Whitefish Point - 10/1/2011

After a cold night, I headed up to Whitefish Point. There is a shipwreck museum there as well as a number of other buildings. It is a place for birdwatchers to gather as birds like to rest there after crossing Lake Superior.



Whitefish Point Lighthouse. The scaffolding around the tower is there because they're repainting it. The lighthouse was constructed in 1861 and celebrated 150 years of operation this year. It is still structurally sounds, but needed a coat of protective paint.



Whitefish Point Lighthouse from the beach. When I arrived at the light, is was chilly, but bearable in a light jacket. As I walked over the dune onto the beach and into the wind, it became downright cold. There was no shelter from the wind and it was piercing. I spent perhaps 20 minutes on the beach, and was glad when I returned to the shelter of the lighthouse grounds.



This is a small memorial to three of the crewmen of the Edmund Fitzgerald which sank about 15 miles from the safety of the bay on November 10th, 1975. This simple memorial has been there for as long as I can remember.



A thousand footer, the American Integrity, I believe, passes by the point. I just missed another ship, likely the Kaministiqua, which had passed about 20 minutes before I arrived.



Whitefish Point Lighthouse from the beach. Walking back to the lighthouse, I managed to catch the sun reflecting off the panes of glass in the tower.



In August of last year the tower was opened to visitors. It costs $5 to tour the tower, $4 if you buy a pass to the museum which I think was $13. A view of Whitefish Point from the tower.



A view of the grounds from the tower. The building on the left is the gift shop. The building on the right operates as a sort of Bed and Breakfast. There are 5 rooms I believe and rent out for $150/night.



Lake Superior from the tower. Barely visible as a dot is another downbound ship. I believe it to be the Michpicoten.

Snug Harbor - 9/30/11

Across from the Tahquamenon River Mouth Campground is Snug Harbor. It is the point where the Tahquamenon River empties into Whitefish Bay. Here you can see whitecaps on Whitefish Bay. The wind was blowing pretty out in the bay, but didn't seem too bad here.

Grand Marais, Michigan

Grand Marias, Michigan is at the eastern end of the Pictured Rocks. It is a small community and has a nice harbor. Apparently they won a contest sponsored by Readers Digest earlier this year which will allow them to work on the breakwater. There is 'the Pickle Barrel House' which I did not take a picture of as I didn't find it that interesting. There is a small maritime museum there, which I did not know about when I passed through and did not stop at. The lighthouse houses one of only 8 Fresnel Lenses still in use in Michigan. This is the harbor.

Sable Falls

Sable Falls is just west of Grand Marais. The total drop for the falls is about 75 feet.



A hike of about 1/2 mile takes you to the shore of Lake Superior. There are a fair number of steps and the trail eventually becomes sand.



Both on my way to the lake and back I had to wait for groups of people to move so I could get a decent picture.




Although you can see a footpath in both this picture and the previous one, they're beyond the limits of the trail. I generally don't mind of people want to jump the rail and get in the water. I wish they were considerate enough of those taking pictures to move out of frame when someone is setting up a shot.

The Log Slide

This is Au Sable Lighthouse from the Log Slide which is west of Grand Marais. It is between Sable Falls and the lighthouse.


Looking west from the top of the Log Slide.



The Log Slide get its name from it's use when the timber industry was in full swing. Logs would be brought to the top of the hill. A wooden chute led to to the lake below. Logs would be sent down the chute to be gathered below and towed by tug to a mill for processing. Because of the friction from the trees sliding down the chute, small fires would occasionally start. Men equipped with shovels would toss sand from the dune onto the fire to put it out. There used to be an interpretive sign at the top with all this information, but I haven't seen it there the last couple of times I've been there. There is, however, a small lumbering exhibit.



I was first there in the mid to late 80s. At that time, and even into the early 90s, the road was not paved. If the road wasn't sand, it sure seemed like it. The turnoff to the log slide was a little sandy road and let almost to the top of it. Today, the road is paved and there is a nice parking lot a ways back from the top of the hill which requires a short walk to get to. The slide itself is very steep. You can get to the bottom in less than a minute. Climbing back up can take much longer. Depending on your condition, it may take as long as an hour, though I've done it in as little as 20 minutes.




Grand Sable Lake, a short distance inland from Lake Superior.

Lake Superior Shore

This is a rare case of me not remembering where I took a photo. I almost always remember something about a photo. But for these, I don't recall. There was a boardwalk to the beach, but I don't really remember anything else. It was either Twelve Mile Beach or Hurricane River as I drove through the campground at both.
I believe it was the latter.


From Hurricane River there is a trail to Au Sable Lighthouse. It is 1.5 miles one way and would have taken me about 30 minutes each way, but given that it was late and I'd already done a fair bit of hiking earlier, I decided to pass. I do know how to get there now and will plan on doing that the next time I am in the area.



The sky had clouded over a bit from earlier in the day.

Miners River and Miners Beach

East of Miners Castle is Miners Beach. You can either drive there or take a the trail to the beach. The trail is part of the North Country Trail which is the longest National Scenic Trail in the country. It runs for about 4600 miles and from the east starts in New York, then Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin Minnesota and finally North Dakota. I learned about the trail somewhere around 2000 when I was looking for information on the trail that connects Munising to Grand Marais. The NCT incorporates this section of trail into it. This is Miners River from just off the trail connecting Miners Beach to Miners Castle.




Many times when I think of Lake Superior shoreline, I think of a pebble beach. This was a beautiful sand beach. I'm guessing the sand comes from the sandstone cliffs in the area. This is looking west.



Looking east from Miners Beach.



Looking west from Miners Beach from the point of sand visible one of the above images.



Miners River just before it turns and flows into Lake Superior.