Gitche Gumee

As the story goes the Ojibwe Tribe or the Chippewas called Lake Superior, Gitche Gumee. It translates into several different meanings; big sea, huge water, shinning blue sea water and great water.

Today the Gitche Gumee was not happy and I am very glad I took my cruise yesterday!

Today we set out for Grand Marais, Michigan. A small harbor town about 45 miles east of Munising and 15 miles west of Muskallonge State Park. It’s quaint and what you might imagine a small harbor town to be.

The Old Post Office Museum was closed today.

The new one was open.

They had a Brewing Company

A Pickle Barrel House Museum

The Gitche Gumee Museum

An outfitters shop and a hardware store.

A small vegetable/arts area.

The Superior Hotel

A Diner, a gift shop, a really neat brick building and a park.

It was a windy chilly 58 degree day. I walked around town after which I set out to find a couple lighthouses. Across the harbor was the Grand Marais Front Range Lighthouse.

A memorial was there for Fishermen.

The Grand Marais Rear Lighthouse was out on a pier. As I walked up you could see the Grand Sable Dunes.

There was a memorial that told of a couple of teenage boys who lost their lives when a 10 foot wave washed them into Lake Superior.

The walk out the pier was a wet one if you walked on the south side.

Here are some waves that were crashing into the pier as I walked back.

This is a picture of the small town of Grand Marais looking back across the harbor.

As I left this sweet little town there was a grand house that is now the Rangers Station.

It was a nice day for a ride even though it wasn’t sunny. I stopped along the way a took a few photos at overlooks.

I wish I could have got a better picture of this next place. The Log Slide. Apparently logs were sent down the tall dunes. The slide that is still here and is 500 feet to the bottom. Recent winter storms destroyed the overlook. I passed on the 500 feet down because that meant 500 feet up!

Looks like this tree has seen a woodpecker or two!

It was a 3.4 miles roundtrip hike to this next lighthouse. The Au Sable Light Station. The lighthouse was built in 1872 and started operating August 19, 1874. The light tower is 86 feet high.

Later additions were a brick oil house, a steam powered fog whistle.

A new residence for the assistant keeper was built in 1909.

The lighthouse today is automatic and the Coast Guard maintains the beacon.

I am not sure what this building is used for as I could not find any information on it.

It would have been great to take pictures from the beach but I decided it was safer where I was. Here is looking over the edge to the beach.

At the point I got a great shot of the Dunes.

I also found some wild blueberries. No I did not pick them!

On the trail back there was a location where you could possibly see remains of shipwrecks. The Sitka, the Gale Staples and the Mary Jarecki to name just a few. Not today my friend it was too treacherous.

As I neared the parking lot I took a walk along the beach. It was just me and the seagull.

So I head to Copper Harbor tomorrow. It will be my lonest night yet.