{"id":1242,"date":"2012-07-07T02:56:04","date_gmt":"2012-07-07T02:56:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bucksurdu.com\/blog\/?p=1242"},"modified":"2012-07-07T03:03:50","modified_gmt":"2012-07-07T03:03:50","slug":"2012-vacation-days-6-and-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bucksurdu.com\/blog\/?p=1242","title":{"rendered":"2012 Vacation, Days 6 and 7"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Trail<\/a>
Trail to Chapel Falls, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Day 6 was largely a travel day. \u00a0We slept in a little and got on the road a little later than planned. \u00a0We drove seven hours (MapQuest predicted 6, Google Maps predicted 7, and the built-in GPS in Candy’s car predicted 9) to Munising, MI. \u00a0Munising is in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, on the shore of Lake Superior. \u00a0After checking into our hotel and stopping by the visitor’s center, we drove out to Chapel Falls for a four-mile hike.<\/p>\n

\"Chapel<\/a>
Chapel Falls, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The falls were quite nice, and the hike was pleasant. \u00a0One of the things we learned at the visitor’s center was that the town’s Fourth of July fireworks had to be postponed due to an electrical storm. \u00a0They were set for that night, the 5th of July, and the woman at the visitor’s center bragged that they were the best fireworks anywhere — “way better than Marquette, which is ten times our size.” \u00a0It didn’t get dark in Munising until 11:00 PM. \u00a0We staked out a piece of lawn in Munising’s Bayshore Park, played a few hands of Phase 10, and waited for them to begin. \u00a0They were, in fact, a tremendous fireworks display, which lasted a half hour. \u00a0Ten minutes after the fireworks, we had walked back to our motel and prepared for bed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Rock<\/a>
Rock formations along Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Day 7: \u00a0The reason we came to Munising was to see Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. \u00a0Pictured Rocks was signed into law by Lyndon Johnson and was the first National Lakeshore. \u00a0The rocks themselves are a light gray color, but are stained different colors from the various minerals leeching through the rocks. \u00a0Green comes from copper, for instance, and red comes from iron.<\/p>\n

\""The<\/a>
"The Grand Portal," Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lake Superior is the largest, deepest, and cleanest of the Great Lakes. \u00a0It averages 40 degrees throughout the year. \u00a0At it’s widest (at Musining), it is 62 miles wide. \u00a0Ten percent of the world’s fresh water is contained in Lake Superior. \u00a0It’s deepest point is about 26 miles north of Munising, which I think is about 1300 feet.<\/p>\n

\"Another<\/a>
Another interesting rock formations, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We took a boat cruise to see the rocks. \u00a0The cruise took about three hours, which seemed a little overly long. \u00a0You can see some of the rock formations from the various hiking paths along shore, but you really cannot get the full impact of the Pictured Rocks except by boat.<\/p>\n

\"Candy<\/a>
Candy at Miner's Falls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The favorite food in the UP is apparently pasties (pastie rhymes with nasty). \u00a0The place with the reputation for making the best pasites in the UP is Muldoon’s, in Munising. \u00a0After a tremendous lunch of pasties, we drove into the Picture Rocks National Lakeshore to see Miner’s Falls.<\/p>\n

\"Sam<\/a>
Sam near Miner's Falls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We took a hike out to Miner’s Falls. \u00a0The walk was short, perhaps 1.2 miles. \u00a0Despite walking through deep woods, there were surprisingly few bugs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The park entrance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We then drove several hours to get to Tahquamenon Falls. \u00a0These falls actually consist of the Upper Falls and five sets of falls, known collectively as the Lower Falls.<\/p>\n

\"Part<\/a>
Part of the Lower Upper Tahqamenon Falls, which is really a series of five different falls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There were signs all over near the Lower Falls warning people to stay out of the water because of swift currents and dangerous undertows. \u00a0Still there were lots of folks wading at the top of the various Lower Falls. \u00a0When the land was deeded to the State of Michigan (this is a State park), there was a stipulation that no cars could come within 3\/4 of a mile of the shorelines, so all the parking lots were far removed from the falls.<\/p>\n

\"Another<\/a>
Another set of the Lower Tahqamenon Falls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We had planned to drive from the Lower Falls to the Upper Falls. \u00a0We discovered that there was a four-mile trail from the Lower Falls area tot he Upper Falls area. \u00a0Candy and Sam weren’t interested, but Tom and I decided to walk the trail. \u00a0Candy and Sam drove around to the Upper Falls and waited for us.<\/p>\n

\"Between<\/a>
Between the Lower and Upper Tahqamenon Falls, the river was smooth, like glass<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I took this picture with the timer on the camera. \u00a0We saw little wildlife during our four-mile hike. \u00a0Though the river was clear, we saw no fish. \u00a0The trail was well marked. \u00a0Because this hike was impromptu, we didn’t have hiking shoes. \u00a0Despite the hike being mostly uphill, it was a relatively easy walk, and we enjoyed it.<\/p>\n

\"Upper<\/a>
Upper Tahqamenon Falls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We met Candy and Sam at the top of the trail and walked to the overlooks to view the Upper Falls. \u00a0They were quite impressive, as you can see.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A picture Candy created with an app on her phone, called Halftone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After a quick dinner (I had another pastie), we headed to our motel. \u00a0We watched an episode of El Fago Baca (an adventure story from Walt Disney Presents), and prepared for bed. \u00a0Tomorrow we’re off to Mackinaw Island.<\/p>\n