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We camped just outside of Munising on the beach of Lake Superior across the bay from Grand Island. We were treated to some of the best auroras that we have seen in some time. Just past midnight the green arch appeared that ran right through the Big Dipper.

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As I photographed the arch it exploded into reds and greens that covered the entire northern sky. It appeared as though the heavens just opened up. What a sight to see over the waters of Lake Superior.

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The campfire illuminated the tent and nearby pine trees adding to the ambiance of the evening. We couldn’t have picked a better place to camp that night. It was hard to get back to sleep after seeing so much beauty in the heavens.

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Bayfield Apples

First stop was in Bayfield, Wisconsin where we explored several apple orchards for the tastiest apples we could find. We had a lot of fun visiting with the orchard owners and exploring the backcountry roads.

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Big Spring 001

We continued south of Munising to Palms Book State Park. Located in the park is one of Upper Michigan’s Seven Natural Wonders. It is called Kitch-iti-kipi (Big Spring).

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It is listed on their brochure as a “Mirror of Heaven” and I would agree. At 45 feet deep the water is so clear you can see the moving sand at the bottom as 10,000 gallons of water per minute are fed into the pond from fissures in the underlying limestone. There is a unique self-operated observation raft with a window in the raft’s bottom that allows for wonderful underwater viewing. Visitors can wheel themselves across the pond at their own pace and enjoy the added benefit of viewing the hundreds of steelhead trout located in the pond. They were everywhere.

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Bond Falls 001

One of the highlights of the trip was the time spent at Bond Falls. Bond Falls is a little known Michigan State Park located on the Ontonagon River.

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We met a Wisconsin family that let me use their kids as models.

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In one spot we found a “Z” in the rocks that reflected not only the blue sky but also the orange and reds from the nearby maple trees.

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Bond Falls is a series of several waterfalls that run for about a quarter of a mile.

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Campfire

Campfire

East Channel Lighthouse

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore was closed to hiking but we were able to take the tour boat along the shore. The first stop was a beautiful old historic lighthouse on Grand Island. The East Channel Lighthouse was built in 1868.

Please hit next below. There are two pages of photos.

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Lake of the Clouds 001

The first place we camped in the UP was at Porcupine Mountains State Park. The park’s most scenic attraction is “Lake of the Clouds” located in a valley at the top of the Porkies. We were able to capture both a rainbow and a beautiful sunrise over the lake.

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Maple Leaves

Karla and I took a road trip to the scenic Upper Peninsula of Michigan this past week. Due to the unseasonable warm weather (which was nice for camping) most of the leaves had not turned yet. We had to search for the colored maple leaves but were able to find some nice ones.

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The next day we drove into the Hiawatha National Forest to see the changing maples. We found several little lakes surrounded by maples reflected in the water.

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Sunrise on Au Train Beach

We were treated to one more beautiful sunrise along the Lake Superior beach before we broke camp and headed for home.

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