Early Departure

Pictured Rocks Continued

After our day hike to Trapper's Lake we chowed down, then Lisa and I walked to the creek and sat a spell on the bridge, enjoying the evening. We were dead-dog tired but it was too early to turn in so we dangled our feet over the water and rested our heads on the handrail.

Beaver Creek bridge

Beaver Creek

 Back at the campground we watched another glorious sunset.

Lake Superior at sunset

We had another decision to make about our trip. It was Sunday, and we were supposed to stay through Tuesday morning. But the last weather report we'd heard was calling for potentially stormy to severe weather some time on Monday. If it came early (assuming it came at all) we would have time to dry out before packing up Tuesday morning. If it came late Monday, we'd be packing up wet. If it didn't come until Tuesday morning, we would be packing/hiking in the rain. Not only that, but we were to drive home Tuesday as well, a good seven to eight hour trip. We decided to sleep on it, but knew that if we were to leave early it would be Monday morning rather than later in the day. No sense sitting around waiting for the rain to come.

So Monday I got up early and hiked around the campground looking for birds. The only one who showed his face was this Red-breasted nuthatch. It was good to see the little fella since none of them came down to see us this past winter.

We deliberated again about what to do and decided that it would make the whole trip more pleasant if we packed up and left that morning, and took our time getting home. We could drive east to Grand Marais, the small town that lies at the east end of the park, then down to Seney National Wildlife Refuge. We'd get a motel room somewhere on the south side of the U.P. then head home Tuesday morning. It would get us home earlier and we wouldn't feel rushed.

So we packed up and hit the trail. My load was slightly lighter since I was carrying most of the food, but it was still an arduous hike. We stopped several times, once along side a creek where we filled our water bottles and cooled our feet in the chill water.

Back at the van we wiped down and took some time getting gear loaded and organized. We headed to Grand Marais, where we stopped at the Lake Superior Brewing Company for a wonderful lunch. This dog sat on the seat of this bike, waiting patiently for its owner. The little guy in the doorway was enthralled.

By 5:00 pm we were rolling into Seney, one of our favorite places to go to see wildlife.  Everyone there seemed to have babies, but that will have to wait for next time.

The rain? It never came....