Shipwreck Coast & Pictured Rocks, Munising, MI

Friday, July 30, 2010

Today I left Minnesota (again, lol) for Munising, Michigan, to get a look at sunken ships on a glass-bottomed boat, and to view the "Pictured Rocks."

After a couple calls to the sunken ship tour company I finally found the place - only to discover I was 2 blocks down the street from it when I originally couldn't find it, lol. Oh Matthew.

"Michigan protects its unusual wealth of sunken relics with nine underwater preserves, marked for divers and regulated to prevent looting. At the Alger Underwater Preserve near Munising, non-divers get a fascinating look at century-year old ships abandoned at the bottom of Munising Bay. Glass-bottom boats with large viewing wells glide right over the hulls and decks of wooden schooners, well preserved by Lake Superior's clean and frigid water. Just a few feet under the glass, they silently slide into view like haunting prehistoric paintings."

I would say the most exciting spotting was a toilet. Good to know the captain of the ship was a refined gentleman, lol.

After the two-hour tour of the sunken ships, I went to the Visitor Center and got information on local campgrounds. It was peak season, but I was able to hold a standard campsite at a place nearby. With that out of the way, I went to beloved Subway and ordered the usual - a tuna sub =) I then walked across the street for a 3-hour boat tour of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, which showcases "a stunning stretch of coastline along the forested southern shore of Lake Superior, a natural marvel of sculpted sandstone cliffs, rocky caves, rocky coves and waterfalls." I went in the late afternoon, "when the sinking sun casts the multicolored cliffs in their most dramatic light."

I got my ticket for the pictured rocks tour and had a little time beforehand to finalize my daily budget. Yikes. See the blog entry titled, "The Budget."

The tour was great! Red, black, brown, blue, white, yellow, green, orange - all the different colors from the mineral deposits looked like cool, abstract paintings. I want to take the photos I took and blow them up and put them on my wall - too bad my camera is only 6 mega-pixels, lol.

I arrived at Wandering Wheels Campground, set up my tent, called my dad, and turned in for the night.

==================================

PHOTO ALBUM

==================================

Tomorrow: Mackinac Island!