Written by Kim
We took the Mackinaw Bridge to head further northwest to the upper peninsula in MI. Driving over the bridge we had Lake Huron on one side and Lake Michigan on the other. It was a clear drive of about 2 1/2 hours to get to our next destination, Munising, MI. It was an interesting drive along Lake Michigan which had dunes on part of the shoreline then headed north.
We visited Miner’s Falls prior to our cruise. There was a short 0.6 mile hike to the falls. It was nice to get some steps in and explore the beautiful nature. The air is so clean up here.
We also visited Castle Rock a rock formation that was previously an arch but washed away about 80 years ago.
We learned about the sandstone shoreline cliffs then made a picnic lunch.
Our next stop was a cruise on Lake Superior. Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface and the third largest freshwater lake by volume, holding 10% of the world’s surface fresh water. Our tour guide told us you could fit all the water of the other Great Lakes by including Lake Erie’s water 3 times to fill Lake Superior. He also told us that the water of Lake Superior would cover the surface of the continental US with 5 feet of water. Wow just wow!
Along the shoreline are Pictured Rocks, sometimes called Painted Rocks. Pictured Rocks derives its name from the 13 miles of colorful sandstonr cliffs northeast of Munising. The cliffs reach up to 200 feet above lake level. They have been naturally sculptured into a variety of shallow caves, arches, and formations resembling castle turrets and human profiles
As we drive around the Great lakes I was wondering what the difference between a lake and sea are. The major differences between a lake and a sea are;
• A lake is enclosed on all sides by land and does not connect to a larger water body like an ocean, while a sea connects to an ocean.
• A sea is much larger and deeper than a lake
• A lake is either natural or artificial, while a sea occurs naturally
• A sea contains only salty water, while a lake can contain either salty or freshwater
There are 2 things you find all over around here. Sasquatch and pasties /ˈpæstiː/ which are like an empanada but bigger. Pastry filled with various stuffings. The traditional one is ground beef, onion, carrots and potatoes but they have chicken, veggie and sweet ones like apple, etc. We tried a traditional one that probably was about a pound! It was a bit bland but good. Similar to meat pies we had in Australia.
We stayed in a little town called Munising, MI. The population is 2,500. As you can imagine, the lake views were beautiful but there was not much happening. This is the view from the back patio of our hotel.
Cell service is pretty spotty up here. You really only have service if you’re in a larger town. At our hotel we relied on wi-fi to stay connected which is probably good forcing us to talk to each other. 🤪😂. We are having a good time and getting into the rhythm of moving and traveling. Today we leave Michigan going across Wisconsin to Duluth, MN. Until then…..
