, 2017

Leaving the 1800’s

We get up and enjoy another nice breakfast. We pre packed last night so that we can catch the 0945 ferry rather than the 1130 one. We are out the door at 0920 and at the ferry dock at 0931. No problem boarding and we are on our way back to St Ignace and our vehicle. It is a beautiful morning and that is part of the reason we wanted to get an earlier start today. Our drive toady includes about 40 miles of shoreline along Lake Michigan. This is the second Great Lake for us and later we will be by the third one which is Lake Superior. Along the way we stop to try a local food called a pastie. It is a meat filled bread with beef, pork, potatoes, carrots and onions. I learn it is pronounced PAST…EEE not PASTY. Either way it is good and very filling.

Lake Superior

We continue on and turn North off of our western trajectory towards Picture Rocks National Lakeshore. We enter the park and stop at the Au Sable Light Trail head for a 3 mile round trip to the lighthouse. Lake Superior is in front of us and the trail doesn’t stray much more than 10 to 15 feet from the shore. It is easy walking and we reach the lighthouse in no time at all. In the distance, we can see the Au Sable Sand Dunes that line part of the shore front. The water along the shore is very clear and we can see large slabs of sandstone under it.

Hmmmm

We are also walking along part of the North Country Trail, a national scenic trail that is still being worked on. It will be 4100 Miles long and extend from North Dakota to New York. Michigan will have over 1100 miles when it is completed. We return the same way to the RAV and then go to our next stop, the log slide trail.

Top of Log Slide

This short trail exhibits the logging history of the area including the dune slide area. The loggers would use the dunes to slide the logs down into the lake where they would be transported by ship. It is probably a 200 foot drop down to the shore. Next on the list is another short hike, this time to Sable Falls. It is not too far but it does involve a whole lot of steps down to the falls. My estimate is about 300 total and at the end of our day it is pretty tiring. We make it and that completes our hiking for today. It is only 3 miles to the town of Grand Marais from here.

Lake Superior Brewing Co.

We arrive on the main street and see the Lake Superior Brewing Company and it calls our name. We go inside and order a couple of beers, I get a stout and Carol gets an IPA, no wait, she breaks out of her mold and gets a stout also. We order some Whitefish Tacos and also a Whitefish Basket to share. The food is very good and the beer goes down smooth after our day of hiking. We do well to stop at the one beer and then find our way to our cabin nearby. We have a cabin type room that has an efficiency kitchen and an open bedroom in a connected area. There is a deck outside that overlooks Lake Superior and we sit and enjoy some of the early evening there. Then it is back to our room to plan tomorrow’s adventure. Sunday is supposed to rain so we may adjust our plans tomorrow to enjoy more of Picture Rocks than we had originally planned. Good night. 

Expenses                                                                                                                                         Pastie Lunch 10 USD                                                                                                            Dinner and Beer at Lake Superior Brewing 45 USD                                                     Hilltop Cabins and Motel 103.50 USD