{"id":4289,"date":"2023-06-16T23:55:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-17T03:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/steveandmarleneontheroad.com\/?p=4289"},"modified":"2023-07-16T23:48:30","modified_gmt":"2023-07-17T03:48:30","slug":"june-16-2023-trip-10-day-9-isle-royale-national-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/steveandmarleneontheroad.com\/?p=4289","title":{"rendered":"June 16, 2023 : Trip 10, Day 9 – Isle Royale National Park"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today we visited one of the least visited national parks in the country. It is also quite remote. You can only reach it by boat or by seaplane. Or as we learned, if you are a moose, you can swim to it. We started at the dock in Grand Portage Minnesota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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About an hour and a half later, after a full speed, windy and cold ride across Lake Superior, we arrived at Isle Royale National Park. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Isle Royale is both large and small. Its total area is 894 square miles. Three quarters of that area is water. That leaves 209 square miles of land. There are many trails, but not many amenities. The rangers did a five minute introduction to the islands. The biggest point they made is the park is very wild. The average number of visitors a day, on the days you can reach the park, is about 100. So there is not much human presence on the island.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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We only had time for one hike. We chose to hike to the Grace Creek Overlook. The trail was well used, but remote at the same time. It was easy to follow even though it was narrow and overgrown in some places. At the end of the day, we found out how wild it was. We have been to about half of the national parks. This was the first park where we found ticks after our hike.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The lake water was exceptionally clear. The views were amazing. The hike was a combination of lake views and forest trail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When we reached the top, we saw Grace Creek and a small pond. The better vista was Lake Superior before us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our hike back to the pier was easier than the hike up to the top. Maybe we had adjusted to the wilderness, or maybe it was because it was downhill!<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Then our short visit was over. It was time to return to the mainland.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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During our hike at Isle Royale, we saw a wide variety of plants and trees. Here is a sample of the flowers we saw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On the way back, we took a slight detour to see an old lighthouse near the islands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We enjoyed our trip to Isle Royale and our return boat ride. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After Isle Royale, we were headed to Ely, Minnesota for the evening. Our trip through northern Minnesota was filled with winding roads like this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Perhaps the roads were windy to get around the 10,000 lakes in the state. Here are some of the lakes we saw. They come in every shape and size. Sometimes there are short creeks that connect the lakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here is some more of the winding roads we traveled. In spite of the rural roads, we were able to travel at a good speed. The variety of views made the time pass quickly. Some times the road less traveled is the better route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Life is different in some rural areas. In Ely, they are focused on lakes, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and the northern lights. Other niceties may be absent. It has been decades since seeing a motel advertising color tv. Quite retro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actually, we had good internet, a great room, and a wonderful host. She spent about thirty minutes with us talking about the boundary waters and chasing the Northern Lights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She pointed out a great viewing spot. Better like mosquitos though.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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This is not the northern lights. It is a good viewing spot on the right night, which we had. But you also need a clear sky, which we did not have. We did get to watch the sky change as the sun set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This picture was taken at about 11 pm. There was still some light in the sky, but the clouds were thick. We could only see one star in a small opening in the clouds. <\/p>\n<\/div>

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We decided to get back to our room to get ready for the next day. It had been an eighteen hour day filled with large and small lakes, a boat ride, a national park, a good drive on country roads, and lots of friendly people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today we visited one of the least visited national parks in the country. It is also quite remote. You can only reach it by boat or by seaplane. Or as we learned, if you are a moose, you can swim to it. We started at the dock in Grand Portage Minnesota. About an hour and 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