Day 53

Sightseeing Day

Jun 28, 2013, 3:45 PM

We had a 60% chance of rain today. So when I got up and it was bright and sunny I thought we should do what we can early and maybe get in some sightseeing before the rain comes. So we got going and had breakfast out, our plan was to go into St. Ignace and see the antique car show they were supposed to be having. St. Ignace is very much like any tourist town. There are T-shirt shops, popcorn shops, gift shops, motels and restaurants galore. Put St. Ignace in the mountains and it could be Gatlinburg, put it on a boardwalk and it could be the Jersey shore, so we weren't all that impressed. We drove though, we saw a bunch of old cars here and there, but we didn't stay. We did go to the Castle Rock. We saw this on our way to the campground yesterday. It was a climb up to a lookout and you could really see Lake Huron. That was neat although I thought I was going to need a paramedic before we got to the top. So from there we looked at the sky and decided our best bet for getting something before the rain hit was going to be doing something north and/or west. 

One of the books the guy at the Visitor's Center had information on was the Tahquamenon Falls State Park. These falls boast being one of the largest falls east of the Mississippi. So that's where we went. It was only about an hours drive away. The falls were beautiful. There is a 50' drop, 200' across, and more than 50,000 gallons a second tumble over into the Tahquamenon River. The ONLY drawback were the mosquitos. They were horrible!! You couldn't stand still for a second without them swarming around like a cloud. I guess I should have thought about it myself and had a repellant with us, but just a hint to the people that put out these travel guides, a little mention to bring Off might have been nice. We might have been more in the mood to sit at the little restaurant and get a drink or lunch. Just a thought!! 

Our luck was still holding with the rain so we looked for more to do in this area. We were on the banks of Lake Superior, we'd stopped at a spot on the way to the falls to look out over the water. It was like looking out over the ocean. You could see water and that was it. There was no land in sight except for what you were standing on. It is just inconceivable a lake being that big!!  It is over 200 miles of open water.  So let's see, now I have seen Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, and Lake Superior. Just a week ago I had never seen any of the Great Lakes, this trip is so wonderful! 

We drove to White Fish Point. There is a sandy beach and a lighthouse and a Coast Guard Station. I wanted to stick my toes into Lake Superior just to say I did, but the air was a bit chilly, and i figured the water would be darn right cold so I didn't dare. There was however a beach and beautiful driftwood, so I got some photos. We checked out the Coast Guard  information on the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank 17 miles from here in 550 feet of water. I got photos of the lighthouse. All in all it was another fabulous day. Right now we are on our way home, oh and guess what, the rain finally caught up with us. It is pouring like all get out!!!!! Time to go home.