Michigan's Upper Peninsula + Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Hi all, Dianne here.  We left Duluth harbor and made our way along Lake Superior's southern shore to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 

We had to giggle as we passed this sign during our drive to Munising.  (For the uninitiated, "Yoopers" is a term to describe residents of the Upper Peninsula, more commonly referred to as the U.P.)

Our base of operations here is Munising Tourist Camp RV Park, a very pretty park administered by the Town of Munising, with several beautiful sites right on the shore of Lake Superior.  By the time we made our reservations a few months ago, all the lakeside sites were booked.  

Our site is grassy, open, with lots of space and a view through the trees of Lake Superior, so we're not complaining!

One of the best things about this campground is the easy access to walk the dogs along the lake shore. 


 You can't walk along the Lake Superior shore without eventually becoming obsessed with all the smooth, pretty rocks of every color.  

Most folks seek out the elusive agates, but I just like the different colors and textures of the rocks.  

It is addictive!


We arrived on a gray, chilly day and were greeted with rain on our first full day in Munising.  The only thing we accomplished was to pick up our general delivery mail at the post office.  I'm including a photo of the post office for my Pendleton, Indiana friends and former neighbors.  

Does it look familiar??  It is pretty much identical, even on the inside.  No WPA mural, though.

We stopped on our way home at Muldoon's Pastie shop to sample this local delicacy.  Yum!  

The next day dawned bright and sunny (although cool, in the 50s), so we decided to drive to Grand Marais and take a short hike on the way back.  Grand Marais has a pretty harbor and quaint homes.  We stopped for a coffee and then headed back toward Munising.  

On the way, we stopped to take the short hike to Sable Falls.  

Our calves are still reminding us of the steep stairway that we took down to the falls and then back up.  

Some of the wildlife we've seen so far include a pair of sandhill cranes and this deer.  We're still looking for a moose!




Today we took the very popular Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore cruise.  

Once again, I took so many photos that I'm including a link to a 
slide show for the die-hards among you who wish to see them all.  Here is just a sampling:

"Indian Head."

"Chapel Rock"

"East Channel Lighthouse"

Just a pretty one!

Copper staining on rock cliff:

To see the entire slide show of photos from our boat trip, here's a link:


Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Lake Superior

Once again I'm borrowing someone else's pet for our pet photo of the day.  We met this very nice man and his beautiful irish wolfhound here at the Munising RV park.  One of the largest dogs we've ever seen!