Yesterday, before leaving the Apostle Islands, we took the ferry to Madeline Island and visited the historic museum at La Pointe.

It was a windy and rainy day and after touring the museum we found some coffee and took the ferry back to the mainland.

This morning we dropped our lines and left Bayfield, circling Raspberry Island, then passing by Oak, Otter, Ironwood, , Cat, Manitou, and Michigan Islands, and finally to Stockton Island for a quiet night at anchor in Presque Isle Bay. We plan to raise the anchor at 0500 tomorrow and watch the sunrise as we head on the 95-mile cruise (11 to 12 hours) northeast to Isle Royale.

Raspberry Island Lighthouse

A calm morning for a cruise through the islands…

On our previous trip to Stockton Island, we hiked the Anderson Loop Trail but skipped the hike to Julian Bay. Today however, after anchoring, we took the dinghy ashore and hiked the .4-mile tombolo to Julian Bay and walked along the beach. The water temperature is still less than 40 degrees – only one of us got our feet wet. The beach sand in Julian Bay reportedly sings when you walk on it. It is something about the texture, size and density; however it wasn’t singing for us this afternoon. The Pink Lady Slippers, on the other hand, are in full bloom and we happened upon an amazing patch of them.

We trolled on the return trip to Arkansas Traveler, going out to the rock at the Presque Isle point and taking the long route home. Sadly there are no fish for dinner tonight.A corner of beach in Julian Bay with a view of Madeline Island to the south.Too many Pink Lady Slippers to count