Biggs Cross Country 2017: Day 42 - Isle Royale, Grand Portage,Thunder Bay

We had to be up and out early this morning. Beautiful, sunny skies as we drove back across the border into the US to get our boat to Isle Royale at Portage. We drove down some back roads to find our ship, the Sea Hunter III, with about 40 other passengers for the day trip. We were told the return trip would add a bunch of campers who had been out there for awhile.

The trip to the island takes about 1 1/2 hours. The boat was pretty powerful, I'd say she was doing 25 knots! The only problem with the trip was that once we got going, it was windy and really cold! We were met at the dock by a young Park Service Ranger who gave a brief welcoming talk. Then off to the store, for hot coffee!!

This place is really remote. The only services at this end of the island were a small visitor center and a store with the bare minimum. Once we warmed up we joined a guided nature walk. We learned that there were about 1600 moose on the island - we never saw a one! Moose eat a lot. To prove it, there was a fenced off area to keep moose out of the forest - so many more trees! Lots of wildflowers, too. Later we heard a talk from a volunteer group who is leading the restoration of the Rock of Ages lighthouse, the "second most isolated lighthouse in the US" - its 14 miles off shore plunked on a tiny rock, served by four keepers up until 1969.

The reason this park is a National park, founded in 1940, is its unique environment. Its a scientists' paradise, with studies ongoing all the way from Moose to Lichen and everything in between. It is so remote and unaffected by pollution (well, almost) that its a great research site. Popular things to do here are hiking and backcountry camping. This day trip was just right for us!

The return trip, at 2:00PM, was not so pleasant. In fact, it was downright horrible! The wind had "freshened", as they say, and the "sea" was pretty rough. We were fortunate to get a spot in the cramped inside cabin. We felt bad for the folks outside who were drenched in spray from the 42 degree water. After 90 minutes of bouncing and lurching we arrived safely back to the pier, with wobbly legs and stomachs.

I have a new appreciation for the hugeness of Lake Superior! We were blasting along for 90-minutes and hardly made a dent on the map! We were watching for whales and porpoises!

Back to the "village" of Portage (Its really nothing but a casino complex) we went to the Grand Portgage National Monument and learned about the "Grand Portage" - quite a story. This site was the "Grand Central Station" of the fur trade from 1780s to 1803. The trading post was owned by the North West Company. Traders would bring goods to trade with the Ojibwe Indians for beaver pelts in big canoes from Montreal. Since the Pigeon River was not navigable in this are due to falls and rapids, the traders had to portage their canoes and supplies 8.5 miles until they could get back into the river for the trip to interior of Canada. These are the guys they call "voyageurs". We'll learn a lot more about them when we visit Voyageurs NP tomorrow.

Once back to Thunder Bay, we went right to Tony Roma's for a great dinner! After dinner we toured around Thunder Bay a bit. Its a big city - 100,000 population and quite industrial.