PIctured Rocks boat trip

Off on a boat trip today to see the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore...last year we did it by kayak. This year, we decided to do the boat tour as it is late fall and the water is COLD! Lake Superior is always cold, but we wanted to see it from a different perspective...awesome trip! For 34.00 a person, you can see the rocks, some amazing sandstone sedimentary (layered) rock formations up close at some points.  The trips are at 10:00, 2:00 and 5:00. The 2:00 trip adds an extra falls viewing, the 5:00 trip at sunset. The trip lasts 2 1/2 to 3 hours. We traveled a total of 37 miles to see the landmarks of Lover's Leap, the Grand Portal, Miner's Castle, Indian Head, and Battleship Row. The guide on our ship today had quite a sense of humor, which really added to the enjoyment of the trip.Weather was perfect, calm seas, and we got some beautiful shots of the rock formations. I guess the colors in the rock are due to seepage of water containing different proportions of minerals such as copper (greens and bluish greens and iron--creating the reds and browns).  One of the photos shows a solitary tree on top of a rock formation, this tree had a single root that reached across the water to land to get its nourishment! That is the only way it is living on top of the rock! 

This is a great cruise to take in the fall, the cabins are heated if you choose to stay indoors. Not us! Always the top deck! Eldy sighs, 'cuz he knows we will be sitting up top unless it's pouring down rain...he bought us a couple of fleece sweatshirts just in case the wind got really biting...I'm telling you, he's quite a thoughtful guy!

Did we learn anything? Well, of course we did! The rocks are over 500 million years old, and this is one of the few places where you can see the layered (sedimentary) rocks this old! The bottom of Lake Superior on this trip was about 15-40 feet deep most of the way, but at it's deepest point, it's 3200 feet deep! It is the coldest, deepest, and cleanest of the 5 Great Lakes according to the guide. One of the coolest formations was "Battleship Row" and there had to be at least 5-7 "prows" sticking out, one right after the other, they really did look like battleships in a row. At one point, the captain took us into a tight bay to see the rocks up close, the water was so calm, he was able to do this....These rock formations average about 200 feet high all the way along the trip...the colors were truly beautiful today. We highly recommend this trip!