Sunday, June 11, 2023
Today was supposed to be a kayak tour of the Pictured Rocks. I'd be seeing much of the same area as the day before, just from the water. I was looking forward to it. At 7:30A, I received a text. Due to high winds, all kayak tours had been cancelled. "Please call to reschedule." Monday, it's supposed to rain all day with a high temperature of 46 degrees. Tuesday, I have another commitment. Perhaps next time.
Instead of spending the day in a kayak, I suddenly found myself with a full day and no plans. No problem.
My hiking guidebook had two trails to waterfalls in the Twin Falls Plant Preserve, just outside Munising. These are two short trails to Olson and Memorial Falls. Unfortunately, there's now a fence and signs saying it's closed. They're doing work on trails. So far I was 0-3 for the day.
My luck turned at Munising Falls. Oddly, the parking lot was full, but I met very few people on the short trail.
The second waterfall of the day was Miners Falls. There was a red truck from the New Jersey Wildfire Service in the lot. I asked the two guys by the truck and they're in Michigan as part of the response to the state's drought and wildfires.
The waterfall is an easy .6 miles from the lot. The lower overlook is another sixty-four steps down.
Further down the road is a rock outcropping they call Miners Castle. The name goes back to 1771 when British entrepreneur Alexander Henry paid for an expedition to the area in search of potential minerals. They didn't find any, but the name stuck.
Considering it was still mid 40's windy and damp, I figured it was the perfect excuse to stop off for some coffee and a little something Michiganders call a Pastie. (pr; PASS-tee) Depending where you are in the state, it's either served with ketchup or brown gravy. It's like a small calzone, but filled with meat and vegetables.
After lunch I went off to try and find two more waterfalls. There are two small lots for Wagner Falls.
Right around the corner, Alger Falls...
Down by the Munising harbor I came across something I had never seen before. Just off the main road sits the Munising Front Range Light...
A few blocks behind is the Rear Range Lighthouse.
These were build in 1907 to replace the previous single light. With Grand Isle so close, the harbor entrance was especially tricky. With the dual light system, approaching boats can simply line up the front and back lights for a straight line in.
Late in the afternoon, I stopped into Munising's other brewery, The ByGeorge Brewing Company.
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