Lake Superior trip

For many who have never experienced the great lakes, don’t know that often times these lakes are simply inland seas and often act like the oceans. The waves can easily reach over fifteen feet during a storm as I’ve seen and experienced both on Lakes Michigan and Superior. The scenery around lakes; upper Lake Michigan, Superior and Huron are wooded areas with spectacular water falls, rock formations, canyons and other breathtaking scenery.

Not too long ago I was taking a trip to Sault Ste Marie from Chicago via Duluth Minnesota and Thunder Bay Ontario. I’ve been driving for hours and had already stopped in Duluth for dinner. I’m not one for hanging around big cities and paying a premium for a night of sleep when more inexpensive places are not too far from town. My dinner was already more than what I expected to pay for a simple meal. I decided to keep driving; after all I had plenty of daylight, to enjoy the drive up the north coast of Lake Superior. I made several stops to enjoy and take some photos of the fantastic lake and wooded sceneries. It was getting darker and I could hear the rumbling of a storm approaching. I didn’t even look at my watch to see what time it was as it didn’t occur to me that night was close at hand and I needed to find a motel for the night. I should have known that in these parts of the woods when it gets dark, it really gets dark. It gets so dark at night that if the stars aren’t shining, you can’t see your hand in front of your face. It didn’t take long for it to get pitch black as it began pouring rain. Driving in the middle of the woods isn’t like driving in the city or suburbs where the roads are lit up and bright signs all around you. The only signs I could barely see were dark silhouettes and had no clue as to what they said since they weren’t next to the highway where my headlights might have made them readable. I’ve been to places where even motels don’t have lit signs, so one of those signs could have been for a motel, I’ll never know.

I kept driving for about an hour looking for a motel with no luck. Just ahead was a sign which I could make out. It was a state sign for a rest area just ahead. It was a place I had to stop at as the storm worsened and seeing in front of my vehicle became an issue. I figured that it may be a good place for me to make a pit stop and take a break until the pouring rain stopped. It was several hours later and early into the next day and still raining hard. I knew that I was stuck there and had to spend the rest of the night. At least it had an outhouse where I could take care of business and staying dry while at it. There’s nothing worse than having to play bear in the woods and in the rain. I found a nice spot to park but really couldn’t tell at that moment what was just beyond the trees in front of me. The storm had plenty of lightning which lit up the skies giving me a hint that the lake was just ahead beyond the trees. The thunder echoed as if I was on top some sort of canyon. Water is a good conductor of electricity and sound so I figured that the echoes bounced off the water and the trees giving me one hell of a stereo effect. It was a rough night as I hardly got any sleep. The storm went on all night long with heavy downpours and strong winds. There were times when my vehicle began moving from side to side. I kept wondering if there was a tornado near by. There wasn’t much of a radio signal either, just plenty of white noise on both A.M and F.M stations.

When the storm had passed, the air was pure, but a little chilly. I could see that the sun was just coming up behind those trees. I wanted to get out and go take a look at the sunrise. When I stepped out of my vehicle there were huge deep puddles everywhere. The trees were dripping with water but something beyond those trees ahead of me drew me closer. A sweatshirt was needed for the chilly morning so I threw it on and then headed for the lake. My feet were already soaking wet from the deep puddles and brushing against the low lying bushes and trees got the rest of me wet. On this trip, I had forgotten to pack my rain gear and boots so I just had to deal with the situation and change clothes later. It was an uncomfortable feeling but onward.

I only had to walk a short distance when I realized what had happened last night during the storm. There was one hell of a land slide where a huge chunk of what once was just ahead was now sitting in the water just below. I could see trees, bushes and bits and pieces of grassy areas as the huge waves recede. I could see a huge mass of missing land inches in front of me and then I felt and heard a rumble just beneath my feet. Oh shit! You probably never saw anyone move that quick in your life as me hightailing it out of there and back to my vehicle. It was a good thing I did because another ten feet or so dropped about twenty feet into Lake Superior within seconds. Yes, the spot I was standing on just a few seconds ago is now in the drink. Had I decided not to move, I may not be here writing this experience. Earlier, the lake was just beyond the trees and now the lake is at the edge of the parking lot of the rest area. I took a good glance at the now breathtaking views of the sunrise and the lake at that spot and decided I need to get the hell out of there.

the view I saw before leaving as portrayed by my painting

a cabin in the woods

I was heading south east on highway 41. I wasn’t too far from L’Anse Bay which is located at the bottom of Keweenaw Bay, Michigan. There was also an Indian reservation just to the left. I had discovered my Michigan Atlas/Gazetteer which shows the entire state in detail, like Google maps, in a compartment behind the back seats in my truck and decided to utilize it for the rest of my trek. The atlas showed about four waterfalls all nearby so I decided to check them out providing there weren’t a lot of tourists. None of them had anyone around as the falls weren’t that big of a deal anyway. At the fourth falls there was a small ranger station with no one around. There was also a trail leading into the woods with a sign, “hiking trail length 1.5 mi” and a map of the trail. It looked like the path went next to a river so I jumped at the chance of being able to take some pics.

Before hitting the trail, I changed as I’ve done in the past just to be on the safe side, and checked to see if my phone had a signal. It did. Okay I’m cool and ready to hit the trail. The trail meandered through the deep dark woods. There was little light coming through the forest canopy so it seemed much later in the day than it was and it seemed like it was twilight. I have to say that it felt a bit eerie walking by myself through the thick of the forest. I knew that it was bear and wolf country and was a bit apprehensive. I also knew that there was a good chance of me spotting a moose so fear aside, on wards.

To my amazement during this whole trip thus far, I’ve not encountered any biting flies nor mosquitoes even deep in the forest. They don’t come out until July and this is still June. I came at the right time. About .75 mi into my hike, I came to the river. It was actually a creek but at that point it had widened quite a bit making it look like a river. I took a few pics as I saw some ideas for a painting and then continued ahead. Not far ahead, I could see an area where two creeks come together making a wider area from that point down. Just before the merging of the creeks and across, I see an old shack. It had no electric or telephone wiring  going to it. It was pretty run down with an old worn out stair step with a broken down railing leading towards the front door. There was also an old dock at the bottom of the stairs which looked very unsafe. I thought that it would make a cool painting so I snapped a few pics. A light had turned on in the back and then another towards the front. Perhaps someone might have woke up and turned the light on in the bedroom, walked to the kitchen and turned that light on.

painting of a cabin in the woods

Since there wasn’t any electricity running to the house, maybe the guy used a lantern. Perhaps it was an old hunting/fishing cabin. I don’t know, I didn’t really think that much about it. Just then the lights went off in both rooms and I expected for someone to come out the front door. I waited with curiosity but no one came out. Well maybe there was a back door and he went out that way, I thought to myself and moved on taking a few more pics. A little over a mile, and around the bend, I see the ranger walking towards me. He stopped and we chatted for a few minutes. I asked him “so who’s living in that old shack across the creek?” He answered “what are you talking about, what shack?”  “The brown broken down shack across the creek with white trim, just down the trail about a few hundred yards or so. There’s some broken old steps and a fallen down railing. It also has a dock. I saw some lights turn on in the back and then towards the front,” I explained. He answered; “There’s no way anyone could be living there, that shack burned down over a decade ago and the owner lost his life in the fire.” “no way” I said, “I just saw the shack not five minutes ago.” The ranger goes, “yup that’s the house all right but how could you describe it so well, have you been here before?” I said “no”. We walked together to the area where I saw the shack. All I could see was some of the charred remains of it. Nature took over the rest. I thought that I would show the pics I took to the ranger but they weren’t  at all what I thought that I had taken pics of. They were just pics of trees across the creek.

He invited me over to his office by the entrance and said “I want to show you something.” What I saw was unbelievable. He had some photos of the shack hanging in the back room prior to the fire, as I described it to him.

try and explain this one

When I was a little boy growing up in Canada, anytime my parents said road trip, I was always the first one in the car ready to go. I knew from experience that a road trip was going to be something special, not one of those trips to a place with hundreds of tourists ready to ruin your trip. My mother loved to travel especially to places off the beaten track. That’s where the adventures begin and we experience the unusual happenings.

I remember one time going to Niagara Falls, definitely a tourist trap spot of all times and although we checked out the falls, we went to another cool place not too far from there, the Welland Canal located in a near by town called Sarnia. Not too many people get to see the big ocean going vessels go through a series of locks which take them from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie or vice a verse. Although I appreciated the falls and still remember the times, the trip to the canal made a bigger impact on me for the rest of my life. We were invited onto one of the ships and to experience part of the process from a different prospective. For many a year to come, this would be my philosophy in travel and followed it for many years. I had forgotten what’s really important to me, my philosophy in traveling and whenever I went on a fishing trip, I was always in a hurry to get to my destination. Having unusual experiences as a younger man getting from point A to point B was no longer my priority, getting there was. I missed a lot of experiences I might have had, had I kept up with my philosophy.

Once I began painting landscapes and nature scenes, the priorities of travel slowly came back to me. I no longer rush like everyone else to their destination, instead, I look for signs leading me to some really cool adventures. I would have never thought that I’d be looking for this at my age of 66. It all just happened as I was seeking for ideas for paint projects.

Earlier this summer while on a trek for ideas which took me around Lake Michigan and even to the southern shores of Lake Superior, I came upon some great adventures, just because I decided to get off the beaten track and see what else I can find. When one is in the north woods, one never knows what may be just around the bend or down an old logging road. I made it my priority to check out areas which might add to my collection of experiences.

I was headed towards Copper Harbor which is located at the top of Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I’m a Yooper at heart and have traveled to the U.P. for the last thirty eight years on fishing trips. I was somewhere between Hancock and Calumet where I had just experienced something really weird at a boat launch site. I didn’t realize that it was going to get even weirder once I got to Copper Harbor. I had taken an old beat up road from the main highway which was to take me to the launch site so I took it. After that strange happening, just about a mile or two after stopping to grab some lunch, I came across another road sign pointing down a paved road which would take me to another boat launch. I had no clue how far down it may be or if it was an access site for a lake or a river as the sign didn‘t say. Either way, I was sure that I would get some great photos and ideas for my paint projects so I decided to see where it took me. I might point out that I had no Michigan map as I never needed one before. I’ve always just followed my feeling and a compass.  According to the compass in my truck, I had just turned south.

I drove and drove for several miles looking for some sign for the access site. There was nothing at mile three nor were there any side roads along the way. Nothing in the way of a sign at mile five nor seven. At mile eight on the right I saw a sand/gravel road. I decided to follow it. I followed it for another five miles heading west. I came upon an access sight sign pointing to the right and made my turn. I was now headed north on a single lane dirt road that was overtaken by weeds. It was one of those winding roads that took me into the thick of the woods with the weeds swiping my side view mirrors. I drove for about 500 yards or so and saw the lake just ahead through the trees.

painting of the lake

When I got to the lake, I noticed that it wasn’t that big but it sure was pretty. There wasn’t a parking area so I just parked where I felt like. There wasn’t anyone around and when I got out of my truck, I couldn’t hear a sound, not even the birds. There was no wind rustling the leaves on the trees. It was dead silence. I thought that it was odd because usually one can at least hear birds or crickets. The weeds were pretty thick all around me, I was in my shorts, so I changed into my jeans, put on my boots, a long sleeve shirt in case of ticks and was ready for action. I noticed that the lake was down a steep hill with several tree tops and bushes in view. There was an island with some trees n the middle of the calm lake. There were no houses or any signs showing that anyone had been there in quite sometime. I pulled out my camera and took several photos.

For some odd reason I pulled out my cell phone to see if there was a signal in case of an emergency. Nope, it was In sleep mode to save on the battery. I thought that it might be a good idea to stay in view of my truck so I wouldn’t get lost in the area. It was a bit weird being in a desolate area by myself especially with dead silence all around me. I just figured that it was part of nature and left it at that. I soaked in the view and the silence for about an hour and headed on out. When I got back on the road I came in on, where I was now headed back east, about an eighth of a mile into my drive, there was another dirt road and a sign on my left which said; to hwy 41. This was the main hi-way which I was on earlier headed to Copper Harbor. I thought to myself “that’s just weird, I didn’t see that road nor the sign coming in.”

Since it was where I needed to go, I turned left, once again heading north according to the digital compass built into my dash. I drove on the road with no one in sight, just the thick of the forest all around me, for about three quarters of a mile, when I saw a paved road in the distance. My digital compass point was, still mind you, north. When I got to the paved road, after stopping I saw a sign pointing left to hwy 41. I decided to take another gander at my compass and now it’s telling me that I’m at the stop sign headed east. What? There were no turns and my compass showed that I was headed north just a few seconds ago, how is that possible?

I turned onto the road and looked at my compass. It showed I’m headed north again. Here’s where it gets even more weird. I could see hwy 41 in the distance less than a quarter of a mile and when I got to the intersection, I noticed that I was on the same road I took earlier looking for the boat launch site. The sign was missing. Wait, what? Did I not drive for miles headed south and then west to this lake and now in less than five minutes from there I’m back where I started from? Was I just hallucinating the whole thing? Maybe my camera had the answer so out it came and took a look to see what was on it. There they were, the pics I took of the lake.

When I got to Copper Harbor later in the day and after securing a motel room on Lake Superior, I decided to connect my lap top to their wi-fi, fire up my Google Earth program and see if I can find these two lakes. I was more curious about what transpired in this story since it was just too weird. I spent a few moments trying to find the two areas in question with no luck. I decided to check it out more later in detail, but right now, I wanted to enjoy the view with a couple of glasses of wine.
I never did find that particular lake, but I did find the road which took me several miles south where according to Google Earth, there was an airport and a small lake just east of the road. The little lake didn’t look like anything I saw and was much smaller. At the end of the road was Torch Lake.