WOLF!

I awoke quite early on the 1st of August as I would have a long drive (600 miles) home and I wanted to get to bed early as I had to be to work at 8am Monday. What a reality check! Going from not a sound except for the shuffling of my feet and an occasional loon call to all out chaos of 5 ringing phone lines, drive thru buzzers, overhead music and the like within 26 hours would be an adjustment I would need to ease in to. I had a wonderful breakfast at Tamarack (and picked up a few of their gigantic homemade cinnamon rolls for Monday's breakfast....hey...it would help me adjust back to the real world better if I had a lot of sugar to pep me up!) and left Copper Harbor about 7:30. Not quite ready for the noise of a radio yet, I quietly reflected on my trip...there was no one else on the road...I was entitled to daydream. I did pay close attention to the sides of the road, however, being alert to moose (yikes) and deer. Soon an ambulance (no lights or anything) caught up to me and was patient enough to keep going slowly in the early morning haze. Perhaps a good thing just in case I did encounter a moose... As I was driving I decided it was a great time to talk to God...thanking him for the usual (place to live, food to eat, clean water to drink, air to breathe, friends and family, pets, flowers, etc) and told him that even though I was a little disappointed that I didn't see a moose or especially a wolf on Isle Royale that it was ok...I would come back to Isle Royale and maybe, just maybe he could allow me to see one then. Truth be told, I had seen several moose up close before, but what I really wanted more than anything on this trip was to see a wolf. Honest to God, this sentence hadn't rolled off my lips more than 1 minute when out from the woods on the passenger side strolled out a gray wolf no more than 100 feet ahead of me, crossed the road then disappeared into the woods on the opposite side! It looked straight ahead never even seeming to notice me! The whole scenario lasted only a few seconds, as soon as I tapped my brakes he had passed so a Durango/wolf accident (thankfully) wasn't in his cards today. I looked in my rear view at the ambulance....I really don't think he even noticed! As goosebumps arose all over my body I got sort of misty-eyed and thanked God profusely for letting me have that special moment with the wolf. I didn't see any others following him and was quite glad that I had been driving slow so that I did get to see him (or her) and didn't squash him either! It was gray colored and was a little bigger than the size of a large husky that had just had a haircut. I didn't see its eyes as it was looking straight ahead focused on something...and to tell you the truth it all happened so fast that even if it would have looked at me....such detail would have probably been lost. I was so pumped up about the sighting that 1/2 hour later as I was fueling up at a gas station out of Houghton, I told an older man about my experience. "Yep, we've got a few of those up here", he replied. Apparently he had seen lots or really didn't care much about them. He didn't put a damper on my spirit though...I kept smiling all 600 miles home!

Smooth Sailing

By 3pm on Saturday July 31st, the Isle Royale Queen was underway beginning the 3 hour voyage back to Copper Harbor with a boat full of weary campers & hikers. A few young kids entertained themselves with cards, but all in all it was pretty quiet. I'm not sure if we were just a quiet group, if everyone was just reflecting on their awesome journey...or were they just simply exhausted like me. I laid my head on the table and fell sound asleep for 2 hours. When I awoke, Lake Superior was glass calm! I snapped this shot from my seat!



Not believing my luck that I could have 2 very tolerable trips across Lake Superior I made my way to the stern to have a better look. With Superior's reputation of being such a treacherous body of water, it was surprising to see it so calm.
That was ok by me!



As we neared Copper Harbor the sky melted into the water and it became impossible to separate the two. What a great end to a great trip!

Last Hours on Isle Royale

Not wanting to miss the ferry back to Copper Harbor (or lunch) I didn't wander more than a mile or two from "town". A cool and pleasant day I did a pretty darn good job of amusing myself!






I loved watching all the butterflies on the Yarrow! Prior to today, the butterflies had all been quite skittish and difficult to photograph. These Fritillaries though just stayed and stayed as if they were posing!





The longer I stayed...the more that came!

Found some Rosy Twisted-Stalk down by Tobin Harbor.

Down near the seaplane/canoe dock at Tobin Harbor there was a bench in a semi-shaded area. It looked like a nice quiet place to do some journaling and quietly reflect on the past week. 2 canoes were in the middle of Tobin Harbor, all of a sudden I heard a whir and the folks in the canoes paddled rapidly in opposite directions. Before I could figure out what the issue was a float plane landed crossing the exact spot where they had been only 30 seconds before! YIKES!Perhaps it's a good idea that I didn't rent a kayak...I can see myself getting so caught up in nature and the moment that I would be oblivious to something like this! I'm glad they were alert!

After only 15 minutes or so, the float plane cruised away from the dock with a new passenger and took off to the skies for Houghton.

I also found some Swamp-candles near some Pearly Everlasting (far left) and Daisies. About this time 4 older hikers came by and alerted me that a moose was in Rock Harbor! WHERE?! Oh, you can't miss it...4 kids and 2 rangers are RIGHT there! So I ran as fast as I could into the ranger station....only to be told that there was no report of a moose nearby ALL morning. I poked around in moosey habitat anyway....

I think they were just playing a very mean trick on me...because I did not see a moose nor had anyone else (believe me I asked EVERYONE I saw!). This moose in the gift shop was to be the closest I would get to a moose on this trip (besides the moose hide). Bummer.

Hike..Passage Island

After a bit of a rough boat ride we

made it across to Passage Island which is the farthest piece of land composing Isle Royale National Park. We tied up at the dock and 5 of the 10 aboard went ashore for the 1 mile hike to the lighthouse (1 mile each way of course). The hike really wasn't that bad and there was really only 1 part that was quite steep that you had

to be mindful of your footing and go slowly. For some reason, the moose do not swim over to Passage Island, perhaps because it is about 3-5 miles away from the mainland, and maybe they can't see that far and don't know its there! The shade is great for finding mushrooms and other fungi!

This one is called Fly Agaric,you can see a smaller one just behind and to the left of it about 9 o'clock. From what I read if you crush it and mix it with milk it will kill flies...hence its name.

As interesting as Devil's Club might be....do NOT get too close! The undersides of the leaves and the stems have more needle-like projections than you can count! It is apparently mainly found on the western Pacific states but somehow made its way to Passage Island. A man in the group said that a few pharmaceutical companies are doing

research on the plant for treatment of various diseases including diabetes. I have not heard this but haven't had time to adequately research it yet...perhaps this winter.

I just know that I would HATE to fall into one of these!!!

At last we had crested the steepest part and the view did not disappoint!

This area is just to the northeast of the lighthouse....you can see the basalt protruding up from the water. More than 1 boat had stuck this reef at one time or another. There are many shipwrecks in the waters surrounding Isle Royale and they too are included in the National Park. They park extends I believe 5 miles past all points of land and all are

open for diving by qualified persons.

I guess I never thought of fresh water scuba diving...one of my goals is to be dive certified but I had always imagined diving in tropical waters in search of colorful fish!

A freighter was in the area....but stayed far away from the dangers of the reef, I believe the light shadows in the background are of Ontario as I remember looking northward.

Looking down from a location near the lighthouse.

Close-up of Grandfather's Beard lichen.

Though you might think this is another mushroom, it is actually a plant! Indian-Pipe is a flower that does not contain chlorophyll, so instead of obtaining energy from the sunlight and chemical reactions, it "obtains nourishment through mycorrhizal fungi that are connected to nearby tree roots".

We really weren't able to identify these tall blue flowers...they had a brilliant purple-blueish hue!

Found more green pyrola. Such tiny flowers!
I could have lingered on Passage Island all day exploring rocks and flowers and fungi....but unfortunately we had to get back to the boat on the double and I was told to pick up the pace as Captain Ron would be anxious to get back especially with
the lake being rough today. I reluctantly turned off my camera and picked up the pace, they don't come back here until Monday and....I really wouldn't want to be stranded for 3 days....and I had to be to work Monday morning!

Passage Island Lighthouse

1:30 finally came and I boarded the MV Sandy along with 6 others (plus Captain Ron and Derek and a park volunteer) for the last time of my visit to Isle Royale. It took quite a while to make the trip over as Passage Island is about 3-4 miles northeast of the mainland of Isle Royale...and Lake Superior was starting to misbehave!

After we docked, we had a 1 mile hike to actually reach the lighthouse...only 4 of us plus the ranger went ashore, the 3 other passengers were still pretty green from the trip over. The hike there was great and didn't disappoint (see separate entry) and my only disappointment was that we were not allowed inside. The light was constructed in 1882 by the US to fulfill an agreement with Canada that they also construct a lighthouse near Detroit near the mouth of Lake Eric, which they finished in 1889. The light was built in the Norman Gothic style to resemble other lights including McGulpin Point which I climbed in June! It originally housed a fourth order Fresnel lens and was automated in 1978 and still functions as a beacon for ships today. A foghorn is also located there on the island and is activated by pressing a signal 5 times. I asked the ranger if she could activated it...but she declined. So...scampered down some rocks to the waters edge to peek at some lichen and get a different perspective.

With a little time left, I investigated some old tracks on the property. As you can see by the rocks, getting supplies up to the lighthouse for maintenance and the family would be quite difficult, even in good weather. So they devised tracks and a car to assist them. I thought it was pretty ingenious!



Do you think the kids that lived here ever used the car as a roller coater? I would have!






With such a nice walkway of sorts I decided to
explore over on this side. But I was quite careful on the weathered boards!

Yep...rocky just like the other side...but a nice view! A freighter came within a few miles while I was exploring. Shortly after I was at the base of the lake, the ranger called...time to head back. We had to cover another 1 mile of trail back to the dock where Captain Ron awaited...we hoped!

Soon we were underway and left the calm waters of the secluded cove behind. Once we were back out on the lake I remembered the foghorn and I carefully made my way up to the bow to ask if he could signal for it...not now he said, the water had gotten quite rough and the boat required his full attention...good idea. I kicked myself for not remembering before, about 10 minutes when conditions allowed he did signal for it...but we were too far away. Bummer.

Only us 4 hikers had our heads up and seemed to be enjoying the ride.

The waters eventually calmed after Scoville Point when we got some protection from the mainland and Derek was allowed to take the helm as Captain Ron sat nearby mentoring him. The skies grew dark and clouded up...there would be no picturesque sunset this evening to bid me farewell.

Hanging Out in Rock Harbor

Finally, a day I could sleep in! A rarity on my vacations. Since I didn't have anything planned until an early afternoon jaunt to Passage Island I started to pack for the journey back to Copper Harbor tomorrow then decided I'd had enough of that. So, I found a nice quiet spot on a deck behind the lodge offices where I had a great view of the lake and some nearby loons. Between the daydreaming I did find some time to write out some postcards....but I know of at least 2 that didn't make it to their destinations....are they still in this box?


Nearby....some fireweed.








After mailing the postcards and lunch, I changed spots and found a nice bench near the water. Again I just pretty much daydreamed and people watched. These folks were readying their kayaks with all sorts of gear for camping...after quite a bit of packing gear and arguing, they did
get underway and paddled off toward Daisy Farm way...

Several were wandering around and setting out for the back country...I'm not sure I can do this without a Sherpa...I need more stuff than what they are carrying...or I need to learn to pack lighter. I followed them to the NPS office to peruse their bookstore and found several items that I just couldn't live without...mostly books.

Back to the bench I went....but this time I had entertainment! 3 Red-Breasted Mergansers had arrived and were in search of some lunch! I watched them dive over and over for fish.

















...a little ways down the Black ducks were back in their usual spot for an early afternoon nap.








Too hot for napping...several of the locals cooled off in the lake! Some were pushed...some voluntarily jumped into the coolness. They looked like they were having a bit of fun not to mention cooling off!

Scoville Point back to Rock Harbor

I chose to return to Rock Harbor
taking the Tobin Harbor Trail from Scoville Point. Rock Harbor Trail is..well..very rocky! The Tobin Harbor side is much more a traditional hike....lots of shade, nice dirt path, some roots and only occasional rocky surfaces, and quite peaceful!





Even though I was still on the lookout for moose and wolves...I sill found an abundance of mushrooms!







This may be a Chanterelle mushroom but I'm not quite sure. It is supposed to be like a bowl or vase!

And I found them on trees....

As I neared this opening, the calls of a loon became louder! Yay! As I scanned the water for the loon I noticed the felled trees in the water and became aware of how clear the water here is!

A few hundred feet down the trail I spotted the loon cruising back and forth in a little cove, occasionally calling out to welcome me.

I longed to be in a kayak to get the close picture that I had hoped for...but my zoom lens would just have to do....for now.

After fighting my way back thru the brush and onto the trail I noticed a tiny feather had been deposited on a nearby branch. It just sort of rested there, waiting for a stronger breeze to blow it to another location.


I then heard and spotted the animal that I am sure everyone that comes to Isle Royale sees......or at least hears...the red squirrel! I can't tell you how many times these buggers have cussed me out and taunted me since I arrived. Everywhere I go..they chatter and then stare at you like you are an unwelcome guest! That is until you approach them closer, then they disappear instantly!
At least he (or she) stayed put long enough for me to get a photo of a live mammal on Isle Royale!