The Voyage to Isle Royale National Park

So I know what a LOT of you are thinking...where is Isle Royale AND how on earth does she pick her vacation spots?! Well..Isle Royale is a National Park located 50 some miles from Copper Harbor, Michigan (600 miles from home at the top of the finger that juts out into Lake Superior from the UP (Upper Peninsula for all you non-Michiganders),and is actually closer to Ontario(yes I could see it) and Minnesota than Michigan,but somehow a few hundred years ago, we screwed Canada out of it and instead gave them some other useless property from what I recall. I've put the point of my pen on this wonderful postcard I found to depict exactly where I was! As for how I decide...its an art form in itself. A huge goal I have is to visit all the states, provinces, continents, oceans, etc, and I LOVE the national parks, yep need to see all them as well! I prefer less crowded shoulder seasons, and I always look for the path off the beaten trail...not that I don't like things most folks do...I just like to take the path less traveled and see things many miss! Whenever I meet new people (or well traveled friends just back from adventures) I always get the scoop on what to see and do in their area of the world and cool things they have done....and file it away in my travel journal and brain! Then, usually in the winter when I am bored out of my mind....or while mowing the grass, I get distracted and think....hmmm...what about"x", then I go to to AAA and Barnes and Noble for Moon handbooks and start researching and making reservations! About half the enjoyment of my vacation is the research and planning. So, now you know.

Getting back to Isle Royale, after a hearty breakfast at Tamarack in Copper Harbor, I mailed out my postcards and headed down to the Isle Royale Queen IV's dock, actually it was right near my kayaking place. I looked at the 100 foot passenger ferry and thought about the 3 hour voyage across the unknown and thought about the nicknames I had read about..."the Queasy", "barf barge"....I had never been on Lake Superior,but have experienced some bad weather in Lake Huron under sail....I'm a fair weather boater. With any luck, my breakfast would move through my gastrointestinal tract in the normal manner and the water would be calm. The luggage was loaded on TOP of the vessel, I was glad I had arrived early and mine was some of the first on...if it was rough I had visions of luggage being tossed into the lake and sinking....that would certainly suck.

Shortly before 8am we were underway and

Captain Don (a super funny guy) polled all on board(maybe 75ish) to see if we would mind a detour of about 3-5 miles that would make us 15 minutes late arriving to Isle Royale. He announced just ahead was a tall ship (unfortunately not under sail...the crew was in a meeting) on its way to Duluth, Minnesota for a tall ship race of some sort. All aboard were excited at the prospect and yelled full speed ahead! We were now on "island time"! Only a few miles off shore we caught up to the Bounty west of Copper Harbor and Capt. Don interrupted their "meeting" (more likely breakfast) with a loud blast from the horn! I think a sail on a tall ship could be an adventure sometime! The following day I heard from some other visitors one had docked on Isle Royale Sunday night and allowed anyone interested on board....rats...I'm always a day late or need to leave a day early! Bummer.

For a while I continued to hang out on the deck watching Copper Harbor fade away as we motored on into the vastness of Lake Superior. It looked like it would be a fairly decent crossing small, gentle waves of maybe a foot or so. For the next 2 hours, I sat at a table with a couple in their 60's and lay my head down on the table for some well deserved shut-eye. But would wake up every so often just to make sure I wasn't missing anything. Many slept, several played cards, some read...

About 11, I had decided that I had rested enough and I had better check to see if land could be sighted yet....I had full faith in Captain Don...but somewhere deep down I think I just wanted to yell "land ho!". I chickened out....I just kept my mouth shut and impatiently kept lifting my binoculars.

After an eternity it finally came into

view! Here was my first glimpse of the lodge buildings (mine is the far left) where I was to stay as I'm not quite ready for the "full" adventure package yet. I am vowing to return someday to get the full experience and to stay in far in the back country in a tent...but first I need to get a tent and learn some additional skills (like not packing so much).

Here's the Queen (on the next day) going thru the channel to tie up at the dock in Rock Harbor.

Several park employees greeted us at the dock to tie us up, unload all the gear (70# per person max...but they never weighed it...and to think I left behind my Sibley's and water shoes because I thought it would be like Delta!), and lecture us on safety and procedures in the back country. Later I thought about slipping Capt Don a $20 and my car keys to retrieve these items and bring them the following day....but he disappeared into the woods...and I didn't want to hang around until 2:30, I had exploring to do! Wolves and moose to see, and adventures to have!

But first....a lecture from the park

rangers...these were the "real" adventurers who were in for the "full" outdoor experience. My group of outdoorsy but not at night/lodge group only had a dozen or so people and we were done rather quickly.

Then it was off to lunch and to unpack, re-organize, sign up for boat tours to far away sites on the MV Sandy, and head out into the wilderness...until dark that is!