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.