Fanny Hooe Lake at dawn.
Our first stop was the bakery back down by the boat dock. We each ordered a pannukakku (Finnish pancake). I also got a cheddar, bacon, and chive scone, a banana, and some hot chocolate. We sat at a table and watched the sunrise while we consumed our breakfast.
The sun comes up over Lake Superior. The temps were mild. It was a great way to start Segment 2 of the route.
We still needed to resupply our food. There was just one grocery/general store. This place had a little bit of everything.
I’m trying something different (the oatmeal selection was only in big quantities). I got some granola, and a bag of vanilla protein powder. I also got some dried blueberries. I’m envisioning the protein powder as the “milk” for the granola. We’ll see…
The route went back through the campground, and immediately started a climb. It was over a mile, but pretty easy.
Top of a bit of a steeper part.
The ATV trail was a combo of rocky and sandy sections interspersed with big and small puddles (remember that thunderstorm?). The fact that the sand was wet made it easier to ride through. We had a couple of steep pitches where we ended up walking. Of course, the bikes were at their heaviest. I felt that I might have been able to ride had my bike not been full up with food and water.
We popped out onto pavement at Lac La Belle. We stopped at the marina for some lunch. It was totally in the sun. Rather toasty.
Where we ate lunch.
About a mile, if that, down the road, we came Roa very nice picnic site at Haven Falls.
Where we should have had lunch.
There was a large group of seniors (older than Lani and I) there having a picnic lunch. We chatted with them a bit. I filtered some water and drank a bunch. Like I said…it was warm (probably our warmest day so far).
We continued on the pavement roughly following Lake Superior on our left (this is the Keweenaw Peninsula still, so just a thin land jutting into Superior.
Just before we were to turn back onto gravel, we went by Brunette Park. It had a lovely sandy beach, picnic tables, potty shacks, and a number people enjoying the sun. We rode on by, but I lamented that we couldn’t camp there.
Not much further, I saw a double track road go up from the other side of the road. Then I got to thinking. What if we hung out at the park, then went up the double track and camped? Lani and I discussed it. We had come almost 32 miles. Sure it was only a little after 2:00, but it was such a nice day, and we didn’t have a specific camp spot in mind anyway. We decided to go for it. We turned around and returned to the park. First we checked out the double track, and found it to be a good spot to camp.
Lovely!
Dipping my toes in Lake Superior (my feet have been in every Great Lake).
Lani looking up facts about Superior….like, does Superior have tides? Yes, but not enough to notice.
A seaplane even went by!
Lani and I had a question about what, exactly, is the UP of Michigan. There was a couple from Wisconsin enjoying the beach. I went and asked them. Heather and Al gave us the info we were looking for, plus, I had a very nice conversation with them!
Afterwards, Lani and I moved down to the other end of the beach.
Our new lake view.
Lani told me she had walked down the beach, and realized there were no “No Camping” signs (but our route doesn’t say you can camp here). At this end of the beach, there was a nice grassy spot.
We decided we would stay here instead of going up the double track. We wouldn’t set up our tents until it was nearly dark. There were still quite a few people coming and going. One group had a BBQ.
Finally the group left, and we set up our tents. If someone was looking, they could definitely see us from the road, but we are not worried. A few cars have continued to pull in, even though it is dark. I think it’s because of the full moon.
Lani’s camera took a much better photo than this. The moon was reddish. The open rainfly door of my tent is allowing me to have the moon as a nightlight.
We started today with a beautiful sunrise, and we have finished with a beautiful moonrise. A pretty good day, if you ask me.
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