When we arrived in Munising last year Beth and I did a happy dance for several reasons. First, our Airbnb home located on the shores of Lake Superior's Munising Bay was spectacular. We had escaped the seemingly never ending heat and humidity of Florida. Also, the cooler temperatures of the Upper Peninsula were already bringing out spectacular color in the leaves. It was a great month and as we left last year we were hopeful to be able to return again this year.
We are blessed to be back in Munising for another month this year. We're staying in the home we enjoyed so much last year, loving the cooler temperatures (although warmer than last year so far) and taking in the incredible views of the lake, fall leaves and so much more. If that wasn't enough to do a happy dance, we also had Beth's sisters, Cindy and Debbie with us for the first seven days this time around.
We discovered so many places last year and were looking forward to sharing as many of them with Cindy and Debbie as we could during the week. Thanks to cooperating weather, early starts and occasionally arriving back as the sun was setting, we checked off a lot of boxes and discovered a couple of new places and a new hobby as well.
On our way from Mackinac Island to Munising we stopped by Sault Ste. Marie, which has the distinction of being Michigan's oldest city. The city has a population of around 15,000 and is located on the northeast edge of the Upper Peninsula along the bank of the St. Mary's River. Depending on which way you are traveling, Sault Ste. Marie is either the end of Interstate 75 or the beginning. The other end of the interstate is over 1,750 miles away in Miami. Across the river from Sault Ste. Marie is it's Canadian Sister City, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. The two cities are connected by the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge which is lightly traveled these days due to ongoing COVID related travel restrictions between the US and Canada.
Sault Ste. Marie's most famous landmark is the Soo Locks which allow shipping traffic on the great lakes to access the Atlantic Ocean. Ships as large as 1000 feet in length and 105 feet wide, as well as smaller recreational and tour boats utilize the locks on a daily basis. Annually around 7,000 vessels pass through the locks!
We took a two hour boat tour that gave us the opportunity to pass through the locks going both upriver (toward Lake Superior) and then back down river (towards Lake Huron) to the dock. The water in the locks raises and lowers up to 21 feet in approximately twelve minutes to accommodate for the different lake levels. Although the area around the locks are mostly "industrial" the tour was both interesting and informative. If you're planning to visit Sault Ste Marie and have the time, it's worth taking. If you're on a tight timeframe there is a visitors center adjacent to the locks where you can get an up close look at the locks. Given how busy they are, you'll probably also be able to watch as boat traffic passes through.
Around these parts at this time of the year the journey is every bit as good as the destination. The traffic is light and the scenery is amazing. We spent the better part of the week checking out many of our favorites from last year. There were numerous waterfalls, including Munising Falls, Miners Falls, Wagner Falls, Alger Falls and Tahquamenon Falls. There was a trip south to Fayette Historic State Park on Lake Michigan and Kitch-iti-Springs. Of course. there were plenty of beaches to explore along Lake Superior's shore. some of which would be sandy, while others were rocky. The rocky beaches and some timely information from the owner of the home we are enjoying turned us into "rock hounds". We spent hours scouring the shoreline in search of the illusive agate and Yooperlite Rocks. We may have found an agate or two. I don't think we've found a Yooperlite, but it's safe to say that at least for our time in the Upper Peninsula we have a new hobby. Thanks Stacy, we enjoyed having you over for lunch.
As we made our way from place to place there were constant "wow's", "whoa's" and "oh my's" coming from the three sisters enjoying their time together and the constantly changing fall colors. Cindy and Debbie also enjoyed a boat tour on the lake that took them close to the steep colorful cliffs of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Beth and I had taken and enjoyed the boat tour last year, so we opted out this time around.
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Our longest day of touring was the second morning, when we left for Copper Harbor at the top of the Keweenaw Peninsula. We loaded up in the Silver Bullet before the sun came up and didn't make it back to Munising until close to fourteen hours later. This was unexplored territory for all four of us which made the long day pass by not only quickly but enjoyably. If you head towards Copper Harbor be sure to check out Houghton, Eagle River Falls, Eagle Harbor, Brockway Mountain Lookout, Bete Grise and Marquette.
Of course not all of the week was spent on the go. There were several mornings where we started the day with coffee, tea and a fire in the firepit while waiting for the sunrise. There was star gazing at night and plenty of good food in between, including Cindy and Debbie's first pasties (PASS-TEES), an Upper Peninsula culinary delight.
I imagine the week was quite reminiscent of the "old lady trips" that Beth, Cindy and Debbie enjoyed for many years with NaNa. As for me taking NaNa's place, no way! Some roles can only be filled by one person and she's certainly one of a kind!
It's been a week since Cindy and Debbie left. While the pace has slowed, we've continued to enjoy the colorful scenery as green leaves change to yellow, orange, red and purple. We also enjoyed visiting two local waterfalls that we had not seen previously, Laughing Whitefish Falls and Au Train Falls. Yesterday we spent the sunny afternoon exploring a bit in the very nice city of Marquette. The weather has continued to be pleasant with high temperatures near 70 and lows in the 50's. Looking ahead, it looks like there is going to be some changes coming soon. By the weekend the highs will be dropping to the 50's, which is more seasonal for the Upper Peninsula at this time of year. We have our jackets ready and are looking forward to the change!
