Grand Marais, Sault Ste. Marie, Alpena, Lakeport and Grand Haven

Hello from Woodland Park Campground in Grand Marais, MI. The best part of this campground is the access right to the beach, especially if you are a rock hound!

We found SO many cool rocks!! We really don't know that much about all the different kinds but we met this super nice couple from Muskegon  that turned us on to an app to identify rocks (of course there would be an app for that!). We found several agates, lots of epidotes (they are the pretty green ones), mudstones, quartz, and unakites (also pretty green and pink ones). 

As suggested by Mom and Dad we went to Sable Falls...

What a great spot! The hike to the falls is pretty short but with 168 steps down. Well worth it to see these falls! What Mom and Dad didn't tell us was what a great hike to the dunes and visitors center from the falls there was. Maybe because it was about 3 miles long but it had just gorgeous views from the dunes and a mushroom extravaganza! We sure thought of you Linsey!

There were just so many mushrooms! I can only imagine how incredible it would be to see this when all the fall colors are out. Many maple and beech trees would explode with reds and yellows here. It's such a fun contrast to be in the lush woods and then break out into the dunes.

The colors in the water below were so amazing, the pictures don't do it justice. We didn't hike all the way to the bottom because as Dave's shirt from the Grand Canyon says "down is optional, up is mandatory" and it's a long way back up from there!

Back into the woods to hike back home to a well deserved meal of hamburgers and corn on the Blackstone by Dave. Yummy and sorry if you're hungry as I made this picture so big, kinda like the burger!😃

On to Sault Ste. Marie and the Soo Locks. What an impressive engineering feat! Watching the ships come through from the observation deck was pretty cool.

We had fun walking town and they have a great used book store here. Got 7 books for $23! We didn't eat at the Mexican restaurant but I loved their sign as much as I love guacamole! We couldn't pass up the Crepe place because Dave wanted an espresso and then they had gluten free crepes! Oh my, so much for dinner plans but so yummy...turkey with tomato, goat cheese, spinach and pesto!

It's a quirky little town, the home of Lake Superior State and Big Foot, apparently!

 

We went to the tower of history, where the views from the top were amazing. From this "tallest structure in the UP" you got a great view of the bridge to Canada, all of Sault Ste. Marie and hydropower plant.

On to Alpena and Camper's Cove campground. We had a fantastic water front site right on the point. We had great weather so took advantage of it and washed Phoebe and the truck. Nice to sit and relax after all that work and enjoy the view.

 

It was so cute to see all these ducks lined up in the row...there's a joke in there somewhere! 😄

 

On to Lakeport state park where the beach was another "rock hounders" dream.  We picked up lots of pretty rocks but no wifi so the app didn't work to tell us what they were. We enjoyed touring the east side of the state but have to say in the end we are partial to our side, west is best!

We finished our summer trip by staying at Grand Haven state park. We had incredible weather but it was too short of a stay. Busy with doctor's, dentist's and vet appointments but not enough time with family and friends. Such a beautiful place we call home, even if just for a few days a year. Good bye for now as we're off again to begin the fall trip. Thanks for following us on our blog!