We passed under the bridge where we had rode on that really nice bike trail two days before.
We drove through Munising again and continued heading east on M-28. It continues to be surprising to us how nice the roads are given their long, cold winters.
We arrived at Bay Mill RV Park in Brimley, Michigan, a little after 1 pm and enjoyed sitting outside for a little while Wednesday evening. It was so chilly even Chuck had to put on his flannel shirt.
On Thursday, we drove to Tahquamenon Falls State Park. We ate our picnic lunch first and then looked at a small outside exhibit before beginning our hike. Chuck got his picture taken with Bullwinkle. :)
The beginning of the hike started at the "centerpiece" of the park: Tahquamenon Falls.
The Upper Falls are 200 feet across and have a drop of approximately 48 feet. The water is brown from the tannins leached from the cedar swamps.
During the late spring, the river drains as much as 50,000 gallons of water per second, making the Upper Falls the third most voluminous vertical waterfalls east of the Mississippi River, after Niagara Falls and Cohoes Falls.
After we left the falls, we began the "woodsy" portion of our hike. We had decided to hike the 3.8 mile Giant Pines loop that ended back at the parking lot. While the walk to the waterfalls was a paved trail and then stairs down to the top of the falls, the hike was an overgrown, weedy trail.
There were some beautiful ferns...
...and what looked like wild strawberries along the trail.
But we didn't stop very long to take pictures because every time we stopped, the mosquitoes would start landing and biting.
After about a mile, we reached the two Giant Pines.
At 185 years old, this tree is the largest know white pine in Tahquamenon Falls State Park. The second of the two large white pines was nearby...
and had this "Prayer of the Woods" posted next to it.
However, we didn't take the time to read it while we were there because the mosquitoes were not getting any better. In fact, we didn't stop again until we had finished the hike about 45 minutes later. That was the fastest 4 mile hike we had ever done. We were swatting the whole way. Chuck got a few bites on his leg and I got a few on the back of my neck. It's surprising we didn't get more.
On Friday, we drove to Sault Sainte Marie (pronounced Soo Saint Marie), which is a very old town on the northernmost border of Michigan and Ontario.
We drove there to see the Soo Locks which are a series of locks that enables the ships and freighters to travel between Lake Superior and St. Mary's River on down to the other Great Lakes. The lock nearest to the viewing station where we were standing was currently closed for repairs.
We arrived just in time to see the Saginaw, a big freighter, lock through from Lake Superior to the eastern channel of the St. Mary's River.
Over 22 million gallons of water move through the Poe Lock every time a boat is raised or lowered.
Below is video in high speed of The Saginaw passing through the lock once the water had been lowered down to the level of the St. Mary's River.
The locks are not open all year. When the lakes freeze over, the locks are closed but that is also the time for any repairs or construction work to be done. Below is a picture of the first freighter that went through the lock this year in late March. There was still so much ice that the freighter needed the assistance of ice breaker ships to help it navigate on out the river.
The first lock was actually built in 1798 but then destroyed during the War of 1812. The State of Michigan constructed and opened the next lock in 1855. Newer, bigger locks have been constructed since then and are run and maintained by the Corp of Engineers. There are approximately 7,000 passages through the lock during the 42 week long navigation season.
After viewing the locks and going through the museum, we went to a restaurant recommended by a couple of locals called Frank's Place. Because we were in a hurry to get back to our car before the meter ran out, we just ordered the buffet which was not very good. I imagine if we had ordered off the menu, it would have been better. But, since the food was not very good, we didn't eat too much!
Next, we leave the UP and head to Mackinaw City. We have really enjoyed the UP. It is quiet, beautiful and the summer temperatures are wonderful!
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