Our apartment is literally a block from the lake so Jim went down first thing in the morning to capture the sunrise on the lake. It is amazingly beautiful!
We have a packed day planned today. We started with breakfast at our Airbnb. The kitchen was fully functional, but the stove and utensils looked like they’d been used a lot. We made scrambled eggs with cheese, pan-fried chicken sausages, and toast. It was a hearty breakfast.
We had a long list of things to do, but soon realized there weren’t enough hours in the day. We started our day at the Chapel Falls trailhead in Pictured Rock National Park. The trail to Chapel Falls was stunning!
Tall hardwood trees created a beautiful shade, and the sunlight filtering through created a magical atmosphere. The undergrowth was lush and green, creating a verdant landscape. The trail was easy to hike.
At the falls, we saw it cascading down the rocks. It was breathtaking. We turned around and hiked back to the trailhead.
From the same trailhead, we took the Mosquito Falls trail. This trail was much more challenging. There were lots of tree roots on the trail that made it slippery, and some muddy spots. It also had lots of ups and downs, making it more difficult. It was supposed to be 1.1 miles, but when we got to about .85 miles, Jean, Clay, and I felt it was too challenging. We turned around, but Jim made it to the top and captured beautiful footage of the falls.
We were back at the trailhead around 1 pm. We were all hungry, but we wanted to see Benny the Beard Fisher troll that we were told was nearby. So, we decided to have our picnic lunch when we got there. It was an hour-long drive that was uneventful. Clay had directions for the Benny exhibit, but when he said to turn, I didn’t see a road. We literally passed it. We turned around and then saw the sign.
It was after 2 pm, and we were all pretty hungry, so we set up our picnic lunch at the tables by the river. It was a nice spot with shade and a picturesque view. We finished off the chicken salad I had made to start the trip.
After lunch, we embarked on a quick walk to visit the Benny the Beard Fisher statue, which was conveniently located right by the river.
The statue was positioned near the riverbank, and the sun was behind it, creating a sun flare on the image so to get rid of that glare we had to hold up our hands over the phone to get rid of it. We didn’t spend a lot of time there since we had to return to Munising by 4 pm so we had enough time to clean up before boarding our Sunset cruise of Pictured Rocks.
Jean and I went to the cruise tour office to get in line at 5 pm for our 6 pm cruise. We thought we would be one of the first in line. We were surprised to see that there were probably at least 25 people ahead of us. The set up for the queue provided comfortable chairs for those of us in line. And people there were eager to engage in conversation. The people across from us told us about Miners Castle point and how pretty it is. So we made a note to be sure to go there the next day.
The Pictured Rocks cruise was wonderful! We sat on the upper deck on the right side, and sitting right on the edge gave me an unobstructed view for taking photos—and I took tons! The tour departs directly across from Grand Island, a secluded 13,500-acre woodland island just half a mile off the coast of Munising, Michigan, managed as a national recreation area within Hiawatha National Forest.
The first highlight we passed was a neat historic lighthouse. As we cruised up the coastline, the guide shared the names of the various rock formations and explained how they continue to change over time due to natural rockfalls and collapses.
The views were breathtaking, featuring dramatic arches and trees somehow growing right out of the cliff walls. The turnaround point of the tour was Spray Falls.
On the way back, the sunset light made the views even more magnificent. As dusk settled and the air turned chilly, we moved downstairs to watch from the back of the boat, which offered a great perspective of its own. It was such an incredible tour!