Houghton, MI (Upper Peninsula)-City of Houghton RV Park

After many hours of driving through dreary rain, we pulled into the RV park and instantly the sun began to shine on this gorgeous place!

It was a small, city-owned campground with only 22 RV sites and it was fantastic! The majority of the sites backed up to the Keeweenaw Waterway of Lake Superior with a covered picnic table and park bench to sit and take in the beauty. 

And to top it off, there was free wi-fi and cable! And so I must admit, we watched way too much TV!

From the picnic table, you could see the lift bridge (far right in the picture). A large boat taking passengers to and from Isle Royale would pass through a couple times each day and you could watch the bridge raise and lower.

And the view was the perfect backdrop for our tea party fun ;)

Attached to the campground was a city park with an AMAZING Chutes and Ladders playscape. I have never seen anything like this! And yes, that slide is awesome fun ;) !

There is also a little beach area and a fishing pier. Jacob and Greg spent many of their evenings catching all of the fish. Jacob was in heaven and I think Greg enjoyed it more since Jacob has taken on tying on his hooks, baiting his hooks and getting the fish off all on his own.

We were able to try Michigan blueberries and cherries and they were both so yummy! We also tried a local favorite called a Pasty (the a is short as in apple). It is a baked pastry with meat, potatoes and vegetable. I would describe it as pot pie you can eat with your hands but with a little less gravy. Not bad, but I am not eager for another one.

When Greg was off, we took a trip to the Quincy Mine, which is part of Keeweenaw National Historical Park. We got to see one of the carts they used to lower the men down into the mine (the one that looks like black and red stairs in the picture). It held about 30 men. They sat 3 abreast in a seat about the width of a school bus seat! 

To better explain, here's a picture from the national park service:

Then they would descend into narrow darkness at 15-20 miles per hour. The No. 2 shaft that we visited extended 9,260 ft down! 

 We took a cog-rail tram down the side of a steep hill and entered the shaft at the seventh level.

There we got to see the tools some of the workers used and what it might be like to work by candlelight in a mine. To make holes in the rock, one worker would hold a long rod while four coworkers would swing sledge hammers at it, one each second. Can you imaging being the rod holder knowing the others were working only with the light of a candle?! And beware of the windblast that may come through and blow all of the candles out!!

From there, we headed further up the peninsula along the Copper Country Trail National Byway, taking in many of the beautiful views of Lake Superior.

At the end of the peninsula is Copper Harbor.   

We also visited Fort Wilkins State Park. It was a fairly small fort that housed about 40 people.

They were situated on a beautiful lake (Lake Fanny Hooe), which connected to Lake Superior by a creek. 

The fort was well preserved and nearly all the buildings were furnished for the time period and had great information.

On the way back, we drove Brockway Mountain Drive and saw some amazing scenery.

And of course, we had to stop at Jacobs Falls :)

We are sad to be leaving this beautiful state but we would definitely have to by winter!! We have reached the farthest north we will go this year, so now we will head west to Minnesota before beginning our descent.

Gurney, Wisconsin-Potato River Falls (Brief Stop)

On our way from Michigan to Minnesota, we traveled through Wisconsin and didn't want to miss out on some of the beautiful water falls near Lake Superior.

We chose to visit Potato River Falls since in was not far off our road of travel.   We went to the overlook and this is what we saw (quite a bit of tree obstruction)

And then we took the path labeled Upper Falls and we could see much more of it.

It was very pretty but I wish we could have found the path to the Lower Falls!  We hadn't researched it beforehand and there wasn't another path clearly labeled that we could see. When I was looking it up later, I found out this is what it looks like!  So beautiful! POUT



Lesson learned!  Always seek out the lower falls :)

Paradise, MI (Upper Peninsula)-Tahquamenon Falls State Park

So, yes! We made it into the campsite we were hoping to. We had previously looked at trying to book a site at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park but they were booked except that they have some non-reservable sites. So we decided that we would take our chances and on one of those for a place to stay for the night. When we were an hour away, we called and they let us know that there were three sites still available and wished us good luck ;)

We parked the RV and headed over to the Dune Climb. That is one huge dune!

And a very tough walk up. As if walking across a flat, sandy beach isn't enough, try up the dune for over 300ft increase in altitude!

The view from the top was fantastic though.

And the walk down was quite easy. It was fun watching the kids and young adults charge back down as fast as they could. Some fell down and some rolled just for the fun of it.

Back at the park, we checked out the swimming area where many had been tubing and then headed over to listen to a ranger program titled, A Dangerous Passage. Ranger Fred, who had retired from the Coast Guard, did a great talk discussing the dangerous voyage through the Mannitou Islands. It was a shortcut for shipping but the shallow waters and rocks were deadly for some ships. Lifesaving stations were established and those who were on shift would walk along the shores and listen for the cries of those in peril so that a rescue could be initiated. Later, lighthouses would be added.

And the kids worked hard and fast to complete their Junior Ranger booklet so that they earned yet another Jr Ranger Badge!

That evening, we would have yet another new experience. We learned that the showers were actually pay showers and we were short on cash! So we rounded up $3 which would buy us 18 minutes for all four of us to shower. Did we make it?? Why, yes we did! In fact, we did it in under 12 minutes!

From there, we were off to the Upper Peninsula where we would stay at Tahquamenon Falls State Park for two weeks.

We stayed at the Lower Falls Campground, which had plenty of trees and shade. BUT I really could have used a little more sun because it got COLD! I had to bring out some of the winter clothes because it was in the 40s and 50s for a few days. I did not expect that in the middle of July! We don't have campfires often but those days definitely called for one.

And the mosquitoes were pretty bad. Not quite Everglades bad, but really bad. I was never sure if those little mosquito coils that you burn were helpful but now I am a huge fan.

The park interpreters did several programs but we only went to the Archery program twice. And of course, the kids had a good time. Jacob is already planning to join the Archery club in Austin and take up bow and arrow fishing. He gets so excited about some of the things he experiences that he cannot stop talking about them ;)

One of the archery challenges was to blow up a balloon, place it on the target and shoot it with your arrow. Both kids were able to pop their balloon!

The park is pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. The nearest town is Paradise about 8 miles away. And the next biggest town is Newberry about 26 miles away. This made for some challenging grocery shopping. The produce was near death, everything was expensive and the selection was pretty minimal. Needless to say, it was not a very healthy week and the pantry was emptied!

I would really like to learn how the locals manage. I can understand that people may have large freezers for meat but how do they get fruits and vegetables?? And what about during the middle of winter??

But enough about that. The falls in the park were beautiful. First, we visited the Upper Falls.

And later we checked out the Lower Falls.

This was a beautiful area at the base of the falls.

We rented a boat to go fishing and to go to an island where we would get a little closer view of the lower falls.

Check out Greg's catch!  And sadly, it was the only catch.

We had a few adventures outside the park as well. About 25 miles away, was Oswald's Bear Ranch. It was a fun experience but the kids really only enjoyed it for about an hour. And me too really. After I had seen a couple of the bears, I didn't really care about seeing the other 50. The entrance/parking fee was $20 per carload. To have your picture taken with a bear cub was $10 and to buy a bag of apples to feed the bears was $3 per bag. A little pricey to me for the short time we stayed there, but would be a great deal for a bigger group.

We also took a trip to Mackinac Island. To get there, you take a short ferry ride (~20-30 minutes).

It is a beautiful place. There are no cars; only bikes and horses. It was interesting to see them move things around the island on a cart pulled by horses.

We rode our bikes around the East side of the island and then cut through the middle at British Landing. The island is 8 miles around and by day's end, we went about that distance. And since Jordan has been officially booted off my bike (the seat has been removed), she did it all by herself!! Yay!

We had lunch at the Cannonball at British Landing,

and had fudge at JoAnn's Fudge Shop after watching part of the fudge making process.

We climbed a bazillion stairs to the Arch Rock.

If you look closely, you can see some people making a heart with rocks with “me” at the bottom. I am assuming it will be a marriage proposal when complete.

We went to Sugar Loaf, a very large boulder all by itself among the trees.

And we visited Fort Mackinac.

The soldiers taught Jacob and Greg to march.

They had live demonstrations about every 30 minutes. This rifle demonstration began while we were inside one of the buildings but the kids had a great view from one of the windows. Every time the gun shot Jordan would jump. It was funny because they always announced it and yet, she still jumped! You can see her reaction in this video. Keep in mind, she knew it was coming and she had already heard the gun fire like 5 times previously!



This was one of the great views from the fort.

And here are some of the other spectacular views from around the island:

The famous Grand Hotel

But if I stayed on the island, I think I would want to stay here: Mission Point Resort

And here is a close up of the water so you can see how beautiful and clear it was.

After returning to the mainland, we drove to Sault Ste Marie to stay the night since our plans were to go to Canada the following day.

So the next morning we got up and began our day at the Soo Locks. For those who do not know what the Soo Locks are, I will do my best to explain. The St. Marys River is a 63 mile stretch that connects Lake Superior to Lake Huron. But because there are dangerous rapids along with a 21 foot elevation change through the rapids, the Locks were constructed to form a safe passage. The ships enter the Lock canal and gates are closed around them. Then valves are opened to either lower or raise the water level (and the boat) to that of the water level on the other side of the gate in the direction they are headed. Once the water level matches that of the exiting side, the gate is opened to allow them through.

The COE park grounds surrounding the visitor center were very pretty and they had a great big raised viewing area so that you could see out over to the locks. If you wanted, you could also pay to take a tour by boat and go through the locks.

Well we arrived just in time to see a barge over 700 ft long enter the lock. Here is the before picture. Notice how much of the barge you can see.

And here is the after picture. They opened the valves lowering the boat 21 ft. It was pretty cool to watch although it did take quite awhile.

The kids were not as impressed as I had hoped and I must add that I was disappointed that the visitor's center did not have a kid friendly display explaining the process. I wouldn't think it would be that challenging to make.

After that, we crossed the International Bridge where the Border Patrol gave us the questionable eye after we answered that we were just coming for the day. He asked, “All the way from Texas?”. So we had to explain a little more but apparently they weren’t too concerned because they didn't even ask us to open the bed cover on the back of the truck.

Once in Canada, we stopped at Frontier Village, a little touristy shopping area, for some ice cream.

We ate our ice cream outside while frequently glancing over our shoulder since there was a little black bear right behind the store!

Then we visited Hiawatha Highlands Conservation Area. The lake was beautiful even though it was a little low.

We hiked around a bit up to Crystal Falls.

And then Jacob went frog hunting while Jordan played on the teeter totter and swings. We found a tadpole in the water that was 4-5 inches long!! We had never seen a tadpole that large in that stage of its development. Too cool!!

For dinner, we parked downtown and rode our bikes to Dock's Grill on the river and decided to try Poutine, a Canadian creation. It's supposed to be french fries, gravy and cheese curds but this restaurant just gave us shredded cheese. It was just OK for me. I think I would prefer chili cheese fries but who knows? Maybe it is awesome with cheese curds???

We then decided to ride around some more and headed towards South St. Mary's Island and Whitefish Island. We stumbled upon St. Mary's Falls Canal. There is a single lock there that is still in use for some of the smaller boats.

It was awesome! So much better than the US Soo Locks as far as observing what was going on! You could get about four feet away from the water's edge or stand on top of the bridge that ran across the top of one of the gates.

They also had on display one of the enormous valves.

Here is where I think it began to click for the kids on what was happening. We were able to see two small private boats enter the lock. Then watch them lower down into the lock.  And the process was much faster as well as being easier to observe the difference in water height.

Here is the before picture.

And here is the after. You can see the water line on the wall. I'm not so sure how I would feel being on that boat while it is being lowered way down there. Seems a little spooky! But again, it was great viewing for the locks.

Connected to the locks by trails and bridges were the previously mentioned islands where we were headed. They were pretty small but had some nice bike paths on them. On the south side of Whitefish Island the trail ended abruptly into the water! But right next to that was a viewing dock where you could sit and watch St. Mary's Rapids and see the International Bridge.

Our last outing was to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. It was an hour and a half drive there. We got up early and made it there by 8:30. Since the best way to view the Lakeshore is by boat, we decided to rent one from Seaberg Pontoon Rentals. The price was a little higher than paying for one of the guided tours but we were able to spend more time out there, stop and see what WE wanted to and even get out at some spots to get a closer look. It was also nicer for the kids. They had room to move around on the pontoon and they got to drive the boat a little which was so fun for them. And because they weren't bored or miserable, we enjoyed the trip immensely.

Here are the highlights:

When we came upon this, Jacob decided that he should name it since he was probably the first to discover it.  He came up with Dead Man's Crack!   Ha Ha!  

All of the rest are names given prior to our viewing ;)

Grand Portal

Lover's Leap

Miner's Castle

Chapel beach

Chapel rock (This is really cool.  The tree stands alone on it's own tower.  The rock pillar used to connect to the cliff nearby but now the only connection are the roots that still span across).

Spray falls where we stopped to have lunch and Greg got a little too close to the falls allowing water to rush across the deck of the boat!

Murray bay shipwreck (we floated right over the top.  It is 12 ft underwater.  You are looking right over the top of the deck)

Then we took at short hike in the park to Miner's Falls. 

And then headed to the Visitor's Center where we got to view Miner's Castle from above and the kids earned their 9^th Junior Ranger badge!

Our final day in the park was just to relax. We went to one of the archery classes in the morning and then played with friends in the evening.

There are many waterfalls in this area so we decided to check out another one on our way out of town.  We stopped at Laughing Whitefish Falls.  The pavement on the road leading to the parking lot disappeared and turned to dirt and mud.  It was also narrow and had low hanging branches.  Probably not a road many travel on while pulling a fifth wheel BUT hearing this was a waterfall to see, we forged on ahead and we made it.  

The walk to the falls was short and there were a few stairs but it was a gorgeous waterfall.  I can only imaging the amount of water that must flow through there earlier in the summer!

And we made it back out from the falls and were fortunate not to meet any other cars headed the opposite direction!

We had a very fun time in this area but I am a little sad that I did not see a moose in the Moose Capital of Michigan! Maybe next week!

We are heading to Houghton, Michigan.