Wisconsin + Great Lakes Vacation {Day 4 - Monday, August 4th} Picture Rocks National Waterway + Lake Superior

Day 4 of vacation brought mom's favorite adventure of all the days.  We headed back to the U.P. to Munising, got our America the Beautiful pass (shout out to the 4th grade program that got us in for free!) at the visitor center, and drove directly to Miners Beach for our first glimpse of beautiful Lake Superior.

The Canadian wildfire smog was evident the whole trip but especially here.  Still gorgeous, though!

crystal clear...

It was difficult to know when to have the kids put their swim suits on or if we were going to just be wading, etc.  Everyday we packed a bag with a spare set of clothes for everyone (down to underthings), and another bag with swim suits & towels.  Life jackets and water shoes stayed in the bus.  If we weren't such a drive from the lakes we would have just driven home wet, but alas, that was not our journey this trip (I speak more to that on Day 5's blog post).

Back to this day...

We waded in Lake Superior (brr!) and then decided to do a little hiking to Elliot Falls.  We started walking on the beach but the sand was so soft that it was very difficult for a couple of us.  We went back to the upper trail and got along much smoother!  The falls at Elliot Falls were not flowing (bummer!) but I'm so glad we made the hike.  It was a phenomenal place to explore and play and we spent a long time here.  The rock shelves went out for a long time and (although a bit slippery) they were so fun.  This was an instance where I wished they'd had on suits but could easily say "just get your clothes wet, you have dry ones in the bus."  And I was thankful.

Wonderful play place for these adventurous souls.

The sweetest woman took our family picture and even made the effort to take multiple angles.

The memory of this place will live rent free in my head forever.  I felt really joyful here - surrounded in glory that only a good God could have created.

Evalynn in the rushing water of Elliot Falls.  LOL.  It was quite cold though!

We hiked back to the car and the kids changed to swim suits.  We took our picnic lunch to a table in the shade and enjoyed a meal together before heading down to the beach.

The water was 64 degrees and "refreshing."  Ha!  But most of the kids could not be stopped.  Mike was a good sport and went rock hunting with Evalynn so she could take her life vest off.  The water was so clear that she put on her goggles so she could inspect the rocks underwater.

The sand was exceptionally soft.  Which made the walking hard and the playing grand.  Not so easy to make a sand castle out of though!

The oldest four are racing!

Driftwood was plentiful but made for fun playing.

unbelievably clear for a long ways out...

Mia and Evie by far lasted longest in the water.  I'm convinced they don't feel cold.  

"The perfect stick."  If you have boys you know how lovely it is to find the perfect stick.

This beach was busier but still not crowded and it seemed we'd arrived before a lot of the influx of people.  It was truly beautiful.

After our fill of playing we again used the bus changing area to put on dry clothes and then we drove to the starting point for Miners Falls overlook and hiked out and back to see the waterfall.

The wooded hiking area was pretty and shaded, the path was easy, the mosquitoes were so friendly, and my ankle was cranky after the sand walking but it was still worth it.

If we were to choose a place to go back to it would certainly be Pictured Rocks National Waterway.  We could have spent a week there and not seen all it had to offer.  Stunning.

Supper on this night was fast food on the way home.  Then showers and a few rounds of cards before bed because the next day was a sleeping in day so bedtime had no meaning!