Saturday, July 5, 2014

Grand Marais, Mi

My first stop in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan was at Woodland Park in Grand Marais.  I stayed here a couple of years ago and really enjoyed the area, so I thought I would try it again.  Unfortunately this trip the bugs were very bad.  I was there for 9 days and I only sat outside 2 of those days and not for long either time. 

I usually just put bug spray on and go hiking or whatever, but for some reason the bugs really got to me (physically{bites} and mentally) and I just didn’t want to do much hiking.

For regular readers of my blog this may seem like a repeat as everything I did this trip I did when I was here before!  But I did see a few different things. 

I enjoyed the walk to Sable Falls, which is part of Pictured Rocks National Seashore.  The walk from my campground was about a mile on the Lake Superior shore and then a very short walk into the woods.  The mosquitoes were so bad in the woods that I walked in quickly took a few pictures and walked back out.  They were not as bad on the shore.

I also visited Seney National Wildlife Refuge, where I saw quite a few babies.  Including some baby swans (below), baby ducks and baby Sandhill Cranes --

I only saw a few Loons this trip and they were far away.  But I did get to hear them, which is an amazing sound!

Once or twice a day, I walked 2.5+ miles to the coast guard station.  On one of my trips I saw a man pushing a bike out of the garage, then I realized it was not just a bike--

It’s a mower cycle, at least that’s what I’m calling it.  I was hoping he would be outside when I walked by on the way back because I wanted to know if it worked, but he wasn’t. 

I took a trip to the other side of Pictured Rocks where I had to go to the main overlook and get a shot of Miners Castle. I attempted a hike to Miner Falls, but the bugs chased me back to my car!!

From Grand Marais, I headed to Houghton, MI where I am staying the month of July.  By the way, there are very few mosquitoes here!!!