Our Time as Yoopers in the UP - Where are the Dickens?

Experiencing the Upper Peninsula of Michigan has been Pure Adventure! Exploring the lakeshores, chasing sunsets, searching for waterfalls, hunting lighthouses, eating like a local…

We started our 2 week journey on May 23 in St. Ignace, Michigan after crossing the Mighty Mackinac Bridge. That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience! Literally, don’t need to do that again! As you can see from the pics my first thought was to hide! I “couraged up” and somehow managed a few decent photos.

The Mackinac Bridge spans the Straits of Mackinac connecting Upper and Lower Michigan. Built in 1957, this 5 mile bridge is the world’s 24th longest span and THE longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere.

We stayed at the Kewadin Casino on Lake Huron. Basically a parking lot with electric hook-ups. Water and dump was available and the price was right!! $15 a night!

Traveled 406 miles.

St. Ignace

We spent the day exploring St. Ignace and the shores of Lake Huron. Who knew there was another Castle Rock! Not as many steps to the top as Castle Rock in North Carolina, but the view at the top was spectacular. We could see Mackinaw Island. Had our first taste of the local fare at Mackinaw Grille. Although tasty, the Whitefish Cake was not as good as Blue Crab cakes! Just sayin’! Walked the Huron Boardwalk, learning about the history of the area and discovered the pesky black fish flies. So thick you couldn’t talk and walk, which was a challenge for me! Had to wear my mask to get pics of the Wawatam Lighthouse.

Tahquamenon Falls

Next stop, Paradise, MI and Tahquamenon (rhymes with phenomenon) Falls State Park where we stayed 3 days at the Rivermouth Campground. At $33 a night, this park provided electric only. Water and dump were easily accessed. It was the perfect location for exploring this part of the UP.

First on the agenda, was an afternoon hike to see the Falls. There were 3 small Lower Falls on the Tahquamenon River, but the highlight was the Upper Fall! The locals call it Rootbeer Falls due to the brown coloration from the tannins in the nearby cedar and hemlock swamps. These impressive Falls push 2302 gallons of water per second! The 2nd largest waterfall east of the Mississippi. You can guess the largest! We ended our hike with a great dinner at Brewery 33 right there in the park! John enjoyed a porter while I had an amazing blueberry ale. I’m liking Paradise!!

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

The big draw for our trip to the UP was visiting the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. It was truly a moving experience seeing the faces and the names that Gordon Lightfoot helped immortalize in his song The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and standing on the shores looking out into the big lake they call Gitche Gumee. We also learned about the many other shipwrecks in Whitefish Bay. Apparently most occurred in this treacherous stretch of water as they headed to Lake Huron through the Soo Locks in Sault St Marie. We also learned those early wrecks often occurred when ships ran into each other or the rocky outcrops along the coast. Hence all the lighthouses along the shores of the Great Lakes! One of the more gruesome jobs of the lighthouse keepers was patrolling for frozen bodies that had washed ashore.

In Search of a Lighthouse

Being an island girl, I grew up with the Sullivan’s Island lighthouse. I still love how that bright beacon winks at me every time I travel there. I have a treasured collection of the South Atlantic lighthouses that I have seen. I’m continuing that collection with photographs and stamps in my newly purchased Lighthouse Passport from the U.S. Lighthouse Society. So now we’re off to hunt lighthouses…

When the locals tell you don’t trust your GPS when hunting lighthouses in the UP, you need a map, you should be concerned! Especially when your hubby says, you drive so I can take a nap! Well, that nap didn’t last long. When I turned off the gravel road onto a very narrow, bumpy, bouncy, sandy trail. I say trail cuz’ it was marked for snowmobiles! Did I mention the switchbacks!! 18 miles and 60 minutes later I made it to the shore of Lake Superior and Crisp Point Lighthouse. It was worth it, but no one was there to stamp my passport! PS…John drove us out of there!

A Beautiful Drive, some Big Boats, and Whitefish

The next day we traveled along the Whitefish Bay Scenic Byway on our way to Sault St Marie. It was a gorgeous drive with a handsome driver and lots of stops to read about the history of the area. Plus, another lighthouse, Point Iroquois Light. Again, no stamp.

The Soo Locks in Sault St Marie were fascinating to watch! We got there in time to see a ship traverse the Locks moving from the high waters of Superior to the lower elevation of Huron. Did a little window shopping and had an amazing lunch at Lockview Restaurant. Whitefish and chips! Yummy x10! Saw the International Bridge to Canada. With only a few random trucks, it was quite eerie! We did find a lighthouse with an unusual name…Frying Pan Lighthouse. It was moved from a small point in Lake Huron to be preserved inside the gates of the local Coast Guard. A much easier find than yesterday’s hunt! LOL!!

Enjoyed our stay in Paradise, but it’s time to move on to Christmas!

Painted Rocks, Waterfalls, and Lighthouses

Just west of Munising on Lake Superior is Christmas, Michigan, our home for the next 4 days. We camped at Bay Furnace Campground in Hiawatha National Forest. With no hook-ups and a lot of tree cover, we were lucky to get one of the few big rig friendly sites that had enough sunshine to keep us in solar power during our stay! The water and dump stations were easy to access. The sites were very secluded and the chipmunks kept us entertained!!

After setting up, we took a short bike ride to check out this furnace thing. Turns out it was a blast furnace used by the Onota settlement to make iron in the 1850s. The iron ore was melted into bars cooled in sand trenches then loaded on to the ships for passage to ports beyond! You could see remnants of the 120 foot dock. We found some left over by-products in the sand called slag. It’s a deep purple glass “rock”.

Besides collecting slag, I hunted for agates and Petoskey stones. Alas, all I found were some really cool rocks and beautiful sunsets!

Over the next several days, we hiked the Hiawatha National Forest in search of waterfalls. Most were easy hikes for these old bones! The forests were full of colorful wildflowers…the blue Forget Me Nots, the yellow Marsh Marigolds, the purple Lady’s Slippers, the green ferns all set in the dappled light of aspens, birches, beaches, hemlock, and pines. I was in heaven! Then there were the butterflies…yellow Swallowtails, white Skippers, and the occasional Monarch! John had to remind this Lorax to stop walking so I wouldn’t trip as I took in the beauty around me! (Shout out to my son, Matt, who taught me how to use Google Lens to identify unknown plants! Unfortunately, internet connection can be spotty in the forest!)

The gems at the end of the trail!

The lighthouses were much easier to access! And they came in pairs! 🙂 Called Range Lights, these lighthouses, are separated in distance and elevation. When they are aligned with one above the other, they provide a bearing to safe harbor. Established in 1907, the Munising Range Lights are still active with a continuous red light guiding boats into Munising Bay.

The Grand Island Harbor Range Lights were established in 1867. Today only the front light, located on the shore, is active providing directional beacons and is known as the Bay Furnace Directional Light.

Besides the numerous waterfalls and lighthouses, this area is home to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. My research showed the best way to experience the beauty of nature’s paintings was by boat and the best time of day, sunset, when the last light of the sun illuminates the colors. So, I reserved our sunset cruise months in advance. Bundled up in layers, our winter coat, and a blanket, we set sail in a light rain and 50 degree temperatures that feel more like 40 on the open water on the upper deck! Needless to say, those conditions didn’t stop us from enjoying the colors and shapes that the wind and water erosion continues to change each year as the Big Lake freezes and thaws. PS…the rain quickly ended and the sun did come out, but it was cold!

THE COLORS OF THE PICTURED ROCKS are created from water seeping through the sandstone cliffs dissolving minerals that continually change the tapestry. The red and brown stripes come from iron, the black from manganese, turquoise and green from copper, and the yellows and white from limonite. All stretching down into the beautiful blue-green waters of Lake Superior. Put this on your bucket list!! Tourist Tip: I recommend visiting the Pictured Rocks Interpretive Center in Munising before touring. The knowledgeable folks here will also give you tips on what to see and when to go. You can pick up waterfall and lighthouse maps here as well.

We had a great farewell lunch with the locals on the docks at Matson’s. Bought some whitefish and chips from the food truck and found a picnic table lakeside. Also bought some smoked whitefish dip. Every one said it is a must try. We were not a fan. The smokey flavor over powered the sweetness of the whitefish. Fun note: Cap’n Ron’s Smoke House was featured on Gordon Ramsey’s show, Uncharted.

We are definitely becoming Yoopers! As we travel to our 4th destination in the UP, we find da local dialect slipping into our conversations! A lot, eh! Oh, yah! Dat was some great fish, eh!

Moving On

Our next stop was Van Riper State Park on Lake Michigammi in Champion, MI. It was centrally located so we could visit the Marquette area one day, then Canyon Falls and L’Anse the next. $29/nite for 50 AMP. No water hook-ups, but the fill station was easy to access. The sites were a little close together but everyone was real neighborly!

We were told there were moose in this area, so we took a late afternoon drive around the lake to go moose hunting! No luck! We learned they actually airlift moose from Canada to help reformulate the UP herd. No wonder they are so reclusive, they’re afraid of being deported! LOL Didn’t see any moose, but the sunset was beautiful!

Off we go in search of waterfalls! The Marquette area is home to more waterfalls than the Munising area. So we were super stoked for this outing!! Whoop! Whoop!

Time for some lunch and a tour of Marquette. We enjoyed lunch at Sol Azteca overlooking the Lower Harbor Ore Dock, then visited a quirky gift shop with unique Yooper artifacts! The drive around Lakeshore Blvd led us to the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse where the view of Lake Superior among the lilacs was beautiful! And I was able to get a stamp in my lighthouse passport book!! We continued on to the Upper Harbor Ore dock that is still in use, quite interesting to see how they load iron ore and other products onto the ships. We ended the day with a drive through the canopy of trees on Presque Isle Park. Marquette is a bustling college town with lots of opportunities for outdoor adventures.

Who knew Michigan had its own Grand Canyon. Cut out by the Sturgeon River near L’Anse, MI. Canyon Falls cascade over a 30′ drop into the box canyon below. The deepest point in the canyon is an impressive 300 feet. It was a lovely walk along the river’s edge.

Our next and last fall in Michigan was the Powerhouse Falls. Easily viewed right from the AC comfort of our truck!

On into the town of L’Anse, we found our last Michigan lighthouse located in Keenewa Bay.

Heading back home, John asked me to drive. Seeing a sign for Point Abbaye, he said let’s go check it out! Okay, sounds like fun! One should begin to be concerned when your Garmin no longer shows a road, just this little triangle that keeps moving closer to a point on the map! Encouraged by John, I continued on the road less traveled! Over the hour+ drive, we passed a few homes, then the road turned and once again I found myself driving on a narrow, bumpy, bouncy, white knuckled road! John apologizes and all I can do is laugh! Life is a Grand Adventure and the Journey is Worth it! The view on the Point was breath-taking!! The black flies, not so much! PS, John drove us out!! LOL