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| Cathy and Me |
Our seemingly annual RV trip with Cathy and JA.
Monday Sept 23
This year we are exploring the South Shore of Lake Superior. Cathy had this fantasy of doing a circumnavigation of the lake, until she realized just how far that is. It could easily take a month, or more! Then we thought we’d visit 4 or 5 different places on the south shore, but that was still a lot. So we chose 2 places to visit in a week.
Our first stop is the Apostle Islands. It was about a 4.5 hour drive from the cities, not too bad. I’d never heard of it, but I think it might be semi-famous. Lots of islands and lighthouses.
We pulled into our campground around 3:10, at almost the exact some time as Cathy and JA. It’s a nice campground. We have full hookups for the first time in a while. We haven’t done anything yet except eat dinner (Cathy made fish tacos, very good) and sit around and talk. We stayed outside chatting until almost 7 pm, until it got too cold. Tomorrow we’re going on a cruise to visit some of the islands and learn more about the area. We’re getting some beautiful weather for this trip. No rain, cold at night (40’s and 50’s), 60’s and 70’s during the day.
Tuesday Sept 24
It got pretty cold last night. I was glad I had long pj pants! It was 39F when I got up at 5:30.
In the morning I ran 3 miles around this very hilly campground. Then I took a shower and before I knew it, it was time to feed the dogs, eat lunch and bike into town. We were going on a boat tour of the Apostle Islands. It left at noon and we needed to get there a little early to be able to get a seat outside on the boat.
We also had to figure out how to get to town on our bikes. It was only a little over a mile, but confusing. We had to get on the main highway for a little while but it had a broad shoulder so it wasn’t too bad. There was supposed to be a bike/walking trail but we couldn’t find it and ended up just using the streets of the town. It was downhill all the way there.
Finally we found the dock where the boat was tied up, and just in time. There were still some seats on top upstairs too. Lucky us!
It was a beautiful day, calm and sunny and not even very chilly. It reached 70 by the end of the tour. I needed my layers, and sometimes my hood, but it’s the end of September in northern Wisconsin on Lake Superior for heaven’s sake!
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| Lighthouse |
The Apostle Islands were an important source of sandstone before steel was invented so the town of Ashland was a major port before Duluth and the rise of steel. So there are a bunch of lighthouses on the islands. Each island has its own personality. They are almost all part of a National Lakeshore Park, but there are a few private homes left here and there. There’s lots of wildlife, including bears. We saw quite a few bald eagles on the tour.
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| Sea Caves Devil's Island |
We also saw the sea caves on Devil’s island. They were pretty cool! Most of the islands have a rocky side that faces the prevailing winds. The rocks erode and are pushed down the island to the lee side where there is a sandy beach.
The tour was very informative and it was just enjoyable being out on the water in the sun. I hope I didn’t get my face sunburned! It was really sunny.
The only downside was riding our bikes back to the campground after the cruise. Downhill all the way there meant UPHILL all the way back! Some parts were really steep too. I didn’t get off my bike and walk, but I sure wanted to sometimes!
Wednesday Sept 25
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| On the Ferry to Madeline Island |
Today we took the ferry over to Madeline Island. We brought our bikes which was lots of fun. It is SO hilly though riding to Bayfield and back! Thank goodness the island itself is pretty flat.
I have a nice bike, a hybrid, but nice. JA has a nice mountain bike. Lee has his old Cannondale that he had rebuilt last year. But Cathy is riding a 35 year old 10 speed cruiser so the hills were just a killer for her. Plus she doesn’t ride that much and we ended up doing almost 20 miles total, which is a lot if you’re not used to it.
The ferry is a short ride, only 25 minutes at most. It was an easy bike ride out to the state park on the island. it’s not a big park. We went to the overlook, explored the campground and the beach and that was about it. You could take an RV on the ferry and stay on the island if you wanted. Maybe next year!
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| View From Madeline Island Across the Lake |
We rode back into town and ate lunch at a place called the Beach Club. Checked out the little museum, which had a lot of information about the Native Americans that used to live in this area. Then it was time to catch the ferry and go back.
We tried to take a less steep route back to the campground, but they’re all pretty bad. I did walk my bike up one hill, but I think it was mostly because I was tired.
Tomorrow it’s off to Porcupine Mountain in Michigan.
Thursday Sept 26
Another crazy hilly run, 613 ft of elevation gain in 4 miles. Very tiring!
Then we drove for about 30 minutes to Interstate Falls for a very short hike (a third of a mile each way). Even Heather could handle it, although I did have to carry her up a few short steep hills. The falls were very nice, not huge but very pretty. And the leaves are starting to turn here. Some reds and yellows here and there.
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| Interstate Falls, WI |
Then we drove the rest of the way to Porcupine Mountain, about an hour. We crossed the state line into Michigan and changed time zones too, although I don’t think I’ll bother to adjust unless we’re going somewhere. The cell phone reception was very sparse, even non existent in spots. Lee’s phone decided that our destination was up a rural road only a few minutes away but I was pretty sure that wasn’t right. Mine had us going to the Visitor’s Center at the park so we followed my phone until Lee’s phone could get reception again.
We’re in Union Bay Campground in the state park. It’s nice, but we’re back to an electricity only campsite, no sewer or water. We filled our water tank and if we are careful we should be okay for 2 days.
There are all sorts of signs warning about bears here. No sign yet, but I’m apprehensive. I have no desire to confront a bear on a run or a hike, or while taking 3 little dogs to go potty at night!
Friday Sept 27
Everyone else wanted to go on a hike but I did not. So Lee took Sophie and I stayed at the campsite with the old lady dogs, Harper and Heather. We lazed around most of the morning. But around 10:30 I started to get restless and decided to go for a short bike ride. Lake of the Clouds is only 7 miles away, maybe I could bike there?
Well! Seven miles uphill as it turned out. I went around 5 miles, forced myself to keep going to the top of a steep rise and then turned around. It took me half as long to get back as it did to ride out. Down one of those long hills I actually hit 30 mph! It was kind of fun and kind of terrifying. At speeds like that my bike starts to shake a little and gets harder to control. I was definitely scanning ahead for any hidden bumps or gravel! But I was fine.
I got back to the campsite, fed the dogs and myself and settled down to relax. I did a lot of crocheting and a little reading too.
Before too long the rest of the crew had returned. They had driven up to Lake of the Clouds and done a hike from there. Sophie had a ball and wasn’t at all tired.
We all took at easy in the afternoon. Late in the day I decided to take the truck up to Lake of the Clouds to see the view. I’m glad I turned around at 5 miles on the bike ride. The road flattened out until right before the parking lot but then it got REALLY steep! I would have been just trashed. And it was very narrow too, no shoulder at all.
The walk to the lookout from the parking lot is very short, only 300 yards, but straight uphill. The view was beautiful though. Every day the leaves are turning more and more. The lake itself was way down in a valley. It was all very pretty!
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| Lake of the Clouds |
Saturday Sept 28
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| Lake Superior |
In the morning I went for a run, 5 miles along the shore of Lake Superior. I took a lot of pictures because it was just so pretty. And because it was mostly flat I was able to actually run instead of shuffling along, gasping for air!
Because we don’t have sewer access in the RV I used the camp showers. I’m not worried about using up the water, but I don’t want to fill up the grey water tank. We’re leaving tomorrow so as long as we continue to be careful we should be ok.
There were chair lift rides at the local ski resort so we decided to do that next. Wow what a view! We could see for miles out across the lake. So pretty! The sun was very bright and it was warm. It’s a very small resort, just one lift, about 10 different runs. 2 green, 2 blue and the rest black. The thing is, it’s probably bitterly cold, not unlike skiing at Bretton Woods. And it’s far away and we’re retired from downhill anyway.
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| Porcupine Mountain Ski Lift View |
The rest of the day we just lazed around. I took Sophie for an afternoon walk. We went to see the boat ramp, the historic marker, the places where you can access the lake from the campground. Its cooler this afternoon.
And that’s a wrap for RVing in 2024. When we get home it will be time to haul the boat, winterize the RV, and get ready for a Minnesota winter. Maybe this year we’ll actually have one!
