Twelvemile Beach via Lake Superior Overlook - Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Mrs Coot - Looking for solitude (and pretty rocks) along Twelvemile Beach

As I mentioned in a previous post, what made the Lake Superior Overlook at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore most special for me was the great access it offers to Twelvemile Beach.  Together, on a blustery September day, Mrs Coot and I slowly wandered about a half mile up the beach from the overlook, feeling the lake winds across our faces, as we looked to find some total solitude for ourselves.

We concentrated on walking on the stabilized wet sand rather than the very fine loose dry sand that covers the beach, while also avoiding the bigger waves. Lake Superior's waters never get much above a bone chilling temperature, and neither one of us really wanted to get our feet cold and wet on a windy autumn day.

A gnarled and burnt (but photogenic) pine that caught my eye

Solitude Found - Mrs Coot along the shores of Gitche Gumee

One thing that Lake Superior shores are famous for is the tremendous array of rocks that can be found on it's shores.  The huge variety of different rocks, minerals, and semi-precious gems are literally pieces of bedrock from as far away as Hudson Bay, they are a legacy of the most recent ice age.

Red Alligator? - No, it's just another chunk of rock left behind by the last Ice Age

During the time period that the first human civilizations were being established in the region around Mesopotamia and the so called "fertile crescent", the Lake Superior region was still feelings the effects of the most recent Ice Age that sent giant glaciers moving as far south as St Louis.

Lake Superior's array of rocks, minerals and semi-precious gems - Twelvemile Beach

Just know that actual rock collecting is not allowed within the boundaries of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.  You can look, you can touch, but when it's all said and done, even the prettiest specimens must remain on the beach for others to admire.  It's not a terrible sacrifice, as there is plenty of other shoreline available for rock collectors on the world's largest freshwater lake, and plenty of attractions to observe by the shores of Gitche Gumee, by the shining big sea waters . . . 

Burnt pine on Twelvemile Beach