• Monday-What'sUP August 14 - 12:00 am

Tom Lindley, his wife, Halli and their kids recently took a trip over to Isle Royale from Houghton on the Ranger III. Tom had some work that he was doing for the National Park over there, so they made a family trip of the time there, staying in a housekeeping cabin at Rock Harbor. They spent their time exploring on day hikes, swimming and just relaxing. What a great place to bond together as a family, without the distractions of TV, computers and cell phones. It's really a wonderful place to go to recharge your batteries and shake off some of that everyday life stress. Except when it's time to return back to the mainland. Tom and family were scheduled to take the Isle Royale Queen IV home, but the weather was kicking up with gale force winds and 8 foot waves, so they had to spend another day and night on the Island and came home the next day on the Queen. Mother nature must have figured they needed just one more day together. :->

This looks like a wonderful trip; much different
than the one a while ago with the family camping out
each night. Just shows that there are many
different options out there and everyone can enjoy
this beautiful state as they choose. Just go out
there and take advantage of the blessings we have!

See what you can do this week to make that happen!

Great set of pics that tell the story well.
Nicely done!

Sounds like prosperity is more a state of mind and heart, location, and well spent time, than a condition of the pocketbook, eh?

GREAT pics....And an orb inside the cabin! You can't beat that! Divine company!!

LOVE that plan Jbuck! Get out there and enjoy, however you wish!

Great pictures! I wish I weren't such a chicken about going out that far on that lake. Looks like a great time!!

Thanks for sharing!

The ultimate family vacation!! Looks like a wonderful and peaceful time!!

Wonderful photos today; thanks so much, Tom for taking the shots, and thank you, Mary, for including so many! I love how the story unfolds.

I always enjoy seeing photos of the Rock Harbor Lighthouse. I've never seen it in person, but around 1977 I did a painting of it from a slide provided by my art teacher. The staining visible about three quarters of the way up the tower in Tom's photo also appeared in the slide I painted from. The tower must have been painted several times since the 1970's, so I wonder if there's a piece of iron in the tower wall that's weeping rust?

Oh what a wonderful experience. Fortunate family! Thanks for sharing your photos, Tom and Halli!

... dogs aren't allowed to come with you on the
island, correct?
I believe I read that somewhere :(
- thanks for posting these pics; IR is so
mysterious & wild!

A trip of a lifetime that you will never forget .
Thanks for the pics and bringing back my memories from summer of 1970 .

What a beautiful place, Isle Royale. My wife and I
spent a week on the island back in the 1990s. Took the Queen II (I think it was) there and back.
Stayed at the lodge. Each day we would hike various
trails. If you notified the dining hall staff that you would hike and not get back for noon meal they would pack a lunch for you. One of the sighting we hoped for was to see moose. After a few days of not sighting any we took a trail
to the float plane dock and ran across half a dozen moose and young ones. Impressive animal. We also rented a boat and motor to get to another
island and a old light house. The peace and quiet
on Isle Royale was great.
The only negative was that the day we had to return there were high winds and we encountered 10 foot waves.(that was what the captain told us) The ship had to sort of tack back and forth to cope with those waves. All you could see out the windows was a wall of water next to the boat. I was sick as a dog and I suspect over half the passengers were, too. Was a great experience.

"dogs aren't allowed to come with you on the
island, correct?"

That is true. The wolf population on the Island is
susceptible to the same diseases that dogs might
bring with them. The wolves are presently at very
low numbers and are in real danger of disappearing.

http://www.i
sleroyalewolf.org/

Deb S., you can get out to Isle Royale from Grand Portage Minnesota, a much shorter trip than crossing from the Keweenaw if you don't like that much open water. It's only 18 miles along the north shore.

I know that, Paul. I have thought about doing that!

D.A.- I never thought of protecting the wolves from
my dog; I always thought it was the other way around
why domestics aren't allowed; thanks for clearing
that up! :)
One super thing about these posts is - we can visit
these places thru the pics! I enjoy the pics &
notes so much!

It certainly seems ironic that wolves are doing so
poorly in the Island wilderness area while lately
doing so well in the U.P. and northern Minnesota.
The opinions are varied regarding the pros and cons
of wolves roaming near populated areas but it's a
shame the wolves of Isle Royale aren't doing
better.

Wow. Thanks for the pictures! I have ALWAYS wanted to go to Isle Royal. That is "kind of like going" :)