Pictured Rocks - Munising, MI

Pictured Rocks, Munising, MI

We parked our RV at the Whispering Valley Campground in Rapid River on Friday afternoon. This is a beautiful campground on the south side of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Saturday we drove north in our car to Munising to view the Pictured Rocks and then do some exploring.  Munising is located on the south side of Lake Superior.


Once in Munising we parked on a street near the marina and walked to Binsfeld Bayshore Park where it was evident that there was a big event taking place today.  We found ourselves right in the middle of Pictured Rocks day!  The cruiseline was offering free cruises to the beautiful rock formations for all Yoopers!  Yoopers are the brave folks who live in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, connected to the Lower Peninsula by the Mackinac Bridge.  We drove to the U.P. via Wisconsin, which was a beautiful drive.

I used the term "brave" for the Yoopers, as the land here is very rugged.  Few cities, mostly two-lane roads, miles and miles of untouched forests, and an occasional rustic campground.  We were unable to get a reservation in one of the campgrounds near Municing.  We hear those start taking reservations in October for the following summer.

Such an exciting day is in the forecast for Munising!  Booths are set up with all kinds of local foods, drinks, and memorabilia for sale.

We are here for the cruise and wait in line to board the catamaran.  There are no reserved seats and we are hoping to get an outdoor location on the second level.  We did get that location and were in a prime position for taking pictures.
The day started out with mist, overcast skies with temps in the 60s, and light winds.
Within an hour the sun came out and we were able to get some beautiful pictures as seen below.

The landscape around Munising

Beautiful Lake Superior

The rocks are sandstone and the "pictures" are created by mineral deposits from the water.  We enjoyed seeing all of this natural beauty and these are the pictures that turned out with the best colors.

Old East Channel Lighthouse

After the cruise we noticed that the celebration on shore was in full swing.  People were out enjoying a live band, a clown for the kiddos, and the many vendors.

We walked a short distance to our car and left our jackets, then had lunch at The Navigator restaurant.  The food was delicious and from our table we had a view of the harbor.

While in the area we drove a few blocks to see the Horseshoe waterfall.


There are other waterfalls in the area which would be better to visit.  We chose this one because it was nearby.

It was around 2:30pm and we decided to drive to Marquette.  It would be about a 45 minute drive.  We had thought about riding bikes tomorrow in Marquette and decided to check out the trails before making the trip with the bikes.  Pic on the right shows a portion of the bike trail we were considering along Lake Superior.
The wind picked up considerably after we finished the cruise.  My guess is that winds were sustained at 22 or more with gusts to 40+.  There were whitecaps on Lake Superior as we drove around town on Lakeshore Blvd.  The people at the welcome center highly recommended that we visit Presque Isle Park, which is free to the public.

 This is what our drive looked like through Presque Isle Park.  Beautiful trees, playgrounds, and a few small beach areas.  It was recommended that we not miss the black rocks located at the very tip of this park.  We found these lava-formed rock formations and parked to investigate.  While walking around we encountered four different wedding parties, complete with photographers, taking wedding pics!

Black Rocks - a lava formation

 On the left is a pic of the bride's maids of one of the wedding parties.  Immediately upon seeing this I was reminded of the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou" and expected the lovely ladies to start singing "Go to Sleep Little Baby" at any moment.

At Presque Isle Park in Marquette

After we left the park we drove around town briefly and then began our trip back to Rapid River.  Fun day making memories in the U. P.!

Old Abe State Trail - Chippewa Falls to Cobban Bridge (WI)

Mom and Bambi 

The state of Wisconsin defrays much of the expense for maintaining their trails by charging usage fees.  The fees are $5 per person per day or $25 per year.  I have mixed feelings about this system but it puts the costs on the users like us which I understand.  This allows some monies to come in from out-of-staters rather than putting all the burden on the Wisconsin state tax payers and donors.  This is similar to turnpike fees.

At the beginning of our ride starting at Chippewa Falls, we have a hedge full of white flowers of which I'm not sure the proper name.  Someone will know.

After a short ride from the parking lot, we arrive at the beginning of the "Old Abe State Trail."  The trail was actually named after a pet bald eagle.  In the 1860's a local Indian had captured a bald eagle  and made it his pet. Later he sold the eagle to a tavern owner at Jim Falls, which is located on this trail.  From there the tavern owner sold the eagle to volunteer Wisconsin troops fighting in the Civil War.  The troops used the eagle as a mascot.  Since Wisconsin is in the north, the name "Old Abe" seemed reasonable.

A couple of miles down the trail we arrive at a unique trail bridge that spans the Wissota Lake.

Debbie notices that we aren't wearing our helmets which is always a good idea.  I convince her that today we'll be okay - and we can proceed forward.  I'm not sure she was fully convinced.

Jumping off of this bridge is against the rules, (see the sign).  I have a feeling there have been a few rule breakers in times past.  Not me though.  It looked to be about 30 feet up and a several hundred yard swim to shore.





The doe and fawn allowed Debbie to get this shot and the captioned shot introducing the blog before they decided to retreat.  She was approximately 25 feet from the pair while taking this picture.  Occasionally, the trails grant such moments of nature.

Much of the trail goes right beside the Chippewa River.

Wildflowers are always something to stop and enjoy while on our rides.




The nearby water helps these plants thrive.







We like to see mile markers along the way.  We ride about 10 miles per hour unless we take a lot a pictures.  This allows us to plan ahead.







Notice the bird sticking its head out to check us out.  In the bird houses were mostly swallows but we did see a large variety of other bird types on the trail.  Yellow finches, Baltimore orioles, red-winged blackbirds, and bluebirds to name a few.





Wisconsin is known for its dairies.  The trail goes through dairy country.  There was a cheese store nearby but we didn't realize it until after the ride.  Maybe next time.

Some of the fields were just starting to grow the corn.  Some dairies grow corn just to feed the dairy cattle.

We passed a unique cemetery along the way.  Someone put a lot of time in grooming this one.








The trail surface is a big part of whether we enjoy the ride or not.  The Old Abe trail is all paved with asphalt and is extremely smooth.  As a result we rode 29 miles rather than the initially planned 17 miles.

The weather was ideal.  Temps were in the 60's and 70's and the trail had plenty of shade.

We passed AMPI (American Milk Producers Inc.) at Jim Falls.  We also got a snack at the local gas station. 

Birds weren't the only wildlife checking us out.  This turtle also wanted to see what we were up to.

The scenery was truly something to remember.

This small bridge overlooks a larger bridge on the left.  The large bridge was our turnaround point.





This is the Cobban Bridge.  It is 14.5 miles away from our car.  Time to head back.

Lunchtime was about 1:30 pm in Chippawa Falls.

We chose Lucy's Deli downtown.  If you get a chance, try their Morning Glory muffin.

Tomorrow we head towards the upper peninsula of Michigan.  Thanks, Chippewa Falls for the good memories.