This past Memorial Day weekend, my dad and I embarked on a road trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It was nothing short of spectacular—from the seemingly magical sightseeing and nature walks to the uniquely Yooper meals after long hours of blissful driving. I never want to forget this trip, which is why I'm going to be detailing our adventures, one by one, on this blog of an article. Strap on your seat belts, you're in for a wild ride!
Friday Night
We left Grand Rapids at around 6 p.m., pausing to fuel up with dinner at Hibachi Grill Buffet; they have such a wide variety of sushi and Chinese food, not to mention an impeccable selection of desserts. Full and content, we resumed our journey. We made a couple of pit stops at rest areas, and at some point, my driving shift began—and ended after many stretches of highway and country roads that tired me out. We crossed the Mackinac Bridge some time around 11 p.m.; though dark, its magnificence was still clearly visible. We had made it into Yooper Territory! Immediately, we noticed the shift from densely people-populated cities of the LP to the densely tree-populated hills of the UP—a nice and relaxing change of scenery. By midnight, we had reached our hotel in Sault Ste. Marie, a comfy and cozy Best Western that offered a much-needed good night's sleep.
Saturday
Waking up to a feast of a hot breakfast buffet felt overwhelmingly amazing. My dad and I grilled our own blueberry waffles to perfection, and the sausage-infused gravy complemented the warm biscuits nicely. Afterwards, we started driving out to the Soo Locks boat tour; before we could board, though, we had to fix our car's tire pressure (as one of the tires had a nail in it). My dad took us on a spontaneous adventure through downtown Sault Ste. Marie, and we got to admire the elegant churches and historical buildings while searching for a gas station. Once we found one, my dad pumped some gas into the tire to temporarily solve the issue; we would later find a tire repair shop and fix it once and for all.
Tire half-pumped and beyond excited, we made our way to the Soo Locks boat loading area. The tour was nothing short of astounding! We got to see a Canadian cargo ship as well as the Canadian shoreline; at one point, our captain honked at other boats as a friendly greeting. The Locks themselves were large enough to fit two tour boats, and once inside, the gates closed and water from the Superior side began to seep in, bringing the boats up. While we floated around Lake Superior, my dad and I got some coffee and played cards (Egyptian Rat Screw, BS, Trash, etc.) on the deck tables (my dad and I play cards at every iconic site we hit—our own little tradition) until it was time to go back through the Locks into Lake Huron again.
The roads of the Upper Peninsula were breathtaking (partially due to the fact that we took the Scenic Byway along Lake Superior), with lush trees woven together as tightly as a rug. We stopped at the Point Iroquois Lighthouse in Bay Mills, and my dad and I took a walk alone the shoreline—on the most beautiful beach of rocks I've ever seen. The water had such a calming effect, stretching as far as the eye can see. My dad and I climbed the lighthouse (a first for both of us!) and were at a loss for words at the view when we got to the top. We drove for miles on miles on miles, stopping at small beaches along the way, each one more beautiful than the last. When we reached the city of Paradise, we stopped at the Paradise Inn Steakhouse and had the most uniquely delicious burgers ever (my dad got the "All-Inn," which featured a fried egg, and I had one served on balsamic cranberry cornbread).
After that, we began our trek to Tahquamenon Falls, stopping at the Lower Falls first. The sight was simply magnificent. My dad and I made the adventurous decision to hike along the river, with our destination at the Upper Falls (it's a four mile hike to the Upper Falls, with a round trip ending back at the Lower Falls adding up to eight miles—don't worry, we didn't do this entire loop!). The hike was so fun! My dad and I never ceased our talking and endless joking, pausing at interesting tree trunks and spotting well-camouflaged frogs. We got ambushed by mosquitoes, though, and I kept laughing at the fact that these black flies kept following my dad (I had some that followed me too). When we hit the halfway mark between the two falls, we decided to turn around so we could get to our car and drive to the Upper Falls. It was a wise choice—we would have never made it back before sundown had we continued hiking! We took a detour as we were approaching the Lower Falls and temporarily got lost on a hill, ha ha! We ended up buying some After-Bite at the gift shop for all the mosquito bites that we accumulated to help soothe our itched-raw skin (oops).
The Upper Falls were even more divine than the Lower Falls—if that's even possible! I couldn't believe my eyes when the setting sun reflected on the river above the falls; it's true when they say a picture is worth a thousand words, because I could write ad nauseam and still not do the beauty justice.
By the time we hit the road again, the sun was setting, creating a gorgeous sunset against all the evergreen trees along the highway. We plowed away at the miles once again, this time all the way to nearly Marquette, where we had booked an Airbnb stay. The family with whom we stayed were oh-so-friendly, welcoming us into their home with smiles and midnight talks around their dinner table. They had two cats (one was technically an outdoor cat) and a plethora of hens that lived next to their vegetable garden. Falling asleep to the quiet sound of birds and nature, I was filled with contentment from reflecting on Saturday's adventures with my dad.
Sunday
My dad and I rose as the sun did, early enough to fill the day to the brink with thrilling escapades. We started toward Munising, stopping at a place called Navigator Restaurant for breakfast, where I had my first ever Yooper Pasty! My dad had a scrumptious hash brown/egg/peppers/steak combo and I filled up on my potato and meat pasty; we both felt so content with our meal.
The weather forecast had been ominous that morning, threatening thunderstorms all day. Somehow, we got lucky and didn't run into any bad weather! Quite the opposite, actually; the sun shone brightly as my dad and I hiked to Miner's Castle and other Pictured Rocks overlooks. The water was a stunning bright green at the shore and extended farther out into the lake, where it turned a royal blue. With the promising weather conditions, my dad and I got onto the Pictured Rocks Boat Tour. Our captain was quite the jokester (and he had the thickest Canadian accent, ha), sarcastically commenting on the "busy and fast-paced life of Munising" (it's actually the calmest little town) and the high speed of our boat's engine ("a whole, whopping 13 miles per hour!"). We passed Grand Island and noted the church-shaped lighthouse and lack of electricity found in the residencies. When we saw Munising's local high school, our captain remarked, "...and this is our local prison house: it holds around 200 high schoolers annually from September to June." We got a good laugh from that one!
The Rocks were gorgeous. Our boat had a lower deck in the back where my dad and I spent a majority of our time; it gave us a convenient view to the rocky cliffs. There were many iconic places we hit: archways, waterfalls, beaches, coves, Indian Head, and more. We saw kayakers and seagulls and trees being sustained by their roots that extended hundreds of feet over an archway to the mainland. The rocks' different colors were caused by the minerals found—red for iron, green for copper, black for manganese, and white for calcium. The rocks seemed to be a mural of endless portraits, made up of this rainbow of minerals; if you opened your mind to creativity, you could make out scenes of jungles and waterfalls and villages and more. The scenic views were accompanied by a warm breeze on our way out into the lake; on the way back, the wind started up, so my dad and I brought out our must-have deck of cards and played some games while sightseeing. It could not have worked out better; the minute we got back into our car, it started raining. It was as though the weather was planned around our adventures!
It was time to drive out to Marquette! On our way, we stopped at roadside beaches to admire the simple and quiet beauty of Lake Superior. The stormy clouds created a foggy atmosphere about the scene, and my dad and I relished it. Driving into downtown Marquette, we got to admire the old-timey but elegant buildings. After walking around and exploring for a little, we went into Elizabeth's Chop House for dinner. We'd never been to a Chop House before, so we were unprepared for the prices—and the amazing food!! Hands down, best meal ever. I felt so dainty sitting at a table that overlooked the lake; there was even complementary fancy bread and butter! Our house salad had apples, pecans, and goat cheese—a delicious combination of goodies. My dad and I shared a 20 oz steak (cooked to perfection) with a side of brussel sprouts and mushrooms topped with bacon. For dessert, I had a caramel carrot cake infused with pecans, almonds, and walnuts; I (proudly) devoured the entire thing.
Once we finished, my dad came up with the best plan to drive up to Copper Harbor, which was at the tip of the UP's "horn." The weather had began to darken, but that didn't scare us! We drove through a plethora of little towns, including (but obviously not limited to) Hancock, Keweenaw, Houghton, Calumet, Allouez, Phoenix, and Delaware. Each one featured cute streets and houses; we got to see Michigan Tech too. At Hancock, right before the bridge crossing Portage Lake, my dad let me start driving. It was a whole new experience to drive through these towns as opposed to merely sitting in the passenger seat; though it's harder to admire the beauty while driving (because you're more focused on the road), it made memories that will last a lifetime. Thank goodness for my dad, though, because he was like my copilot, constantly on the watch for road signs and cars I didn't see.
Halfway through the Keweenaw Peninsula, the country roads turned into hills, which transformed into mountainous curves through the forest; it started to rain around then as well. I'd never driven in these conditions before, and my dad did a phenomenal job guiding me as I went. At every turn, my dad told me how to slow down going into the curve until I got a good view, and then speed up (until I reached the next curve, where I would repeat this process). Somewhere in between all the hills and turns, we somehow ended up having gone uphill; I hadn't even noticed that until we reached a sign that warned of a long, steep downhill. I'm still surprised I didn't veer off the road; our survival was probably due to my dad helping to calm me down in the midst of my minor panic. After hours on end of driving, we reached a sign that signaled the very beginning of US Highway 41. We did it: we made it to the northernmost part of Michigan, made it to the end of the highway! My dad and I celebrated our seemingly invincible adventurous spirits by hiking around the bay; we ended up discovering a waterfall too! The rain kept pouring but our happiness radiated like sunshine.
On the drive back to our host family, holes began to appear in the dark clouds. We could see slivers of the sunset through them; the beauty made it feel like we were driving straight into heaven. I fell asleep in the car at some point, and when I woke up, we had pulled into a rest area. It was almost midnight, and my dad and I took the trail behind the rest area into the woods and out onto the lake. There, we could see no city lights; rather, our world was illuminated by the galaxy above us. Stars shone brighter than I'd ever seen and numbered more than I'd ever counted. We located both Dippers and the North Star and spent some time just gazing up at the sky.
In the past few days, we had done the Lake Superior Circle Tour. We decided on Memorial Day to complete the Lake Michigan Circle Tour as well. The plan was to drive into Wisconsin, continue south into Illinois, and finish it off through Indiana (and finally back into Michigan). This was about to be the coolest adventure of our lives.
Before exiting the Upper Peninsula, we stopped at JW Wells State Park, which featured a leisurely walk along the beach and in the woods. Entering Wisconsin was a surreal experience. One minute, we were in Menominee, MI, a minuscule city that didn't have a large population; as soon as we crossed the Menominee River into Marinette, Wisconsin, though, we saw people and cars flooding the streets. It was pretty nice to see fellow human beings again! We went to Hometown Family Restaurant for brunch; I had a sizzling, cheesy omelette and my dad had eggs and steak (and I even got a pumpkin pie for brunch dessert). We kept along Lake Michigan until we reached Green Bay; my dad said he heard about a beachside park, so we set out to look for it.
My dad and I didn't arrive home too late, but we were both exhausted. Even so, our hearts were incredibly happy because all the memories we made—from hiking to adventuring to stargazing—created a perfect end to a perfect weekend.
