Art of nature ; Pictured Rocks

Can you see the beauty in rocks??? Come on…. Rocks!!! Whats special in rocks…. They are good to see…. No offense…. But is that possible to do art in rocks??? What damn new thing I am talking, right??? If rocks are made beautiful with natural processes…. How it would be??? Let me explain….

The new place I visited few weeks back…. Its an art of nature…. The pictured Rocks in munising, Michigan…. So lets jump into the topic as usual….

To enjoy the amazing Pictured Rocks, we have to take cruise rides….

Pictured Rock Cruise Ride

There are 3 different cruises ; The Classic Cruise, The Spray Fall Cruise and The Sunset Cruise which departs from the city dock at the north end of Elm Avenue in Downtown Munising. These Cruises passes through the sandstone cliffs within the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and travels approximately 40 miles round trip. Cruises takes 2 hours to 2 1/2 hours to complete one trip and operates from mid-May to mid-October.

A glimpse of Pictured Rock Cruise Ride

We took tickets for the Classic Cruise ride and it was fun riding along with the details explained by one person in the cruise about each part of the Pictured rocks. We will get the minute information about the beautiful rocks in the trip and the wind will make us mesmerized through out the ride. The Classic Cruise ride will travel 32 miles round trip and view the colored cliffs, sea caves and pristine beaches.

Pictured Rocks Cruise

The advantage of taking spray Fall Cruise is that it will go further down the shoreline to view the Spray Falls, cascading 70 feet into the Lake Superior. When it comes to Sunset Cruise ride, it departs late in the day and allow passengers to enjoy the sunset. The rocks will look golden colored in the light and will give awesome pictures.

Main attractions in Pictured Rocks

1. Miners Castle
2. Painted Coves
3. Caves of all colors
4. Lovers Leap
5. Rainbow Cave
6. Indian Head
7. Gull Rookery
8. Grand portal
9. Battleship Rocks
10. Flower Vase
11. Indian Drum
12. Chapel Cove
13. Chapel Rock

The name “Pictured Rocks” comes from streaks of mineral deposits above the sandstone. When the ground water got into the cracks and trickles, some stunning colors came out as a result and it increased the beauty of the rocks. The deposition of different minerals gave various shades ; Iron – red and orange, Copper – blue and green, Manganese – brown and black, Limonite – white are among the most common color producing minerals.

Miners Castle

Map showing Miners Castle

It is located 5 miles east of Munising on Alger County Road H-58, then 6 miles north on Miners Castle Road. From the parking lot, you can get a foot trail which leads to the overlooks of Lake Superior and Grand Island.

Miners Castle

Miners Castle is one of the most famous landmarks along the Pictured Rocks shoreline, and is the only cliff area in the park accessible by vehicle. In 2006, Miners Castle lost one of turrets due to erosion.

Painted coves

Is that a brush painting??? It looks like one….

Painted Coves

Caves of all colors

This one is very interesting to watch which resembles the ancient small caves….

Cave of all colors

Lovers Leap

Lovers leap looks like the two rocks hugging each other and it is one of the paddlers choice.

Lovers Leap

Rainbow Cave

Why it is called Rainbow Cave??? May be it looks like many shades of colors formed adjacent in the rocks in a cave.

Rainbow Cave

Indian Head

This side of rock falls out from the normal pattern. This formation looks like a profile of a Native American, hence the name.

Indian Head

Gull Rookery

Gull Rookery

Grand portal

Grand Portal

Battleship Rocks

Battleship Rocks

Flower Vase

Flower Vase

Indian Drum

Indian Drum

Chapel Cove

If you take the classic ride, they will take a round inside the cove. This will make you realize, how huge the rocks are….

Chapel Cove

Chapel Rock

Chapel Rock

Chapel rock is one of the famous among the others which is appreciated by most of the people with its unique beauty.

So how are you guys??? How is the long weekend going???

In my previous post, I mentioned about my give away plans. I thought about to do it as a post…. So wait for my post guys…. Don’t know who will be the winner…. I am so excited….