Pictured Rocks Boat Tour

We moved west and north from St Ignance to the Port of Munising on Lake Superior. After setting up, we headed into town to check out the well advertised boat tours of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. These sandstone cliffs project as high as 200' above the lake level for fifteen or twenty miles of the coast. We went in to sign up and the girl at the ticket counter made sure we were aware that it was really rough out there today. It had been a cold blustery day up to then. Morning temps were low 40's and the high was about 50, with winds out of the north. We left, but then decided it was so bright and clear that it was worth a shot. We signed up and the boat loaded at about 2:10 pm for the 3 hour ride. The boat had a capacity of about 150, but was less than half full. It was divided between the lower enclosed but not heated level and the open upper. It took about half an hour to clear the well protected harbor and get into Lake Superior, which was running a three foot chop, and another fifteen minutes heading east to get to the cliffs. As we approached the cliffs, we left the lower area and went up top. The cliffs are beautiful. Mineral laden water which seeps out of the rock and comes over the top has colored the stone in a manner to resemble murals. The day was so clear that the views were stunning. The water is deep straight down so that the boat could run very close to the cliffs in some areas. Lake Superior is the largest fresh water lake in the world by surface area, about 170 miles wide and 400 miles long, and up to 1300 feet deep. In normal winters, the edges will freeze a couple of hundred feet out, and about every 20 years, will freeze all the way across. In a chat with the captain, he said the busy season was only July 15 to Aug 15, with the shoulders starting at June 15 and wrapping up in Sept. Winter storm activity keeps vegatation from growing on the cliffs up about 25 feet and nothing grows on the real sheer spots. It was a worth while trip and the seas didn't prove to be as punishing as we were lead to believe. One little boy hurled, but fortunately it didn't start a chain reaction from other land lubbers.
Hit the 10,000 mile mark yesterday. An unusual site up here are the massive long haul trucks. The biggest ones are 38 wheelers. Nine dual wheel axles and the front steering tires. Some of the log trucks may even have more.
When we set up camp here, we originally decided on a woods site, but as we tried to set up, the biting bugs changed our minds. We moved out into a wide open site and they were more tolerable. I believe they're known for the density of the insect population at certain times.