Michigan - Road Trip 2019

Michigan our 39th state to visit.  We drove across the Upper Peninsula (The UP) with the intent of arriving in Munising with time to catch the afternoon cruise to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.  Thus we cut fairly straight across the UP and did not follow the Lake Superior shoreline.

This cruise is a splurge for sure, we paid $45 ea for the extended cruise to Spray Falls.  Was it worth it?  For sure! – once, anyway, it was a splurge. There is a road that can be traveled a few miles into the National Lakeshore and lots of hiking trails.  Although we could have done this for FREE, we’d have been above the rocks in viewing platforms like this one, and missed most of the reason for being here.

he rocks are stained with the minerals that leach from the sandstone.  Brilliant orange, white and yellow contrast with the ebony black in various proportions.`

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The cliffs are potholed with caves from the erosion of Lake Superior’s storms.  I caught these kids in a perfect 1-2-3-jump as they finished exploring a cave and swimming back to their pontoon boat.

Boat rentals, especially pontoon boats are a popular way to see the rocks at a leisurely pace.

Another popular tour is the kayak tour.  The kayaks and tour guests are loaded onto a cruise boat similar to ours.  They are then dropped off with a guide to enjoy an up close experience and picked up later at the far end of the rocks.  next time!

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A kayak is required to explore this arch properly.

There is a tree standing proud atop these pillars.  Although there are no nutrients available from the pillars, life has a way.

Note how the tree’s roots are reaching over to the mainland where it finds the sustenance it needs.

Our turn around point is at Spray Falls

The only year-round waterfall along the lakeshore.  Although the kids seem to like the more accessible Miners Creek.

A very unusual landscape with the color of the sandstone cliffs separating the dense forest from the water.

We have one last bridge to cross on our way to our destination in Dayton OH.  But it’s a biggie! and it’s very windy!  At 5 miles the Mackinac Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the US!

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Whew - it was Fran’s turn to drive!  The toll keeper collected our $10 and told her to stay in the right lane, at no more than 20 mph with flashers on.  Advice we both heartily agreed to! On west side of the bridge is Lake Michigan and Lake Huron is on the east.  We found a nice park on Lake Huron to go wading, collecting our last Great Lake.

Our adventure  map now looks like this:

A great day we had but again rains caught up with us.

All across the UP we saw signs for Pasties, World Famous Pasties, Grama’s Secret Pasties, etc.  I was in the Navy and what I think of as a pasty is not really edible.  So we finally stopped and learned it’s a PAST-eee, not a PASTE-eee.   We bought a ‘traditional’ pasty with potatoes, rutabagas, onions, peppers, beef and pork to share.

It’s really similar to an empanada but with an lighter pastry crust.  And perfect under our wet skies.

WOW! No Bad Days in Michigan!  What a great experience we had.  Wish we had picked up more of a variety of pasties.  A fun local meal for a rainy day.

We’re now settled for a couple weeks in Dayton OH.  We were last here a couple years ago, where I ended each post with a Dayton Fun Fact.

Here’s an Ohio Fun Fact: Ohio’s State Beverage?  -  Tomato Juice

Stay tuned for more Fun Facts!