Watching the Wrecks

Joanne and Mom came over for breakfast again. It went more quickly this time, because the cinnamon rolls were already baked! We didn’t spend as much time in the house this time because we had plans and we had to get there early.

The plan for today was to go on a boat tour. Not the Pictured Rocks Cruise, but the Shipwreck Tour – riding in a boat with glass panels in the bottom in order to view shipwrecks on the bottom of Lake Superior. We had reserved tickets for the 10 a.m. tour. (We chose to do this tour because I won two free tickets in a Fourth of July raffle, so we just had to pay for the third ticket!)

It was a little chilly so we sat in the enclosed cabin rather than on the top deck. It worked out well, because we were right near the sunken glass panels so we did not have to go very far when it was our turn to look down! The tour was very organized, with two people speaking about the various shipwrecks and other sights and coordinating the passengers.

There were three wrecks, and each time we got to one the boat went over it twice – once for the people in the cabin, and then everyone on the top deck came down and got to see it. We took the opportunity to go up on top and look around.

 A buoy marks the site of each shipwreck.

It was pretty interesting. The wrecks are all near Grand Island, so we got to see a long stretch of that shoreline – which has some cliffs similar to Pictured Rocks, just from different layers of sandstone. 

 Looking back at Munising! That's the paper factory on the left.

 There's the lighthouse!

 The shipwrecks were all made from white oak, which apparently holds up well in the frigid waters of Lake Superior – they were all in relatively good shape. The first one had been full of iron ore, which was later salvaged, and the wreck was pretty much intact. The second shipwreck had been carrying a load of salt, which was not salvaged! It was in several pieces, having been demolished to prevent it from being a hazard to other ships.

 There's an old iron wheel down there!

According to the tour guide, this is the captain's commode... 

The last shipwreck is still unidentified. It was only discovered a few years ago – when one of the glass-bottomed tour boats went across it and someone asked, “What’s that one?” It’s been investigated, they know the type and general time period, but there is no identifying information on it.

I was amazed at how visible everything was. I knew the water was clear, but I hadn’t considered that that meant there would be a lot of sunlight down below, even lighting the areas beneath the tour boat. And the water was a clear green that was beautiful to see!

When we got back to the dock, Mom decided to buy the photo that had been taken of us when we got on the boat. Here we are rocking the clip-on sunglasses! Just like the Men In Black.

We went to Muldoon’s for lunch, in order to try pasties for the first time. (Rhymes with “sassy”, sort of.) It’s like a handheld pot pie, with a tougher crust so as to be somewhat portable, and a thicker filling. We brought them home and ate there. The pasties were good, but they were too big! I now have two meals’ worth of leftover pasties in my freezer!

After lunch we walked over to the beach near Headquarters, and stepped inside to pick up a couple of packages. Then we went back to town. We stopped for ice cream at the Frozen Flamingo, then did our grocery shopping together. It took a while to sort out everyone’s food back at the house! Joanne and I also mixed up some dough to make bread later. By then we were ready for another break.

We walked over to Sand Point Marsh and walked the boardwalk trail. It was nice, cool enough there weren’t too many mosquitoes. We saw an oriole – a brilliant flash of orange and black! We also spotted a little bird that had just fledged. Joanne saw the mother feeding it; I only saw it sitting on the branch. It looked like it might have left the nest a little earlier than it should have – it was just sitting there quivering, all fluffed up! Poor thing!

Just as we were getting to the end of the trail, Joanne spotted a beaver! It was gone by the time she could tell us to look, but it was still exciting.

 There were a lot more roses blooming this time!

 Eagerly anticipating these blueberries...

This is what's left of the star flowers I kept seeing earlier this summer!

It had been cool all day, but was a little warmer in the sun now, and Mom and I were determined to go swimming. Joanne was not so thrilled at the idea, but she came anyway. It was definitely the coldest it’s been when I’ve gotten in the water, and I was not able to just wade halfway in and duck down the rest of the way! I had to get in a little at a time, waiting for each bit to get a little numb so the shock wore off… but I did get in all the way up to my neck. (I don’t like to put my head underwater, especially in unchlorinated water! Too many ear infections as a kid.) Mom actually went in all the way too, and was swimming back and forth. Joanne got in over her knees, but she didn’t quite get her suit wet – still, on a day like this, even that was a challenge! It felt good to be in the water but it sure was cold.

After we recovered from our voluntary hypothermia, we drove out to their campsite for supper. I brought some salad and fruit, and we cooked a pasta mix on the camp stove. Then Joanne and I walked over to the beach while Mom did the dishes. (She offered! We weren’t going to argue!) The beach there is sandy with some pebbles, and since it’s outside the national park we were able to keep a couple. We noticed a duck a little way down the shore. Joanne spotted some other, smaller shorebirds, and then I realized – some of those smaller birds were ducklings! Once we spotted them we kept seeing them. We walked down the beach toward them, and the little ones kept milling around along the edge of the grass, occasionally venturing out on the water. Little waves kept washing up, and sometimes the ducklings would get swamped! But they do bob right back up again! After a while we got close enough that the mother duck was getting nervous, so we backed off and walked back to camp.

It wasn’t dark yet, and we decided to go back into town and hang out at the Falling Rocks Café again. I wasn’t really in the mood for ice cream, but hot chocolate sounded good! I ended up getting a decaf mocha instead, and we stayed there til the place closed at ten.