UPBC-Day 4

This day was our "outing" day, where you could plan an outing outside of camp. There were many activities to choose from, but Eric and I had wanted to take a boat tour of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, which is 37 miles of stunning sandstone cliffs, waterfalls, and colorful weather carved, forest-topped rocks. It was everything that we thought it would be-so beautiful! We were able to get seats on the top deck, so that was great for getting a good view of the scenery. The only downside was that the water was choppy, so the boat was rocking back and forth a bit, particularly when we slowed down for viewing purposes. By the end of the tour, we were ready to get off the boat, with the exception of Asher who was lulled to sleep by the rocking motion for most of the tour. Rocky boat aside, the scenery was really beautiful. The pictures I took really don't do it justice.

After the boat tour, we saw that there was a farmer's market right on the street, so we perused that as well. This was especially fun for me with regards to taking pictures, since I prefer taking pictures of inanimate objects, and the farmers market had plenty of fun things to look at. Although no one will care at all about pictures from this farmers market, I had fun taking them. Also, the kids opted for "real" Italian ice for a treat (whatever that means). At any rate, it was delicious. We ended the day by meeting up with the rest of the campers for dinner at a park. 

This was so cute. We let Judah use our little camera so that he could take his own pictures on this trip. He loved it. We might have a budding photographer on our hands. :)

"Dad, can you take a picture of me on the boat?"

This is called Miners Castle. It has several eroding caverns at the base with a steep sandstone walls. There is a crown-like structure at the top.

This is called Painted Coves. These sandstone walls were created from groundwater and springs rich with minerals such as iron, copper, and lime that leak out of cracks in the rock and trickle down its face. The colors we saw on some of these rocks were really cool.

Here is an example of some of the color and patterns that we saw.

These are called the Caves of all Colors. The coloration here has been occurring over centuries as a result of the sandstone rock and mineral enriched waters that cascaded down them. 

I had no idea when I took this picture, but if you look closely, you can see that there is a man down in the caves. 

This is Lover's Leap. Tradition has it that a couple displayed their love for one another by jumping off the top of this rock arch together. We were also warned not to attempt this jump, as the water is only a few feet deep in that area.

This is Rainbow Cave. This is a large cave with really neat mineral stained walls. This was a really unique structure.

This is Indian Head. This is a huge rock formation named after it's resemblance to an old "Indian Head"carved into a point 

This is called the Grand Portal

This is flower vase for obvious reasons. Isn't it cool how these rock formations resemble actual things? 

This is Indian Drum. These rock formations combined together make a drum looking arrangement of giant proportions.

These are called the Battleship Rocks because they resemble a row of battleships lines up as if they were ready to head out to sea.

This is East Channel Lighthouse. This historic lighthouse was constructed in 1868 as a guide for boats traveling in from Lake Superior to the east channel of Grand Island and into Munising Bay. This lighthouse serves as a reminder of what past sailors used to find a safe harbor.

Someone woke up from his nap and wanted mama...

On to the farmers market...

Eden and Judah were in particularly giggly moods while enjoying their Italian Ice, so it was fun to take pictures of them laughing and goofing around.

Aaaaannnd, she's out

The view at the park we met the others at for dinner

Judah asked me to walk out with him on this structure, so we went for a walk. We didn't make it all the way out to the end, but I thought it was cute that he asked me to walk with him.

"Mom, take a picture of me!"