Five National Parks in Five Days (Day Five)

Isle Royale National Park is an island on Lake Superior about 20 miles from the Canadian Border. It’s only accessible by airplane or boat. I drove all night from South Dakota aware that I was not only  working against distance–approximately 1050 miles to Copper Harbor, Michigan, but time since I would lose two hours going from Mountain Daylight to Eastern Daylight Time in Michigan. The boat was scheduled to launch from Copper Harbor at 8 a.m. My one advantage was that 400 miles of the drive was on I-90 with a speed limit of 80-miles-per-hour. I reached the boat at 7:56 a.m.!!

There were basically two groups of passengers on board–those who would stay on the island at least one night and those (including me) who were there for the day. The trip took approximately 3.5 hours each way with about 2.5 hours at the park’s visitor area. The day was pretty chilly, certainly cooler than the jean jacket I was wearing could adequately address, and cloudy, though the rain that threatened was brief and light.

The ranger who talked to us day visitors mentioned some activities available for the time frame we had available and described what to do if we encountered wild animals–such as bears and wolves. I had no intention of hiking, so I took care of my usual national park shopping list and walked back to where the boat was docked. I found a warm, comfortable spot and waited for the boat to return to Copper Harbor.

Unlike the trip out, when I had to take a seat in the middle area where I couldn’t see any scenery, I had a window seat with an excellent view of the lake and shoreline on the way back. I was amazed to see how big Lake Superior was, with points where I couldn’t see land at all.The water was choppy at times, but I have been blessed with a system that generally doesn’t have problems with motion sickness.

I was able to take a few pictures of the park and the scenery outside the boat during our return. Some of them are below:

The rest of the pictures from the day are at https://singin1.pics/piwigo/index.php?/category/5Parks-in-5-Days-Day-5-Isle-Royale-052325.

One of the boat’s crewpersons recommended a local restaurant where I could go for dinner. They directed me to the Marriner North, which also had lodging facilities. The service was good, and the fish and chips I ordered were fine. However, their Great Lakes Chowder was extraordinarily good, and I wished I had ordered a bowl instead of the cup.

As I was leaving the restaurant, my mind was on the long drive to Davenport, Iowa, when a road sign got my attention and made me turn SB around to do a double take. Yes, indeed, the sign did indicate that Miami, Florida, was 1990 miles from there!! Too funny, someone!

So, somehow, Day Five had come and gone, and I actually got all five national parks!!! Yea!!

Now, I’ve got to get home….

As always, I thank the Lord for granting me the stamina to make the trip, the damn good reflexes to steer the Silver Bullet (SB) as she needed to be guided, and the ability to enjoy His handiwork as it whizzes by my windshield.

This has been quite a journey, and I still have the home stretch to go. SB has met the call both for speed and for endurance. If all goes well, I was hoping to see home base by Sunday night.