1. Garnet Sand
In Munising, we stopped at a grocery store to stock up on provisions. And we stopped at the Pictured Rock National Lakeshore and Hiawatha National Forest Interagency Visitor’s Center (quite a mouthful) where the ranger suggested Sand Point — that there was a little bit of a trail there that we might enjoy in spite of the rain and wind, and that we should go out onto the beach to see the red garnet sand.
That beach is a top summer beach by some estimates, but on this day, the weather was blustery and gray and rainy and… Wait. What? Garnet sand!?
We saw it with our own eyes.
Red-pink garnet sand washed onto the shore by the wind and rain and waves that over the years have eroded the sandstone cliffs of Pictured Rock.
2. Deciding on a Hike
On that day, we could see how the weather might erode those cliffs. Because there was much wind. And because there was rain. And waves.
Enough to keep tentative tourists at bay. But…
The Smiling and Patient Ben was unfazed by the wind and rain and waves.
The Fair and Industrious Trudy was (as she always is) in the mood for something fun.
And so we went instead on a hike into the woods along the ridge on the top of the cliffs along the lakeshore…
…into the haunts of nature.