Saxon Bay Hurley, Michigan

 Saxon Bay Hurley, Michigan

Our next move brought us to Saxon Bay Harbor. Luckily, it was a very short drive. We found a nice little campground right on the Lake.  

This was the view from our front porch.  Not bad, Huh?

We originally had planned on going back to the Apostle Islands to continue touring that area.  After looking at the map, we discovered we were just outside the Porcupine Mountains.

At roughly 60,000 acres, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park is Michigan’s largest state park and one of the few remaining large wilderness areas in the Midwest. It's home to a 35,000-acre old-growth forest, roaring waterfalls, miles of rivers and streams, more than 90 miles of hiking trails, a modern and rustic campground, backcountry camping, the Lake Superior shoreline and unrivaled vistas.

This is the write up from the Michigan State Park pamphlet.  With that kind of introduction and information, we decided to forego the Apostle Islands and see the Porcupine Mountains instead. When we put Karma’s tactical backpack on him, he gets so excited. He is always ready for a hiking adventure, even if he does have to carry his own water. 

Lisa and Karma overlooking the Porcupine Mountains. Karma loves hiking in these cool temps.

We were overlooking the Lake of the Clouds in the Porcupine Mountains.  The lake is only 12 feet deep at its deepest point and is known for its Bass Fishing.  It is a catch and release lake.  We were surprised the lake does not freeze solid and kill the fish since it is so shallow. 

A tree with its roots surrounding a rock. It appears to be growing out of the top of the rock.   Nature is very interesting. 

This is Mirror Lake in the Porcupine mountains.

The observation tower at the top of the Summit.  For years, the Summit was thought to be the highest point in Michigan at 1958 feet.  Once again, technology caught up and it was discovered that the Summit was the third highest peak.  The highest and second highest are both in the Huron Mountains. We will have to camp there in the future and may have to make that hike. We are trying to visit all the major sites in the areas and in the parks.  Google is our friend. We love researching the areas. The summer weather is actually pretty cool and mild up here. It makes for perfect hiking weather. 

The Presque Isle River is on the Southwest side of the Porcupine Mountains. There are trails that border the river’s edge to the east and the west.

Lisa and Karma were getting ready to attack the trail.

A view of the Nawadaha falls on the trail was one of the highlights of this hike.

A pine tree that was killed by the Pine Borer Beetle. We were told that is why it turns red.

The Manido Falls provided us with another photo op. 

Manabezho Falls was an amazing find on our hike.

This explains the perfectly circular potholes in the side of the river bank.  We were amazed by the artwork the Lord has created for us. 

This view of Lake Superior was from a suspension bridge.  This was our view before we returned up river to our car. We were not expecting how vast Lake Superior actually is. 

This is all pristine forest that man never logged.  Obviously,  there must have been reasons at various times to remove trees for safety reasons.  From what we saw,  normally the trees were left to decompose in the forest with no assistance from man.  Very often we had to climb over trees along the trail.  Well, Lisa and Karma occasionally were able to climb UNDER the fallen trees, but most hikers had to climb over them. 

We were not sure why this tree was cut down.  We were impressed with the size of the trunk.  The Porcupine Mountains are full of trees this size.

Obviously, we did not participate in any snow skiing during this visit, but we had fun seeing the sights.

  There are several downhill skiing resorts in the area.  This resort claims  to be the Ski Capital of the Midwest. There are so many trails for snowmobiles and cross country skiing that are used for hiking and biking in the summer.   It really is a 4 season recreational area. The locals do not seem to mind the frigid winters. We were wearing shorts but it was actually pretty chilly.

 We made a stop at an overlook for a picnic lunch and met a young couple. They were so friendly and informative. They seemed to enjoy chatting with us as much as we enjoyed them.  They had 2 little girls with a third on the way.  They were originally from the area and had family still up here. We spent nearly an hour chatting with them.  When we talked about the weather,  they laughed and said they have thick UP blood. Lisa was cold enough to be wearing a jacket by this time.  When we mentioned how cold the lake water was, they shocked us by saying they swim in it once it reaches 50 degrees. Their very small children also swim with them despite the coldness of the water.  They are definitely a very hearty breed indeed. We aren’t nearly that hearty.  We learned this area is great to visit in the summer, but not an area we want to spend our winters.