Heading to the Troll Village

Yooper Trip Station 1: Mackinaw City

When Eric said that we were going to the Upper Peninsula of Michgan (U.P.), I said ok not knowing what's there, and what to do. Since things were so busy at work, we didn't really get to think much about the trip or plan it until two weeks before (YIKES!). But this is par for the course with us. Our running joke when we have to go somewhere, we jump in the car, start the engine, then one of us asks:

"So, do you know how to go?"

"Nope. Do you?"

"Nope!"

"Ok, let's go!"

Thank goodness for Waze.

Our family summer vacation kicked off on a late Friday afternoon on the last day of camp. We drove in good spirits until the kiddos fell asleep and we carried them to our hotel stop over in Marinette, WI, just outside of Green Bay.  This is actually the perfect stopping point since the drive from Escanaba, MI to our first stop, Palms Book State Park, the following morning traces Lake Superior and it's a wonderful morning drive - especially with 2 chipper passengers at the back.

Palms Book State Park was a little gem of a park. There's really no hiking trails to speak of, but its emerald spring, Kitch-iti-kipi, is worth the trip for anyone going to the Upper Penninsula.   It's Michigan's largest freshwater spring, with a constant 45F temperature. You can see the water gushing from the limestone fissures when you're on the raft. It would appear that the sand below is boiling, which you can see because the water is crystal clear.You can also see the trout below.  Seriously, I've never seen anything like it. How this place was discovered is beyond me, but I'm glad that it is preserved well.

After a lunch picnic at the park, we resumed our drive to the eastern most part of the U.P. We stopped at Straits State Park at St. Ignace before crossing the bridge and did a short hike. The park had some nice overlook that gave us a "preview" of the Big Mac.... but the view is really much better on the other side. Or below. The Mackinac Bridge is a toll bridge on I-75 and is the longest suspension bridge in the US, and the third longest suspension bridge in the world with a total span of approximately 5 miles connecting the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan.

After sitting in the car for the most part of the first day, the kids were happy to play and run around Michilimackinac park.

Antsy from the first day, we headed north to see the famous Tahquamenon falls on the 2nd day. Isn't she a beauty? There are 2 falls in the park - the Lower Falls and the Upper Falls. The Upper Falls is impressive not only in it's enormity, but its color (same with the Lower Falls). The water is brown/gold (golden brown?) not from mud, but from the tannins (think wine) leaching from the cedar swamps which the river drains. It is so beautiful that Longfellow wrote a poem, The Song of Hiawatha, and he referenced the Falls in it.

Tahquamenon means "Our Woman" in the Ojibwe Language

After feasting our eyes on the waterfalls, we headed to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point in Paradise, Michigan. If given the chance, how can you not visit Paradise?! If like me you've heard about how Lake Superior never gives up its dead, morbid I know, then this museum is for you. It's quite an interesting museum in such a remote location.  I really enjoyed learning about the shipwrecks. While my older one was scared at the beginning of the movie showing the loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald ship in Lake superior, I was chocking back tears watching the bell raising (bell shown below with my oldest mocking me).

Mackinaw city itself is a small touristy town. Apparently, folks who live in Mackinaw and the lower peninsula are called "trolls" because they live below the bridge, the Mighty Mac. It is a quaint city and a good place to stay outside of Mackinac island, which is a short 20-minute ferry boat ride away. But one gets the feeling that this city's purpose is really to house all this "Fudgies" a.k.a tourists outside of the island. The hotels are quite pricey and the fudge shops line the main downtown street.

Drooling outside the fudge shop

There are scheduled boat rides that take a side trip under the Big Mac.  It really is a majestic view from below the bridge. One can just imagine the engineering genius and work that went to making this bridge.

Before this trip, I've never even heard of Mackinac island. Yes, I live under a rock for the most part. The best way to describe it - Disney land for families. The island is about 8 miles around in Lake Huron, sandwiched between the Upper and Lower Peninsulas.  What it has: shopping, history, quaint Victorian houses, bikes, bikes and more bikes, and horse-drawn carriages! The kids  What it doesn't have: cars, buses, etc. The kids kept saying that they wanted to live on the island, and Tamar made me promise to take her back on a future birthday.  Needless to say, it's really the perfect family get-away where history is very well-preserved. As soon as we got off the ferry, I felt transported back in time. Speaking of which, I also found out that one of my favorite sappy movie, Somewhere in Time, was set at the Grand hotel at Mackinac Island. You can just imagine my excitement with this little nugget of information.  They also have tea time for $40 pp, which would have been fun for me and hubby, but I can't imagine it being fun for the kids, and would have been not worth it for them.  

History and a whole lot of water

The family unanimously decided that our favorite part of this vacation is the 8-mi bike ride around the island. Don't be deceived by the picture. Tamar rode on a tag-along with me, while Maya rode on a weehoo. Maya loved it the most, and we kept teasing her that all she did while riding was  "Weeeee!" and "Hooo!" The ride was spectacular.  Waves on your right and greens on your left. We also saw the arch rock and stopped to let the kids play along the beach. Once in a while we saw a horse carriage, but we mostly saw family on bikes with big grins on their faces, which I knew was how we looked too.

After a full day of adventure and indulging on ridiculously-priced souvenirs, we bade the island goodbye.