Yikes, where did June go? Life got super busy, this kept getting pushed to my back burner, and now I'm madly scrambling to keep our streak of two posts a month alive.
The humans recently took a whirlwind roadtrip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, so this is basically going to be a photo dump with minimal explanations. It's kind of cheating, I know, but I plan to come back and flush it out when we finally have some downtime this holiday weekend.
Day 1: evening drive to the top of Michigan's Lower Peninsula
they passed lots of interesting scenery before night fell, including multiple Christmas tree farms. =)
Mom's bed for the first night at a cozy Airbnb.
Day 2: St. Ignace and Marquette
On the fam's last UP trip, they only made it as far as Munising. This time, they were determined to explore farther west and north!
the rental by the light of day
Wawatam Lighthouse in St. Ignace
It may look picturesque, but clouds of mosquitos and gnats descended the moment they approached the pier, killing the mood. Needless to say, they did not linger.
Fortunately, this was the worst of the bugs the entire trip, and the next stop was a museum.
Quillwork masterpieces on display in the Museum of Ojibwa Culture
a Jingle Dress
The story behind these is worth looking up if you aren't already familiar with it.
sampling of the sculpture garden outside the museum
Lake Michigan views
they knew they were in the UP now
The fam had pretty much perfect weather on this trip: 60's and usually a breeze, which helped with bugs. Our aunt, fearless driver of the Jeep that day, drove the narrow, unpaved, sometimes high incline road to the top of Mt. Marquette. We're not entirely sure full-sized motor vehicles are allowed on it, but they saw no signs against it, and hardly anybody was around. It saved them a lot of time and arduous uphill walking.
The view from Mt. Marquette. That's the city of Marquette and Lake Superior off in the distance.
Next stop: a far more pleasant lighthouse visit.
Presque Isle Harbor Lighthouse
They only walked out as far as the smooth cement slab went: even though Lake Superior was quite calm that day, climbing on potentially slippery, unstable boulders seemed like a bad idea.
Back on the beach, they enjoyed skipping rocks, building cairns, and (in Mom's case) just enjoying the wide variety of pretty rocks
Their next activity, a hike up scenic Sugarloaf Mountain, had to be done on foot. Our Aunt's fiancé found everybody suitable walking sticks for this endeavor, which Mom says did help on uneven ground.
the view from the top
It was worth the hike!
The final touristy stop of the day was to another lighthouse, which was perched impressively on a hill. Sadly, by the time they arrived, tours were over for the day.
Marquette Harbor Lighthouse
Mom's bed in Marquette. Sketchy hotel, but she slept great!
Alas, the pool was out of order.
Day 3: Heading West
On this day, they made it just about as far west in Michigan as you can go... and even briefly crossed over into Wisconsin. Fun fact: the four far west counties of the UP have chosen to be on central time to be in sync with neighboring Wisconsin. The rest of Michigan observes eastern time.
The fam conveniently arrived at this old lighthouse just as tours were opening for the day.
Ontonagon Lighthouse
the views were shrouded in mist
they toured the inside, which was restored to look like it would've in its heyday
On to the Porcupine Mountains!
First stop: the visitors' center, where they saw the only bears of the trip: two stuffed ones.
(We don't want to know how either one passed. So sad!)
They drove on and made their way to the Lake of the Clouds overlook.
so much forest!
the main attraction: Lake of the Clouds. Aptly named, right? There were a few fishing paddle boarders putting a little damper on the untouched wilderness vibe, but some majestic gliding birds of prey made up for it.
Next stop: Summit Peak. This one involved a hike and lots of stairs.
the trail ended in a tower to climb
360 degrees of green and blue beauty from the top made it worth every step
Their final stop in the state park: a trail with lots of boardwalk portions along the Presque Isle River, and a good look at some picturesque little waterfalls and rapids
Manabezho Falls
They kept heading west after that to Ironwood, where the restaurant they'd picked out ahead of time turned out to be just a food truck.
great food, cute pig, and home of the classiest port-a-potty Mom has ever been in
Also in Ironwood: the world's tallest Native American statue, the 52-foot Hiawatha.
On the way back east to Marquette, to the same sketchy hotel, they tried to stop at 3 different waterfalls. They couldn't find Root Beer Falls, the trail to Agate Falls was closed, and they almost gave up on finding the third, Bond Falls, because their GPS lead them to someone's house, definitely NOT waterfalls.
they persevered and made it to Bond Falls before sundown.
This late, they had it pretty much all to themselves
Day 4: Going Up
the Jeep really got a workout again!
It was too chilly for swimming (Lake Superior was in the 50's, and air temp was in the 60's), but they started their morning with a short stop at a beach.
Squaw Beach
The rocks on this one were mostly just out of reach unless you wanted to get your feet wet, which Mom did not feel inspired to do this early in the day (facing the rest of the day with gritty socks and toes? No thank you!) but she still ended up finding some cool rocks.
They then embarked on their most exciting portion of their trip, driving to the highest point in Michigan. This was described online as a drive "not for the faint of heart." We're not talking scary precipices or insane inclines, not really. It was more that your average little sedan was definitely not going to make it, because the "trail" was really rough, confusing, and crisscrossed with lots of sketchy "water features." If they'd just followed the arrows on the physical trail signs, it probably wouldn't have been nearly as exciting, but thanks to inaccurate GPS directions, they did some serious unintentional off-roading. We're talking big rocks, big holes, branches scraping against the sides, enormous puddles, and at at least one point, driving across pretty big stream with a current running through it. Mom had visions of getting stuck for hours out there, as there was zero cell reception and no other humans around, but the Jeep really did do what you see it do in the commercials!
The Jeep after the rough ride up Mt. Arvon. Mom honestly thought it would look a lot worse. XD
at the very top of Michigan!
Technically, Michigan's mountains (be it Mt. Arvon, which is part of the Huron Mountains, or the Porkies they saw the day before) are not quite tall enough anymore to be mountains. They are super old and once were, but they've eroded down over time. Even so, they are quite impressive and make one's ears pop on the way up, so they count as mountains in our eyes.
no road noise from here, that's for sure!
The adventure continued on the trail back down - everybody cheered when the Jeep finally reached a paved road again! They then journeyed up the UP's fancy "crest," the Keweenaw Peninsula.
Sand Point Lighthouse in Baraga
In contrast to the other lighthouses they saw on their trip, this one had the feeling being sad, neglected, and slowly crumbling. The big green dumpster next to it did not help. We sure hope somebody takes an interest in preserving/restoring it!
aptly named: lots of sand in the vicinity
The final lighthouse site they visited had been turned into full-on museum. Regrettably, they didn't arrive until a half hour before it closed for the day, so they had to speed their way through.
Eagle Harbor Lighthouse
The children's bedroom area in the lighthouse included these. =)
a tranquil Lake Superior
They drove in and out of lots of rain on their way back south, which wasn't all bad. It washed some of the mud off the Jeep and didn't interfere with any outdoor plans.
and they saw a vibrant rainbow! <3
They stayed in a much more upscale hotel room on their final night in Manistique.
the rooms themselves get an A!
However, Mom chose not to go in the hotel pool because it involved a long walk outside in the cold, and the hot tub was out of order. She lounged on the deck with her Kindle instead. So boring, Mom!
Day 4: Kitch-iti-kipi, Petoskey, and home
back to Lake Michigan again
they got to observe it from this floating platform
swirling sand and meandering fish
Mom's overpriced but irresistible souvenir =)
Goodbye, UP
