ahschneid

Aug 199 min read

Michigan's Upper Peninsula Stops #2 and #3

We arrived at our Michigan's Upper Peninsula stop number two , Kritters Campground in Newberry Michigan 9 Aug 2024 for five nights. We enjoyed this campground very much with its proximity to hiking and site seeing, as well as the campground itself being very well groomed and maintained. It rained a lot while we were there, but we got out a couple of days to see the Upper and Lower Tahquamenon Falls (rhymes with phenomenon), the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum and the Whitefish Point Lighthouse in Paradise MI. Another day we drove through the Seney National Wildlife Refuge in Germfask MI. The temperatures were mild while we were there and very pleasant. We attended a 5pm mass on Saturday at St. Stephen's Catholic Church in Naubinway Michigan. They had a potluck social after mass and we went to socialize with locals. They mentioned that the Lower Tahquamenon Falls are a must see. It was nice talking to locals and they were very hospitable.

Tahquamenon Falls State Park Upper Falls Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Tahquamenon Falls State Park Upper Falls Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Tahquamenon Falls State Park Upper Falls Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Tahquamenon Falls State Park Upper Falls Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Tahquamenon Falls State Park Upper Falls Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Said to be the second largest falls east of Mississippi River (largest is Niagara)

Tahquamenon Falls State Park Lower Falls Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Tahquamenon Falls State Park Lower Falls Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Tahquamenon Falls State Park Lower Falls Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Tahquamenon Falls State Park Lower Falls Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Tahquamenon Falls State Park Lower Falls Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Tahquamenon Falls State Park Lower Falls Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Tahquamenon Falls State Park Lower Falls Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Tahquamenon Falls State Park Lower Falls Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Tahquamenon Falls State Park Lower Falls Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Tahquamenon Falls State Park Lower Falls Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Tahquamenon Falls State Park Lower Falls Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Tahquamenon Falls State Park Lower Falls Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Tahquamenon Falls State Park Lower Falls Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Back side of Lower Falls sign

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Huge rudder

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Edmond Fitzgerald Memorial

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

People at Whitefish Point looking for Yooper rocks that glow in dark

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Salvaged bell of the Edmond Fitzgerald (Gordon Lightfoot song)

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

White Shoal Lens

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Whitefish Point Lighthouse Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Whitefish Point Lighthouse Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Whitefish Point Lighthouse Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Whitefish Point Lighthouse Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

Whitefish Point Lighthouse Paradise Michigan 12 Aug 2024

This guy's webbed feet surprised Anita so she wanted a picture...

Seney National Wildlife Refuge Germfask Michigan 13 Aug 2024

Seney National Wildlife Refuge Germfask Michigan 13 Aug 2024

Loon

Seney National Wildlife Refuge Germfask Michigan 13 Aug 2024

Another Loon

Seney National Wildlife Refuge Germfask Michigan 13 Aug 2024

Whitetail doe

On 14 Aug 2024 we drove to Christmas Michigan to stay at Pictured Rocks Campground for four nights. This is our Michigan's Upper Peninsula stop number three. August 15th is the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (a holy day of obligation), so we attended the vigil mass at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Munising. Our plan was to go to mass and then out to dinner. Before we left for mass and actually shortly after we got set up we had a knock at our door. It was Kim from another Grand Design in the campground inviting us to a campfire with other Grand Design owners that night at 8:30pm. We'd be back from dinner by then, so we said we'd be there. At mass we noticed this other couple taking pictures of the church so we figured they are on the road like we are. When we got back to the campground after dinner, we saw that same couple walking in our campground! They knocked on our door shortly after we had returned from dinner and we got to talking. Ed and Connie are Catholic too and full time travelers too, so we hit if off right away. They both work from the road, but are good friends with Kim (the lady who invited us to the campfire) and Mike, who are Grand Design Rally "workers" and were walking to the same campfire we were heading to. It was a really nice evening sitting with other Grand Design owners, several of whom are also full time travelers. We ended up staying till almost 11pm! We had driven that day so it was a really long day. The Grand Design group were heading to a national Grand Design Rally in Elkhart, Indiana.

We had reservations for the Pictured Rocks Sunset Boat Tour Thursday 15 August. Several of the people at the campfire had already gone on the boat tour and raved about it. We booked the sunset time because we had heard that the sun hits the rocks just right when it's going down, but it turned out to be cloudy. We still enjoyed being on the water for a couple of hours and seeing all the beautiful rocks. Even though it was cloudy, the rocks were still pictured by us.

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan has over 300 waterfalls! On Friday 16 August, we went to see Miners Falls, Munising Falls and Agate Falls that afternoon. The morning was rainy, so we did our laundry. On Saturday 17 August, we wanted to attend mass at St. Peter Cathedral in Marquette Michigan at 4pm. We had several errands to do in the bigger city, so we left around 11am for Marquette in dense fog. It was foggy all the way there and remained foggy while we went to 5 or 6 places taking care of errands. The fog finally lifted around 2:30pm so we went to the waterfront to walk around and site see. We ran in to Ed and Connie at the waterfront! They were also going to mass at 4pm, so we invited them to join us for Chinese food after mass. We had found a buffet figuring it would be quick. We needed to grocery shop after dinner, so that would be our last stop to get the cold things back before they thawed. It all worked out as planned with the added bonus of dinner with new friends. Ed and Connie graciously paid for dinner as an anniversary gift. We had mentioned at some point that our 7 year wedding anniversary was Sunday. We really like Ed and Connie and wouldn't be surprised if they become real good friends. They're wintering in Florida this year where Connie has family and we'll be in Arizona, but I'm sure we'll cross paths eventually. We exchanged contact information. Ed has actually written a book about his faith journey especially through his daughter's serious illness, "I Knew His Voice" by Ed Corbett. It's a book you can't put down!