My National Park #60 - Isle Royale in Michigan.
Even though I had spent a couple of years in Michigan more than a decade ago, I never got around to this Island over Lake Superior. Stuck in the extreme northwest corner of the state, getting here involved a 9hr drive and a 3hr ferry to get the largest island in the middle of the largest freshwater lake in the world. And that wasn't a luxury I could afford during my time in Michigan a decade ago.
Fast forward to 2026, and I finally got around to visiting this gem of a park. The difficulty in getting there made the journey and beauty even more memorable. Sublime sunrises and serene sunsets met me every day. These were accompanied by the haunting sirens of the common loon that echoed over the vast surface of the still lake. The crystal clear waters of the lake beckoned me to its freezing embrace on the warm summer afternoons as a respite from the swarms of mosquitoes and blackflies.
Nearly a month after the trip, and I still hear the siren of the loon, feel the cold lake lapping on my feet and smell the watery undertones of Lake Superior.
Isle Royale National Park
MI USA