The Adventure of a Lifetime: Isle Royale and Voyageurs National Parks
This trip was a year in the making. Literally. Isle Royale’s lodge books out exactly one year in advance, so we set a calendar reminder, called on July 4th, 2023, and started planning from there. What followed was ten days, two national parks, four adults, four kids, two ferries, a houseboat, a rental car drop-off at an empty airport, and a sprint through Minneapolis that I would rather not repeat. It was the adventure of a lifetime and I mean that without any exaggeration.
The start of it all…
This trip was first conceived while coming back from Big Bend National Park the spring of 2023. We had gone to White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains and Big Bend National Parks. On the what seemed to be an infinitely long car ride home from Southwest Texas, we decided to formulate a plan to help us conquer our quest of seeing all sixty-three National Parks before the kids graduate from high school.
In an effort to maximize our time and what we see, we took into consideration the best times of the year to visit the various parks and how to see the most within a geographic region at a time. Doing so uncovered the need to book some trips a year in advance due to a variety of limitations such as few accommodations and popularity of the location, thus making it imperative we booked our stay at the Isle Royale lodge once booking opened exactly one year in advance of your planned stay.
Insert iCalendar alert for July 4, 2023. We thought a trip there around this time could mean watching some fireworks over Lake Superior for a Fourth of July celebration. In the meantime, while discussing our plan with our close friends, Tyler and Jessica, who also are on a quest to see the National Parks, we decided to make this a double family vacation. Amber and I got to work planning our trip as we might as well see Voyageurs at the same time. We figured out a way to make it to Isle Royale and then to Voyageurs by taking a ferry to and from as seaplane was too costly and could not take us all in a single flight.
1 year later
July 4, 2023 came and our calendar alert went off as planned. We called to make our reservation at the lodge and successfully booked two sets of rooms which started a cascade of events culminating in a successfully planned, point to point, trip. I hope in reading through our travels you laugh along and find yourself walking beside us on the trails or cruising the lake and learn a ‘’how to” or even “how not to” from our experience.
And We’re Off to Adventure!
Our summer 2024 vacation started with an overnight stay at the Nashville Airport Hilton to avoid having to leave our house at 2:00 in the morning for our 6 o’clock flight. This was one of the best decisions we made and a great initial taste of vacation for the kids to help prevent the pre-vacation excitement that can keep them up all night the night before. A 4:00 AM alarm sounded and we were up and at ‘em, getting ourselves and the kids ready to walk over to the airport.
Four adults and four kids aged nine, eight, six and five congregated in the lobby of the hotel before walking over with nine bags to be checked and eight backpacks full of hours of entertainment as our awaiting destination was cell service and Wi-Fi free. Who knew a ten-day hiking adventure required so much luggage?
Breakfast was Starbucks and the Hudson News snack section as a couple of little girls requested cereal and we made our way to our gate. Starbucks at 5 o’clock in the morning at Nashville Airport is incredibly busy, so much so the dads and kids were walking on the plane as the moms were getting the order and making their way down the terminal. No worries though. No Home Alone situations just yet. They made it in plenty of time. Remember this for later though. It comes up again. (Spoiler alert: no one was ever left behind). Our plane taxied and started down the runway; we were off.
Headed to Pictured Rocks
We arrived at Marquette, Michigan around 1:30 PM July 3rd. Wow, what a small airport, but ecstatic it exists because without it, we would have had an even longer leg of driving than we did. After loading up the rental cars, we headed into town to grab a sub at Togo’s, a recommendation based on a decade’s old recollection of an amazing sandwich. Not wrong, it was worth the drive and adventure in and of itself. The next time I find myself in Marquette, I’ll be stopping there again!
From there our adventure continued as we journeyed along the shoreline, working our way to Munising where we checked into our hotel and off to check off the first true event on the itinerary – Munising Falls. An easy hike led us to what I will call a very underrated waterfall. The hike was easy and the views were gorgeous. Far better than the “worth the time if you are right there” reviews we frequently came across.
From there the goal was to go to Miner’s Beach, however, the reality of limited time with the help of a navigational error on my part led us to Sand Point Beach instead. What a happy accident this was, the kids LOVED it. They waded across a small amount of Lake Superior water to a sand bar and played their hearts out. In the process, they all stripped to their underwear, Abbie and Lillian included. We quickly became the most European, non-European, families on a very American freshwater beach, but I would not have it any other way. Live and let live.
After dragging the kids out of the sand at the very last second, we needed to leave and dusting off the sand with a powder ball, we headed back into town to grab a quick bite to eat before lining up for our sunset cruise to Spray Falls of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The goal was to eat a pasty, but we probably should have checked to see their closing time of 6 pm, so we settled for tacos from the Tacopotamus taco truck instead.
Merely minutes after Tyler and I returned to the girls and kids in line for the cruise and scarfing down the tacos, the sky opened up and it poured. I ran into the gift shop to get ponchos. Trying to put ponchos onto crying and cold children while gale force winds are blowing with continually dumping rain was less than ideal and I’m sure hilarious as a bystander. By the time the ponchos were wrangled on, we were all just wet and covered in plastic, not necessarily feeling “protected” from the elements. Ultimately, a small price to pay for the adventure cruise to Spray Falls.
When you visit Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, plan time to take this cruise. Sometimes I am a skeptic for cruises similar to this, but this was more than worth our time, effort and money. It was a wonderful way to view this natural beauty. What a memorable, awesome, first day.
Fourth of July Celebration in Copper Harbor
Day two of our adventure, July 4th, started with breakfast at Falling Rock Café and Bookstore and then out to Miners Beach so the kids could play in the sand again. The kids thought this was an awesome way to start the morning. Amber and Jess hiked to the end of the beach to see Elliot Falls, making it back to the cars as Tyler and I had the kids loaded up and ready to begin the trek to Copper Harbor.
This took the bulk of the day, nearly four hours, but it was a beautiful drive, especially once we were driving up the Keweenaw Peninsula. We checked in at the King Copper Motel, right on the waterfront, where our rooms walked out right to the water. I had booked these rooms a year in advance so we would be able to get them to see the large firework show over the water and fourth of July celebration in the town.
Tyler and I then took the cars back to the closest Enterprise Rental Car location at the Houghton Airport. In attempting to find a way back to Copper Harbor, Lyft and Uber were basically out. I found that Keweenaw Adventure Company does to point to point pick up and drop offs.
When I called them to discuss this, I wish I had a video of the lady’s face on the other end of the line. Her summary of the initial part of our conversation, “So you want us to pick you and one other person up at the airport and take you to Copper Harbor and you don’t have any bags or luggage?” Upon fully explaining the rental cars, back and forth and our total journey/trip, that no other rental drop off locations exist up there, and really they are the only means of transportation, she concluded what I was asking made sense and that we had well researched our options. We dropped off our cars to an empty counter at an empty Houghton Airport as we were hours after the last flight arrived, and in walks Raymond, the owner of Keweenaw Adventure Company.
Raymond drove us back to Copper Harbor after stopping by a gas station so Tyler and I could pick up a couple of six packs of beer for the next leg of the journey ahead (his pick of the best party store in the area, which was spot on). He didn’t mind if we imbibed on our ride back north either and honestly, probably a good thing we did. He drove that late 90s Suburban more like a C8 Corvette. Raymond was funny and easy to converse with, a good dude to spend the time with back up to Copper Harbor.
Once back, we met up with the wives and kids for dinner at Harbor Haus. Fantastic food. Get the smoked whitefish dip appetizer, it was amazing and a constant point of comparison for the remainder of our trip. We then strolled around the town enjoying the celebration, Tyler hooked up the first trout of the trip, and we capped the night off with fireworks over the water just outside our room doors. This was a long day! Sunset up north in July is nearly 10 PM, plus the time for complete darkness to fall. Sitting back and watching our kids thoroughly enjoy the fireworks together is a core memory moment. This was one of the most memorable Fourth of July adventures in my life. I hope everyone else shares a similar sentiment.
On to the Next Adventure: Isle Royale National Park
The following morning, we loaded up on the Isle Royale Queen IV ferry and set sail for Rock Harbor on Isle Royale. This ferry ride was something I had dreaded in my mind, but it was actually rather enjoyable. It was fun to cruise across Lake Superior as she was calm that day and the kids enjoyed playing games and took a little bit of a nap. We arrived into Rock Harbor around 11:45 and went to check into our rooms. Only one was ready, but we needed some lunch first anyway. We then set out for Suzy’s Cave via the Rock Harbor Trail. This was a very pretty hike, but the cave was less cavey than expected. We got back and got settled in our rooms then dinner and sitting by a campfire for a bit.
Saturday, July 6th, we caught an early boat ride to the Edisen Fishery. This was a neat hike and experience. Hearing about the wolf and moose research being conducted was very interesting as well. When we got back to the lodge, we went to do some fishing by the seaplane docks and take a dip in Lake Superior. Water that is 45 degrees at the surface sure does hit differently!
The 7th, we rented tiller boats to head to explore Raspberry and Caribou Islands while also doing a little fishing. The carnivorous plants on Raspberry Island were so cool to see in the wild, something I have never witnessed before. Definitely take bug nets with you when you are hiking on Raspberry Island! Without them, we would have been eaten alive! Caribou Island was very serene and a green stone haven. Our rockhound, Lillian, was in heaven. The kids exhibited great maturity in leaving no trace.
On the 8th, we canoed to Hidden Lake to hike to Lookout Louise. Although we were on an adventure to see a moose, none were wanting to be seen. While Tyler fished at the dock, the rest of us made the hike up to Lookout Louise. Another gorgeous hike with wild orchids and other beautiful wildflowers and one that showed what wildfire damage can do. There was a large forest fire known as the 2021 Horne fire, started by a lightning strike, but seeing nature take the area back over was pretty impressive as well. We ended the day with a hike to Scoville Point followed by family pictures by the Isle Royale sign. Seeing the island from the “end” at Scoville Point was breathtaking, though everything about the island was breathtaking.
Adventure to Minnesota
We got up the morning of the 9th to begin our seven-hour journey to Grand Portage, Minnesota. The Voyageur II ferry was better than canoeing there, but it was nowhere near as nice as the ferry to Isle Royale. It was very loud, smelled of diesel, and then teenage boy body odor when we picked up a group from the Windigo campground. The kids fared far better than I ever expected on this adventure. They played games, read, and took naps. I was so impressed and proud of them. It was hard to not get cabin fever as an adult. They were champs.
The icing on this never-ending day was to then embark on a nearly five-hour car ride to International Falls, Minnesota. I had originally set up a van ride when booking everything for the trip, but when confirming everything just prior to the vacation, I realized I had never received a confirmation, and there had never been a charge to my card either. After finding out that van service couldn’t actually take us, I then scrambled to find a transfer.
Thankfully, I found a company out of Superior, Wisconsin – Black Tie Affair Limousine Service – who had availability to take the group on this leg of our journey. It was so great to not have to drive ourselves at this point after enduring the seven-hour boat ride adventure. Marquis was our driver. He was funny and genuine. His personality made the time not seem to drag on, which it easily could have done with the wrong driver.
Needless to say, I have never been so happy to reach a mediocre motel and pizza in my life! While the dads wrangled kids in the parking lot grass of the motel and tried to keep them from running into the street after they had been in borderline sardine cans for the better part of twelve hours that day, the moms walked down to the grocery store to stock up on supplies for our houseboat adventure to come.
Voyageurs National Park
July 10th, houseboat embarkation day! Tyler and I have operated many different boats in our lives, just never a fifty-four-foot houseboat, but we’ve got this! Remember this key fact for later: this large houseboat only had a single sixty-horsepower outboard engine. We made it to the houseboat dock, loaded up, took in the training and then set off to explore Rainy Lake and Voyageurs National Park at a wave cutting maximum speed of five miles per hour.
We charted a course to Blueberry Island to moor for the night. When we arrived to this location, it was already taken, but Stoffel’s Point West (R84 on National Geographic map) was open. It had a nice sandy beach area, so we gave it a go and moored here for the night. Once the lines were all tied off, we took the opportunity to fish a little. We caught a couple of Northern Pike even without steel leaders. We saved them to eat a night or two later, trying to catch as many fish as we could.
A snapping turtle friend pulled one of the fish heads into his nearby den under a bush from where we threw it out into the lake. This was right next to where our gangway landed on the beach, because why wouldn’t we have ended up in that exact location? As the sun set, we had to endure the unseasonably hot temperatures Voyageurs was experiencing, all in the comforts of a houseboat with no air conditioning.
Waking up the morning of July 11th, we did not yet know this would be one of two days that will live in infamy while visiting Voyageurs.
When you are this large of a houseboat, it does not take much wind to affect you. The wind had switched directions and was blowing us into the shore, at a mere five miles per hour. We packed everything up, untied and stowed the mooring lines and gangway. We engaged the outboard in reverse and eased up the throttle and thought, “we’re off!” Not really. Remember that fact earlier about the sixty-horsepower engine for this large boat? This comes in to play right about now.
We only had enough power to stir the water around the prop because of where this boat was beached and an ever so slight breeze blowing toward land. Since we were going nowhere quickly, Tyler and I decided we needed a little help. I volunteered as tribute to hop in the water and push our boat off the sand while Tyler continued to operate at the helm.
Before I continue, let me set the scene. The expanded metal front deck of this boat was twenty-four inches wide at best with no place to put your feet nor anything up above to grab on to. There was a screen door that did not stay open. So, as I pushed this boat backwards, I was trying to hang on, with my fingers in this expanded metal decking, attempting to push my body straight up out of chest-high water as I couldn’t get a leg up on the side or pull up on anything – all now with the boat going in reverse at full speed. This could be a new challenge in American Ninja Warrior I believe!
Tyler threw open the screen door while still operating the boat for me to clamber in, but it just slammed quickly on my head instead and I was still just hanging on. I did have enough time when it was briefly open though to see Amber and Jess, just standing in the middle of the living room space looking back at me with the most blank stares on their faces. My face probably did not show it, but I was laughing on the inside.
Finally, one of them moved into action and opened the door again and I climbed in, soaking wet, but I did get us unstuck from the shore. I felt a certain sense of pride knowing I was strong enough to help push our huge houseboat off the sand in reverse so we could continue on our journey of Voyageurs National Park. But I also felt a certain kind of wet having to chase the boat in water up to my nipples while holding onto the expanded metal decking by only my fingers.
I wish video of this existed as I laugh until my belly hurts about it still to this day. I have told this story countless times and laugh until I cry each time. And much like a late-night infomercial “but wait, there’s more”.
As I was drying off, Tyler set us on a course about two hours further down the lake to where we could take our tender down the American Channel near Kettle Falls to see the falls and grab some lunch. We moored against some granite at a site that is not on the National Geographic map, but is on the map provided by the houseboat rental company. It was a great site and ensured we would not get stuck on sand. It was just to the West from Surveyors Island on the American side of American Channel.
We ferried down to the falls, enjoyed lunch on the screened patio at Kettle Falls Hotel, and checked out the sloping floor of the Lumber Jack Saloon on site. After loading back on the tender, we headed back to the houseboat. We disembarked that mooring site and set sail for the United States and Canada border to do a little swimming between the countries on our way to our evening destination of Anderson Bay.
While heading toward the border, Tyler and I reviewed charts planning a safe course to get there, but not add an excessive number of extra miles in our blistering fast speed boat. We looked at where buoy markers were located and the obstacles they disclosed. While passing a very safe distance from a marker, in an area where no other obstacle noted on our electronic GPS in the boat or the navigation charts, the “but wait, there’s more” hits.
We hit something in the water. It was a pretty big thud. It didn’t stop the boat dead in the water, but it was most definitely noticeable. We couldn’t trim the outboard up from the helm, they had never hooked that component up (why would you right?). So, Tyler ran back to the outboard to trim it up to prevent any damage to the lower unit as it was clearly something on our left side we hit.
While he was doing this, while looking around to survey everyone in the boat and our surroundings trying to figure out what we hit, I notice water on the floor near the dining table, and it looks to be bubbling. “****” was going through my mind until I realized the water coming from the floor, was actually pouring from a one-gallon jug that had fallen off the counter, landing behind the leg of the table. Phew, not Titanic-ing today.
The lower unit and the prop were fine, we were free floating, and GPS was registering twenty feet of water. We were truly puzzled as to what we hit as nothing was showing on GPS and or the navigation charts. Tyler pulled up the app for his GPS/depth finder on his fishing boat and low and behold, it showed the lone rock in that area. Why it wasn’t on the other formats of information, I have no clue. Thankfully the depth it was marked at versus what the current water level was meant we merely grazed the top of it. We all collected ourselves and continued on to the border.
Once positioned precisely along the United States and Canada border, we started on the U.S. side of the boat and took a running jump into the Canadian side. We took a little swim back and forth across the border. How often can you say you have swum to Canada? While in the water, the hull was just fine, not a single dent or mark in it. What a relief.
We all got back in the boat and continued to Anderson Bay for the evening. Anderson Bay has granite cliffs that rise nearly 80 feet off the water. It is a beautiful location and we were hoping to see the Northern Lights while there, but had no such luck. The mooring site we chose was another granite location that is not marked on the National Geographic map, but is on the navigational chart provided by the rental company. It is just to the east of where a creek empties into the lake from a small inland lake. There were plentiful wild blueberries that were delicious. The granite site was a great spot for a fire with a ring already there. This was a great spot for fishing, Tyler and I both hooked up with some smallmouth bass. This location offered the much-needed peace and tranquility after an eventful day.
For July 12th, we continued to work our way back up the lake, past our first night’s location and up through Kempton Channel to see some different sights. We moored at Garrett’s Point (R60 on National Geographic map) because with a name like that, how could we not? We took the tender to the Rainy Lake Visitor Center which had great information about the Voyageurs for which the Park is named as well as history of the area in general. With souvenirs in hand, we then went to Little American Island to take the short hike around and see the old mining encampment. We then grabbed some lunch at the Island View Lodge and headed back to the houseboat.
This site was a great location for the kids to play amongst the trees, practice their fishing, and sit around the fire. Unfortunately, this meant it was our last night at Voyageurs National Park and we would be headed back to reality the following day. While exploring Voyageurs, although we did not do our usual amount of hiking, we explored a beautiful lake, played quite a few rounds of card games, chess, and fished. It was quite memorable to be disconnected from electronics, watch our kids play together, kick back and take in the beauty of the location, strategically play Phase 10 while navigating our boat, and enjoy each other in the moment.
All Good Things Must Come to an End
We had to be early risers the morning of the 13th as we needed to get the boat back to the rental company’s dock, go through the check-out process, load up our gear and get to the airport in International Falls. Thankfully the owner of the houseboat company and one of their employees could take us to the airport in two vehicles that morning. Once we were at the airport, we inquired about our connection in Minneapolis as it was going to be a short thirty minutes. We were assured this would be enough time to get where we needed to go, but don’t try and do other things at the airport in Minneapolis.
Have you ever seen four adults running (who am I kidding, sprinting) through an airport with their four children after having been on a ten-day hiking/boating/fishing/camping National Park adventure, not looking our best or cleanest, trying to make what should have been a thirty minute connection but after the first plane was delayed by ten minutes even though they said “we always make up time on the schedule here”, and then another five to seven minutes waiting on ground crew to bring the plane in to the jetway once it has landed, so now the connection time is about fifteen minutes or less, and you have to go from B gates to G gates in an airport you have never been to? No? Us either before this. But after seeing some of the looks on people’s faces whilst doing this, it is my belief one of us must be Sasquatch as that was the look we got over and over, like they had seen one. Nonetheless, we made it to our connecting gate, in Home Alone 2 style – but no boarding passes were knocked to the ground and we all made it to our intended destination, not New York.
Sitting on that plane was probably the best feeling on the whole trip since we were stressing that we were either going to be stuck in the Minneapolis airport for nearly eight hours until the next flight or even the next day as there were only just 8 seats left on that flight. Touchdown in Nashville brought the reality of vacation ending. We collected our bags at baggage claim. The perk of a tight connection like we had is our bags were the first out – like seriously, we were nine out of the first fourteen bags (yes, I counted) on the conveyor. We stretched out just a little more of the vacation vibe by grabbing an early dinner at Tenfold Brewing and then making the drive home.
A two-hour trip home means walking in exhausted and having to unpack and separate clothes into piles for laundry. For us it also meant dealing with an upstairs that was 89° even though the thermostat was set to 72°. After trouble shooting the problem, a late-night call to Woodward Cooling and Heating was needed. Thank you to Bill for coming out and replacing our capacitor for the upstairs unit and washing it out. $400 well spent to have the upstairs cool enough to be sleepable by midnight. Thankfully, not the same story for the Campbells.
Oh, and did I mention our house was undergoing a whole interior painting remodel all while hosting a collegiate baseball player for the summer for our local team the Flash? No? Well, that is a portion to add to the story over some drinks some time.
Bottom Line: Isle Royale and Voyageurs National Parks
Our vacation was epic. Our vacation was hilarious and filled with laughs. Our vacation was filled with love – love of our families, our children, each other, and our friendship. Our vacation was memorable. Our vacation was everything I wished it would be.
I hope our kids can look back on these times at some point and truly cherish them. It makes me tearful thinking of the ultimately limited time we have with the kids before they go off on their own, even though at times it may seem like we have a lifetime. I hope that when they have families of their own, whatever that family may look like, they reflect back on a positive childhood and know we did our best to share experiences of the world with them and we tried to make it the best time growing up a kid could ask for. But then I hope they go and do better.
Until next round – Garrett
