Michigan and Isle Royale National Park - August 2013

August 9 – We woke early to get packed for our early boat trip.  First we drove to The Pines where we had a hearty breakfast.  Then to the parking area at the little harbor of Copper Harbor where we left our car with big suitcase in the trunk.  We boarded our boat, the Isle Royale Queen IV, for the three and a half hour journey to the Isle Royale National Park.  We started out with cool temperatures, sunshine, and little wind.  About half way to the island we encountered gusty winds and rain but it wasn’t too rough.  When we docked at Rock Harbor about 11:30 am the sun was back out but the air was fresh and breezy.  We checked into our room at the Rock Harbor Lodge and soon were ready to explore the area.

We hiked a short distance to Tobin Harbor and the seaplane dock but no seaplanes were there.  We hiked back to the lodge and had a meal of pizza.  After lunch we hiked the Stoll Memorial Trail for about two miles.  We saw beautiful flowers, exotic mushrooms, lush forests, and beautiful views of Lake Superior.  We also heard loons, saw a bald eagle, a red squirrel, and a snowshoe hare.  No moose or wolves but then we didn’t expect to.  Finally it was getting time for dinner and since the nicer restaurant closes at 7:30 pm we ate early.  I had a nice tasting lake trout with wild rice and local Michigan KBC (Keweenaw Brewing Company) amber ale.  

August 10 – I woke at 3:30 am with the thought that I heard someone say the northern lights may be visible tonight so I walked out on our balcony but could see nothing but billions of stars.  I did see one meteorite in the short time I looked at the sky.  Other than that we slept like a log and slept in late.

After breakfast we puttered around taking it easy.  We did a short hike on our own looking at more abundant flowers.  We also took a hike with a park ranger to the American Dock and heard the story of the ship SS America that used to visit the islands three times a week starting in 1903.  There were several private resorts on the island then before the island became a national park in 1940.  The ship sank on a reef near the island in 1928 but no lives were lost except a dog that was tied to a railing and couldn’t be saved.

We caught our 2:45 pm boat back to Copper Harbor arriving about 6:30 pm.  We were soon in our car and driving to Houghton, Michigan, where we had reservations for the night.  Our plans to see more of Michigan were changed when we received news of my Mother’s death.  Tomorrow we plan to drive through Wisconsin back to Minneapolis and fly home Monday from there.