Alli: The only stop on the schedule for today was Isle Royale National Park. Though this was to be the least busy driving day of our vacation it was also one of the most adventurous. The day started off with us driving 10 miles to the Houghton Airport to catch our private floatplane out to the island. After waiting the better part of an hour for the plane our pilot, John, (an active F-16 pilot) with the legendary call sign "Lemon" greeted us and loaded up our gear. The flight out to the island was incredible! As we left the mainland, we skimmed over storm clouds, giving the illusion that we were driving on top a snowy mountain rather than flying thousands of feet up in the air. The flight lasted half an hour, but the time flew by (no pun intended) as we gazed out the windows over the shimmering blue waters of Lake Superior.
Once on the island, we unloaded the plane, and thanked John for the lift. After watching him take off from the water we grabbed our gear and took the short hike up to the lodge. Only after we were halfway up the trail did we realize that John had failed to unload our cooler from the plane. After checking in we called the Royale Air Service in hopes that we could get our food stash back before we left the next day. They told us the John would be back in half an hour to drop it off. However, what we didn't know was when they said half and hour what they really meant was an hour and a half. We tried to make the most of the time we spent waiting on the docks, taking pictures and what not, but seeing as we only had a day on the island we were eager to get our day started. Just as we were debating leaving the docks we heard the sound of distant engines and moments later John was pulling up to the dock. Opening up the hatch, he jokingly said "I hope this cooler is full of filet mignon" because he hadn't planned on returning to the Rock Harbor area, to which we replied "Nope! Pringles!"
Now that we had all our luggage together the day could officially start. The first thing we did was rent a small motor boat to take us out to Raspberry Island. Storm clouds were rolling in by the time we reached the shores but because the hike was only half a mile long we figured we'd be okay. Well, rain wise at least. By the time we emerged from the woods we were all being chased by a ravenous swarm of blood-thirsty mosquito’s. Other than being eaten alive the hike was nice though. The moss covered trees looked like something out of the Fire Swamp from Princess Bride - spooky, but very cool. And while walking along the path we saw fresh moose poop - though we never saw the beast itself. After leaving the Raspberry Island dock we drove the boat around several smaller islands, taking pictures and riding the waves. I liked to sit in the very front - comfy, and you get the most air whenever going over the rougher waves. Before long the clouds that had threatened our hike before finally began raining down with sounds of thunder in the distance, so we brought the boat back and headed back to our room.
Jessie: Back in our dry room dad looked outside and said, I'm going to hike to Scoville Point, who wants to come with me. Alli and I looked at each other, staying silent. Eventually I agreed to go with and so we (just dad and I) put on long clothes for bug protection and left. Five minutes into the hike the sun came back out and we were immediately hot. The 2.4 mile hike to Scoville Point was well worth it. The scenery was beautiful with the orange lichen covering the brown rocks. The aggressive waves crashed into the cliff below. We even saw spots that reminded us of scenes from Lord of the Rings. We took a picture together and then decided to head back to Alli. We thought she might be lonely but it turned out she was busy watching The Blind Side. The hike back seemed longer than the hike out, perhaps it was the heat. After returning we immediately changed back into our shorts, glorious!
Alli: The last thing on the schedule was to rent a kayak, which Jessie and I took out on Tobin bay by the seaplane docks. I'm proud to say we completely mastered kayaking! Well, kayaking backwards anyways. We never could go forwards without somehow veering off course. But backwards we were pros! We also met this really nice Canadian man, Chuck - or maybe he was from Minnesota (I don't know, they both sound the same). He had caught some lake trout earlier that day and was having a cookout, and offered up some fried fish and corn on the cob. It was de-lic-ious! Just what I needed after that long workout that comes with kayaking. After putting the kayak away I was totally ripped - even Dad was impressed with my new sculpturous set of biceps. We then went and grabbed some dinner to go from the lodge restaurant (which they wrapped in 20 feet of tin foil) and spent the rest of the night in our room, eating, watching movies, and molding ourselves into our beds. Dad briefly walked down to the America dock to fish a little and watch the sunset over the island.
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