After crossing over the Mackinaw 5 mile bridge, we entered the Upper Peninsula or as the locals call it the U.P.
A 3 hour drive brought us to our remote campsite at Bay Furnance in the Hiawatha National Forest. We quickly found our primitive site (no hook ups) and settled in. The skies were once again overcast with rain expected in the evening, so we walked over to the shores of Lake Superior which were within the campgrounds. We stumbled across an interpretive 1/8 mile trail to the ruins of a blast furnace where pig iron was made between 1870 and 1877. It is one of the last remaining structures of its kind in the U.P. From this location were were also able to view Grand Island NP which is seen below.
The doggies enjoyed the walk in the cool air but it was short lived as the rain began so we headed back to the RV and called it a night.....excited to explore in the morning!
First stop the Pictured Rocks along the shore of Lake Superior. These sandstone cliffs stretch for about 15 miles along the lake and the most colorful portions begins at Miner's Beach. The name Pictured Rocks comes from streaks of mineral stain that decorate the face of the weathered sandstone. The stunning colors occur when groundwater oozes out of the cracks and trickles down the rock face. Iron (red, orange) Copper (blue, green) Manganese (brown and black) and limonite (white) are among the most common color producing minerals. The best views of the cliffs is from the water. We had hoped to take kayaks out but Lake Superior is more like the ocean than a lake and the waters were too rough to take Oliver out. The area offers boat tours as well, but we decided to take a short hike to Miner's beach where we could view the cliffs from the beach.
Here we see Miner's Castle which is one of the most famous landmarks along the Pictured Rocks shoreline and the only cliff area in the park accessible by foot.
A short easy hike in a lush environment brought us to one of the prettiest beaches I have ever seen.
Oliver quickly jumped in and rode the waves. He has now swam in Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior!
We spent about an hour exploring the area and just soaking in the amazing views. We have been in awe of the crystal clear aquamarine color of the lakes. No wonder the state motto is Pure Michigan. We hiked back up to the visitor center and got an overview of the area from a camp ranger on areas to explore. We hopped back in the RV and traveled to some of the highlighted areas but only briefly viewed them as daylight was fading. Pictured below is The Log Slide Overlook which sits 175 feet above Lake Superior atop the Grand Sable Dunes. It is so named for a wooden chute that early loggers used to move logs from the top of the dunes down to the lake to be loaded onto boats for transport. Brave tourists run down the now sand chute in just seconds to reach the beach. Several warnings are posted about injuries occurring and the return climb can take hours. We were content to just watch, although Oliver wanted to give it a try.
Au Sable Light House on Grand Marquis
Hurricane Falls which is a beautiful water fall that feeds right into the lake causing riptide at the entrance.
We called it a day and headed back to a new campsite at Au Train Beach. This was mainly for tent camping with one RV site available which was amazing! We had our own yard and the dogs certainly enjoyed the space! We caught up on laundry and such and called it a night in anticipation for our 14 hour drive out west in the morning. Destination: Theodore Roosevelt NP!! We loved our visit to Michigan. The locals were very friendly. We did find it interesting that most people we spoke with were from Michigan and they were surprised to have out of state visitors.
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