Munising, MI

We left St Ignace and the Tiki RV Park and Campground soon after 9:30 AM. Apparently ‘Tiki’ is not as strange a name for this part of Michigan as I had thought. The park sits on previously named Old Indian Burial site. In 1957 gravel was removed from the site and the bones of 52 Huron or Ojibwa Indians were removed and displayed as a tourist attraction. An anthropologist determined the burial was over 300 years old. The bones were reburied on tribal land in 1973, and the park was renamed Tiki RV Park.

The drive to Munising was about 120 miles and we arrived shortly after noon with a rest stop along the way. Part of the trip was along the coast of Lake Michigan on Route 2. This is as scenic a drive as one could imagine. Fortunately traffic was light and we could enjoy the splendor of the water and the coastline. We later turned northward through some highly forested terrain that was also tranquil and has a beauty of its own.

Munising is a seafaring town on Munising Bay and Lake Superior. Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes and the lake with a history of treacherous storms and shipwrecks; more of that later. We drove through the town en route to our campground: the Munising Tourist Park Campground. This is a city park with about 70 RV sites. Our location is terrific: we are clustered on four sites with three RVs in a triangle formation and a wonderful view of Lake Superior. We have water and electric hookups and the park is convenient to town.

Jim and Linda arrived about mid afternoon. They had spent three weeks in South Dakota and thoroughly enjoyed Bike Week at Sturgis. Bike Week is a ‘happening’ event and the stories they tell are hilarious and entertaining. Happy hour began soon after Jim finished setting up his coach.

The plan was to relax today and eat in tonight. We wanted to take a boat cruise tomorrow into Lake Superior to see the Pictured Rocks. Janice called and made reservations and she was advised to call again in the morning to confirm because strong winds were expected and the cruise could be canceled. This warning moved us to call again and change the reservation to today when the sun was shining and the seas were calm.

The cruise was very enjoyable and informational. The narrator explained much about Lake Superior and the town of Munising. Both have a colorful history. The Pictured Rocks are multi-layered rock formations along the southeast coast of Lake Superior. The cruise lasted about three hours and we saw some spectacular colors and formations on the outbound voyage and a different perspective of the same rocks on the return. It was an enjoyable time. The waters of Lake Superior are worth special mention for their clarity and colors. We are told the water is very cold and we were surprised to see children jumping off the rocks and swimming along the route.

Several restaurants were recommended to us by the staff at the marina and we randomly chose Sydney’s. It was an excellent choice. Five of us had fried white fish in a basket which was a great follow-on to the cruise. By the time we returned to the campground, darkness had arrived and we were all ready to retreat to our coaches for the night.

Today was a very good day.