The great state of Michigan is the birthplace of the automobile, built by Henry Ford in the outskirts of Detroit. Known as The Great Lakes State, the word Michigan comes from the Algonquin term Michi-gama, meaning Big Lake. The name makes a lot of sense, considering Michigan borders 4 of the 5 Great Lakes. Flying from the East Coast, I had a layover in Detroit before heading to my destination in the Upper Peninsula, known as the U. P. I have read for years that one of the coolest places in the USA is Mackinac Island so, of course, I had to visit.
St. Ignace
Since my plan was to visit the Upper Peninsula, it made sense to stay in St. Ignace, located just north of the Mackinaw Bridge. (NOTE: The Bridge closes every year on Labor Day) I stayed at the Breakers Resort, on the shore of Lake Huron. The hotel was ok, but the service was great and the place was clean. The view is spectacular.
One of the kistchy things to do in St. Ignace is visit Castle Rock. It is an overlook spot that you have to climb over 200 stairs to reach. The gift shop at the base will charge you $1. After you walk from the gift shop you pass Paul Bunyan and Babe the Ox. At the base of the stairs you see Bigfoot, because apparently that is a thing there.
While many states claim Paul Bunyan, historians think his story is actually based on an unusually large timberman from Canada who got a job with a logging crew in Michigan after the Civil War and was subsequently murdered. But the tall tales exist about Bunyan being delivered by 5 huge storks to his parents in Maine, his axe creating the Grand Canyon and his footprints created the Great Lakes. From my hotel, up the stairs to the Rock, and back to the hotel took less than 30 minutes.
Also in St. Ignace, you can find Lehto’s Pasties. There are actually places selling pasties all over the U.P. They were originally made for the miners in the area as a hearty meal in the form of meat and root vegetables folded into a pastry shell and then baked.
Mackinac Island
I arrived onto Mackinac Island via the 8:30am Sheplers Island ferry (you can catch the ferry from Mackinaw City or from St. Ignace), so the island was still uncrowded, peaceful and charming. The Main Street has bars, restaurants, souvenir shops and fudge. There is a lot of fudge and I brought home 5 blocks of Murdick’s. I also ate at the Carriage House for brunch, which had good food, great drinks and a beautiful view. You can also visit the Grand Hotel, home to the world’s longest front porch. It was lovely, but again, crowded and over priced.
There are three methods of transportation on the island: foot, bike or horse. It takes about 90 minutes to bike around the island, making short stops. I had such high expectations for this island. Unfortunately, I think it has been “discovered” and by the afternoon it was packed with tourists and its charm was lacking.
Upper Peninsula
Tahquamenon (Tut-KWAHM-in-uhn) Falls State Park
The Tahquamenon Falls are located near the town of Paradise. The river has a brownish orange color which comes from the water running through the cedar, spruce and hemlock trees in the nearby swamps. Locals call the falls “Root Beer Falls” because of the color.
The more famous Upper Tahquamenon Falls is 200 feet across with a drop of almost 50 feet.
The lower falls are about 4 miles downstream, and are actually a bunch of smaller falls around a small island. It is possible to walk across the lower falls to the island in the middle of the river and hike around.
Munising
I’m told that one of the coolest things to do in the U.P. is go on a Pictured Rocks Cruise so, of course, I booked it. (As it turns out, the rock formations are quite similar to what I saw in Wisconsin at the Dells.) Unfortunately it was cancelled the day prior to our booking due to high winds and rough seas. The cruise would have left from the town of Munising, so I went anyway to see what I could see but, as it turns out, very little without big hikes. I was grateful though that we didn’t attempt the cruise. There are some nice waterfalls and one nice scenic lookout. With more time, it would have been an amazing area to hike around and possibly see more. I also didn’t have much luck with food. The highest rated lunch place was pizza, which was good but not exciting. I did find the Bigfoots around town to be cute.
Since I had discovered that the bridge would be closed on Labor Day, I had to change plans and get south of the Mackinaw Bridge the day before my flight. The town of Gaylord had a Fairfield by Marriott, was easy to book and, most importantly, was only 40 minutes from the tiny airport. It was a quick little visit to Michigan, and definitely a beautiful one!
