Trip "Up North" - October 10th-12th, 2008

I took a Friday off from work so I could join my friend Josh on a trip up to Mackinaw City (and parts beyond). This time of year is apple cider season in Michigan. So, with that in mind...

We stopped at a place called 'Uncle John's Cider Mill'. We got a lot of good things to take north with us. Yes, including donuts. Yes, Josh really ate donuts that had been sitting on the dashboard. If you know Josh, this does not come as a surprise.

We stopped in Midland, MI on the way north, to pick up our friend, Matt. He joined us for our weekend of fun.

The sun setting over Lake Michigan.

Josh's Nissan Pathfinder. At this point, we were headed north on M-119, which is a beautiful scenic drive that runs right along Lake Michigan.

Josh trying his hand at skipping stones. He and Matt are far better at it than I am.

There I am, considering skipping a few rocks...

I think the most skips I got was four. A lot of them skipped zero times. Funny, you can't tell that from this picture.

"Oh no.. I needed that rock!"

This was an awesome sunset over Lake Michigan. This photo was edited, but I think the colors are pretty striking.

Here's a similiar shot with more 'natural' colors.

After this, we dropped our things off at Josh's parents place in Mackinaw City. As it turned out, some friends from Lansing were in the area, teaching a Revelation seminar this week. We got to attend parts of that when we weren't off exploring elsewhere. It was about as perfect a weekend as I could have asked for.

Leaving for the Upper Peninsula

On Saturday morning, we left Mackinaw City for a visit to the Upper Peninsula. Being this far north, it was about the perfect time of year to witness all the leaves on the trees changing into their brilliant colors.

Josh and Matt, checking out the Mackinaw Bridge.

A closer view of the bridge that spans Michigan's two peninsulas.

You know, the sign says 'no parking', but those cars aren't moving. Maybe they were parked there, or maybe it's just a photograph. You decide.

Our first stop was Tahquamenon Falls State Park in Paradise, MI. It had been about 14 years since I had been here.

According to the Michigan DNR, it's important to know the difference between varieties of muskies.

These are the lower falls. There is a very useful walking path/deck that runs along side the river and finally a wood platform that lets you stand right next to the falls. It's a well executed design, I must say.

Upper Falls at Tahquamenon

After visiting the Lower Falls, we drove a few miles to the taller, Upper Falls. According to the information provided to us, the Upper Falls are nearly 50 feet tall and more than 200 feet across. I enjoyed these a lot more than the Lower Falls.. as nice as they are.

Taken as proof that Josh has been to Tahquamenon Falls. See.. you can barely see the Photoshop lines!

These falls create a lot of mist when that water hits the river beneath it. You can definitely see the mist in some of these photos.

Wondering about the color in the river? Well, according to my sources, the amber color of the water is not rust nor is it muddiness. It is caused by tannin leached from the cedar, spruce and hemlock in the swamps drained by the river. So, there you go. It's also not caused by people pouring root beer into the river...

Not a good place to be hitch-hiking, Josh.

Here's the view you'd have if you decided to go over the falls in a barrel! (Minus the barrel, of course. Just use your imagination!)

Josh took these 2 photos of the trees. After this, we stopped at a place called 'the Fish House'. Can you guess what we had for lunch? Right! Sloppy Joes. Okay.. we had whitefish. It was pretty awesome.

Whitefish Point

After visiting Tahquamenon Falls, we headed a little further north. We went to a shipwreck museum located at Whitefish Point, right on Lake Superior. A lot of shipwrecks have occurred near Whitefish Point. Most notably, the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975. I only had to hear that song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot about 3 times! Oddly enough.. I didn't take any pictures of the shipwreck museum. Okay, take my word for it. We were there.

Knowing that he'd be soon listening to that song on repeat, Josh wisely chooses to gain strength from Trail's Best Jumbo Steak, Teryaki edition.

That electric pole is pretty neat. The beautiful fall colors on the trees are okay, too.


We drove down this road, mere seconds after taking this photo!

The beautiful and COLD Lake Superior. It was pretty windy this day.

Matt and Josh tried skipping a few more stones. Lake Superior wasn't as kind to them as Lake Michigan was...

I like this one, even though it's crooked.

Here's the lighthouse you might expect to see at a place called Whitefish Point. It also has a fog horn, which we heard demonstrated multiple times. Yes, I'd say their fog horn is working well.

Headed south on the bridge...

We had a fun weekend up north. It was a bonus that we got to attend the Revelation seminar and study God's Word! Praise the Lord for a wonderful weekend in the Truth and with friends.