Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore stretched about 45 miles from Munising, to the west, to Grand Marais, to the east. We set out to tour as much of that stretch as we could today. One famous lighthouse, Au Sable, was only accessible by hiking, but again, Sam was not welcome so we passed. As it turned out we could see it about two miles away from the "log slide" where we did stop.
The log slide was a bit scary. It was desolate, we saw only a couple of other people during our visit, but mostly it was disconcerting just how easy it would have been to get into some serious trouble. The slide dropped 300 feet to the water and was only 500 feet in length. That was steep! I'm not sure how you can climb up loose sand that steep. Signs warned there were even steeper drop-offs that you couldn't see from above. Finally, we were warned that we would be responsible for the cost of any rescue operation to get us back up the slide. So, it was creepy, but pretty as long as you paid attention to where you walked.
Near the northern edge of the park, we saw what I think was the prettiest falls - Sable Falls. A short hike with a lot of stairs took us to the bottom of the falls. I had my tripod and with some adjustments, I was able to capture the water's flow with a long exposure. A couple of my favorites are below.
Sable Falls (pronounced - saw bull falls)
The beach in Grand Marais is sometimes referred to as "Agate Beach." Sam and I spent an hour relaxing on the shore as the gentle waves lapped the rocks at our feet while Joani hunted for that one special rock that would forever remind her of this spot.
In Grand Marais, we had to stop at the Gitchi Gumee Museum. There was shade for Sam across the street with a nice breeze, so he didn't miss us too much as we checked it out.
Gitchi Gumee: Agate and History Museum in Grand Marais, MI
The "Agate Lady" kindly pulled out of hiding her most prized specimens and told the background of their acquisition. She said this stone was found in the river as seen, highly polished from the diamond dust that flows naturally in the Jequitinhonha River in Brazil.
(The Agate Lady gave me permission to include her photo.)
This explains how diamond dust found its way into the Jequintinhonha River when diamonds were only created in Africa.
This baby is about 10" x 6" x 8" tall. (perspective is skewed in the photo with the Agate Lady.)
I appreciate seeing the "before" agate and also what you find when you cut it open.
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