Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Northern Michigan Vacation Day 2

After Addison's first night camping in a tent, (she did awesome by the way) we woke up & packed up camp.  We started to pull out of the campground and saw a 3 legged fox.....

the reason my picture is so blurry is because at the exact moment I said "hey that fox only has 3 legs" my husband reached for his iPhone to take a picture of the little guy too only to realize that he had took and left his phone in the bathroom of the campground that morning.  Major panic, Major fail! So he whipped the truck around went back to the restrooms to search for it, with no luck.  Last hope was to check the ranger station at the front of the park.  Lucky for him the car that was in front of us when we saw the fox was a nice man who was honest enough to turn in the phone so that no one would steal it.  When we pulled up to the stand a DNR officer had it and was looking for someone that they could call to say they had the phone.   (and at least with the forced password because of my work e-mail mine is useless to anyone who finds it, should I ever lose it!)

After the phone fiasco we headed to Whitefish Point. A short trip down the road still in Paradise, MI.  Whitefish Point has a Lighthouse which is the oldest active light house on Lake Superior.  It is also home to the Great Lakes Ship Wreck museum.  The place is pretty neat and holds a ton of Great Lakes history.  We got to see them changing out the light in the light tower when we arrived before the place opened in the morning which was pretty cool!





The beach at Whitefish Point is very rocky but they are worn smooth which was really neat, and there is a TON of driftwood along the shoreline.  There is also a few tribute plaques to a few of the crew members lost when the Edmond Fitzgerald went down in 1975.  







Oh and some ginormous boat chain!


After we saw all we wanted to at Whitefish Point we headed back to Tahquamenon Falls to go and see the Upper Falls.  It was a hike to the bottom of the stairs and back up afterwards but the view was spectacular!










Next we were off to grab a bite to eat and started heading toward our Motel in Wetmore, MI.  On the way the place I was told to go to and mentioned very obviously that I wanted to stop and check out the bears was just off the road of the direction we were headed.  Loving husband gave in and made the turn and we stopped for a few hours to check out Oswald's Bear Ranch.  We are lucky that I didn't bring home a baby black bear.  They were THAT cute!










After the bears we headed for the Alger Falls Motel where we were staying.  Once we got settled and as cozy as one gets at a motel we got a hold of the Baum's who were also up in the U.P. on vacation in Au Train, which was only about a 20 minute drive down the road from our hotel.  We decided to meet up with them and hang out for the night.  So we packed up our swimsuits and headed out to crystal clear Au Train Lake where their cabin was located.



We hung out with them on the beach for a few hours and then joined them & their extended family for Taco's and a Washer's play off game....You know Washers?...


After dinner and washers Addison was ready for bed so we packed it up and headed back for our place.  Since she zonked out in the car seat about 2 seconds after the truck started, we decided to catch what was left of the sunset as we came up on Lake Superiors roadside parks.






Monday, August 8, 2011

Northern Michigan Vaca Day 1

I just love going "Up North", it's no big secret that I love this state.  Aside from the crap economy it has so much to offer.  Up North is like a whole different state, even if you don't go across the bridge just heading 3 hours up is enough for an entire change of pace about life!  I mean where else is it legal to ride snowmobiles on the road?!?!


Our Trip this time included the Upper Peninsula as Tony has never been to the bridge and never across it.  The last time I was there was when I was around 9 or so, all I know is my parents were still married and they have been divorced since I was 14!

Our first stop was in Baldwin, MI where we spent the night in a friends cabin before we woke up and headed more north for the bridge.  (yay for free overnight stays!)  We had lunch in Mackinaw City & got some fudge for my brother for watching our house/pets while we were out of town.  Then we spent about an hour at the  Michilimackinac State Park, we checked out the Mackinac Point Lighthouse and took a bunch of pictures of the bridge.  























Then came the treck over the bridge, for which Tony actually drove though he was the one who all along had been scared of driving over it.  I offered but he bucked up and did it! 



After crossing the bridge we stopped in St. Ignace at the Bridge View Park and took a few more pictures of the bridge from the other side as the rain was coming across the lake.   Then we headed off for Paradise, MI to set up camp for the night at Tahquamenon Falls State Park.  






We set up the tent as soon as we arrived around 3pm then we ventured off to see the lower Falls which were with in close walking distance from our campsite.  (I wanted to walk to the Upper Falls but Tony wasn't down with the 5 mile both directions walk!)  


















Saturday, August 6, 2011

We're Home




After Addison's Birthday Party we decided to take a last minute trip to the Upper Peninsula since we both had a weeks vacation from work.  We crammed a lot of places in to four days and decided we have to make it back up there to see all the things that we wanted to but just didn't have the time or money to do this time.  We spent Monday night to Friday morning 'up North', photo's and stories to follow when I have time to write more, but for now we are home & it was a mostly good trip! :)

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