If you’ve been complaining about the unseasonably cold weather, and you don’t like the snow you’ve received so early in the season, well, maybe you should skip this post.
Because my husband and I are further north than normal. And my goodness there’s a bunch of snow up here.
And it’s cold too.
Did I mention cold and windy? Perfect for a short trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
We spent our first night at Mackinaw City, at the tip of Michigan’s lower peninsula, just before the 5 mile long bridge that connects the two parts of our state.
This morning we took a quick tour around town. Most everything is closed until next spring. It was sort of lonely. And really really cold, just 18 degrees (that’s -7.77 C).
The sky was so interesting, with a row of puffy clouds hanging right above the Straights…
…but both east and west of where we stood were ominous clouds, some dropping what looked like snow. That didn’t bode well for our drive west.
We headed over the bridge and started the long trek across the Upper Peninsula. We traveled along the shores of Lake Michigan for awhile, then headed north and drove along the shore of Lake Superior. Lots of boring grey skies on both sides of the Peninsula.
So we stopped to take a break in Munising, the home of Pictured Rocks, a beautiful park that celebrates cliffs and waterfalls in this wild part of our state.
Lucky for us there’s a parking lot not 800 feet from Munising Falls located right in town.
Also lucky for us no one else was there so we got to enjoy the beauty of the frozen waterfall all by ourselves.
Then we got brave and decided we’d drive out to Miners Falls, even though we weren’t sure the roads would be plowed. And some of them were not.
But since a few other people had driven on the road beyond the point that the county kept them open, we decided to go for it. I won’t lie, this made me very nervous and I was grateful we didn’t meet anyone going the other way, so we could drive right down the middle of the road in the tracks of the car (or more likely the truck) that had gone before.
Once again we saw no one out there. The woods were simply stunning.
Out half a mile, then down multiple flights of stairs that hadn’t been cleared. But it was worth it.
Definitely worth it, don’t you think?
And then, after getting back to the car a bit tired and wet, instead of heading back to town my husband headed further out on the unmaintained road to go see Miners Castle, a rock formation out at the lake.
Granted I had never been there and I had always wanted to see it, but I was stressing that the road wasn’t plowed and no one was out there and I was having flashbacks of being on this exact road in 1979 with a college friend when the water pump in my Chevette died. That was an adventure, and it had been a warm fall day with no snow!
But that’s another story.
Anyway…we got to the Miners Castle visitor center (which was of course closed) and waded through more snow out to the platform to see it. It, too, was beautiful.
And then we walked all the way down through fencing that reminded me of the security at the Atlanta airport, to see the formation from close up.
It was all fun, though I could no longer feel my toes. But it was beginning to seriously snow, and we had 3 hours to our destination on a good day.
So we headed back toward civilization, and crept over to Houghton, averaging about 40 miles per hour through increasing snow and decreasing visibility.
Tomorrow we will explore a bit around here. Both of us used to live here, different years and different reasons, and we look forward to seeing what’s changed. I moved away 43 years ago. Lots will probably be different. But Lake Superior will always be Lake Superior and I look forward to seeing more of it again.
I just hope all the roads are plowed.
November 21, 2018 at 12:31 am
Absolutely gorgeous! Thank you (and your husband!). I enjoyed the humor about the airlines and the convoluted fencing. 🙂 Really pretty picture tho.
My dad was born in Kalamazoo. Both his dad and his mom were from Canada to the north of Michigan so I suspect they ventured all over that territory, though there probably wasn’t a bridge then? Oh, gosh, I need to get back there with my trailer and spend some summers in Michigan! 🙂
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November 21, 2018 at 8:29 pm
Oh yes you do need to come visit! You can reserve a campsite in any of our Michigan State Parks with the online reservation system, the earliest you can do that is 6 months prior to a specific date. State parks fill up quick. You’re welcome in our driveway too, any time. And there are lots of parks that are not state parks. Lots and lots of state forests available, first come first serve, no reservations, about 15.00 a night, no power, and only outhouse bathrooms, but still, a good value.
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November 21, 2018 at 4:37 am
Wow, such beautiful scenery! 🙂
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November 21, 2018 at 8:30 pm
Isn’t it? We are so lucky to live within a drive from places like this.
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November 21, 2018 at 8:27 am
It is so beautiful!
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November 21, 2018 at 8:30 pm
Certainly is! So pretty no matter which way you look up here.
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November 21, 2018 at 11:09 am
So pretty! I love it when you bring us along on your trips.
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November 21, 2018 at 8:31 pm
I love to bring you all along! Glad you enjoyed this little hike and drive. Hope you brought your long-johns!
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November 21, 2018 at 12:09 pm
Northern Michigan is looking a lot like my part of the world right now. Blowing snow, falling temperatures, icy roads. Stay warm and have fun exploring the past.
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November 21, 2018 at 8:31 pm
Thank you, we are having fun, spent today in historical Calumet, more on that later.
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November 21, 2018 at 7:28 pm
This makes me cold just looking at the pictures lol. Great pics have fun and be careful.
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November 21, 2018 at 8:32 pm
I’m cold too, just remembering all that snow. Today we explored a historic town, still cold, but less outside time.
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November 22, 2018 at 6:23 am
Forgot to mention how much I enjoyed looking at these pictures!
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November 22, 2018 at 8:04 am
Beautiful photos! Wow. Great adventure. I am jealous!
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