Pure Michigan

We had been meaning to give the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (The UP) a decent visit ever since we arrived in Wisconsin.  September was busy at work for both of us, so we tentatively planned a weekend camping trip for October, which provided something fun to look forward to.  It may not be Wisconsin, but still the Upper Midwest for sure.  The weather was fantastic last weekend (60s-70s in October!!), so the trip was on and it was fantastic.  Scott was heard saying several times over the weekend..."Is this really Michigan?" 

We decided to drive the 3 hours to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, one of only 4 national lakeshores in the country and my first visit to Lake Superior (Scott had technically seen Superior in WI during a work trip, but really his first visit too).  The trip up was beautiful as we drove all the way up the west shore of Green Bay (it takes almost 2 hours) and then through the Hiawatha National Forest.  We arrived at the visitor center in Munising, MI (Chippewa for "place with the island") and starting driving along the shore scenic route to the campgrounds.  I was concerned that we were showing up too late on a prime weekend, but we were the first to arrive and had our choice of site at Hurricane River Campground, right on Lake Superior.  We spent the afternoon hiking to the Au Sable Light Station, joined an excellent tour, and climbed the 98 steps to the top of the tower.  After a little more sightseeing, we ended up in the "town" of Grand Marais ("the big marsh" in French, basically one intersection of a town) at Lake Superior Brewing Company.  The slogan on their website is accurate: "we're a little hard to find, but harder to forget."  We ate dinner with lots of Youpers (i.e., people from the UP) and a few tourists.  After the ride back to the campsite, we listened to the waves of Superior all night long.

 Wagner Falls, Hiawatha National Forest   

 Lake Superior- the largest, the deepest, the cleanest...and lots of shipwrecks!

Au Sable Light Station and view from the top!




The next day, we headed back toward Munising and stopped to hike to several waterfalls along the way.  SO many waterfalls in this area due to the rocky shoreline.  The lakeshore was pretty crowded on the last weekend of the season, so it REALLY must be crowded in the summertime.  The last sightseeing stop was at Pictured Rocks Cruises at Munising City Docks.  No better way to actually see the pictured rocks than by boat!  We learned a lot on the tour and had some great views of the shoreline and East Channel Lighthouse on Grand Island despite being trapped on the boat with all those annoying tourists!  Last stop of the day- Pictured Rocks Brewing Company for another drink and a sandwich.

 Miner Falls

 

Spray Falls, from Pictured Rocks Cruise boat Grand Portal

 

East Channel Lighthouse, Grand Island

Sunday morning meant that we had to start heading south.  We packed up the campsite and stopped at the Chapel Falls trailhead for a morning hike to a beautiful waterfall.  Then, it was on down the road to Escanaba, MI for lunch and the first half of the Packers game at Hereford & Hops, our last microbrewery of the trip, and one more lighthouse.  Then, back to Central Time Zone and Titletown.  Go Pack Go!

 

Chapel Falls

Escanaba Lighthouse

Perhaps the Pure Michigan slogan is right on? Eh?