Day 5: Porcupine Mountains and Apostle Islands

 June 30, 2021

Washburn, WI

In the morning, I drove about three hours to the Porcupine Mountains in northwestern Michigan, still int eh Upper Peninsula. Here, they have a wilderness state park. There are several sites to see. The first is the #1 rated (according to TripAdvisor) thing to do in the UP: Lake of the Clouds. A short climb leads to a beautiful view of the lake and surrounding mountains. Farther along int he park on t he South Boundary Road, there is a trail to Summit Peak, the highest peak in the park. There, you can climb a watch tower for 270 degree views. Finally, in the southwest corner of the park is the Presque Isle scenic area, which features a number of waterfalls, cascades, and a rickety suspension bridge. 

In the afternoon, I drove to Bayfield, WI, where I parked at the ferry dock and tookt he 5:30 sunset cruise of the grand tour of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Sure enough, my friend from the Pictured Rocks cruise was also on board. The weather was beautiful for this cruise, perhaps the best they had all year--sunny with a breeze, calm waters, about 78 degrees. We had hte low angle lighting on the sea caves at Devil's Island, which were created by wind, wave, and ice over the eons, as well as glacial retreat uplift. They stretched ont he shore of Devil's Island for miles and it was truly spectacular and breath taking. The lighthouse on Devil's Island was also cool. 

The cruise continued past Raspberry Island and its amazing lighthouse. It was a rare perfect day and time to catch photos of the lighthouse without any shadows on it. There was even a partial rainbow ont he ride back to Bayfield. I then camped in the Big Rocks campground in the Chequamenon National Forest.