It was a very nice place and I highly recommend everyone to stay if they are ever up this way. If you have the extra funds, stay in the rooms facing Lake Superior. I personally looked at the parking lot but at least I was able to snap a few pictures from behind the hotel.
The first place I stopped was the Sand Point Marsh Trial. I walked along the boardwalk through the Marsh. Had I had more time I would have walked the North Country Trail which followed along the edge of Lake Superior and the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. While walking, I was able to hear the familiar sound of drumming from a Ruffed Grouse on one side and one of the many calls from the Common Loon on the other. In between all this I saw many different bird species but regretfully forgot my binoculars! I'm pretty sure there were some lifers floating about but at least I was able to take nice pictures. Had I brought my binocs, I probably would have been there all day which isn't exactly good when you have a ways to go to get to your destination.
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| How can someone not love the North Country? |
After walking along the boardwalk, I headed further east to check out Miners Castle and decided to also hike to Miners Falls as well. During the hike to the falls I was able to see a life bird, a male and female Red-Breasted Grosbeak, about 7 feet from the path. I heard a bird I had not heard since Wisconsin last summer, the Black-throated Green Warbler, and even noticed a few other birds that migrate through Ohio. Overall, I was impressed with the park and especially the sights!
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| Miners Falls |
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| Miners Castle |
Observe the various shades of blue and green in the images. Isn't it neat how crystal clear the water is? I actually saw a fish swim up, jump, and swim back down into the dark deep blue. Much different than Lake Erie, that's for sure! It's also pretty chilly in the water too. I think someone mentioned it gets up to maybe 42 degrees in the lake towards the very end of summer. Who wants to go swimming with the ice sheets?
After making a few pit stops to see these places, I head on over/up to Ely. I have a bug collection of mosquitoes on my car and had to use the gas station squijee at least four times to clean the windows. I arrived around 7pm I believe, which would be 8pm in EST, and met all but one intern and a staff member or two. We got to see the four Ambassador Wolves - Denali, Boltz, Aiden, and Luna - and shortly afterwards we head on over to our apartments. Originally we would each have our own rooms in two different three bedroom units but due to one intern missing I currently share a room with another intern. It's no big deal though for we all get along just fine. The apartments are honestly nice but lack AC. Hopefully the summer days do not get too hot! Good news is, I brought a fan and man has it helped so far. 10pm and currently 64 degrees, I love it.
