The Coronavirus Pandemic is still raging, Lady Adventurer and I believe that the only relatively safe way to travel is by road trip. We’ve taken some short drives, but this trip would be more substantial. And it would be our first real vacation since Panama City Beach last February.
Pictured Rocks and Marquette, MI
Marquette is in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The goal of stopping here was to explore Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The U.P. is grand, but unfortunately, it rained for the entire 9-hour drive up here and we couldn’t see much on the first day. After that, it cleared up. Marquette, Munising, and especially the Pictured Rocks are spectacular on a bright sunny fall-type day. Gitche Gumee: what’s not to love?
We walked for miles and miles in the park, but they were all short hikes. Most notably, we visited Miners Castle, Beach, and Falls. We also experienced Munising Falls and Sand Point, including the extensive wetland boardwalk. The ‘shining Big-Sea-Water’ was at its shiniest. All the beaches were inviting, although no one was swimming. We completed the day by tasting U.P. wine and then eating outside at Iron Bay Restaurant, where we had fresh Lake Superior Whitefish.
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| Fall is already here in Munising |
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| Munising Falls in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore |
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| Miner's Castle |
Having already visited the western part (Grand Sable Banks and Dunes), we were left with one park area still undone: the Chapel Rock area. This requires some longer hikes, and we just didn’t have the time. Another miss: we didn’t think the Pictured Rocks sightseeing boats would be operating due to COVID-19, but they were (supposedly at half-capacity). It’s considered the best way to see the rocks, so we tried to get on board, but there was no availability. The boat we saw looked scarily packed full anyway.
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| Kawabunga Lake - the payoff for this great hike |
After driving 7 hours from the U.P. (and a quick stop at Agate Falls), we stopped for one of our Voyageurs National Park hikes before even arriving in International Falls, MN. It was a doozie. Rough and woodsy, the Blind Ash Bay Trail took us over rocks and roots through a nice forest until we reached an area overlooking a lake. This part was scenic and coming at the far end of the trail made it all worthwhile. Continuing on and up and around the loop, the vista opened up much more, and now our view of Kawabunga Lake (it’s actually Kabetogama Lake, but I call it Kawabunga) was spectacular; we could see islands and crags galore off into the distance.
Our cabin at Hilltop Lodge in International Falls was teensy. Not a whole lot going on in the town itself, but we had another whole day to explore the sprawling park. Like the Pictured Rocks, the best way to experience it is by boat. But we were being even more land-lubberish than usual due to the pandemic.
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| Me and Smokey - And that's the Bronco Nagursky Museum in the back |
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| A glass of wine in back of our cabin |
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| Outside dining at the Chocolate Moose |
For our second day in and around Voyageurs National Park it rained. Especially so around Rainy Lake. In spite of that, we had a nice hike on the Oberholtzer Trail. We also hiked in other areas, but we had to turn back on the Echo Bay Trail due to mud.
Unfortunately, there were no loons (they’d all migrated) and no aurora borealis (it was cloudy).
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND
When I told Debbie that they don’t grow grapes in places like the U.P. and the Dakotas, I was trying to say that there wasn’t much point in going to wineries during this trip. She proved me wrong at a wine-tasting place in Munising that featured U.P. wines, and again at the Fluffy Field, a winery in Dickinson, N.D. The wines at these places weren’t the greatest, but we imbibed anyway. Fluffy, and their prime rib special, was especially nice after the eight-hour drive from International Falls. There’s not a whole lot more going on in Dickinson, although with at least two universities, it does appear to be the intellectual capital of North Dakota.
Dickinson’s primary purpose for us was to serve as the staging location for our exploration of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. And what a great park! It’s all badlands-like landscapes that seem to go on forever. As nice as it was, it was unfortunate that it was hazy due to the West Coast wildfires.
We took multiple enjoyable short hikes, some of which were extremely steep. I think Lady A.’s favorite was the Coal Vein Loop Trail, and mine was the Wind Canyon Hike. We also both liked the Painted Canyon sojourn. Back in the car, we managed to spot some wildlife: bison, prairie dogs, pronghorn, deer, and wild horses.
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| A bison at T. Roosevelt NP |
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| Strange tree encountered on a hike in T. Roosevelt NP |
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| Far vistas at T. Roosevelt NP |
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| Wind Canyon Hike |
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| Wind Canyon Hike |
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| Painted Canyon Hike |
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| Painted Canyon |
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| Painted Canyon |
Devil’s Tower, Mt. Rushmore, Wind Cave NP, Badlands NP, etc.
Rapid City, SD would be our home base for our sightseeing of Devil’s Tower, Mt. Rushmore, Wind Cave NP, Badlands NP, and other fun stuff. Instead of driving directly from ND to SD, we took a long detour through Montana and Wyoming, mostly to see Devil’s Tower National Monument. The landscape of Eastern Montana was stunning. Had it not been for the smokey haze, it would have been even more spectacular. A more wide-open space would be hard to find.
Devil’s Tower was all it was cracked up to be. It was nearly a spiritual experience, as it is for the Native Americans. We loved the circumnavigation hike around the tower.
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| The view from our Devil's Tower Hike |
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| Bison and Devil's Tower |
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| Red rocks near the tower |
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| And here is the tower itself |
We tried to stop in Deadwood, but couldn’t manage the parking and couldn’t countenance the crowds, so after driving through, we headed on to Rapid City by way of Sturgis. That scenery there was outstanding!
For our next trick, it would be more fun in the Black Hills. We visited Mount Rushmore (and did the Presidential walk), and the Crazy Horse monument, before heading over to Wind Cave National Park (where the cave itself was closed due to the pandemic). The Wind Cave Canyon Hike was a definite highlight: more great scenery. In fact, that Lady A. was heard to say, “Take your scenic view, and stick it up your scenic a$$.” This occurred when Custer State Park allowed us to drive on some roads without paying their $20 fee, but then required said fee to stop and view the scenery.
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| At the entrance to Mount Rushmore with all the state flags |
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| Mount Rushmore hike |
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| Crazy Horse - notice how the to-be-carved horse is drawn in |
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| Wind Cave hike |
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| Wind Cave hike - the colorful leaves are poison ivy |
Our last full day in the Dakotas was spent at Badlands National Park. We took the Medicine Root Trail, which was long but very nice. There was both grassland and badlands scenery for variety. Once we returned, I also took the Notch Trail. Lady A. wisely declined when she heard about the ladder climb portion. Let me say that the ladder part was indeed scary, but there were some areas that were even more so.
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| Badlands NP |
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| Badlands NP bad hair day |
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| Medicine Root Hike in Badlands NP |
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| Medicine Root Hike in Badlands NP |
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| Medicine Root Hike in Badlands NP |
After spotting some wildlife (prairie dogs, bison, bighorn sheep, and one Rocky Mountain Bluebird), it was time to call it a day. And a road trip.
Editor's Note: We tried to be extremely careful about staying safe and not catching the Coronavirus. Whilst we were in the Dakotas, the news reported that cases had skyrocketed in these areas due to the Sturgis motorcycle rally that took place a couple weeks ago. I hope we were successful - we'll find out for sure within a couple weeks.
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| Smoke and haze in the Dakotas |
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| Debbie and Dignity |
