Marley Makes 3: 2025.05.27 Christmas MI (Munising-Pictured Rocks)

Leaving Mackinaw City and going to Munising, Michigan to see the

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Lake Michigan

The Mackinac Bridge separates Lake Michigan from Lake Huron

Lake Huron

25.05.27

Moved to Christmas MI at the Pictured Rocks RV Park. We crossed the Mackinaw Bridge for the last time and one more toll. There were sand dunes all along the way. It was like driving on a beach in some places.

We got set up and went exploring. We went to the Munising Falls Visitor Center and got information. The trail to the falls is closed this year because there is 70 feet of damage to the trail because of a storm. We went to Wagner Falls instead. There was a beautiful boardwalk to the falls. There were huge eroded tree roots that could have trolls living under them or maybe they come alive! We went to Sand Point Beach and to a Pot Store.

Roots so big, trolls could live under them.

Sand Point Beach

Found a store to get Marley some CBD treats to help his knees...and maybe something for Al so he can tolerate his shoulder for a little longer!

25.05.28 Grand Island Overlook

We stopped at the Grand Island Overlook, walked down a tree-shaded boardwalk to a beautiful view. We wandered through downtown Munising and stopped at an Interpretive Center and Gift Store while we waited for our tour time.

Well, you know we had to put a quarter in to see what this was. It showed 3-D pictures that looked much like an old View Master.

I just found the inside of this old bank vault door fascinating.

The building itself was quite beautiful and there was a little history inside. The first bank in Munising was a tiny space next to a candy store. Payments and deposits were made through a slot in the front door. The first “real” bank building opened in 1896 with deposits of $15619.00. The sandstone building that stands today was built in the late 1890s. This building was used as the bank until 1973 when a new building was built across the street. The first money in this bank was coinage made of precious metal like gold or silver. It was difficult to carry enough coin to finance large transactions such as the purchase of large tracts of land or shiploads of lumber. Paper money was created to represent a value that the U/S/ Federal Government guaranteed. Silver or Gold Certificated could be exchanged for equal value of precious metal. Federal Reserve Notes were not secured by precious metal but rather by the promise of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Next up...the Pictured Rocks Boat Tour!

Photo Op!!!

The Pictured Rocks Boat Tour was beautiful…except the French speaking family sitting near us. Four adults and four completely unruly kids. Screeching and picking and hitting each other and the parents who seemed to be used to the chaos and ignored it all. By the time the tour was done 2 hours later, I was ready to be away from them.

Rainbow Cave

Painted Coves

On the Boat...It was actually called a catamaran.

Lovers Leap...A Native American Legend has it that Lover’s Leap gets its name from an incident when a Native American woman jumped to her death from a steep cliff overhanging the water because her lover failed to return from a trip. The water is only 2 feet deep under the arch.

The tour guide said that an Indian head can be seen in the silhouette of tis rock. Hard as I try, I can't see it. Can you?

The Grand Portal

Spray Falls-70 feet high and seen from the boat tour. The 1856 shipwreck “Superior” lies at the base of the falls in 20 feet of water.

The East Channel Light House

Chapel Rock...has a lone white pine tree perched atop its peak. Estimated to be around 250 years old, it is truly a resilient tree. Chapel Rock once had a natural archway connecting it to the mainland, but it collapsed in the 1940s — leaving the tree stranded on its pedestal.

Its thick roots still extend out from the rock formation to the main body of cliffs. This knotted bridge is now a lifeline as the tree’s main source of nutrients and water.

Chapel Cove

Caves of Many Colors

Bridal Veil Falls

Battleship Rock

CLICK BELOW to watch my video of our visit to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

We went to Muldoon's twice...we got a meat pastie to share and pie pasties twice...with ice cream! Also too many boxes of fudge...in several flavors.

Big Foot thinks Al smells good!

We saw Big Foot AGAIN!

25.05.29 Information you just want to know!

Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake on earth, covering 31,700 square miles. The Ojibwe people called it Gichigami which means the “Big Sea” or “Huge Water.” French newcomers gave it the name Lac Superieur or Upper Lake. Despite its name, Lake Superior acts more like an inland sea rather than a freshwater lake. It creates it’s own weather and climate and has an insulating effect on coastal areas.

Lake Superior is classified as “non-tidal” by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Association. Its cyclic fluctuations are not significant enough to be considered tides. However, Lake Superior does experience seiches. Seiches are like water sloshing around in a bathtub. When one side of the lake experiences a storm or change in atmospheric pressure, water levels in other areas of the lake are effected.

Lake Superior

A little history I found interesting...

A lumberjack’s Life

Tall tales of lumberjacks are many in the north woods but in reality, the logging life was not easy. The work required men to live away from their families for months at a time. They would work six days a week from sun up to sun down. Falling trees, rolling logs and ax wounds were common hazards of the job. Logging camp was rustic and rowdy—tough bosses were needed to maintain order. After an exhausting work day, me did little but eat and sleep. Saturday nights were free for games and music. On Sundays the men took their weekly bath and did laundry. Bet they smelled real good on Saturday night!

Food was very important in the logging camp. Lumberjacks needed as many as 9000 calories per day! Good meals made by a good cook went a long way toward keeping up camp morale.

Though the job was difficult and dangerous. It provided one of the few opportunities for income during the long Upper Peninsula winters.

Moving thousands of pounds of logs presented a big challenge in the days before heavy machinery was common. Ice provided the solution to the challenge. Lumberjacks would fill a large sleigh with water from the nearest creek and ice down the roads at night. The next morning, a team of horses could pull a sled piled high with logs on the ice. The need for ice to move logs initially confined logging to the winter months when icing the roads was a constant chore that lasted until the spring thaw.

The invention of bog wheels in the late 1800s made year-round logging possible. Several logs suspended by chains under the axle, could be moved without the need for ice. Big Wheels didn’t sink in muddy or thawing ground which allowed them to be used even in early spring.

We followed the Log Slide Trail

The Log Slide in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore was a wooden chute used by loggers in the past to transport logs down the tall sand dunes to Lake Superior. Loggers built a long wooden chute on the dune slope to slide logs down into Lake Superior where they could be easily floated to saw mills in Grand Marais. While the chute itself is no longer present, exhibits along the trail share stories of the logging era. Legend has it that logs sent down the tall dunes on a dry log chute would generate enough friction to cause the chute to catch fire.

Miners Falls- .6 mile hike one way. 77 Steps down to the viewing platform. A 40 foot drop.

Chapel Falls- 1.5 mile hike one way

There once was an archway connecting the rock to the mainland. The arch collapsed in the 1940s. The lone white pine on Chapel Rock is estimated to be about 250 years old.

Sable Falls- .5 mile trail. Sable Falls is a 75-foot waterfall cascading down over sandstone formations. The falls are accessible via a short trail and a 168-step staircase, offering great views from the bottom. The trail continues past the falls to a rocky beach on Lake Superior, where Sable Creek empties.