Nowhere to go but U.P.:Adventures in the Upper Peninsula (Day 1 & 2)

Originally, we had planned to make a summertime trip out to New Jersey to meet our new nephew Barrett.  And then we learned that the week we were able to go out was also the week that the Bramhall's would be out in Utah for a wedding.  So we ended up scrapping those plans and coming up with a new one.

Ten years ago, when we were moving from Ripon, Wisconsin to Albion, Michigan, upon finding out that the moving van with all of our things wouldn't make it to our new home for quite a few days, we decided that instead of traveling down through Milwaukee and Chicago and then across the lower part of Michigan, we would instead pack camping gear and head up through Green Bay and across to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where we would camp for a few days before heading down through the rest of the state to our new home.  We LOVED it!  We camped next to the Tahquamenon River near Tahquamenon Falls.  It was absolutely beautiful.  We have wanted to go back ever since, but just haven't been able to make it work.  Until this summer. 

I was a little worried about camping only six weeks after surgery, but I felt really good and air mattresses are an awesome invention.  My mom, dad, and brother Jonathan all joined us for the trip too.

It's quite a drive up there but the scenery is nice, so it wasn't too bad.  We were all so excited when we arrived at the Mackinac Bridge that joins the lower peninsula with the upper.  It's about five miles long and kind of scary to look out at all that deep, deep water--Lake Michigan on the west and Lake Huron on the east.  The kids loved it! 

Once we got into the U.P. it was still a good hour or so drive to the campground.  This time we opted to stay in the same campground as last time only we upgraded to the modern sites so we could have electricity and take showers.  We ended up with a beautiful campsite that had a pretty extensive forest behind it for exploring.  Mom, Dad, and Jonathan had the site right next to ours and we all shared the firepit and food.

Spencer loved camping--just as long as he could still play a game or two of Angry Birds!

It was kind of late when we pulled in so we set up camp as quickly as we could before it got dark and settled in for the night.  And what a night it was.  We woke to thunder and flashing lightning and ended up having quite a downpour for most of the night.  Kalen and Kaya and I were in one tent and Taylor, Lynnsey and Spencer were in the other (Kendall got the extra bed in Jonathan's trailer that night).  We stayed fairly dry in ours but the other tent didn't fare so well.  Not only was it older and hole-ier, but Spencer actually ended up with his head scooted right up against the wall and his pillow absorbed about a gallon of rainwater! 

By morning though, the clouds had moved out and we could tell it was going to be a gorgeous day.  And it was.  We went to nearby Tahquamenon Falls--both the lower and the upper falls.  It was just as beautiful as we remembered.

They were offering a group special on canoe rentals where we could row across to a beautiful hiking trail that followed different parts of the lower falls.  We didn't do that last time, so this was new to everyone.  I definitely would do it again!



After rowing and hiking around the lower falls, we headed a bit further to the upper falls and hiked some more!

Mom picked up a little hitchiker!

Jonathan also picked up a hitchiker!

The Upper Falls are larger and really stunning.  The orange tint in the water is caused by tannin that is leached from the plants that grow all around.

This tree stump was so interesting.  The arrows point to different ages of the tree and mention several things that were going on in history at that time.  It really made us wonder about the age of our giant maple tree by our house.

It was so much fun having Grandpa along on this trip!  I really feel like our kids got to know him so much better.

Sweet little plant growing out of an old hollow tree stump!

It was such a fun (and tiring) day!  We headed back to camp with a stop on the way at a cute craft store that Mom had seen.  She bought me the absolute softest furry skein of yarn that will make a sweet little bear hat.  And I bought an awesome fabric flower maker that I am really excited to try out if I ever get a few minutes to experiment.  

We enjoyed a relaxing evening around the campfire and the kids who have endless energy spent some time playing at the playground before turning in pretty early for a much more restful night than the one before!