BWCA Bliss

A few weeekends ago my family went on a quick trip to the BWCA.  It had been a while since the whole fam had been up there so we decided it was time to make it happen this year.  We were blessed with an absolutely glorious weekend that fell between two crappy weekends.  We were very thankful for the great weather.  Shoulder season trips in the north woods can be magic or misery depending upon what good man above decides to throw down on you.  This trip to Dissappointment Lake and beyond was one of magic.

Caving Cornfeed

This past saturday, I spent the day in a hole in the ground with my good buddies BK, Josh, Lynn their fam.  Every year the Minnesota Speleological Survey hosts an annual get together at Forestville/Mystery Cave state park.  BK and Josh had been encouraging me to join them for a few years and I was finally able to.  Good times were had!

BK with nice clean caving attire.

The Jump.  A few of us chickened out on advancing through here.  You need to dive across the 60ft deep crevice and land on the small ledge of dirt under the overhang on the left side of the picture.   It was early in the day.  Had this been later, I think we would have went for it.  

Inside the Dragon's Jaw

Ferrying across the lake after Dragons Jaw.  

Josh tasting some bat terds that were stuck on Art's sleeve.  

Janelle works her way through The Formation Route

Josh in the Formation Passage

BK behind Blue Lake

You end up a little dirty

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

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. . .