I'm guessing if you've clicked on this link, you either know exactly what this article is about or you have no idea what this article is about. If you already know, then I'm impressed. If you don't know, I'm not surprised. By the end of this article, you will be a UP expert.
"UP" stands for "upper peninsula" and refers to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This is, arguably, the better peninsula of Michigan -- the "superior" peninsula, if you will.
Hold on, what's a peninsula?
A peninsula is like an island, but it's surrounded by water on three sides instead of completely. Michigan is composed of the upper and lower peninsula. When you think of Michigan, you likely only think of the lower peninsula.
This is not Michigan.
THIS is Michigan.
See the difference? It's this:
This scraggly piece of land with oddly defined borders is the place I call my home. I really don't understand how anyone could forget about it, but it happens all the time. We get lumped in with Wisconsin. People think we're a part of Canada (what?). My personal favorite is when we're left off the map completely!
Didn't catch that?
That's right, we're left off of maps that even include Alaska and Hawaii. A map with 311,000 unrepresented people.
Where exactly are you from?
When I came to college in Indianapolis, I was sure that no one would recognize the city I came from (Sault Ste. Marie, ever heard of it?). I did not anticipate, however, anybody knowing about the UP. I mean, come on, we're all Midwesterners here! I go through this every time someone asks where I'm from:
Someone: Where are you from?
Me: I'm from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
Someone: Oh, where is that? Show me!
Me: *points to SSM*
Someone: *looks as utterly perplexed as if I've just proven to them the earth is flat*
I then explain you do, in fact, need to use both hands to show a map of Michigan. They will then ask me how far SSM is from Traverse City, Petoskey or Mackinac Island. I once had a friend ask, incredulously, "You can go north of Mackinac?" I responded, "Yeah, I live about 50 miles north of Mackinac."
Let me tell you, he was shook.
Why is the UP the best?
Now, I'm sure you're wondering how I could claim the UP is better than the LP (lower peninsula) if no one's heard of it. I would venture to say the UP is America's hidden paradise.
It helps that, in the town called Paradise, there's a set of gorgeous waterfalls that are breathtaking in all seasons.
Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall
Its beauty in all seasons is only one example. There can't possibly be more beauty in that one little place, right?
Wrong!
Pictured Rocks in Munising, MI
Porcupine Mountains in Ontonagon, MI
Bond Falls near Paulding, MI
Kitch-iti-kipi, a freshwater spring in Palms Book State Park, MI
Canyon Falls near L'Anse, MI, where you can also go cliff diving!
And so, so, so much more. There's also a lot of history associated with the UP, like mining camps, shipwreck museums (think Edmund Fitzgerald), historical forts (Mackinac, Michilimackinac, Brady, etc.), Native American history, the oldest city in Michigan and third oldest in the country (Sault Ste. Marie, 1668 y'all) and (of course) much more.
What else is there to do?
I'm sure you've noticed I've mentioned a few waterfalls. There are more...many more.
You can also:
- Go fishing (at any time of the year)
- Go hiking
- Go skiing, snowboarding, tubing or tobogganing
- Go swimming, kayaking, canoeing, pedal boating, speed boating, wind sailing, windsurfing, water skiing, whitewater rafting or tubing (did I say tubing twice? yeah, they're two different things)
- Go ice skating, explore the ice caves, make an ice sculpture, etc.
- Go dogsledding (yes, really)
- Go four-wheeling or mudding
- Go snowmobiling
- Go snowmobiling across the ice to an island
- Go freighter-watching (especially at the Soo Locks)
- Explore the tourist districts (and buy a few tons of fudge)
- Go to ALL the breweries!
- Go to a paranormal convention (they're plentiful)
- Go diving to shipwrecks (this is a hard pass for my sub-mechanophobia)
- Eat ALL the pasties! (With ketchup, of course)
- Understand Canadian English, be familiar with Canadian currency, recognize Canadian flags and maybe even learn the Canadian National Anthem
I guess a better question would be, "What CAN'T you do in the UP?"
I could literally talk about the UP all day, and I'm sure I've barely scratched the surface of all you can do up (haha, get it?) there, but I'll leave you with this: this yooper is tired of being forgotten because I come from the greatest region in America and the most beautiful place on Earth.
Rant over. Book a flight. Fall in love.
