Our next campsite is only a little over an hour away at the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and their check in time isn't until 3:00PM.
We saw a Pub and Grill Restaurant about 4-miles from our campsite destination and decided to kill a little time and pull over and eat lunch. It was a little difficult parking our truck and trailer on the side of the building, but we made it work.
To say this place had a very limited menu would be a huge understatement. They offered pizza, burgers with chips, breadsticks and brownies. That's it!
This sign was right outside the restaurant. If the End of the Earth is 2-miles down the road, how do we get to the Porcupine Mountains which is 4-miles down the road?
Once again we have a front row site and an excellent view of Lake Superior. This is where we'll spend our Fourth of July holiday and then move on next Monday.
WEDNESDAY - Today we're going sightseeing!
Ever since we got here all we've heard about is how wonderful the view is from the Lake of the Clouds Overlook.
It's located just 6½-miles from here at the end of the road. You'll find a large parking area with a bathroom, some picnic tables and a paved trail that heads another 300' from the parking lot up to the overlook.
Another location everyone talks about is Bonanza Falls. It's located just outside of the state park on private property, but is open to the public during daylight hours.
After our little sightseeing excursion was complete, we headed back to the Visitor Center to ask if they have reopened the South Boundary Road. It's been closed for awhile, as they are replacing all the culverts along the road.
This 26-mile road cuts right through the center of the park (east to west), which gives us a short cut to the other side of the park where we can view five more waterfalls and the area known as Summit Peak (1714' in elev.), the highest point in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness (affectionatly called "The Porkies" by the locals).
We found out they did indeed "temporarily" open South Boundary Road today at noon and it will remain open until Monday morning when they will once again close it and finish replacing those damaged culverts.
Had they not opened the road, it would have added an extra 30-miles, each way, for us to go "around" the park instead of through it. Thank You Michigan State Parks for opening the road, even if it's for only this Holiday Weekend.
THURSDAY - Who celebrates the Fourth of July on July 5th or even July 6th?
Well, if you're in Ontonagon County Michigan like we are, they do! That just doesn't seem patriotic?
I understand they are only doing it to make it fall on the weekend, but they call it the "Fourth" of July for a reason you know.
We're going to celebrate the "Fourth of July" on the 4th, with another sightseeing outing, this time along the South Boundary Road.
There is plenty to explore. We have The Summit Peak, more waterfalls and a remote campground to check out for a possible return visit to this region in the future. Let's go!
SUMMIT PEAK
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Summit Peak is located very near the center of the 26-mile long South Boundary Road.
Our next stop will be at the end of the road, where we'll find a campground and three waterfalls on the Presque Isle River that are all listed in the park brochure as OUTSTANDING.
WATERFALLS OF THE PRESQUE ISLE RIVER
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SATURDAY - After a day of rain, we have another day of sunshine, so this morning we are back out in the park seeing another waterfall.
This one is on the Little Iron River near the site of the abandoned Nonesuch Mine, a copper mine which operated on and off between 1867 and 1912. All this is found in the southeast corner of the park near our campsite.
NONESUCH FALLS ON THE LITTLE IRON RIVER
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hopefully to be completed by the end of the summer.
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After visiting Nonesuch Falls we stopped by a private campground which had a gift shop/camp store where I purchased a Mountain Dew and some local Cherry Honey.
Outside of the store they had some FREE entertinment set up for us to watch.
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