Isle Royale National Park, Michigan

6/25/25 - We had to leave the RV at 6:30am to check in for our 7:30am ferry from Grand Portage, MN, to Isle Royale, MI.

Voyageur II Ferry (8 hour ride on this thing!)

We got to board first (probably because I was first to book on Jan 2!) so we got our pick of seats. We chose seats with the best view, which ended up being the worst!  They were in the room with the engines and we didn’t have earplugs. It was a LONG trip!  Although this was the shortest distance from the mainland, we learned Voyager II is the slowest and most uncomfortable option...faster/bigger boats and seaplanes come from Houghton and Copper Harbor, MI. However, it was our only option from Minnesota.

After dropping some passengers off at Windigo Harbor, we eventually made it to our destination at the other end of the island: Rock Harbor. We checked into our room, bought a bottle of wine, and enjoyed it and the smoked walleye (that we had purchased the day prior) on our deck overlooking the clear water of Lake Superior. After a great dinner (smoked whitefish dip and pan-fried walleye) at the only restaurant, we showered and went to bed. By the way, most people to the island do NOT stay in the lodge like we did. Most people backpack and camp.

6/26/25 - At breakfast we asked where our best chance of seeing a moose would be. Based on the advice, we rented a canoe, paddled across Tobin Harbor, and hiked past Hidden Lake and up to Lookout Louise. We saw a lot of evidence of moose (i.e. moose poop) plus lots of pretty wildflowers, birds, a view of Canada, and 1.1 billion mosquitos. But no moose.

Paddling across Tobin Harbor, we saw many birds including these ducks

...and this loon family.

Me with my mosquito head net pointing out the flattened grass where a moose had laid down

We also saw lots of amazing wildflowers

After checking into our new accommodations (I had to make two separate bookings and they couldn't keep us in the same room) and an early dinner, we did a 4.5 mile hike in the other area known for common moose sightings (Stoll Loop to Scoville Point). We saw two Sandhill cranes, a snowshoe hare, and a billion more mosquitoes, but still no moose😢.

The snowshoe hare still has its fuzzy white feet

After missing the 9pm deadline to get online in the ONE common room that offered it, we left for our cabin. THEN we saw a fox and, about 200 yards from our cabin, a moose!  We had a perfect view of him. 

The moose near our cabin

Any closer would have been uncomfortable!

After lots of pictures with our new zoom camera, we got back to the cabin before 10pm sunset. There was no TV or internet so we enjoyed reading (in addition to the great view).

We had a stunning view from our cabin

6/27/25 - It was raining and chilly so we enjoyed a day of relaxation!  Pat walked to the lodge for coffee and brought us back a late breakfast. The rest of the day was napping and reading with a quick break for dinner and internet tasks.

6/28 - We got lucky with another sunny day so after breakfast we rented a small fishing boat to explore the islands of the Isle Royale archipelago. Just as we finished the rental paperwork, the fog rolled in…so thick you couldn’t see 100 yards. So they told us to come back one hour after it had cleared. It cleared up almost immediately but we did some internet stuff while we waited the hour. After we waited another 30 minutes for the boss to give the OK, we were on our way.

We motored the channel between the main island and the islands to the south. By Saginaw Point we docked by the 1940's Edisen Fishery and looked around the preserved buildings. We also chatted with a couple that has lived in this remote spot for the past 15 summers. And I thought OUR lodge was remote!  We walked to the Rock Harbor Lighthouse and looked at the exhibit inside that covered 7 Isle Royale shipwrecks. Then we walked 0.5 miles to the “Mooseum”…a little wolf/moose research compound run by a husband/wife from Purdue and Michigan Tech for over 50 years!  The other couple said they were kayaking around Isle Royale for 2 weeks (looking for winter moose/wolf activity) but that we could look around.

They had an amazing collection of moose skulls and antlers

We saw lots of moose poop on the way back to our boat, but no producers.

Another bird family (mergansers). The babies liked to ride on mom's back!

We enjoyed a cold Keweenaw Brewing Company beer in the sun, sitting by the harbor, before dinner and reading.

6/29/25 - Another torturous 8-hour ride on the Voyageur II. This time we picked better seats AND had ear-plugs!

On 6/30 we (hopefully) enter Canada (who thought the US would be arguing with them?!?!). We start several days of eastward-bound long-hauls through what I believe will be remote areas. I'll post ASAP.