Isle Royale National Park

The only way to reach Isle Royale National Park is by boat or sea plane (unless you are a crazy good kayaker). This national park is located in Lake Superior and is technically a part of Michigan, although we departed from Minnesota. We decided to leave our camper behind for a few days so we could experience the 99% wilderness that Isle Royale boasts. We arrived by sea plane which gave us a fabulous aerial view of the island. No roads. No cars. Just pristine wilderness to explore.

            Once we were settled and had eaten dinner, we set off on our first hike via the Tobin Harbor trail which connects with the Suzy’s Cave trail. It was around 7pm when we started hiking the 4 mile loop and we figured it would be good timing to see a few animals. We reached Suzy’s Cave around 8:30pm and began our way back to the lodge along the water, watching the colors in the sky change as the sun began to descend. Soon we were met by another hiker who told us that there was a moose directly on the trail. Super excited, we walked a few more feet to see a huge bull moose grazing. He was truly a majestic animal. We took pictures, Eli flossed, and we chatted with the other hikers (one family of 4 and 2 others). It was awesome. We were stoked that we saw a moose so quickly after we had arrived! Minutes ticked by. The moose would take a few steps down the trail, we would take a few steps back on the trail. More minutes went by. Soon, another bull moose came out of the brush and was eating. The moose took a few more steps down the trail, we took a few more steps back on the trail. By this time, it was about 9:30 and we were losing light. We were only about a ½ mile from the harbor and could see the lights however, the moose were not in any rush and it didn’t seem like they were going to leave anytime soon. At this point, the 10 of us decided to make the 3 ½ mile trek back around. As far as light was concerned, Matt had one headlamp and I had my cell phone flashlight to share amongst the entire group. Needless to say, it was an interesting hike back over rocks, roots and brush in the pitch dark. About half way back, Matt (who was leading the group) spotted two large orbs on the trail. A second later, he saw two more sets of smaller orbs. It was another moose and her two calves! The ten of us made some noise and soon, the moose headed back into the forest. We all made it safely back to the lodge around 11pm! Whew! What a first day on a remote island!

            We slept in a bit the next morning and decided to take advantage of the wonderful weather to explore the island by boat. Matt rented a small motorboat and we all jumped in. We zipped over to the Edisen Fishery historic site. We were quickly greeted by a volunteer who told us about the area and then made our way to the Rock Harbor Lighthouse on other side of the island. There was a small museum inside the lighthouse that described the area during the 1800-1900s and a great view from the top! From there, we took another trail to the “Mooseum” where was saw hundreds of moose bones and antlers. We met Candy Peterson, the wife of Rolf Peterson who is a research scientist. Rolf and Candy have been conducting research on the moose and wolves of the island for more than 50 years. The four of us found Candy and her knowledge about the moose extremely interesting, especially since we had just seen five moose the night before. She answered all of our questions and inspired the kids to spend their lives doing something the love, just as she and her husband have done. From the Mooseum, we headed to Moskey Bay. After a quick look around, we took the boat over to Daisy Farm, a beautiful field of daisies and other wild flowers. Next, we headed back to the lodge for a late lunch and to celebrate Eli’s 11^thbirthday. The restaurant didn’t have any dairy free desserts but luckily, I secretly bought a Hostess Apple Pie at a gas station before we were on the island. Later, Matt and Eli took the boat out and tried fishing for the lake trout we had heard so much about. Later that evening, we took the trail to Scoville Point and saw a fox and a bunny while hiking. 

            Our third day on the island, we packed up and got ready to leave. We had a good breakfast and headed down to the dock. A few minutes before our plane was to arrive, the lodge bellhop came to tell us that due to weather, all flights back to Minnesota were cancelled. This meant that we would not be heading back to Minnesota until the following day. We were surprised to say the least. The lodge had one room left (nicer than our first) so we MasterCard-ed the moment and settled in for one more night. We decided to completed one more hike after dinner in search of more moose and we were successful! We found a moose laying down a few feet from the trail. He looked like he was going in and out of sleep. We had all sorts of time to look at him and through the binoculars we could see the veins in his antlers! 

            The following day we had a very intense game of National Park Monopoly before leaving Isle Royale National Park. As we flew over the island, I thought about the island, the animals and how God orchestrated such a beautiful place. I felt blessed to have had the experience with my family and terribly emotional as I realized that our 2019 summer adventure was coming to a close.