LAKE SUPERIOR

I still had a couple days to blog when we got home from our trip - but life at home is not conducive to blogging, so I am slow getting to it.  I have had a couple of requests to see the rest of the trip - so I will try and finish.


Saturday with Mom and Dad (October 16th) we went a trip to see Lake Superior and the Painted Cliffs National Monument.  They live close to Lake Michigan; it is a gray, dark lake.  Lake Superior is north of them and is one of those green lakes that are so pretty.  

You can see where the lake turns to the pretty blue-green  after the shore

These photos do not show the multiple colors that are layered along the cliffs very well, but that is the painted part of 'Painted Cliff' Lakeshore

A bald eagle resting on a tree visible from the over look.  There are several pairs that nest along the coast right there apparently.  

A close up view of the rock and its layers, but not much color here.

TUESDAY - TODAY!

This is going to be out of order, for some reason it did not get posted when I wrote it.  This would have been on October 12th, our last day in the Black Hills, SD.


This was our day to visit Mt Rushmore.  It is impressing and the center is very well done.  I do have to mention that there is a different feeling between the two carved mountain monuments.  I will explain it like this - Stratton, who loves rocks, wanted to take one from the mountain under the sculpture of the Presidents.  We had been able to get one from the Crazy Horse monument, they had a 'rock box' as one of the displays and you were welcome to take a piece with you.  Of course, that was not allowed at the the Federally run sight, as was stated by signs literally every 6 feet, "Closed by order of the Federal Government".  Dallas said to him, " These rocks here belong to you. (Meaning the ones at Mt Rushmore)  You can't have one.   The other place belonged to someone else, so they let you take one of theirs."  Ponder on that for a bit.


We did enjoy our visit and due to new batteries, I was able to snap some pictures.

The approach to the monument viewing platform

The working model that the artist used to measure from

President Washington

This is what happens when you poor concrete in the wild! 

A good shot of root wedging 

THE FALLS OF UPPER MICHIGAN

We visited two of the many falls in Upper Michigan.  The geology there is filled with slate and layers of metamorphic rock.  It is a contrast to what I am used to in Idaho and quite beautiful.  
Along the way, we were treated to the last days of the fall foliage.  

Munising Falls

The deciduous forests in the east do look different from ours. 

Miner's Falls

KITCH -ITI-KIPI

Mom and Dad took us to a spring.  It was pretty cool.  It is quite a large pond that is fed from the bottom through springs bubbling up through the sand.  It is a State Park; they have a raft that you wheel out across the lake with a view of the bottom in the middle.  

The bubbling sand was fun to watch.  It was pretty cool.  Next are photos of the little lake.

FALL IS BEAUTIFUL

We are a little late for the fall colors up here in upper Michigan, but it is still beautiful.  

EXPLORING THE UPPER PENINSULA

 Today we took a drive to a restored 19th century town.  Fayette was a company town; the business was pig iron.  At the time the town was booming, there were 500 people living in this little cove and working the charcoal kilns and iron smelter.

This is a replica charcoal kiln, built with bricks from the originals

An original smelter for extracting the pig iron from the iron ore.

Iron ore left at the sight

Like all company towns in the 1800's, the mine owned the store, the hotel, the work shops and all of the homes.  This particular company along with the iron smelter had a limestone quarry that they prepared the limestone for the smelter from, hardwood forests that they cut the wood for charcoal from, and the black smith and the machinist worked for the company.  The whole economic and social system was a product of the company.  This town thrived for about 20 years and then the need for their pig iron dwindled and the town was abandoned.  

It was a fine autumn day.  We enjoyed the fresh air, the views of Lake Michigan and our lessons in history from Fayette Township!