From Oconto to Munising

I stayed at my usual stop at Oconto City Park in northern Wisconsin thursday night for only $10.  No showers but a flush toilet and sink are across the street down by the beach.  And the waters of Green Bay were a good substitute to get cleaner and to get cooler at the end of a hot day.

There were a few kids swimming but I walked through the waters, getting pretty good resistance between the water and the squishy sand.  I paced back and forth as the sun set, wearing out my muscles before bedtime and only giving the bay back to nature when the pink disappeared and the Canada Geese came in for a landing.

The next morning I was up just after sunrise and back on my way up to Munising, Michigan where I was hoping to get a weekend campsite without a reservation.  I tried Bay Furnace USFS campground first, but they were full, so I settled for an overflow site at Munising Tourist Park instead.

Now that I was all set up the question was what to do before it got too hot?  A short hike to two lesser known falls instead of braving the crowd at Munising Falls sounded like a plan.

There are a lot of falls in the area thanks to exposed bedrock in the ravines and along the shore here.  Walking in the shade of the woods instead of under the direct midday sun doesn't suck either.

Tannery Falls, or also called Memorial Falls, took me a whole 3 minutes to hike to.  Can't beat that.  It can be accessed by parking just off the road where it splits to go down to Munising Falls.  Then cross the highway and you'll see the trailhead at the edge of the woods.

The falls is a charming one with a 40 foot drop.  I got better photos with my iPhone than with my Canon SX50, which I've been finding true of just about every shot I've taken the past few weeks.  I really liked shooting the young girl enjoying the spray!

Thinking about what I'm going to do about a replacement camera to get better shots, I walked underneath the falls and continued on to the next one.

They have gotten lots more rain than we have up here and the forest understory is looking healthy.  I know when Nickie and Jimmy were up here the roads were washed out there were detours in the area, but things are cleaned up and tourists will have no problem getting around now.

Little Twin Falls is a short walk from Tannery Falls but doesn't usually see much flow.  Still it was a nice stop and nice and cool under the ledge.

While it is still plenty warm here today in the mid 80's it's not as hot or humid as it is in Wisconsin so I am happy to be enjoying my time in the shade on the beach with the latest adventures of Lisbeth Salander to read.  No sunblock needed and the biting flies seem to have gone on vacation too!

I  stayed out all day in order to avoid the crowded overflow site until dark, and then was back to Bay furnace by 8:00 AM after stopping for a bagel by the beach.

Lucky me, there were three sites open and I snagged one right away!

 I don't have to return to work until Thursday due to a change in our doctor schedule...I wonder how long I will stay?  Anyone else up in the region be sure to let me know, I'm willing to drive a bit to meet up!