And so we arrive in yet another state – Michigan – Hurray!
(33 now)
We found a peaceful spot by a lake (Marion Lake) in the National Forest to do kayaking and fishing for a couple of days.
On the Saturday we took a little excursion
out for a couple of hours to Bond Waterfall and found some pasties to eat on
the way. Apparently pasties (as in the
Cornish variety) are part of the culture here – yummy!
Those living in the Upper Peninsular call themselves
‘Yoopers’.
On the Sunday we travelled on to Munising on the Michigan shoreline
of Lake Superior. (Three American states
share the Superior shoreline). It wasn’t the best of weather when we arrived
and we sat in the RV watching the trees being blown by the wind and the
anchored boat being tossed about on the waves of the Lake.
28th July – Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Next day the weather front had passed through and we had a
pub lunch, sat in the sun overlooking Munising harbour – eating more pasties. 
In the afternoon we visited a couple of waterfalls on the edge of town and then went back to the harbour to board for our evening cruise of Pictured Rocks shoreline.
The shoreline stretches for nearly 40 miles and the boat trip is the best way to see the ‘Painted’ cliffs. The sandstone cliffs rise up to 200 feet in places and are stained with the colours from elements, such as copper and iron, from the water seeping out from above. There were carved sea caves, arches, sandy beaches and cascading waterfalls.
29th – 30th July – Sault Ste Marie
Our next journey took us through the Hiawatha National
Forest along route 28 which is described as the ‘most curve-less’ stretch of
road in Michigan – which means there are a lots of straight bits, the longest
stretch being 25 miles. It was this area
that inspired the H W Longfellow's poem The Song of Hiawatha (Part XXII - Departure) – “By the shore of Gichie-Gumee, by the shining Big-Sea-Water, at the doorway of his wigwam
………..."
The town of Sault Ste Marie is where the waters of Lake
Superior empty into Lake Huron via the rapids of Saint Mary River. The USA town has a sister city of the same
name in Ontario on the Canadian side of the river.
Travel between the two countries is over the International
Bridge. The bridge was opened in 1962and measures 1.9 miles with around 1.9 million vehicle crossings each year (which must keep immigration and customs busy).
Our campsite was right on the side of Saint Mary River and
we watched the freighters sail pass. On
one occasion we saw a big freighter take on an extra crew member. A tug kept pace at the side of the freighter and a man (the pilot) jumped from the small boat onto the rope ladder and climbed up without either boat changing speed.
As we were on the banks of the river Paul thought it would be rude not to go fishing, he came back with a 4lb Northern Pike. More fish for supper.
The Soo Locks are the means by which ships and boats bypass
the rapids and travel the 21 feet differential between the two Great
Lakes. The first Locks were built on the
Canadian side back in the late 1700s but were destroyed in the War of
1812. The next Soo Locks were then built
on the US side in 1853 and have been re-constructed/refurbished over the years to their present day operation, which is now fully automated.
We spent an hour one morning on the viewing platform
watching a 1000ft freighter going through one of the Locks. The 1200ft lock emptied the water in less
than 15 minutes which was very impressive.Later in the evening we did an evening dinner cruise. This took us along the shoreline of both side of the river below the rapids where there were many lovely water front houses. We then went through the locks up the upper part of the river which was more industrial, and then back down through the lock again for a close up of the rapids where there were several people out fishing in their boats. We had a lovely evening enhanced by the company of two ladies, Rita and Sandy, who we shared the table with (and a sense of humour).
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