Munising and Pictured Rocks

The Porkies marked the mid-point of our journey.  MerSea 2's compass now points East as we snake our way back to Virginia.

Our second U.P. stop took us to Munising known for the Pictured Rocks.  Miles of shoreline is decorated with 100-200 ft high limestone cliffs colored by the tannins in the soil and etched with caverns by the bold Lake Superior waves.  In winter the harbor freezes over 3 ft thick and the place becomes a snowmobiling mecca.

We ventured out on a few trails and took a boat excursion to see the Pictured Rocks.  For lunch we dined on "pasties", a local specialty dating back to the coal mining days when these meat pies were the miner's lunchtime staple.

As we left Munising I failed to read the map carefully and route H-58 quickly became a dirt road ladden with pot holes that looked like the result of miniature land mine explosions.  What should have been a 1& 1/2 hour drive slowly became a 4 hour crawl.  Poor MerSea 2 rattles enough on the smoothest road -- on this road it felt like a micro earthquake ... as if all the screws holding the cabinets and interior of the cabin were going to come loose all at once!