My husband and I recently were able to check another item off of our joint bucket list!
We both have long wanted to visit Isle Royale National Park and our chance came this
year. We signed up for a tour to the park, sponsored by the Natural Resources Foundation
of Wisconsin.
Our tour officially commenced on Sept. 2nd. We worked our way up to Michigan's
Upper Peninsula several days ahead of time. We wanted to explore the U.P,
including Michigan Tech University and the Keweenaw Peninsula.
Believe it or not, I was quick to find a quilt shop in the Houghton, MI area. I
found heaps of batiks at the Portage Quilt House, just a few miles down the road
from Michigan Tech.
Photo below: Wood 'n Spoon, Mohawk, MI
I knew that I might find some handspun yarn at this
store.
Sure enough, yarn was found and purchased at the Wood 'n Spoon.
Photo below (taken after I returned home) shows a hat-in-progress.
Now, for the heart of the story! Our Isle Royale tour group
met up for the first time on Monday night, Sept. 2nd.
Once there, we were informed that our planned Tuesday
sailing to Isle Royale had to be delayed a day . . . this,
due to gale warnings on Lake Superior.
The Ranger III, a National Park Service boat, was rescheduled
to sail on Sept. 4th, a spectacularly beautiful day! The Ranger III
sails from Houghton, MI to Rock Harbor, MI several times a week
during the warmer months. The trip takes 6 hours.
The boat is shown as it's being loaded prior to our Sept. 4th trip.
After a slow ride through the no-wake Portage Lake Ship Canal,
we reach Lake Superior. The lighthouse shown below is at
McClain State Park,
Arriving at Rock Harbor (Isle Royale).
We quickly fell in love with the beauty of Isle Royale National Park.
The following photos show some of the scenery in the park.
A magical place, that's for sure!
All text and images ©️Suzanne Myers Otto
