Apostle Islands, Trip 2, Days 3 - 6

On Day 3 we circumnavigated Oak Island, which is about 12 miles. It was a gorgeous day and I had enough sitting around on Day 2 so was ready to go. I had my underwater camera housing so I had tons of fun taking photos. I really love taking photos and I just love digital cameras!

Julie getting into her kayak

Julie

After the paddle I went swimming in the bay. The water was about 45 degrees, but with my wetsuit it felt great. Here are some photos from that.

me enjoying the water - the white spots are from water droplets on the lens

the water was so clear!

I climbed on the back of Julie's kayak while she paddled around and got some cool shots including this next one.

the end of a wonderful paddle

The end to a wonderful day

On Day 4 we left oak Island and headed for York Island for our final night of camping. It was cloudy and overcast, but the water was like glass.

me paddling in a borrowed Valley Aquanaut boat.

After taking my Vela on the trip the previous week I decided it's just not the right boat for me. It fits great, but it's too small for touring so I am going to sell it. I might buy a friend's Aquanaut so I borrowed this one from Rutabaga, where I teach kayaking. I really liked it.

leaving Oak Island

Day 4 was a nice, gentle paddle. there were crickets all over the water, even a couple miles from land - thousands of them. Apparently, they hatched the night before or something and were floating everywhere. It was quite odd and because of the large quantity pretty gross too. We asked several people about it, but no one really knew much.

On Day 5 we stopped at Sand Island to see the sea caves (a highlight for me) and the lighthouse and the junk that is still on sand from the first half of the century when about 100 people lived on the Island. Julie likes old junk so she enjoyed that part.

After getting to the mainland we found the last hotel room within 30 miles, showered, ate dinner, and slept in a bed. Then on Saturday, went back to Meyers Beach to see the sea caves that are on the mainland. There are about 1-2 miles of sandstone sea caves. It looks as though Arches National Park and the Canyonlands in Utah were transplanted to the clear, cold, blue waters of Lake Superior. It's super cool. Basically, overtime the water carves away at the sandstone and creates these cavernous openings large enough to enter. In the wintertime you can walk on the ice out to them and go exploring amongst the icicles and frozen waterfalls. It actually makes me look forward to February!

I actually don't have that many sea cave photos, despite how much I loved it, but here are a few.

Julie enjoying the sea caves

A view of some of the caves

I love this photo! - Julie entering a sea cave

Only in Wisconsin would you see someone dragging a
cooler (probably loaded with beer) in a separate kayak!
hmm...maybe we could do that with our dog Jake.

What a great trip!! The Apostle Islands and Lake Superior are really amazing and I hope to go back again next year. The crystal clear water, the interesting weather, and all the wildlife make it seem almost enchanted at times.

Happy adventures!
-Amy