May 20 thru 25, 2024, Munising, MI

Since rain was in the forecast, we broke camp early. The first few drops landed as we finished emptying our tanks. That might have been our earliest departure ever at 7:30am. What was especially nice was how still it was - not a hint of breeze, as can be seen in the lake pics below, and nice conditions for our 186-mile drive to Munising (we visited Munising once before in June of 2018).



Another benefit to the early start was critter sightings. The road had very little traffic, other than us, so we saw a wild turkey, a deer, a momma bear and her cub, a bald eagle (very close to the road at eye level), and a huge heron. They were all elusive enough that pictures were not possible but it made the drive even more memorable.

When we reached Munising the wind was still dead calm on Lake Superior. Our site (number 35) in Munising Tourist Park Campground had a nice view of the water.


With our early arrival, Joani had plenty of time to roam the shoreline hunting agates. A little breeze came along with a light sprinkling before ending the day with a beautiful sunset. 


Several days we had rain which was to be expected this early in the season. Since we were staying for 6 nights we were happy to see a mix of weather. Especially when the light rain was illuminated by the sun creating a beautiful rainbow.




After the rain, we were treated to some awesome cloud drama.


We awoke one morning to some thick fog. Joani opted for the shoreline of Bay Furnace Park (for a second time) for more rock hounding.


I picked up a few interesting rocks but mostly I snapped pictures. It was cool enough that these dragonflies stayed put as I walked by. They were sizable - I would estimate their wingspan at about 4 inches. You have to zoom in to appreciate their vivid colors.

We did not take the cruise along the Pictured Rocks Lakeshore this time. We hiked again to Munising Falls. I thought, with the recent rains, it would have more volume but looking back at pictures from 6 years ago it looked very similar.


Miners Castle Rock looks almost as picturesque from the overlook as it does from the lake level on the cruise.


We were able to hike to Miners Fall, something new to us this trip. The day was perfect with dappled sunshine on huge collections of colorful wildflowers in bloom.


Miners Falls was, hands down, our favorite falls within the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Park. I tried to capture the water movement with a long exposure which I thought worked well.



I wanted a closeup of the tiny blue flowers. Unfortunately, I did not review the picture while we were there. Later, I found I had missed focus. I should have used a tripod.


This was our second time in Munising and while some things were familiar, there were some new things as well and we would not mind staying here again. I certainly recommend the "Yooper Burger" and Onion Rings at Foggy's Steakhouse and Lounge.

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