Day mileage: 615.5
States: Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota
Highlights: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, pasties
Noteworthy food/drink stops: Miners Pasty Kitchen, Cold Iron Brewing
Overnight: Hampton Inn & Suites Grand Forks
This post is Day 3 of our summer road trip. For more, visit our trip overview post.
The Route
Today’s plan involved the UP and to start the journey to North Dakota. We knew it was going to be a long one, and we also wanted to visit Pictured Rocks. Unfortunately, given the distances and time required, it would mean just a few short walks to viewpoints at Pictured Rocks and no boat tours.
We planned to stop in Duluth for dinner before making our way to Chippewa National Forest to find our campsite for the night. In reality, the day turned out to be even longer than we planned.
About Our Day
After a mosquito-filled night, we quickly packed up camp and headed toward Pictured Rocks. We were fortunate to find a rest area not long after departing and were able to wash up and make some coffee free from bugs. Then, it was over to Pictured Rocks for some absolutely stunning scenery and short walks.
We worked on a few earthcaches and visited Munising Falls, one of the many waterfalls in the area. Unfortunately the visitor center at the Munising Falls Interpretive Center was closed, so no stamps for the passport.
Before leaving Munising, we knew we needed to try pasties – would we have any legitimacy as UP tourists without trying them? Muldoon’s was closed when we arrived, but we spotted Miners Pasties, an unassuming little shop with plenty of outdoor tables. The pasties were delicious, and we ordered enough to have some for the road.
Looking for interesting places along the route, we noticed a virtual cache (GCJPV3) at some metal sculpture yard. We’ve seen these before on other adventures so clearly were going to add this one to the adventure, and it did not disappoint! The majority of the area is accessed via a free (donations accepted) driving tour around the property, but there are some that are accessible on foot closer to the entrance. The property also contains a walking trail through a bog. Interesting, enjoyable, and a great excuse to stretch your legs when out on long drive.
The day gets very long
After the difficulty with the mosquitoes the night before, we were already running on low. We had thoughts of stopping in Duluth but realized that the combination of the holiday (hello, July 4), the fireworks, and our location, it wasn’t going to work without significant traffic and delays. So, we continued our journey west.
The plan was to camp in Chippewa National Forest. We had scouted out a few spots along forest roads where dispersed camping was permitted. However, as we made the turn onto one of the “promising” spots, we noticed that we were likely to encounter the same challenges (black flies and mosquitoes) as we had the previous night – the car was immediately swarmed. We made a 3-point (ok, maybe more like 12-point) turn and returned to the highway. After a quick check of the phone, it appeared that all local hotels were booked, so we made the decision to just carry on to Grand Forks … our next planned stop.
After enjoying drive-by fireworks for the majority of the evening, we pulled into our hotel just after midnight for some much needed rest.
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