Jun 20, 2012 - Shipwreck Museum and Cranberry Farm, Whitefish Point, MI

Tuesday, June 19, 2012 – We got up and started early. Well at least early for us. It was sprinkling most of the way. I have decided that there are lots of woods between the towns in Michigan. We stopped at the Tahquamenon Falls and they wanted $29 for an annual fee plus $21 a night for camping. We decided not to see the falls and we were glad we did not after some other tourists say they expected a nice flow of water and there was not. We stopped, ate lunch and then on to the Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. We learned over 6,000 ships...

Sep 12, 2011 - More Sightseeing in the UP

This is actually part two to the Soo Lock post. After we got off the tour boat, the day really changed, it brightened up, the sun came out and eventually the clouds cleared! So, as long as we were this far north, we decided why not go and see the three lighthouses up here in this area by driving westward. And it ended up being FOUR! So, off we headed! Our first destination was to the small town of Brimley and to the Point Iroquois Lighthouse. But before reaching this lighthouse, we stopped and took a few pics of an unusual Indian Burial...

Aug 23, 2011 - Tahquamenon Falls

August 23, 2011 – Tahquamenon We took a trip to Tahquamenon (rhymes with phenomenon) Falls today; the second highest/largest falls east of the Mississippi – second only to Niagara. There are two sets of falls; upper and naturally, lower. The Lower Falls consist of three distinct falls separated by an island. Over 55,000 gallons of water fall over these falls each second. It is amazing and the water is that tannic acid color common in the pine barrens of New Jersey and other dense pine/cedar forests. The upper falls are really reminiscent of...

Aug 13, 2011 - Another Day In The Northern UP

From Lakeshore RV Park Campground – St. Ignace, MI (Upper Peninsula) Out the door early as our plans today were taking us once again to the northern section of the UP to see the state’s second largest State Park, the oldest active light on Lake Superior and the graveyard of the Great Lakes……round trip of 170 miles. We departed Lakeshore Park with light but steady rain hitting the windshield, overhead were gray skies with no break for any sun to sneak a peek and 61 degrees at just past 8 AM. The entire drive to our first stop these...

Aug 3, 2011 - Trip to Paradise

Yesterday, a lot of Michigan received some much needed rain. We decided to stay home and not do any sightseeing. It is still humid but not quite as bad as it was further south. -- This morning, it was still overcast, so we decided to drive north and explore. We headed up Hwy 123 to the little town of Paradise. The trip got a little boring as there was nothing but solid trees lining both sides of the road and nothing else to see. As we got closer to our destination, we caught glimpses of water. The scenery reminded us of our travels through...

Sep 3, 2010 - Another Day In Paradise

Written from Bay Mills Casino RV Park, Brimley, MI The weather man last night was predicting a cool, windy, rainy day for today. But he messed up! It was a beautiful sunny, cool, windy morning, and only a few rain drops. So we headed back to the Whitefish Point/Paradise, MI area. We took the scenic drive along Whitefish Bay coast. Mainly trees, but a few glimpses of the bay. We'd been to this area with Eddie and Tom on Tuesday, but wanted to go back to check out a couple places. We came across Point Iroquois Lighthouse. (You pronounce it,...

Jul 13, 2010 - Tahquamenon Falls to Whitefish Point!

I'm sure there must be a website that lists "the most interesting places to see while visiting the U.P." but Jim & I have a habit of running into things by accident. We usually start with a plan but are blessed when billboards, or suggestions, improve on that agenda. Such was the case this week! All entries from Tuesday (the 13th) and foreward are being written today (Friday) because there's been no time to keep up! With so much to tell about each day's activities, every day needs its own space. ...

Jul 7, 2010 - Wednesday Paradise, MI

Left Munising and arrived at the Tahquamenon (rhymes with phenomenon) State Park. Set up the RV and then took off for Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point (http://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/). This is a National Historic Site and home to the oldest working lighthouse on Lake Superior. The museum houses the Edmund Fitzgerald Exhibit featuring the actual bell from the ship. This part of the coastline of Lake Superior is known as "Shipwreck Coast". This part of the lake has seen over 300 shipwrecks in the past 200 years. The Fitzgerald went down...

Aug 31, 2008 - Home

I had originally planned to go just to St. Ignace today, do the bridge walk tomorrow morning, and return home. However, my foot was bothering me and I didn't think I'd be up to walking 5+ miles tomorrow, so I decided to just go all the way home. Just off I-75 in the Lower Peninsula, I did stop at the National Shrine of the Cross in the Woods.

Aug 30, 2008 - Back to Paradise, MI

I had a buffet breakfast at the hotel, then proceeded to the Sault Ste. Marie National Historic Site in Canada, where I watch some boats going through the Canadian locks. (Both Canada and the US have locks along their own side of the St. Mary River; the US locks are larger, though, so the largest ships have to go through the American locks.) Also on the Historic Site, the Batchawana Bay First Nation was hosting a powwow, which I hadn't known was going to be there, so I stayed and watched that for a while. It wasn't quite as large as the one...

Aug 10, 2008 - Still in the U.P.

We spent Friday driving across the U.P. to a campground near the Canadian border. We are staying at Tahquamenon (rhymes with phenomenon) Falls State Campground. Yes, more falls pictures. These falls are very beautiful and an unusual color as the river is brown because of tannin that is in the water due to decaying trees. The walks to the falls go through a beautiful hardwood, old-growth forest. Yesterday, we visited the Whitefish Point Lighthouse and Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. This particular point has seen numerous shipwrecks due to...

Aug 4, 2007 - Ride into Michigan

We got a late start today... Something we need to work on as it cuts into our touring time. We headed for the border into Michigan, across the International Bridge. This bridge has great views of the ships moving through the docks, something we got a lot of time to see as there was a fairly long backup to cross the border. Once across the bridge, we got on our planned route to Whitefish Point on Lake Superior. At a town called Paradise (hehe), we realized that we'd not make Whitefish Point and still have time to get to the Bald Eagle Harley...