Indian Lake State Park is stretched out across the southern
edge of Indian Lake, the fourth largest inland lake in the U.P. and is in the
middle of the Hiawatha National Forest.
It is 6 miles long and 3 miles wide.
The land was acquired in 1932 and the 2 picnic shelters, which are made
of huge, black logs and large sandstone blocks were built using CCC and WPA
workers. We selected one of the few
available lakefront campsites and H deftly backed the condo in at an angle that
would allow the best view from the back window. It was so close to the waters edge that during the night you
could easily listen to the waves lapping the shoreline. It was going to be
perfect for sliding the portabote off the truck and practically right into the
water - - IF all the ducks would get out of the way! Families of ducks and ducklings of various sizes called this
shoreline home! The weather was gray
and cool so of course we felt the call of town and headed back the four miles
to Manistique to reacquaint ourselves with this busy little historic town. The red brick 1921 water tower and nearby
siphon-bridge are still listed on all the brochures! The harbor was hosting their annual salmon and trout fishing
tournament but we arrived there just as the winners were being announced. Downtown was quaint and had more full stores
than empty and the shopkeepers greeted everyone who entered their shops. On Monday, it was way too windy and the
waves were topped with whitecaps so the boat stayed on top of the truck a bit
longer! Our campground hosts, Ralph and
Karen are real Yoopers – accent and all and shared local information and gave
me a cute story about the “Creation of the U.P”! They even served coffee every morning, starting at 8 a.m. Bud and Carol arrived from their trip up
thru Wisconsin and we all relaxed and caught up with each other’s travel
adventures!
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| Munising Falls |
Pasties were on the “must find” list for Tuesday so we all
loaded in Bud’s Chevy Equinox and headed north to Lake Superior and the small
town of Munising, the home of Murdock’s Pasties AND of course the Pictured
Rocks National Seashore. The last time
the 4 of us were in Munising, B&C attempted to see the beautiful sea
sculptures by water but were turned back by the fog. The boats were not venturing out in the wet/windy weather today
either. It was even TOO cold to order
pasties at Murdock’s and sit outside to eat them. We stopped at the Visitor’s Center and then drove up the road
and walked the short pathway up to see the 20-foot vertical drop of Munising
Falls. There was plenty of white spray
coming over the high cliff and splashing down on the rocks and tree trunks that
had fallen in its path before stumbling and bubbling down the rocky
creek-bed. We did find our pasties at
Shooters Firehouse Grill and were almost as good as Murdock’s! Our return trip home always requires a
different route back and we ended up on a forest road heading south. One side-venture turned into a 2-track road
that even dared to boast a sign that stated it was an “Adopt a Road” – and it
dead-ended into a small boat launch and a pretty little lake!
Wednesday started out windy – AGAIN, so we headed to town
for breakfast! The Cedar Street Café
was the mutual choice and H and I chose to split a “Garbage Omelet”! Well worth the price and PLENTY for us to
share! From there we strolled out onto
the long cement break-wall, lined with huge quarried boulders, built out into
Lake Michigan to protect the harbor and the mouth of the Indian River. At the very end of the jutted barrier was the bright red Manistique light house.
