2020 Big Truck across the Upper Peninsula, Day 3

Day 3 started with this for an 'office'. Works for me.

Jordan was foraging for pine cones, one of nature's best firestarters. They helped us build a roaring fire despite last night's 20mph+ winds and 50 degree drizzle.

We had a few different options of what to do, and ultimately decided to avoid the Pictured Rocks herds and go explore some of the more remote waterfall hikes outside of town. However, the first one we chose was anything but remote. Horseshoe Falls, a locally managed tourist trap, seemed like a terrible idea at first. Why go to a place with a gift shop, that charges a fee to walk a few hundred yards to see a waterfall like any of the others you can see for free? This is why.

For Jordan (and us), the gnome scavenger hunt and tranquil setting was actually worth our time and then some. She had a lot of fun finding the 50+ gnomes hidden on the property, and I relished the fact that they named one of them Quagmire.

They had a lot of somewhat cheesy signs and sayings posted throughout, but this one really hit home. There are several (one in particular) of our governmental leaders that would do well to read this and emulate this behavior. Or maybe try just one for starters, being an evangelical and all.

The falls themselves were really cool, literally. They are fed from a spring and stay a pretty constant 40 degrees, and the temperature difference was pretty stark when you got close to the falls. 

Once we left the tourist trap (we did find all 50+ gnomes, I know you were concerned), it was on to Au Train falls. This one is a little further from town, and you really get to experience the true UP, often referred to as God's Country. I hear that a lot, but this definition of it - an area of civilization away from the frontier - was definitely fitting. 

Your first view from the parking lot reveals quite a climb/scramble down to the falls, but then you realize that there are no barriers, no viewing platforms, you can actually experience this waterfall as nature intended. We waited for some herds (one family in particular, not skilled in the arts of consideration, etiquette, awareness of their surroundings, or that maybe one of the kids could have left the family size bag of Bugles in the car instead of leaving a trail of them like he was Lewis & Clark), then finally had the falls to ourselves. 

With one exception - as Kimberly referred to him as, Technology Dad. He had a full on camcorder with the flip out viewer, then while we explored the top of the falls his somewhat odd looking backpack revealed his drone. Since his wife and kids had already deserted him for the car, he and his drone left us alone to continue to explore.

Not sure what this pose is, but they were really feeling it.

From the main upper falls, you can see 3 or 4 other trickles along the bank toward the parking lot, and Jordan was extolling the virtues of her water shoes every 2-3 minutes (interspersed with a full on narration of her every move - this kid has all the words). It was cool to be peacefully exploring and watching the enthusiasm build, for all of us. Perfect weather, perfect day.

It's a bit of work to get back up to the parking lot, especially knowing that we had a few more of these hikes in us today. We got out just in time, as the minivan contingent was strong in the parking lot when we left.

Next up  - Laughing Whitefish Falls. This one should win on name alone. You really start getting into the middle of nowhere, leaving paved roads and taking seasonal roads (fancy name for 2 track up here) and leading you to believe you have escaped the herds, until you enter the parking lot and see 3 King Ranch edition trucks pulling 30' trailers and the dads all have the same stylist.

We proceeded to hike down to the falls, a relatively easy stroll on a wide path that crosses a spur trail to connect to the North Country Trail.

The scenery in the forest is very serene - vivid colors, ferns everywhere, and a small stream with the root beer colored water to the right of the path.

When we got to the viewing platform at the top, we realized that this was on an entirely different scale than the previous falls we had seen. Some of us were quite excited.

Rightly so. This was awesome.

There are a bunch of steps to get to the bottom, where you really start to understand the scale of this thing.

Back up at the top, there is a viewing platform that juts out over the falls just enough to make the subjects of this photo quite anxious.

From there it is a mostly uphill hike back to the parking lot, and there may have been some whining and loss of energy.  The vibe got worse when we reached said parking lot and saw that it was overrun with weekend warriors, so we threaded through the laughable parking jobs and made our way toward Rock River Falls. 

Here's where things got good. The description of this one from our little waterfall guide just said this was in a more remote area of Alger county, and that it was 'for the adventurous'. That was all I needed to read, and this was the last of our planned hikes for the day. We had to leave pavement again, winding along a gravel road searching for our turnoff on a seasonal road. Once we found it, we soon realized that this was a full on 2 track. Something the Jeep (and its driver) have been yearning for. It did not disappoint.

It was 3.5 miles on this, then another 0.7 after an unmarked fork in the road, where a helpful dad in his now forever altered Nissan Maxima managed to let me know we were headed in the right direction.  This happened while his wife let him have it for letting mosquitos in the car after self-clearancing the air dam and adding branch-assisted pinstripes to all painted surfaces of their vehicle. I'm sure their return trip went smoothly.

In terms of rewarding hikes, this one was only just over 2 miles, but the drive to get here, the sense of being completely isolated, and the nature of the trail becoming progressively more difficult and remote as you reach your destination was building anticipation like crazy. 

The payoff. You definitely don't get the same feel seeing this in photos, but the setting is just cool. You are in this bowl carved out of the rock, and there is absolutely nothing near the falls that would tell you what century you are in.

Again, with no restricted viewing platforms or access and with us knowing there was no one else out here, this was the experience we were after. If you are considering any waterfalls outside of the main touristy ones in Munising (and don't mind a few (hundred) branches scraping your vehicle on the way) go here. It was by far our favorite.

As you can see, this path gets a bit less traffic than some of the others.

On our way back to civilization, we discovered a few unexpected souvenirs. We also may or may not have experienced several miles of spirited gravel road drifting that would have made Bo & Luke proud. Alger County road H-01. Do it.

We mixed in a well earned dinner stop at Eh Burger, one of the few local joints that was open on a Monday night. Food was great, they had a good selection of local craft beers, so for us it was the perfect combo.

Jordan had been talking all day about going for a swim in Lake Superior as our reward for a day of hiking and exploring. Kimberly was the smart one, opting for the photographer role. She happened to snap this as I was reaching a very critical juncture in the entrance to the water. Had this picture included sound, you may have heard some not so nice things. Jordan had lured me to the water by saying "It's like a hot tub!" It's Lake Superior, and the air temp at the time was 59 degrees. 

The day ended as it began, with the search for pine cones. Jordan dubbed us 'pine cone farmers', and her crops led to a very relaxing fire next to another beautiful sunset & crashing waves. 

Tomorrow - it is looking like our pontoon boat exploration of Pictured Rocks is doomed, today's boat reservations were all cancelled due to a small craft advisory and tomorrow looks to be the same. We will improvise.

2020 Big Truck across the Upper Peninsula, Day 2

Day 2 began with a somewhat sluggish awakening before 7am to make a 45 minute drive to Munising in search of a campsite, while the female contingent slept in at Big Cedar. One plus to this situation - other than one vehicle that passed me early on, I was the only one making this drive. Literally no other cars going my direction for more than 40 miles. That is my kind of traffic. Felt like I was on US-50.

 

Upon arriving at Bay Furnace, I was crushed to find out that all sites were not only taken, but reserved for at least the next several days. No departures sooner than Wednesday on the site tags. That plan failed spectacularly, so I headed over to Munising Tourist Park up the road.  Again, immediate dejection upon reading the sign on the office window stating "All sites are full, please do not place belongings on an empty site to claim it, all sites are currently reserved." We rarely do the first come first serve thing for exactly this reason. While I was staring at the sign trying to figure out how I was going to explain this logistical collapse back at the Big Truck, a guy pulled up in a pickup, let his dog out and asked if he could help.  I explained my dilemma and that we were looking for a site for the next 3-4 days, and he said he'd meet me inside. Turns out someone was leaving early and site #8 would be available. I said yes before he was finished speaking, and then he pointed out the window.

It's the site with the car and the giant pine tree. Directly on Lake Superior. Little did I know he had just given us the site that has the cover shot view from their website, looking out at Grand Island with a little path to the beach right out the back of the site. Incredibly fortunate. With the situation well in hand, I headed back to Big Cedar to pick up the rest of the family. We could not have left that place fast enough, and this time there was a bit more traffic on the Seney stretch, but nothing of issue. Downtown Munising is completely torn apart with construction on the main drag, so that was a bit of a complication, but we knew this was waiting for us.

There are few things in life Jordan enjoys more than beaches, water & swimming (zoos, aquariums, red cabbage, and not going to bed on time also make an appearance), so this was her immediate happy place.

Practicing hammocking skills. She's also pretty good with bowstaff & nunchucks...

Since we had a bit of a hectic morning, and the weather had taken a turn from 80/sunny to 60/22 mph winds, we decided we would stick near town and explore a bunch of local waterfalls. If you haven't been to Munising, there are probably 20 waterfalls within 10-15 miles of town, many of them minutes from town and easily accessible. We started with the aptly named Munising Falls.

What you don't see in these pictures is the herds of people quietly shuffling along, some trying to social distance, others staring a hole in anyone wearing a mask, and one guy in front of us proudly wearing pager on his belt and a Rambo survival knife (yes, you guessed it - complete with the leg strap) just in case he and his two young sons needed to live off the land and eat a feral hog.

In his defense, I also had one of those and thought it was the coolest thing in the world. I was also 11. He had quite a scowl the entire time, I can only assume he wanted to get back into his lifted Silverado (Cheyenne longbox of course) and his collection of Tactical Life back issues, unless interrupted by an important page about a new catchin' deers hat release.

Next up was Memorial Falls, also known as Twin Falls, although today they were cojoined as the water flow was only enough for a single trickle.  This hike was super cool for only being a mile & a half or so round trip. Plenty to explore - caves, roots, rocks, and stunning natural features.

We closed out our whirlwind waterfall tour with a quick stop at Wagner Falls, just south of town. It is very accessible, and therefore very crowded. This set of pics will help us to remember just how crazy of a time we are currently experiencing. There were so many people in fairly close proximity due to the size of the boardwalk & trail that most were wearing masks. 

Editor's note: we were experiencing the exact same amount of freedom and liberty in both pics. The herds were politely waiting over 6' away. On the way back, Kimberly wanted a pic with her and Jordan. Jordan wanted to recreate a pose from Cloudland Canyon State Park back in Georgia, where she recalled going up on one toe. The result was me questioning whether she has a broken femur in this shot.

We stopped in town to look for some souvenirs, only to find most of the shops closed on Sunday. This Art in the Alley exhibit was pretty cool though.

Back at the campground we had to go check out the lake, which was surprisingly warm for Lake Superior. Tomorrow we will likely go for a swim.

As we got close to sunset, I was reminded of the significance of this day. 5 years prior, we were up here in the UP and got the news that my father had passed away back home. We immediately drove home and haven't been up here as a family since. I can't help but feel tonight's sunset had a little support from Marv up there looking out for us.

All in all we couldn't have asked for a better day. Tomorrow we will likely do some hiking in Pictured Rocks, possibly some biking. Cheers!

2020 Big Truck across the Upper Peninsula, Day 1

August 1, 2020

Germfask, MI

Big Cedar Campground

Site 19 (do not recommend)

This year's trip has undergone at least 3 full makeovers. Due to a global pandemic and the tailspin it has put our entire nation in, our original plan to head out to Utah to visit Kimberly's niece was nuked when her job was postponed until next year (sorry Cassie!). Next, we planned a backup trip to Voyageurs, Teddy Roosevelt, Devil's Tower, etc. After researching the ever changing state by state requirements for camping, reservations, National Parks closing visitors centers and campgrounds, we decided to keep it simple and stay in our home state. This meant revisiting a couple of previous trips and spending close to 2 weeks in the U.P.

The plan is to do a loop, hitting some familiar spots with a much older Jordan. Last time we had her at Pictured Rocks she fit in a backpack. This time she is nearly 13 and has not stopped talking since about February. We intend to do some hiking/exploring in and around Pictured Rocks, head up to Copper Harbor, then to the Porkies, then Escanaba area & back down south toward home.

Our rig setup is essentially unchanged from years past, with a fresh set of ball joints on the Big Truck and still missing the passenger side rear hubcap, which was liberated last year somewhere on the east coast.

In contrast to previous trips, we only have 4 destinations, allowing for 3-4 day stays in each locale. Because of this we didn't have an 18 hour, 1,000 mile day (Kimberly's personal favorite) planned for day 1, but rather a reasonable 5-6 hour drive to camp just outside the Seney Wildlife Refuge.

Since we had a very manageable day lined up, we decided to stop for lunch at a place recommended by our buddy Nate from Tripelroot, purveyors of the finest brews in the land. The recommendation? Paddle Hard Brewing in Grayling, MI.

This place was cool, the loaded mac & cheese was money, and we snagged a few stickers for the collection. Growler fills never hurt either.  As we left, we had to jumpstart the Big Truck for the 2nd time that day. Not a great omen for the start of the trip. At home, we had it plugged into power, so never really had to run it off the van battery. A quick trip to the local NAPA & $150 later we were in business. Well, kind of. As a rule, no repair to a vehicle can go smoothly. See if you can follow this short, two act play.

Act 1:

Act 2:

Until I hit a large enough bump for the handle to arc to the underside of the hood, this is an acceptable mid-flight repair.

Back on the road, we beelined for the UP.  Our destination was Big Cedar Campground, something easy to reserve and within striking distance of the first come first serve campgrounds in Munising the next morning.

Crossing the Big Mac is always a treat with this setup, and this time was no different. The backup was only about 20 minutes, and paying $14 to cross the bridge has stopped seeming absurd after how many times we've done it. It did, however, prompt Kimberly to wonder what the overall revenue of the bridge toll charges is. A quick search of the Mackinac Bridge traffic stats shows 4.7M vehicles crossed the bridge in 2019, so a conservative estimate of $5 per vehicle puts the number at $23.5M in toll revenue. Crazy talk.

Fast forward to our arrival at Big Cedar. No one in the campground office, and when we found our site, we thought someone else was on it. Nope. As it turns out, someone I used to work with (Hi Greg Leenstra!) was camping 2 sites over, recognized the Jeep and my incredulous voice at how someone must be on our site, and strolled over to let us know that this was in fact site 19, it just happened to be about 11 feet wide. As we were backing in, someone from the campground staff told us to move EVEN CLOSER to the left as we were apparently cramping site 18's style. The end result? Kimberly is showing the entire usable width of the site. This will hereby be the last excursion we make to Big Cedar.

After watching other campers come flying into their sites in their pimped out Can Am X3s (thank you for blaring Kid Rock's Hillbilly Stomp just to confirm your authenticity), we wandered down to the banks of the Manistique River along the back of the campground. Plenty of 'root beer' water as Jordan describes it up here.

From there, since we didn't want to hang out at our 7 square foot site, we decided to head to Seney to do the scenic drive. Let's just say it did not disappoint.

After cruising a couple of miles back to the campground, I had to scramble to put the top up on the Jeep and move a few things inside due to a 30% chance of rain. We caught up with Greg & his family (still crazy to have a former co-worker 2 sites away in a tiny campground 6 hours from home in the middle of absolute nowhere), then called it a night.

Tomorrow - chancing it on a site in Munising for the next 4 days, then exploration of Pictured Rocks.