Day 17

I couldn't believe it when I check my phone clock in the morning.  We'd all slept for almost 12 hours. It was bright and sunny when we woke up but we were all completely covered by our sleeping bags in darkness.  All of us squinted when we came out like when you first leave a movie theater in the middle of the day.

We had no plans today other than the boat tour so I figured we would have a slow morning then head out to explore.  I piled up the rest of our firewood in the pit to warm us all up and handed everyone a steaming cup of hot chocolate.  I made a skyscraper of french toast with scrambled eggs and fruit.  We were all very anxious to try our fresh Michigan maple syrup!  Paired with the fresh strawberries from the same farm, it was one of the best meals we've ever had camping.  Of course it might be because it was already after 10am by the time we actually ate!

While the kids tried to make burnt stick shapes in the fire, I wrote about the day before and tried to stay warm by the fire.  We read the last chapter of our book and worked on journals for a little while, then the kids decided to play camp ball.  The Louisville Slugger museum stop was the best investment with those mini bats!

By noon, we were finally heading out to explore the town and hit some trails.  The kids had grabbed junior ranger books the day before so as we drove around they worked on finishing those activities as well.  Our first stop was the town of Munising to walk around and find Laney a heavier jacket.  I introduced the kids to thrift stores at Gramma Grumps shop.  They couldn't believe they could buy books for a dollar.  Brayden found a Red Sox jersey he wanted for three dollars. And he doesn't even like the Red Sox.  We did end up finding Laney a jacket for eight dollars that was pink and brand new!

Next we went just about a mile past town to find a couple waterfalls I'd read about.  I suppose this was a locals only kind of trail as it was barely marked.  There were two different trails for us to hike to - M Falls and O Falls.  Laney and Brayden picked M and Ryan picked both of course so we headed to see M Falls first then see if we had enough time to make it to O Falls.  The hike to the falls was absolutely beautiful.  The trees towered above as we hiked around a cliff.

Then all of a sudden the trees opened and we found the falls!  The kids ran down to be behind them as that is pretty rare for most of the waterfalls we make it to.

Pretty quickly, we turned around and headed back to the fork to find O Falls.  We made sure people knew we'd been there!

This hike was just as pretty but with much steeper drop offs so Brayden was a little nervous. We made it to falls within 10 minutes and the kids were drawn to a pile of sand at the bottom.














While they played I explored the area and took more photos.  I was putting my camera away wishing I'd brought my monopod when I thought to just use a natural monopod right next to me - a rock!  So while the kids played with the sand rocks, I played with my camera around on all the rocks.

Thanks to Miss Gracie for sharing her spot with me for these pictures!

We hiked back out then headed to the local cafe for dinner and ice cream before the cruise.  We were trying to be as warm as possible before we needed to stand in line for the good seats on the boat.  Brayden claims to have had the best portabello sandwich ever at the Falling Rock Cafe in Munising in case you're ever here!

They had some pretty delicious ice cream too!  The three girls all decided on Yooper Snowslide and Brayden picked Mackinaw Island Mint.  The girls definitely chose the best one!

We stopped by the store to grab our extra layers and blanket.  Ryan wanted to stop at the store for a slingshot she'd been eyeing, but people were already lineing up so we also headed that way.  We all bundled up and headed to wait for the coveted spots at the top right of the boat.  We would be outside unless we couldn't stand the cold anymore so I brought along some Hot Hands and a blanket.  These Floridians just can't get used to these windy 50 degree days on the lake!

The cruise was absolutely beautiful.  The rocks were towering above us with beautiful colors and shapes as we slowly powered by.  The natural caves created from the water were everywhere in all sizes.

The arches were a definite favorite!

And check out this tree!

It's only kept alive by the roots that hang across to the mainland!

The best part for all the kids was when the captain took the boat into a cove just about as far as he could go.  We were surrounded on three sides by the towering rocks and the kids were spinning their heads around in amazement.  I'd already said it many times on this trip, but a made a big point to say right then, "Don't you ever forget this!"

This was our view going in!

And this was the view behind us after we were in the cave!

After about 20 more minutes we turned around and headed back to the small city of Munising.  The kids were pretty cold by now so we opted to head downstairs for warmth without sacrificing the view of the sunset over Grand Island.  I checked my phone as the sun was setting and it said 9:44!  No wonder we'd been sleeping in!

We had a quick and quiet ride back to the campsite and we all rushed to our sleeping bags with our Hot Hands.  We talked a little bit about our favorite parts and our big next day when we finally get to see Grammie before we all fell fast asleep way down in our sleeping bags.

Day 16

Shortly before we went to bed I checked the radar.  It's so nice to have a campground with wifi!  Weak and tempermental wifi, but still a connection!  There was a 0% chance of rain with clouds all night.  What a nice relief!  I checked the radar just to make sure and there was a massive storm heading directly our way from Minnesota.  I didn't know which one to believe as I'd seen a lot of information about how Lake Superior can really mess with the weather.  I prepared for the worst and got right to sleep as I knew I'd be up if there were a storm.

I woke up about every 2 hours to the quiet clanging of the bouy bells and a little wind in the trees.  I checked the radar each time and it looked like it would be hitting us about 3:30 or 4am and our rain percentage had risen to 90%.  I woke up at exactly 3:30am to chech the radar again and amazingly the lake had completely broken apart the storm and there was nothing left. Zero percent chance of rain indeed. Thank you, Lake Superior!  I fell back asleep huddled in my sleeping bag (my feet were still cold!) and didn't wake again the sun had risen.

The kids were all still asleep so I headed to warm up in the showers.  They were still snoring so I headed down some short trails to see what the mountains looked like for any photos.  As I peeked out the trail directly in front of us, I saw some lovely fog tucked in between the mountains so I headed to another trail to see if I could get a better view.

By the time I reached the end of the trail by the fort, the fog had all burned off.  The view is still pretty amazing though.  I stopped along the way at the parts on the outside of the fort we'd missed including their livestock, garden, and cemetery.

There still weren't any kids up when I got back so I decided to wake them up with a warm cup of hot chocolate.  Once they were warm I took them to their last shower for a few days as we were heading to a primitive site next.  They enjoyed that warm (and free!) water as much as I did.  I whipped up some oatmeal as they were packing their sleeping bags and we were all packed up within about 20 minutes.

All along I keep our stops secret as I don't want to get the kids' hopes up in case the place is closed, gone, or too far out of the way.  Today I told them as we were leaving that we were headed to a playground about an hour away.  They all said, "Mmm-hmm, okay." as if we were heading to the same old playground at home.  Little did they know it would be the biggest playground they'd ever been to!  We stopped at the Chutes and Ladders Playground in Houghton, MI for a very long break from the road.

Ryan and I played for the first 15 minutes by ourselves as the other 2 had made one unfortunate bad choices the last 2 days.  They walked up on the playground knowing they were not going to get to play on it at all as well as sit there are watch us have all the fun.  After about 5 or 6 times down the slides, I walked up and gave the last chance speech that this would not happen again and let them go.  I'm not sure I even heard what they said as they raced away with their shoes flying off behind them.

See those tiny people waving up there?

Here is the view from the top.

And of the adorable little town across the river.

After everyone eventually getting injured, we ended up back on the road to our next spot.  We were headed today to the Pictured Rocks National Seashore for 2 days to camp in the Hiawatha National Forest.  The drive was spectacular mostly along Lake Superior the whole way and through small little towns.

We first stopped at the Visitor Center to get some maps and get the kids' park passports stamped.  The ranger told us where to go to book a boat tour of the rocks so we headed there next.  Brayden opted for the 7:30 sunset rock cruise so we will definitely be headed in search of sweatshirts for everyone tomorrow!

We went set up our spot and start dinner as it was getting close to dinner time.  Everything takes at least double the amount of time when you are camping so planning ahead is definitely the key. Brayden grabbed us a wheelbarrow full of firewood from the camp host and we stayed put for the night.  We had such a nice fire it was definitely time for s'mores!

The kids worked on journals and we read all but the last chapter of our book as we'd be meeting up with Grammie (and losing a kid a day).

The air was already bitter cold for us Floridians and wet with fog.  We all slid down in our sleeping bags with socks and hats on tonight!  I have no connection or signal at all at our site tonight, so I put everything away in case of rain. There were lots of campers all around us, but I didn't hear a sound.

Quote of the Day: "I'm just saying, you're never going to get us to leave here." by Ryan at the Chutes & Ladders playground.

Day 15

Well, of course it rained but not especially hard and all and by the time I went to bed it had basically stopped.  I forgot to tell my brain to wake up for the sunrise so we all ended up sleeping in until well past 7.  How nice!!  We tried to call Dave as I had a very tiny signal, but he couldn't talk and by the time he could our signal was gone.  The kids were ready to move on to the next park, so we packed up quickly and were on our way.  

Our first stop was a copper mine as this area was a major source for copper in the early 19th century. We ended up having a private tour as we timed it just right to be the only ones ready.  The kids thought the tour guide reminded them of Dad because he had a beard and a baseball hat on.  And when he introduced himself - his name was Dave!

 Our first stop on the tour was downstairs in the building to learn what copper looks like.  We felt the difference between the basalt and basalt with copper.  It was SO heavy!

Next we put on our hard hats and were ready to head to the mine shaft.  The kids were so excited when they saw we get to ride in this!  It's definitely not related to the mining, but still fun!

 
Inside we learned about how copper was mined, the life of a miner, and so much history.  Our guide was awesome!  As in all of our cave & mine tours before, there was a point were the guide lit the candle just like they would have had back when they were first mining.  He blew it out to show us how it would look if their candle went out.  Laney just refused to let it be dark!  She was so scared and since she had control with her light on her helmet she just kept turning it on.  Finally I had her come be next to me wrapped in my arms and she allowed it.  She still had to have her hand on the light button though!

At the end of the shaft we ended up at this beautiful overlook.  It was actually to show us below where the plain basalt would be dumped, but the view was great too!

The kids learned a bunch and enjoyed the tour so much, they each tipped our guide a little bit and we got on our way.  And just look what we found?!  Fresh strawberries and local maple syrup?! Yes please!

Just as the gps said we were about 30 minutes away, we entered what seemed like a forest with dense, tree-lined roads full of curves.  My favorite!  All the kids were reminding Laney to keep her head up as she was playing her ds.  I just turned up the music and drove.  I kept smiling thinking I was going to get to drive it tomorrow back out too! We drove into Fort Wilkins State Park which is tucked on a little peninsula that juts out into Lake Superior.  Our campsite was nice with a view and walkway down to the water.  It was sprinkling (of course) while we were setting up, so we headed to the camp store for quarters for laundry.  Three minutes later when we walked out it was sunny so we turned around and headed to the fort next door.

There was so much for the kids to do and learn about here!  This fort was built as a result of the copper mining boom to keep the peace between the miners and the Chippewa nation who had sold the land to the U.S.  They learned about life as a married enlisted family, how the officers and their families lived, how the troops were all fed, what practicing medicine was like, as well as what people did without electricity, running water, email, etc.

We heard some small rapids nearby so the kids enjoyed a few minutes of "pooh sticks" with pinecones and sticks.

What is it that attracts kids to canons so much?

Next up? We had to go find some Michigan ice cream.  The flavors were tasty, but nothing to scream about so we're going to try again.  My kids are not only playground, campground bathroom, and science museum snobs, now their ice cream snobs too?!

On our way back from the small town nearby, we stopped at the lighthouse overlook for a view.  The pictures today have been taken with my phone so I'm sure it looks like nothing spectacular, but it was very pretty.  This lighthouse you can only get to by boat for a tour.

The kids would rather throw rocks today than go see a lighthouse anyway.

Once we got back to the campsite, I started on the wonderful task of laundry.  We settled in by the fire for potato soup for dinner and one of our neighbors graciously brought us a dutch oven with the rest of their peach cobbler inside - delicious!  Brayden says it's not as good as Mrs. Darcy's though! 

Once I got a load of laundry finished, we read a couple chapters by the fire and one more snuggled in bed.  The kids need their rest tonight as apparently they have been working on a big show to be performed at the playground in the morning.  Laney said it's a little bit dangerous so I'm not sure how much I'm going to like this one!

Day 14

I'm not sure why my dreams when I'm camping are so vivid and I remember them so easily.  Might be because I kinda sleep with one eye open like a mama bear.  Might be because sometimes they're especially creepy.  Last night's was up there for creepy for sure.

Ever since we'd been in Wisconsin, the ticks have been seeking us out and trying to come along on our trip.  Each child has encountered at least 2 stuck to them and they've been crawling all over the tent looking for a way in it seems.  Each night just like my mom did when I was a kid, I check all three of the kids for ticks. So of course I dream of ticks.  And not just one or two.  In my dream I had 8 lovingly attached to my back.

So then I have to start figuring out how in the world to get them off.  I have tweezers but do I trust my kids to get over their eww factor and get them?  Or do I go to the campground office young lady and embarassingly ask her if she'd get them?  Or do some kind of pretzel move and attempt myself? Rub my whole back against a brick wall and hope for the best?  Turns out in my dreams the campground has a magical spray that makes them detach and all is better.  If that already doesn't exist I'm totally inventing it.

With the clouds and the rain earlier in the day, it was especially cold last night so we slept with the windows up.  Being in the woods with the windows up makes the inside of the tent a lot darker than normal so we all were able to sleep in a bit.  I finally got up around 6 to go to the office for wifi to be able to send pictures to be printed for the kids to work on their journals.

Once I got back, Brayden was up and the girls weren't too far behind him so we went ahead and packed up to catch the 9am ferry.  If we'd have hurried just a little bit we would have been able to catch the 8am ferry, but we just got there a little early and ate breakfast in the car while we waited.

Once we were loaded up I handed Ryan the camera and she began shooting anything and everything. She even got a picture including me which barely ever happens!

Here is the little town of Bayfield.  I just love all the boats!  I don't imagine you could live here without one.

Next stop was the Apostle Island National Seashore Visitors Center so the kids could stamp the park passports.  We also stayed for a movie about the history of the islands.  I wished we had been early enough a few days before to stop by here before our stay, but I was nervous about the ferry situation.  We also stopped at the Northwoods Visitors Center for a little while to check out all the exhibits.

We learned a lot about the history of the area as well as the changes logging and modern life has caused.  There was a great display on how the Ojibwe life has changed over the generations.  I read a quote that I really liked about how people should think not just about their children's or grandchildren's generations but the seventh generation when it comes to environmental issues.  The kids loved the interactive displays and I loved the education and message!

Laney checks out a picture of girl scouts camping almost 100 years ago.

Next we picked up the photos and stopped for a big stock up on breads and fresh fruits.  We were running very low!  Tonight we will feast!  Once we got back on the road it wasn't very long until we made it to our next state!

We stopped in at the welcome center to check out local events and must sees then got back on the road to our next stop - Porcupine Mountains State Park.  We were still to be camping on Lake Superior just a couple hours to the east and directly on the water.  The kids were itching to play on the rocks the second they saw them!

Since the day was still clear we decided to head to a couple of must-see lookout spots to check out the views.  We were all pretty tired, but I was nervous about the clouds rolling into the area in the morning so we left the rocks for these gorgeous views.  These are from the Escarpment Lookout over the Lake in the Clouds.

And these are from the lookout tower at the mountain summit.

By the time we got back to the campsite we were all starving so I cooked while the kids played on the rocks, promising not to get wet.  That didn't work out to well.

Then they started a camp ball homerun derby.  Poor Laney didn't fair to well so she just joined me on the rocks for these pictures.  As you can see it looks like there might be rain in our future so I brought everything in for the night and we headed to the tent in an attempt to stay dry.