Monday, July 30, 2012

UP Motorcycle Trip - Tahq Falls, Whitefish Pt, Dunes

Next on the trip agenda was to head further east and check out Tahquamenon Falls.  It's a 50 ft drop and about 3-4 times as wide.  This thing dumps a lot of water in a hurry.  After that it was off to the lighthouse and beautiful beach at Whitefish Point.  17 miles offshore from here, the Edmund Fitzgerald and her crew rest on the bottom of the mighty lake.  

After some beach strolling and ice cream eating it was time to make our way towards Grand Marais and the Grand Sable dunes area.  Our original route was to take a series of gravel back roads.  As we began this excursion we found ourselves getting deeper and deeper in sand and logging traffic to the point where it was no longer fun, even on an "adventure bike".  After a brief talk with a logger who informed us that the road got much worse up ahead, we turned around and headed back to the tar route.  

The tar detour got us into Grand Marais an hour later than we had planned but still plenty of time to hit the Lake Superior Brewery for some Pizza before heading out to see the dunes.  

The Grand Sable dunes stretch for 5 miles and drop 300 ft to the shore of Lk Superior.  Around the turn of the century, trees were harvested on top and the logs were slid down the face of the dunes to barges waiting down below.  I wonder if the workers at the bottom got any hazard pay compensation?  









That's some beautiful water


It doesn't look that bad here but it got a lot worse in short order. 

Au Sable Falls

Grand Sable Dunes

More fun than the sand road





Wednesday, July 25, 2012

UP Motorcycle Trip - Pictured Rocks

A couple of weeks ago, Kerry and I took a 3 day trip across Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  Though Kerry has been across the UP countless times, neither of us has spent any time at some of the breathtaking sites the eastern UP has to offer.  We dropped off our dog, Juno, with Kerry's parents in Ontonagon, loaded up the Vstrom with our ultralight camping gear and headed off to find a campsite near Munising.  

Fully laden with camp gear and clothing for three days

Bishop Baraga, the snowshoe priest

Pulling into Bay Furnace campground



Our vessel for the sunset cruise

Lighthouse on Grand Island



Chapel Rock


Miners Castle



Next, off to Tahquamenon Falls and Whitefish Point. . .