Michigan

For those of you non-Michiganders:

The state is divided into two peninsulas, the lower and upper. It is common to refer to the Upper Peninsula as the UP (in yooper speak “da UP”). In 1957 the UP was finally anchored to the Lower Peninsula by the five mile long Mackinaw Bridge. (dave’s grandpa remembers waiting in line for the ferry before the bridge was built. He said it was common to wait nearly 24 hours. You couldn’t get out of line without loosing your spot, so gas attendants, hot dog vendors and others would walk along the line of cars selling what they had to offer.) Today you pay the $2.50 toll and within ten minutes you are across, unless there is a high wind advisory!! I remember growing up and hearing about a car that was lifted by the wind and went over the guardrail to the lake below.

There are four great lakes that border Michigan. Lake Superior is north of the UP; Lake Huron is east of the state; Lake Michigan is west of the state; Lake Erie borders the extreme southeast portion of the state. Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet under the Mackinaw Bridge.

It is acceptable to refer to where you are in the Lower Peninsula by using your left hand. For example, my folk’s cottage is on the tip of the thumb.

In 1837 just before Michigan became a state, its borders included the northern portion of Ohio. At statehood, Ohio took over the area near Toledo and Michigan was given the UP. It was an unpopular decision at the time because the UP was considered a wild and uninhabitable place. The mining and logging industries quickly found the UP to be a valuable piece of real estate. Today those industries are beginning to fade but tourism has taken root.

Mackinaw Bridge looking South

Sprout In Lake Michigan for First Time

Our intention was to make it to the UP by October 12^th so dave could go hunting with his family. Along with the desire to be back in Michigan, the high cost of traveling in Canada was enough incentive to speed up our timeline. We rolled into Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan on October 1^st. Our first stop was this border town where dave had attended Lake Superior State University.

Dave worked in a variety of places in the UP during the late 1990s, including the two National Forests in the UP (Hiawatha and Ottawa). We spent some time checking out both. Here are some of the highlights:

Hiawatha National Forest:
In 1996 dave was a campground host at Soldier Lake Campground near Sault Ste. Marie. We spent the night on an old two track that leads out of the back of the campground. The campground can get pretty crowed on peak weekends so once again we were rewarded for traveling after the season and with someone who knows his way around the back roads.

Fall Colors at Soldier Lake Campground

Ottawa National Forest:
Dave was an intern in the summer of 1997 and winter of 1998 in Watersmeet on the western end of the UP (See map). The western end of the UP is very unique for Michigan because it has “mountains” and a variety of rocky outcroppings like northern Ontario. I have not spent much time in the western end of the UP so I wanted to see as much as possible. As a result we were once again on the move, staying at different sites each day.

We spent a night at Taylor Lake. When dave was working in this area he developed a campground complete with campfire rings, picnic tables and an outhouse. Since then the Forest Service took away all those amenities but left it open for people on a budget to camp for free. We took advantage of the choice spot overlooking Taylor Lake and had a roaring fire with all the downed wood in the area.

Camp Spot on Taylor Lake

White Tailed Deer Just Outside Campground

There are waterfalls all over the UP. In Alaska or Canada there were waterfalls but most are not marked on a map or even named. In the UP almost every waterfall is named, even if it drops only a few feet. We stopped at many of them. Here are a few photos of the better ones.

Waterfalls

Dave also had the pleasure of working at a Forest Service tree nursery in Watersmeet. They grow both hardwoods and pines for reforestation projects across the region. Although they were not harvesting seedlings while we were there, the gate was open and we got to see the little trees up close.

J. W Toumey Tree Nursery

Porcupine Mountains State Park:
Porcupine Mountains State Park is on the far northwestern portion of the UP. This park is a backpackers’ haven because of the numerous trails that bisect the park through stands of old growth hardwoods and hemlock. There are also many black bears in the area. This region of the UP looks so much like Alaska it was scary. We would come around bends in the road and if we weren’t careful we thought we were back in the Kenai Peninsula.

The premier attraction of the park is Lake of the Clouds. Accessible by both road and trail this overlook puts you up high enough to see most of the park in one view. Combine that with the incredible fall color show we had and you are in for a treat.

Lake of the Clouds Overlook

Near the overlook there was a really neat interpretive sign. Since I have developed my fair share of these signs, I normally pay close attention to cool quotes or neat layouts on signs we come across. This one really caught my eye.

Cool Quote

Keweenaw Peninsula:
From the Porcupine Mountains we traveled back east in the northern portion of the UP. Just east of the park the Keweenaw Peninsula extends north into Lake Superior. The main cities up there are Houghton and Hancock. They are separated by a canal that was built to bisect the Keweenaw Peninsula for shipping purposes. Michigan Tech University is in the city of Houghton so there is a fairly young population that lives there. Hancock is home to a huge copper mine that was active back in the day. The National Park Service has taken over the buildings and is in the process of renovating them. Unfortunately compared with Kennecott in Alaska it was not nearly as impressive, but neat just the same.

Old Mine

Dave’s Cabin:
We made it back to dave’s family’s cabin a couple of days before the rest of the boys made it up there for the hunting weekend. It was a cold couple of days because we were not able to turn on the heat (due to our stupidity). When his Dad and Grandpa got there the heat situation was remedied and I took off to the Lower Peninsula to visit my college roommate Kelly. Dave and the boys had an action packed couple of days and did all right hunting.

The Cabin

The Boys

Dave and His Catch of Grouse

Pigeon River State Forest: (Middle finger knuckle on your Michigan map)
Dave and I met back up in the Lower Peninsula on the side of the highway. After a big breakfast with his Dad and Grandpa we took off for the Pigeon River State Forest. This is where I used to hang out for camping weekends while in high school. We toured the back roads, checked out all the attractions and eventually made it just south of the forest to a hand built log cabin. While I was visiting my college roommate I was introduced to one of her parents’ friends. He and one of his friends had purchased some property near the forest and built a log cabin. They had rigged up a gravity feed water system and other neat ways to have amenities. I was so impressed with his description he told us to go there and check it out. His hospitality was very generous. We realized how much so when we finally got to the cabin and saw how beautiful it was.

(Gravity Feed Water System: They had a well that pumped water only when it was turned on. The well would pump water into a 30 gallon holding tank upstairs in the cabin. Once it was full the well could be turned off. There were hoses that led from the holding tank down to the kitchen sink and bathroom. The weight of the water upstairs was enough the feed down the hoses and created enough pressure that you wouldn’t notice the difference between this system and a conventional system. This is the type of system we hope to use when we get back into the real world. Ours would have one more piece – a hand pump you could use to pump the water from the well without the need for electricity.)

Inspiration Point at Pigeon River Forest

Lost Lake

Cool Sign at Pigeon River Forest

The Cabin We Stayed At

Jody’s Family’s Cottage: (Tip of the thumb on your Michigan map)
From the log cabin we traveled along back roads down the coast of Lake Huron to my parent’s cottage. The cottage is located in a co-op of 20ish cabins that were built around the same time and all share a large tract of gorgeous beach. My parent’s have had this cottage since before I was born. My sister and I were only five weeks old the first time we came here and ten months old the first time we went swimming in Lake Huron. Dave and I got married on the beach here in 2003 and unfortunately have not been back since. We spent ten days relaxing and driving the back farm roads taking in the sites.

Cottage

Co-Op of Cottages

Dave on the Beach

Sprout Playing on Lake Huron’s Beach

There is a neat forest preserve across the street from the cottage. It was great to let the dogs explore all the new scents and to be back in the Michigan woods. Both dave and I forgot how great it smells in the woods here. I don’t know who was sniffing more the dogs or us!!

The Family in the Forest Preserve

Once we post this blog we will take the coast of Lake Huron south to dave’s parent’s house near Detroit. We have big plans when we get back into the city, including a hardcore music show in Detroit, a visit to the cider mill, lunch at one of the Red Wings restaurant and catching up with all our family and friends in the area. We will take off again after the first of November. Until then we hope to have some fun in our home city.