Sunday 9-23 Dreary Day

A dreary day

We had a cold, windy dreary day.

When Larry looked at the weather report this morning it said it was going to be in the low 50s and rain. East of here in Ashland it was suppose to be a bit warmer and very little chance of rain. Larry decided to drive a scenic route called the National Lakeshores. It was misting a little so there was no need to stop too often. We stopped at an overview of Lake Superior, it was rough and very brown. We have been looking at Lake Superior for the last week and the water has been beautiful and clear, it doesn't look like the same lake today.

Lake Superior today

Lake Superior a few days ago

The next stop was Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Visitor Center. There are 21 Apostle Islands, the shoreline encompasses 69,372 acres. It has a collection of historic lighthouses, sandstone sea caves, a few old-growth forests and natural animal habitats. You can only get to the islands via boat, there are a number of commercial carriers that you can hire to take you to some of the islands, there is even a car Ferry to Madeline Island where there are shops and restaurants. While at the visitor center we watched a movie about the islands. It was very interesting. There is a sign outside that gives prices to get you to the island and when the boats depart. This time of year there are very few boats going to the islands, we had just missed today's trip and we probably wouldn't have gone because it was too cold and nasty.

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Visitor Center

Next we visited the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center. They are going to celebrate their 20th year anniversary next Saturday. The visitor center has three levels, the first level has exhibits about the natural history of the area, the second level exhibits change (we saw small beautiful quilts) and the third level is the observation level where you can go outside and look at the surrounding area. There is also 3/4 mile interpreter boardwalk. We saw a gorgeous mural illustrating the history of the area with people and wildlife. It's in two sections and each section has a sign that has numbers and names of animals for you find. The artist that designed and painted the mural also did some murals around the city of Ashland. We had fun learning about the area. We had been here before but it still was fun to revisit.

Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center

We were planning to stay in a National Forest Campground but due to the cold rainy weather we changed our minds. The Bad River casino is near Ashland and since I like to gamble and they have RV sites, it was perfect. For $20 a night you get power and water and you can use the resort's spa and pool. They also give you $5 dollars on a players club card. We had no problem getting a spot considering we were the only ones there. When I signed up for the player card. I ended up get $15 on the card, $5.00 for camping there, $5.00 for being there the first time and $5.00 because my birthday is this month. I ended up giving them back their money in a couple of hours. I went back in evening for another two and half hours and broke even. I had fun.