RV Adventures

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

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Between races in Duluth, Minnesota and Gladstone, Michigan, we stopped in Munising, Michigan to check out one of the nation’s four national lakeshores: Pictured Rocks. The national lakeshore on Lake Superior includes around 15 miles of cliffs, 100 miles of trails, and numerous waterfalls and white sand beaches along its 42 mile length.

Trail to Munising Falls
Munising Falls

We allowed three days to explore and did so on land and in the water. First, we drove the length of the park, from Munising to Grand Marais and stopped at several waterfalls and viewpoints.

Pickle Barrel House in Grand Marais
Miners Castle
High above Miners Castle

One of the coolest stops was the log slide. In the past, loggers would use the sand slide chute to move logs down to Lake Superior where they could be easily floated to saw mills in Grand Marais. Now it’s an adventurous three minutes down and a tough climb back up. We just checked it out from the top.

Steep Log Slide
Where’s the bottom?
Be careful, Steve!

The best way to really see Pictured Rocks is from the water. You can take a tour boat or kayak up to the cliffs and into the caves. Which one do you think we chose?

One of many arches
We’re going to paddle through that arch?

There are several kayak companies in Munising and we chose to go with Pictured Rocks Kayaking because they have specially designed boats that allow you to launch the kayak from the boat. This allowed us to see a portion of the lakeshore from the boat and put in exactly where the good stuff starts, meaning every bit of time in the kayak is right where you want to be. 

Cool custom boats
Waiting to launch

Our crew was awesome and shared interesting information about the area’s history, the geology, and the mythology of the area. The paddling was easy since it was a calm, clear, warm, perfect day. 

Happy paddlers
Interesting rock formations
Cove near Miners Beach

The highlight was probably paddling through the caves and seeing how the cliffs were being formed and eroded right before our eyes. We got a video of this. 

Kayaking through caves

And yes, the cliffs continue to break off and change all the time. This was displayed in one area where large rocks had sheered off the cliffs over the winter and had been moved back against the mainland by ice during a winter storm. We were told to paddle clear of this area to be safe.

Recent landslide into Lake Superior

Our time at Pictured Rocks was short but definitely a highly recommended stop if you are in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Two Weeks, Two Marathons

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Our travels through the upper Midwest continue and Steve keeps racking up the races. During the past two weeks he’s finished two more marathons in his 29th and 30th states, and they couldn’t have been different experiences.

First we rolled into Duluth, Minnesota to participate in the highly-acclaimed Grandma’s Marathon. This race is arguably one of the city’s biggest events with over 9,000 runners in the marathon, and we were in the middle of it all. We snagged a camping spot in the parking lot of the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. Arriving early allowed us park with electrical hookups right on the race course and within walking distance of all of the festivities. The parking lot was quite a party on race weekend! 

Camping at the DECC
Checking out the finish line
Our home in downtown Duluth

We were also within a short walk of packet pickup and the expo and just across the street from live music at the lake on Friday night and all day Saturday. Steve took a train from our doorstep right to the start line and finished the 26.2 mile race less than 1/2 mile from our camper’s door. And he finished with a smile on his face in just over four hours! All in all a great weekend.

Expo photo ops
Yes, he can run that far!

While hanging out in Duluth we also made the drive up Minnesota’s North Shore. Along the shores of beautiful Lake Superior the drive goes all the way to the Canadian border in about 150 miles.

Starting the North Shore journey

We just went about 50 miles north and were still able to enjoy some of the highlights including the freighter docks in Two Harbors, Split Rock Lighthouse, and Gooseberry Falls. Steve had seen these attractions when he was a boy and enjoyed comparing this experience to his boyhood memories. 

Lighthouse at Two Harbors
Loading ore in Two Harbors
Split Rock Lighthouse
Split Rock up close
Split Rock in the distance
Gooseberry Falls
Gooseberry Falls
At a cool Gooseberry Falls
Gooseberry Falls

Duluth is a nice city with a beautiful waterfront that includes a lighthouse and the famed lift bridge. We spent several evenings out there watching the large ore freighters pass through the bridge and head out to other Great Lakes Ports. Even Bob and Mia enjoyed Duluth!

Tug at the Lift Bridge
Lighthouse Duluth Waterfront
Bob watching for freighters at the bridge
Pretty Mia loves her trailer

Race day was super fun. Lots of energy and Steve enjoyed the run along the coast of Lake Superior. There were a lot of people cheering and tons of energy along the way. Grandma’s Marathon lived up to its reputation.

Almost done!
Michigan is done!

We hit the road when the race was over and traveled almost 300 miles into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We made a cool stop in between races, which will be highlighted in its own blog post, but our primary target was Gladstone, Michigan for the MISH marathon.

Yes, Steve did two 26.2 races seven days apart! There wasn’t much to Gladstone except the nice city campground and a lovely concert in the park on Thursday evening. Our main focus was the race. He and about 96 other runners took off to a gorgeous sunrise over Lake Michigan and ran along some coastline before turning inland for 13.1 miles. He made it back to the start/finish line in just over four and a half hours. I also completed the 10K race and got third place in my age group! It was a small event without much of a crowd or bells and whistles, but it was still fun to meet other runners and enjoy the beautiful weather.

We’re both ready for a little R&R, which we are already doing. No more races this summer, but certainly more adventures ahead!

Next Up: Wisconsin Dells with Friends

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You can’t do a tour of Wisconsin and miss the Dells. Much like Branson or other highly touristed areas, the Dells are classic. Think waterparks, mini-golf, and Ripley’s Believe It or Not. We weren’t really interested in any of those attractions, but we did have a fun time with some great friends. 

Near the Wisconsin Dells are two beautiful state parks. We started at Mirror Lake on a warm, rainy morning with a kayak in an area called “the narrows.” In a limestone cut through the lake we paddled through downed trees and moss-covered water. 

Shortly after our paddle we were joined by our Prescott neighbors, Dave and Peggy Armstrong. This is the third summer the Armstrongs have planned to cross paths with us during our summer travels. They met us in Montana two years ago and last year joined us in Homer, Alaska. This year it was Wisconsin! 

We started our joint adventures with a morning of fishing for the guys and hiking for Peggy and I at Devils Lake State Park. Devils Lake is known for its unique rock formations high above the lake. Devil’s Door and Balanced Rock made getting lost on the way up worth it. We enjoyed our hike and the guys even caught a few fish!

After our morning at Devils Lake and lunch at a Wisconsin staple, Culver’s, we explored a site I’ve been wanting to see for many years: Circus World. Yes, I’ve harbored a secret love for the circus since I was very young, and Circus World just rekindled that passion! Located in Baraboo, the winter home of the Ringling Brothers Circus, Circus World boasts the world’s largest collection of restored circus wagons, circus posters, and even more memorabilia than you can imagine. After exploring the exhibits which are housed in the Ringling’s old elephant barns, we enjoyed a mini-circus under the big top. 

This is the last year Ringling’s elephants will be part of the show, as the new version of the circus, which is debuting this fall, will be animal-free. I took that as a sign that I needed to fulfill my dreams of being one of the girls who gets to ride the elephants in the circus. The only thing that would have made it better was to be able to wear the pretty costume while atop the elephant!

It was a thrill of a lifetime and I learned something: I’m allergic to elephants! A little itching and hives was so worth the experience.

Our kayak at Mirror Lake was so awesome that we returned with Peggy and Dave to try it again. Peggy and I kayaked into the narrows on a clear and sunny morning while the boys tried their hand at fishing. We had a successful paddle and the guys caught nothing.

You can’t come to the Dells and not do the classic Dells cruise, which has been operating in some form since the mid 1850s. The four of us took the recommended upper dells cruise which lasted about two hours and took us up the Wisconsin River to view geologic features that have defined this area for ages.

We stopped at the Witches Gulch and walked through the narrow passages that have been carved by wind and water over time.

Our second stop was Stand Rock, a giant sandstone pillar that’s home to the famous jumping dogs. They used to have children do the jumping but that’s not allowed anymore. 

We finished our stay in the Dells with a visit to the Ringling Mansion and adjacent brewery. Steve was there for the brewery and Peggy, Dave, and I did the mansion tour, learning about the life as a Ringling. 

Our time with Peggy and Dave was short but we packed a lot in, including some great meals! Thanks for joining us guys!

From the Dells we drove a little less than 150 miles to Chippewa Falls. Here we visited the original home of Leinenkugel Brewery. Established in 1867 by Jacob Leinenkugel, the brewery is still run by members of the family. We enjoyed our tour through the brew house and bottling facility almost as much as we enjoyed our tasting. 

We’ve been on the go and will soon have another location to tell you about. Hint: Steve’s running another marathon or two.