From Thunder Bay, we crossed back into the US and made our way to Grand Marais, Minnesota. We spent a few days at the Municipal Campground and Marina. What a great spot! We lucked out with a campsite that backed onto the water. The beach was quiet and a quick walk from our site.

Town was also just a short walk away. Being at a campground that’s so close to town is such a bonus. We perused the local shops, including the food coop, the Lake Superior Trading Post, and the World’s Best Donut shop. The donuts are legendary; there’s a line all day long.

We strolled along the marina walkway and enjoyed watching boats, birds, and slippery sea otters.

We finished our stay with a fish and chips dinner dockside at The Fisherman’s Daughter.

Fresh local fish, in this instance Walleye, is a real treat. And when in Minnesota, you’ll want to have “tots.” Tater tots go with just about everything.

From Grand Marais, we continued south to the most western point of Lake Superior and Duluth. We stayed at the Lakehead Municipal Campground and Marina. It’s a parking lot kind of campground that has excellent amenities. The bath room/showerhouse is new and actually part of the adjacent Comfort Inn.

The location is perfect for watching Duluth’s famous aerial lift bridge in action.

When the warning bells sound, the bridge closes to pedestrian and vehicular traffic, and then the roadway lifts to 135 feet for boat traffic. During the busy shipping season, the bridge lifts almost every 30 minutes – or over 20 times per day. The bridge operates on a counter weight assisted system. It’s really quite an ingenious feat that’s earned it a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.

Duluth’s harborwalk is a good place for stretching your legs and enjoying the sights.

There are also interesting sculptures in Canal Park and flowery gardens along the way.

We said farewell to Minnesota and continued along Lake Superior’s southern shore into Michigan. Our first stop here was Ontonagon. We camped at Union River Big Bear Campground. This is an area where folks search for “yooper rocks.” Yoopers (a nickname for all things Upper Peninsula, MI) are ordinary looking grey rocks that glow orange under UV light. I borrowed the image below from the internet.

We didn’t have a black light for searching, but we loved our walks and bike rides along the lakefront.

In Munising, we took the Spray Falls Cruise to view Pictured Rocks from the water. It’s really the best way to view the cliffs and colors. Being out on the water on a sunny summer day – well, it was picture perfect. We saw lots of kayakers, but I still think our boat tour was the best way to go.

Munising is a sweet town in its own right. We visited a coffee shop, that was also a bookstore, to resupply Sally’s reading nook. After our boat ride, we enjoyed a picnic lunch of pasties from Muldoon’s Pasty Kitchen. Pasties are another local tradition. A handheld pastry pie filled with steamy root vegetables. Pasty history goes way back. Most importantly, remember to call them pasty, rhymes with nasty, not pasty rhymes with hasty. (Those are another thing entirely…)

Our next stop was J.W. Wells State Park near Cedar River, MI.

We went for a hike, which we cut short when rain threatened. We returned to camp just in time to experience a pop-up thunderstorm with mothball-sized hail. In our van, bouncing hail sounds like you’re taking on enemy fire. We (and our solar panels) survived unscathed. As a reward, the day ended with a glorious sunset.

From here, we went up into Door County, WI. Last time we were here, we stayed in the state park. This time around, the park was full, so we opted for an rv park near Ellison Bay. We day-tripped from here, and visited Sister Bay, Ephraim, and Bailey’s Harbor.

A storm blew through, but summer showers pass quickly.

Bailey’s Harbor was new to us. Another great, old-time resort town. We explored the Ridges Sanctuary nature trail, and then had lunch in a local pub. This town holds promise for another visit in the future.

From Door County, we drove south in Wisconsin, along Lake Michigan. We stayed at Harrington Beach State Park for two nights. This lovely park isn’t as well known or popular as some of the area’s larger parks (such as Kohler-Andrae) but we enjoyed it more. It’s smaller, not as crowded, the camp sites are spread out and private, and the facilities have been renovated in recent years. Fellow campers: Put this one on your checklist.

As we were close to Belgium, Wisconsin, we visited our friends Manny and Ed. We met them several years ago while camping at Fort Pickens in Florida. It was fun to see them in their home setting and meet more of their family. We had a guided tour of the family’s apple orchard and an eye-opening, behind-the-scenes tour of the state of the art packing facility. Then, a visit to Appleland, the retail store also in the family, was lovely. Homemade pies, fresh apples, and lots of interesting products to tempt us. If you’re in the area and scouting for a fun fall adventure, Appleland should be on your intinerary.

We feel very fortunate to have continued our friendship.Thanks again for your hospitality and all the goodies!

From here, we continued south along Lake Michigan, and then turned east to zip across Illinois, southern Michigan, and Indiana. We took a break and spent a few nights at Indiana Dunes National Park. Unlike other visits, this time we were absolutely bombarded by mosquitoes. We hunkered down for a day of rest, and then continued on.

Our final destination for our Great Lakes Loop was Maumee Bay State Park on Lake Erie. We will camphost there till mid-October. It’s been a great summer for our Great Lakes Loop! Thanks for traveling along with us.

Be sure to read Part One: Niagara Falls to Thunder Bay. Cheers!