Forty miles west of Munising is the city of Marquette. Marquette is a "college town" with a population of around 24,000. You might think that Marquette University is located here, but if you do you'd be wrong. Marquette University is actually located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The city of Marquette, Michigan is home of the Northern Michigan University Wildcats. On our way to Sugarloaf Mountain we drove by the campus which has around 8,000 students. Like the rest of what we saw in Marquette, the campus was very impressive, especially with the various colored leaves serving as a backdrop.
The drive from Munising to Marquette was easy and very scenic the entire way. Out Beth's window was a steady dose of Lake Superior and on my side a combination of marsh, rivers, lakes and of course plenty of colorful leaves. I don't have much of a sample size, but kudo's to the Michigan Department of Transportation for the numerous roadside parks that we've seen as we made our way through the Lower Peninsula and around Munising. They're numerous, offer great views and most have picnic tables, grills and benches. Well done!
Taken from one of the numerous roadside parks between Munising and Marquette
According to the Weather Channel the expected rain wasn't supposed to start until the middle of the afternoon, however I guess Mother Nature didn't get the message because there was already a light shower. Thankfully it never got any harder and the canopy of leaves served somewhat as an umbrella. Our real umbrellas are safely tucked away in Florida.
The Sugarloaf Mountain Trail is a relatively short (1.5 mile) loop trail. The highlight of the trail is when you reach the top where there are three separate viewing platforms that offer panoramic views of the city of Marquette, the surrounding rolling hills and of course Lake Superior. One thing we learned by experience about the trail is that although it is a loop trail it has two different levels of difficulty. If you go up the left side from the trail head you'll tackle a more natural, less clearly marked and steeper hike. Going up the right side from the trail head, you'll encounter a wider, smoother and better maintained trail. Of course we didn't take time to look at the informational sign near the parking lot so we took on the steeper (although still nothing more than moderate) left side as we made our way up. Ironically at the top of the trail, near the viewing platforms is a larger, more prominent sign with arrows pointing out "easy" and "difficult". Not wanting to miss out on anything the trail had to offer we took the easy route down.
Spectacular ground cover and leaves along the Sugarloaf Trail
Now we know!
Presque Isle Park, not to be confused with Presque Isle State Park which we recently visited in Erie, Pennsylvania, is a 323 acre county park on a small peninsula that reaches out into Lake Superior. The park features a very nice loop around the perimeter that can be hiked and biked at all times and driven at certain times. No matter what form of transportation you use, you'll get great views of the lake and rocky steep cliffs along the shoreline. Our clothes were a little damp, it was still drizzling, slightly windy and a little chilly so we opted for the cozy confines of the "silver bullet". We did stop a couple of times to more fully take in the amazing views.
On the way up to Marquette I noticed a small roadside attraction that caught my eye. It was the Lakenenland Sculpture Park. In my shallow brain I made a note, "that looks interesting, if I see it on the way back I'm going to pull in and see what it's all about". As we made our way back towards Munising we passed it before I could safely slow down and turn in. There wasn't any traffic coming so I quickly did a U-turn and pulled in, and we were both glad we didn't miss it! The Lakenenland Sculpture Park is owned by Tom Lakenen, a sculpture artist who has turned tons of scrap metal into amazing pop art sculptures of various sizes and shapes. The park, which you can walk, drive or in the winter snowmobile through is open 24/7, 365 days a year. There is no admission fee, but donations are appreciated. It is well worth the investment of spending a little time meandering through the park admiring and marveling at what he has created. So much so that you'll gladly want to drop a few dollars in the donation box on the way out.
A few of the more than 80 sculptures on display................
As I was finishing up the above paragraph of this blog an eagle with a large fish flew by our widow being chased by a number of much smaller seagulls..........nature is freaking awesome!
