Following our wonderful picnic lunch at Bay View Campground, we then made our way to Tahquamenon Falls State Park. En route to the Falls, we crossed over the mouth of the Tahquamenon River where it pours into Lake Superior. Tahquamenon Falls is one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi, and is divided into two distinctly different areas, Upper Falls and Lower Falls, with plenty of hiking trails alongside the river. We came to the Lower Falls first and what an awesome sight to see that much water rushing along with intrepid souls out in canoes exploring and getting a close-up view.
We enjoyed admiring the view from the great boardwalks that lined our way. We have really been impressed with the many wooden boardwalks, steps, etc. in all the parks and recreational areas that we have visited. The state of Michigan is using tax dollars well to promote accessibility to their beautiful sights here in the U. P.
We next made our way to the Upper Falls which drop approximately 50 feet and are roughly 200 feet across, with a flow of more than 50,000 gallons of water per second. I am always amazed at the incredibly awesome power of moving water!
We loved having the walkways that take us right up close to the Falls, so close we could feel the spray of the crashing water! So nice to be seeing all this with our good friends Greenstone and Thimbleberry!
We passed by the stump of a 200+ year old tree that has been labeled with the timeline of its life.
After visiting the Tahquamenon Falls we took a circuitous route southeastward across the Upper Peninsula, passing some pretty farmland along our way.
We are planning to meet Steve and Leanne for dinner this evening at a great local place on the Bay near where G. & T. live, the Raber Bay Restaurant. We are looking forward to having "fresh" walleye baskets. The fish are caught right across the road in the bay and then cooked up in the Restaurant!
I first met Steve and Leanne (longtime friends of G. & T.) while I was hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2011, when they drove to Damascus, Virginia and found me and G. & T. and whisked us away to a motel for showers, food, and a bed to sleep in! Then they hiked on the A.T. with us for three days!
So it was great to reconnect with them and for them to meet my Sweetie, Tom. The walleye baskets were scrumptious and conversation great! Raber Bay Restaurant is "out in the middle of nowhere", miles from the nearest town, but it was packed, on a Thursday night! If we did not know the "locals", we would never have found the place. Steve and Leanne joined us back at Greenstone and Thimbleberry's home for some of that good fresh raspberry pie for dessert!
What a great day of vacation it has been today, made even better with good friends! Tomorrow we are planning to enjoy a "lazy" day exploring the woods that surround G. & T.'s place and maybe go to their local beach.
Following a great night's sleep in G. & T.'s guest bedroom and a good breakfast, the four of us headed north to Sault Ste. Marie. It is great to have "locals" show us around, as they know all the places we should see while we are here in the U.P. Greenstone took us by the Kinross State Correctional Facility, where he was employed until he retired, and by the Chippewa County International Airport (which was formerly Kincheloe Air Force Base). This airport serves Sault Ste. Marie, however we found it much more expensive to fly into there as opposed to flying into Marquette, Mi.
Once we arrived in Sault Ste. Marie, we stopped at their Wal*Mart, which has a Subway inside, to pick up sandwiches for a picnic lunch later today. Then we headed to the Soo Locks on the St. Mary's River, to watch the big cargo ships be transferred between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, an elevation change of approximately 21 feet. More than 11,000 vessels, carrying up to 90 million tons of cargo pass through these locks every year. Most cargo contained in these ships is either iron ore, coal, grain, or stone. There is a large observation platform at the Soo Locks Visitors Center where we can watch this fascinating process of ships going back and forth!
Notice the International Bridge in the background which crosses over into Canada. Also notice the level of the Baie St. Paul ship in this photo.
Looks like there comes another ship from Lake Huron, waiting to go thru the locks, passing over into Lake Superior.
How nice is this to get to experience this with my good friend, Thimbleberry! Wow, look at how high the Baie St. Paul is now! It is leaving the lock, going into Lake Huron. Now that ship that is waiting will move thru next.
How skilled are those ship pilots to be able to maneuver those huge boats thru that narrow space and then turn immediately so as not to hit the waiting ship! Very impressive when you think about how many times (more than 11,000) each year, and the Locks have to close during part of the winter months due to snow and ice. So Spring, Summer, and Fall is a busy time here!
Yep! We look to our left and there is ship coming from Lake Superior waiting to get through!
All ships pass by the Administration building located between the MacArthur and Poe Locks. The day we are here they are only utilizing these two Locks, even though there are a total of four Locks here. It looks like there is construction going on one of the Locks.
Now there is water pouring into the Poe Lock, which is nearest the viewing platform.
Here comes a Coast Guard vessel in from Lake Huron.
We watch as the Coast Guard vessel just sits and idles while the water level is lowered to allow him to pass into Lake Superior.
Now we are heading east toward the Point Iroquois Light Station. When we arrive in Bay Mills there are incredible views of Lake Superior. We think we may spot one of those cargo ships but we don't, only spectacular views on a beautiful day!
Next we stop at the Mission Hills Cemetery, which is quite large and in a very beautiful setting among large shade trees. There are many very old graves and one in particular is the burial site of the sailors who lost their lives in a shipwreck from 1919.
I just love this festively decorated gravesite!
When we arrived at the Point Iroquois Light Station, we enjoyed the nicely maintained boardwalk that led us out to the water's edge and then back around to the Lighthouse.
Tom and I opted to climb the narrow circular staircase inside the lighthouse to the top for a great view of Lake Superior's coastline. Greenstone and Thimbleberry had been here before, so they waited for us down on the boardwalk. Don't know if you can see them in the photo I snapped of them, from the top of the lighthouse!
While we were at the top, a fellow tourist offered to take our photo!
Next we went to Bay View Campground for our picnic lunch! Thimbleberry and Greenstone had packed an ice chest with water, sodas, chips, and cookies to go with the Subway sandwiches we had purchased earlier today. What a special time we are having today with our dear friends!
If I had a very good camera with a big zoom lens, you would be able to see the ship that we can see thru the trees, way out on Lake Superior!
In my next post, I will tell you about our afternoon on this fifth day of our vacation in the U.P.!!
