Family, food, and fun

I have family in town again! My sister, Joanne, had been planning to come and visit me with a friend. The friend couldn’t make it, so my mom came instead and the two of them got to do a road trip together. They got into Munising yesterday. I had gone straight to town from work to go to the Farmer’s Market – it’s every Tuesday from 4-7, but there hasn’t been much yet besides baked goods and crafts. I did get some good spinach last week, but when there’s a limited amount it’s gone before I get there.

This week when I got to the Farmer’s Market I saw red – a table covered with fresh-picked strawberries! I got two quarts, and it was worth every penny. I got some lettuce, too, but that seemed like an afterthought compared to the fruit!

While I was there I checked my phone and found I had a missed call from Joanne, telling me they were going to be later than they’d thought. I went back to the house and mixed up some dough to make cinnamon rolls later for breakfast today. I had just finished when they called to tell me they were checking into the motel, and to meet them in town for supper. We ate at Pizza Hut, then went back to their motel for dessert – strawberries I’d brought, and chocolate cake they had brought, left over from a party back home. We talked a long time, then I went home, rolled out the dough, and made the cinnamon rolls to bake in the morning.

This morning I got up, took the cinnamon rolls out of the refrigerator to rise, and was on my way back to bed when I realized it was an hour earlier than I had set my alarm for. I just woke up and saw the clock and got it mixed up! I went and put the rolls back in the fridge and went back to bed for another hour.

The rolls turned out great! I was nervous because I hadn’t made them before, but it was perfect. With the cream cheese icing Joanne made they were even better. We also had coffee, scrambled eggs and ham, strawberries, blueberries, and Missouri peaches. It was so, so good. Then Mom did all the dishes. That was even better!

Once everything was cleaned up, the two of them went to go get checked in at Munising Tourist Park, a public campground just outside of town. I stayed at the house and made sandwiches for a picnic later. When they got back we set out to see Pictured Rocks!

Our first stop, of course, was Miner’s Castle. We walked to the upper and lower overlooks, and I showed them the Visitor Information Center where I work, so they got to meet Marc. We decided to go to the picnic area at Miner’s Beach for lunch before starting our hike. We got a nice table with a view of the lake, and then of course we had to walk down to the water before leaving. Then we drove to the east end of Miner’s Beach, where there is trailhead parking for the North Country Trail. (Then we drove back to the picnic area, because there was no restroom at the trailhead!)

I managed to get a video of waves splashing through the hole at the base of the cliff - it goes all the way through to the other side, so if the waves are big enough they shoot out into the cove!

 A crowd at the upper overlook...

 These were blooming all over the place!

 This is one of the better shots I've gotten of the view from the lower overlook.

Here are two views from Miner's Beach.

We hiked a part of the trail I’d done once before, climbing up to the top of the cliffs. I’d only gone up to the top and back down that first time, and along a little side trail to a waterfall near the top. This time we kept on walking. Other than the initial climb, it’s a very flat and easy trail, and the climb itself is not that bad – especially since it wasn’t muddy this time!

At first we were walking through some open spaces, with grasses and other plants and not as many trees. Then we got into the woods and the space seemed to open up. The sugar maple forest here doesn’t have a lot of underbrush, just small plants on the forest floor, so you can see a long way through it. We walked for about an hour. I had seen on the map that it was just about a mile and a quarter to the stream that becomes Bridal Veil Falls, and I figured that bridge would be a good landmark to turn around at.

It was a really pretty walk. There were several short side trails to get views of the cliffs. Since we would not be going on the Pictured Rocks Cruise, this was Joanne’s best chance to see them. We also saw – and heard – a lot of chipmunks! We counted eleven, but there were undoubtedly more out there.

 Thimbleberries - not ripe yet, but there were a lot of green ones!

 These may be domestic pinks which have escaped a garden in town somewhere...

Wide open spaces, under the canopy. 

 This is Solomon's Seal! True Solomon's Seal, not false! First I've seen...
Here it is from above.

 Here's Mom in the jungle, providing scale for how big the ferns are. She's short, but not that short!

 Fern shadows.

Viewing the cliffs from above.

 Spot the chipmunk!

The walk back took only half as long – we must have been taking fewer photos. And going down instead of up… We headed back to the picnic area to use the restroom, and ate the rest of our lunch that we had been saving. Then we started driving east through the park. We stopped at the Lake Superior overlook near Hurricane River, and walked down to the beach. Then we drove out to the Log Slide overlook and walked the trail there. That was our last stop, and we were all starting to feel tired.

I had to take a picture of Joanne taking a picture. 

 Sisters!

Grand Sable Dunes. That is Grand Marais off in the distance - that tiny white dot to the left is the lighthouse!

We went back to my house, then into Munising for supper at Hardees. Then we went to the Falling Rocks Café & Bookstore for ice cream. We stayed there until it closed at 10 pm, then went our separate ways.

I was almost back to the house when a deer appeared in the headlights! Luckily I was driving slow, and was able to stop. It was actually three deer – a doe and two fawns. The mother deer got off the road quickly but the two little ones didn’t know what to do and just froze in the headlights, so I got a good look! They were still pretty small and covered in spots. Finally they managed to run off and I drove the last hundred yards to my house and called Joanne to tell about it!