On today's agenda - hiking at Tahquamenon Falls in the Upper Peninsula. We had a great night and were excited for another fun day. Unfortunately, we had another 2 - 2 1/2 hour drive to get to our destination. For the first time, we experienced a heavy downpour of rain while on vacation. I'm relieved that we were in the car and not out hiking!
We were waaaay out in the boone docks and we were a little concerned about finding something to eat for lunch. As we neared the falls, Steve plugged in "food" into the GPS and there weren't any hits. We plugged away hoping that our GPS was wrong and that we could find something. Just as we entered this cute little town of Paradise, we saw the Berry Patch Restaurant and Bakery - whew! It reminded us a little like Grandma's Kitchen here in Rochester. The food was delicious and for dessert, I had the most amazing pie - Fruit of the Forest Pie. It was a combination of Michigan's cherries, blackberries, and blueberries in a light flaky crust - AMAZING, the best pie I've ever had!
About 10 minutes later, we entered the Tahquamenon State Park. There are two different waterfalls on the Tahquamenon River - the Upper and Lower falls both located near Lake Superior. At the Upper Falls, there was a privately owned restaurant and two story gift shop that our GPS didn't pick up - guess we didn't really need to worry about finding a place to eat.
We were expecting to hike to the falls, but the paths were paved and to get down to the falls and get a better view, there are a series of stairs.
Here's our first glimpse of the Upper Falls
The water is notably brown in color due to tannic acid.
To get a closer view of the falls, we took 91 stairs down.
Simply majestic!
Steve and Amaya
The Tahquamenon River after the falls.
We climbed back up the stairs and "hiked" back to the gorge and took another 121 stairs down for another view of the falls.
We thought perhaps the downpour of rain would have cooled things down a bit, but it was very hot and very muggy. So, instead of actually hiking the four miles to the Lower Falls, we hopped in our car and drove to the Lower Falls Trailhead.
Steve really enjoyed the Lower Falls because the 8-10 minute trail led us close enough to the falls where we got sprayed on. There were people in kayaks and boats catching beautiful views!
This picture is taken on a small bridge overlooking the Lower Falls where we got a little wet.
After the falls, we headed back to the campground. Since the falls were in the Upper Peninsula, we crossed over the Mackinac Bridge. We decided to eat supper in St. Ignace before going over the bridge to Mackinaw City. We ate at the Mackinac Grille overlooking the water.
Amaya patiently waiting for our food.
After dinner, we walked along the boardwalk.
Close up of the lighthouse
I absolutely love all the water!
Just before crossing over the bridge from St. Ignace to Mackinaw City, we stopped to get a couple pictures of the bridge.
It still amazes me how big the bridge is!
Amaya
To get a closer view of the falls, we took 91 stairs down.
Simply majestic!
Steve and Amaya
The Tahquamenon River after the falls.
We climbed back up the stairs and "hiked" back to the gorge and took another 121 stairs down for another view of the falls.
We thought perhaps the downpour of rain would have cooled things down a bit, but it was very hot and very muggy. So, instead of actually hiking the four miles to the Lower Falls, we hopped in our car and drove to the Lower Falls Trailhead.Steve really enjoyed the Lower Falls because the 8-10 minute trail led us close enough to the falls where we got sprayed on. There were people in kayaks and boats catching beautiful views!
This picture is taken on a small bridge overlooking the Lower Falls where we got a little wet.
After the falls, we headed back to the campground. Since the falls were in the Upper Peninsula, we crossed over the Mackinac Bridge. We decided to eat supper in St. Ignace before going over the bridge to Mackinaw City. We ate at the Mackinac Grille overlooking the water.
Amaya patiently waiting for our food.
After dinner, we walked along the boardwalk.
Close up of the lighthouse
I absolutely love all the water!
Just before crossing over the bridge from St. Ignace to Mackinaw City, we stopped to get a couple pictures of the bridge.
It still amazes me how big the bridge is!
Amaya
Another awesome and exhausting day.