Doug works hard to create a route that averages 70 degrees and avoids inclement weather whenever possible (i.e. we avoid monsoon season in Arizona and hurricane season in Florida) but when you live in an RV and spend most of our time outdoors, you’re bound to see some interesting weather and it’s often the day before the storm – the day of warning – that’s the most dramatic!
After a quiet day in Taquamenon Falls State Park, we had another peaceful morning at Grand Marais Falls.
There are places on this earth that seem to float between our world and some magical dimension – but I can hear the snickers now as I tell you that you can find one of those enchanted landscapes in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, specifically at our afternoon stop at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Note that our pictures will not do it justice.
We fit in a little beach time for Bailey before sunset and planned our longest hike for the next day.
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Lake Superior is so vast it must be seen to be believed. What started as an overcast day hike along the lakeshore turned into large waves pummeling the shoreline as clouds began to collect and swirl overhead. It was a scene reminiscent of any cliffside overlook along the Pacific Ocean. Pockets of fall-colored trees swayed, but clung fast to the layered rocks that held them and the lake turned shades of dusty blue, emerald green, and turquoise.
The water was as pretty as any we’ve seen, including those glacial-fed beauties in the Canadian Rockies!
After witnessing this kind of weather, it is not surprising that eroding sandstone in the area (some over 500,000 million years old) has created sculptural works like Chapel Rock in addition to other intriguing caves and coves.
For nature nerds like me, here are some Lake Superior stats:
- Lake Superior is 360 miles wide (the distance from Indianapolis to Philadelphia) and 160 miles long (the distance from Ann Arbor to Columbus)
- Its surface area is 31,700 sq. miles which is about he size of South Carolina
- It has an average depth of 483 feet, which is taller than the Statue of Liberty.
- Its average temperature is 40 degrees Fahrenheit
- It holds approximately 3 quadrillion (3,000,000,000,000,000) gallons of water, which is enough to cover North and South America with a foot of water!
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We had another full day in the park and did a hike to Miners Castle followed by a hike to the Munsing Falls waterfall. Both were well worth visiting.
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If Lake Superior isn’t on your travel list, it’s time to update your list. This hike, with or without the weather, is fantastic. It’s mostly flat and well-marked. You can create a loop or do an out and back so you can stop whenever you want. Your biggest challenge will be that you’ll want to see what’s just around the next corner and the next one after that! I’m confident you’ll find your own enchantment at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore!
