Northern Exposure III - 2011 - Day #2

The weather was the dominant feature of this day also, but in weird ways.  We didn't rush, but after a truly excellent breakfast to set us up for a good while we headed out in good time - right into the fog!  Gradually the microscopic suspended moisture droplets morphed into real drizzle and then downright rain.  About halfway across the U.P. as we headed north we noticed that significant color was appearing amongst the conifer's green.  We passed through a soggy Paradise and then things became weird.  In the last half mile to Whitefish Point the rain ceased.

We elected to do the "beach thing" first in just very mild damp and this was where Zoe's vacation truly began!  Apart from a pair of birdwatchers in the far distance we had acres and acres of beach entirely to ourselves so we could release her to rush about hither and yon - and boy, did she ever!  We took a few pictures and Marissa took a video of Zoe which is in her Flickr and her blog.  Eventually we returned to the complex and after a quick look around put the exhausted Zoe in the van and headed for the coffee shop and the gift shop - in which latter John made his first significant personal purchase, a hunter green fleece with a fairly discrete little Whitefish Point Lighthouse logo.

We then started back towards Paradise and within 500 yards were back into the rain again. We stopped at a large and excellent craft and quilting store (an oddity in so small a town), spent some time but did not buy.  Then we headed west.  In the light of the unrelenting rain we elected to take a pass on the Falls, after all we had done both Upper & Lower in each of the last two years.  A good and wet while later we again pulled into a shore-side area, the town of Grand Marais and lo and behold, as we did so all precipitation stopped!  We did a mini-tour in the van, found a restaurant/bar that made really, really excellent paninis and got our lunch "to go" so we could park beside the water and eat.

Next move was to find a beach access and yet again we had the undisturbed space to let a delighted Zoe free.  We did notice however, that the earlier warp speed was down closer to half-warp speed!  With inadequate footwear Marissa made for a nearby set of steps and John & Zoe hustled as light rain began again back to van & over to get Marissa.  We continued west on the newly paved (and now both pretty and excellent) county road 58 until we got to the Au Sable Falls parking area, during another lull in the rain.  The sign said 300 yards, but neglected to mention that it was 200 horizontal and 100 vertical, virtually all in steps.  The falls are spectacular but just as we arrived at the bottom (without hats and coats) it started to rain again, so we took some hurried pictures and began the heart-straining ascent back to the van.

We decided to abandon sightseeing for the day and headed, through constant heavy rain, along the 50-odd miles to Munising.  As we passed the "All things Miners" turn-off (about 10 miles from town) the rain abruptly stopped and by the time we reached the town the roads were bone dry! We checked in to our usual motel and were able to unload and organize ourselves in brightness, and by the time we were firmly settled in we could actually see some patches of blue sky and sunshine from our room's patio overlooking the Lake.

I have heard of "lake-effect snow" for years, but this was my first experience of "lake effect rain suspension"!!  Somewhat to our surprise we racked up a solid 234 miles today and already have 782 for the first two days.  Some pictures have been posted to Flickr and added to the UP2011 set which may be found here.