Glass Bottomed Boat Tour
The Glass Bottomed Boat Tour came highly recommended by Gabe’s future college roommate. So it was high on the list of things we wanted to do. The Glass Bottomed Boat Tours go out over Lake Superior, and the glass bottom allows an up close view of a few of the shipwrecks. The two-hour tour is narrated giving us a look at two shipwrecks, Bermuda (1860-1870) and Herman H. Hettler (1889-1926) on the bottom of the Lake Superior in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore area.
Map from Glass Bottom Shipwreck Tour website
Windy Day
As we purchased our tickets for the Glass Bottomed Boat tour the host informed us that due to the winds, we be unable to see all of the shipwrecks. They would charged full price and if unable to complete the whole tour, they would refunded for the portion that was missed. That sounded fair to us, so we purchased our tickets and waited to board
Top Deck
It was a rather cool and windy day. Thankfully we dressed warm, so we headed for the top deck where we were treated to the front seats! The front seats allowed us a beautiful unobstructed view. The wind in our faces and the sun shining, it was fabulous!
With these photos hope you feel the wind in your hair and the sun on your face, and marvel at the beautiful turquoise blue of the water.
Shipwreck #1
The trip to the first shipwreck went by quickly. We could see a bit of the shipwreck even from the top deck. When our group was called we moved down to the lower deck to the viewing hulls. was interesting to here the history of the shipwreck and be able to see the debris up close. Here is an aerial view from the Glass Bottom Shipwreck tour website of the tour boat stopped over a shipwreck.
If you look closely you can see part of the Bermuda (1860-1870) shipwreck in each of the following photos.
The shipwreck below is easy to see in this photo as well as the reflection of my son and I taking pictures towards the top.
East Chanel Lighthouse on Grand Island
The next shipwreck was 25 minutes away. The journey out was great. We were able to get some great photos of the East Chanel Lighthouse on Grand Island. It so unique with the wooden exterior. We had passed this lighthouse last year on the Picture Rocks Sunset Cruise, and I was so glad to get a better/closer view for pictures!
Many more pictures below.
Shipwreck #2
We arrived at the second shipwreck and after a few minutes of viewing, they turned the boat sideways to get a better view. Turning the boat sideways caused the pitch and roll to increase. I’m guessing with the wind, it caused it to pitch and roll A LOT this day!
Let’s just say pitch and roll isn’t really my thing and the day quickly went downhill for me. At one point my thought was “Julie you can NOT lose your cookies into the viewing hull! That would just be awful!” Don’t worry no cookies were lost, but it was pretty dicey there for a while! I spent the return trip curled up tightly next to Joe with my eyes closed and praying the trip would be mercifully short! Eh, we all made and in one piece…. Gabe didn’t get sick but it took him a couple hours to warm up. We didn’t do much for the rest of the day…. except blissfully recover! He was so thankful when he was finally warm. I was so thankful when I felt human again and could actually focus on something without feel like I was going to lose my lunch.
Joe
Joe, Joe is awesome and almost super human. No sea sickness or cold to the bone chill for him. Nope he took care of us. Then after lunch headed out in the kayak! Go figure! He got tossed about by the waves and thought it was a great lot of fun! I went out to check on him. I found him walking back with the kayak soaking wet and grinning from ear to ear. The that was AWESOME! SO. MUCH. FUN. smile! I’m so glad he had fun! I’m also so glad he didn’t even consider asking me to go with him. 🙂
I didn’t realize there was a lantern hanging in the lighthouse until I was looking through the photos!
I wondered about the ladder extending to the water in the image below. Who uses the ladder and where does it lead….
Enjoy the view of the cliffs of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and the parting view of the lighthouse.
Friday will be the next post in the series where I’ll share about our rainy day in Marquette.
To help you plan your own visit to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula you can learn more about the places we visited through the links below.
Glass Bottomed Boat Shipwreck Tours
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
If you’re a bride check out the Simply Seeking Photography Wedding Experience
Seniors check out the Simply Seeking Photography Senior Experience
A week in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
More posts in this series:
1-We’re Off for a week in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
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