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Welcome to my weekly update for June 21, 2026!
My husband had a long weekend off work last weekend so we decided to visit Isle Royale National Park (Pronounced like plain old royal; nothing fancy here). It’s one of the least visited national parks in the lower 48 states because it’s so darn difficult to get to. It’s an island about 60 miles from the closest mainland. There are several ferries to get back and forth and the main island has a lodge where you can spend the night. Most people who visit take tents and spend a night or two backpack camping though, and the ferries and lodge book a year in advance. This was going to be a tough one for us to visit. It should be scheduled about a year in advance but due to my husband’s work, we don’t know our schedule that far ahead of time. We decided to take a day trip.
A day trip involves a 3.5-hour ferry ride out, 2-3 hours on the island, and a 3.5-hour ferry ride back. I thought I would get a lot of reading done but, even though the skies were a beautiful blue, a steady wind and 3- to 5-foot (1 to 1.5 m) waves kept our boat rocking. There was nothing to do but gaze out the window at the horizon and hope the Dramamine kept working to prevent seasickness. Several of our fellow passengers succumbed. It was not pleasant and I would not recommend a day trip if you have any other choices at all.
By the time we got there, disembarked, and attended a mandatory Ranger program about Leave No Trace and Don’t Feed the Wildlife, we only had about 2 hours to spend on the island and we had planned to hike almost 5 miles (8 km). We were booking it. I am not someone whose default speed even remotely approaches “booking it.” I am more of a mosey-er. And my husband will attest that there is no shaking me out of my one speed. But I did my best and found an extra gear! We were practically taking pictures on the fly as we trotted (my word)/walked a little faster than usual (my husband’s description). But it was a gorgeous hike. It reminded us a little bit of the Maine coast with the dark rocks on the shoreline and the evergreens behind us.
We saw several people turning back before the end of the trail and we assumed it was because of the time. But we checked our watches and decided we could make it. We kept on trotting and eventually got to the end and the glorious payoff views. I’m glad we didn’t miss it. We hurried back to the dock through the woods on the return loop and our captain even left 30 minutes early since we were all aboard. We made it!
Unfortunately, the ferry ride back was even rougher. There were even more seasick people but we had taken an extra dose of Dramamine (the instructions said 1-2 tablets daily and this was our second) so we were in good shape as long as we kept looking at the horizon. When either of us looked away for a minute, we noticed a woman near us who appeared to read the entire way. Neither of us ever saw her look up. She could have though because we were not looking around much. When we docked back at the mainland, I was finally able to see what she was reading. Ada Blackjack by Jennifer Niven, a nonfiction book that I really liked, about a woman who was the sole survivor of an Arctic shipwreck. That would not be my first choice for reading while enduring a long ferry ride. I salute my fellow passenger and her iron constitution!
We spent the rest of the weekend touring around the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan. It’s beautiful but it was very windy and cool with occasional showers all weekend. We ate a lot of good food though, did a few easy hikes, went to a very interesting mineral museum (there used to be a lot of copper mines there), and saw several lighthouses and waterfalls.
Slideshow:
All images © Jennifer G. at Introverted Reader 2026
- The view from Scoville Point at Isle Royale National Park–our turnaround point
- Eagle Harbor Light Station in Eagle Harbor, Michigan
- These stairs were near the public library parking lot in Houghton, Michigan
- The little town of Houghton has made the effort to have interesting pedestrian crosswalks. Some have boats instead of stripes, others have fish, etc. I loved that this one near the library had shelves of books!
Posted:
Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science-and the World by Rachel Swaby–4 Stars–Book Review
Read:
All links go to my reviews on GoodReads.
Nightshade & Oak by Molly O’Neill–4 Stars
Chef’s Choice (Chef’s Kiss #2) by T. J. Alexander–4 Stars
The Unconquered: In Search of the Amazon’s Last Uncontacted Tribes by Scott Wallace–4 Stars
Ginseng Roots: A Memoir by Craig Thompson–4 Stars
Wolves (Fables Volume 8) by Bill Willingham–4 Stars
Currently Reading:
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl #1) by Matt Dinniman
The Terror of the Southlands (The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates #2) by Caroline Carlson, read by Katherine Kellgren
That’s it for me. What did your week look like?
Hosts:
Deb Nance at Readerbuzz hosts The Sunday Salon and Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer hosts Sunday Post. Kathryn at Book Date hosts It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
35 Comments
That sounds like an amazing trip on the ferry and the island. Great you weren’t sick!. I think i did read/listen to Commonwealth but would have to double check.
My husband was shocked that I didn’t get seasick!
Ooo rough seas are not something I enjoy either.
My husband was shocked I made it through without getting sick. I was too, to be honest.
I’ve never heard of that national park! Not sure if we’ll ever make there, though. And, the ferry ride doesn’t sound like something I’d enjoy. We took a boat once from Puerto Vallarta and I’ve never been so seasick (but never actually succumbed…). The town of Yelapa is pretty isolated, but there were boats that could take you to a nearby shore where you could get a taxi back rather than take the boat back. I sucked it up and stayed with the original plan. Kept my eye on the horizon the entire time, though.
I love the photo of the light house at Eagle Harbor. And those stairs at the library are great. I’ve seen that sort of thing around in various towns (Bend, Newport, etc.) and think it’s quite clever.
That boat trip in Puerto Vallarta doesn’t sound like fun either. We haven’t been there yet. We almost went a couple of years ago but decided on Cabo instead. We’ll get there one day.
You can also get to Isle Royale by sea plane, which is probably the way to go if you don’t mind the expense or a tiny plane. We took a concessioner’s ferry. There’s also an official ferry for the NPS. It takes off from Houghton, MI, further south, so the trip is something like 6+ hours each way. But the boat itself is much, much bigger than the one we were on so I bet it doesn’t rock as much. Needless to say, that ferry doesn’t make day trips, so you have to work out camping on the island or booking a room in the lodge. I believe there are also a couple of ferries from Minnesota but I don’t know anything about them except that they’re run by concessioners too.
Sounds like an interesting trip to Isle Royale. I’ll pass for myself. Sounds too adventurous for me. The scenery was lovely though. Your books all look good. One day I’ll have to give Dungeon Crawler Carl a try since I keep hearing so much about it. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
I’m really enjoying Dungeon Crawler Carl so far! You hope you do give it a chance one day.
It sounds like the trip was great despite its challenges. I was surprised to learn the lake crossing was so rough, I don’t think of lakes as having swells so I had to google why.
Thanks for sharing your week, happy reading!
It’s really a little disorienting to think of a lake large enough to have waves if you haven’t grown up around one (I didn’t). I see some places here in Michigan refer to the area as the Third Coast. East Coast, West Coast, Great Lakes (Third) Coast. I can see why!
Im sorry it was difficult on the ferry because it is a really beautiful area. It’s wonderful you take advantage of the things in the area while you are there.
Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
We love seeing everything we can while we’re in a new place. It’s the biggest reason we decided to start traveling with my husband’s job. The Keweenaw Peninsula is definitely beautiful!
Sounds like an awesome trip! I love Michigan!
This is my first time in Michigan. I can see why everyone loves it!
Beautiful views and I love the bookish crosswalk! Have a great week! 🙂
I thought the crosswalk was a lot of fun! The different artsy crosswalks added a lot of personality to that little downtown.
I loved Commonwealth. I am a huge Patchett fan and that book was delightfully complex.
My hubby and I are doing our best to visit as many National Parks as we can. We just back from Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Earlier in the year we visited Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii. Not sure if we will ever make it to Grand Royale. Hubby gets seasick so easily.
I’ve read quite a bit of Patchett’s work and she is a remarkably consistent author.
You can also take a seaplane to Isle Royale and there are other ferries. The official National Park Service ferry leaves from Houghton. We saw that boat and it is much bigger than the ferry we took from Copper Harbor. I feel confident that it doesn’t rock as much. But it’s also something like a 6.5 – 7 hour boat ride each way from there so you would have to spend the night on the island. I don’t know if either of those are viable options but I wanted to make sure you knew about them.
We loved Yellowstone and Volcanoes! We wish we’d had more time and/or better weather in the Tetons. We could barely even see the mountains, it was so foggy and cloudy on the first day we were there. And we only had two days to spend. Maybe we’ll make it back someday!
What a gorgeous park! I’m glad you managed to stretch time and get in the entire hike!!!
We were too!
Lovely pictures. I would have been sick on the ferry as well! The winds here in Ohio messed up our plans this week as well. I am glad, despite everything, you were able to enjoy a nice hike in a new location!!
Oh no! I hope you were able to carry on with your plans despite the wind, or at least successfully pivot to something else.
We did do some of our planned things (and were miserable, LOL), but did have to pivot one day as well. It turned out to be a good week, despite the weather.
That’s great!
Yay for visiting Michigan and Isle Royale!!! The UP itself is like a whole different country. Lol. We haven’t visited in a while – actually 11 years! I need to get Wyatt up there.
You guys might like Manitou Island as well. You can camp there, and you take a boat from Fishtown in Leelanau. I think it is a three hour boat trip, which can get rough too, but my husband tells me it is beautiful and worth it.
We’ll keep it in mind! This hospital has been really generous with long weekends and we’ve been thinking about heading down that way at some point. Thanks for the recommendation!
Fishtown itself is a really cool little area, with a great bookstore and sandwich shop!
Thanks for the tips! I looked up Manitou Island and saw that ferry service to both islands is closed this year. It looks like they’re rebuilding and moving the docks 🙁 But it sounds like it’s work that needs to be done so that’s good for everyone else. We still want to go by Sleeping Bear Dunes so hopefully we’ll pass through that area!
Oh no!!! That is good though if they are fixing it up. It probably does need it! Sleeping Bear Dunes is amazing. I hope you get a chance to see it. 🙂
Love this post and your description of the ferry ride and trot/hike. Great experience and kudos to the reading woman! I would be watching the horizon.
She is a more dedicated reader than I am! I really wish I had remembered to throw my earbuds in my backpack so I could have at least listened to an audiobook.
Thank you for sharing your trip to Isle Royale National Park. Even with medication, I tend to get crazy-seasick, so I doubt I will ever get to stop there myself. I’m impressed that you were able to make two trips across the water and get in a lovely hike in one day.
It was a really busy day and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who has time for better options. We just really couldn’t make it work any other way.
We went to a mineral museum and stopped by an agate shop while we were on the Keweenaw Peninsula. There used to be a lot of copper mines in the area and apparently there are lots of interesting rocks to be found on the shore. I seem to remember your husband likes that kind of thing so I thought of you. I think you would have a good time at least visiting the Peninsula, even without the ferry out to Isle Royale!
I really need to give Dungeon Crawler Carl a shot; people seem to love it so much! Hope you’re enjoying.
I finished it this morning and was so wrapped up in the story, I didn’t even realize that I was close to the end since I was reading on my Kindle. I was disappointed that I was finished! I need to place a hold for the second one at the library already. If the synopsis appeals to you at all, you should give it a try!