Michigan State Parks GeoTour 2: Upper Peninsula Adventure 1

TaGeez and I are in the UP on an adventure! We LOVE the Michigan State Park caches, and we needed some personal time away. We drove up to Mackinaw City (where we grabbed our first park cache) and then targeted caches from St Ignace to Ironwood on our first full day!

MSPGT2-NL: Straits State Harbor GCAPW4B

Surprise! Surprise! This cache is a half mile from our motel. Lovely walk out here as the sun was setting. Steve, me, and a million bugs! At least it was a quick find!

And then off to downtown for Joanne's Fudge! YUM! It's so quiet on a Thursday night and end of season. The views of the bridge were enchanting. That's the only word for it.

MSPGT2-UP: Hog Island SFCG GCAPW36

After a restful night, we crossed over the Mighty Mac while it was still dark - so cool and no traffic! What a lovely drive to this first cache. 

The fog was both surreal and scary - we were affected by it several times today. However, things cleared as we approached the cache, and we enjoyed taking pictures on the beach afterwards.

Hog cache!

Tracker is loving the beach!

Bay Furnace Ruins Virtual (GCAPW34)

Next, we headed northwest to Miss Good Stitch Quilt shop in Munising - she was quite the character with many great custom printed panels. Look at this one we picked up!

We wanted a cache to mark this detour when we spied this virtual.

This is my favorite type of virtual! Fascinating history! Abandoned structure! Lost town! Amazing bay view! Most definitely a ❤️ Fave point here!

MSPGT2-UP: Cedar River North SFCG GCAPW34

After stopping at another quilt shop in Escanaba, we made our way along the coast to this cache. The sky and water along Lake Michigan are an amazing blue, and the temps are perfect!

It probably took us longer to drive into the park than to find the cache. Now we are heading north towards Ironwood.

Artois (GC31YTW)

After grabbing 2 state park caches in the southern half of the UP, we turned towards Ironwood with a stop at Jerri’s Quilt Shop near Norway. (Great shop, by the way! Amazing fabric bundles at great prices). 

We left the shop and headed North, but it wasn’t long before we were screeching to a halt!

A ROADSIDE ARTESIAN WELL!

Love them! And, surprisingly, we had actually packed a thermometer! It was fun watching Steve balancing on the wet rock for a reading! The older couple filling their bottles must’ve thought we lost our minds! 

We both took a taste, and then we posed for pics!

Fave point for a fun experience! ❤️ This has been a great drive around the U.P., and I feel so much at peace even if we are listening to a murder mystery audio along these country roads!

Bond Falls Boardwalk (GCAWQJX)

Midway through our trip - we left the artesian well in Norway and enjoyed lunch at Carlos Cantina in Iron Mountain (that was a nice surprise!). We posed for pictures at the Welcome to Wisconsin sign and continued onto Ironwood when we realized how close to Bond Falls we were! 

My favorite waterfall in Michigan! Detour!

We had a lovely time exploring. This time of year and time of day, it was really quiet, and we practically had the place to ourselves. We enjoyed this cache and tried to enjoy the park as long as we could.

MSPGT2-UP: Iron Belle Trail GCAPW38

Ironwood is our last stop of the day. We thought we got here early enough before sunset, but the incoming storm darkened the skies earlier than expected.  Luckily, this was a quick find located between parallel trails.

Funny thing is, earlier this week I had posted on FB the announcement that the Iron Belle Trail finally reached Belle Isle (which is practically at my front door!) 2,000 miles completed!

World's Largest Stormy Kromer Hat (GC5AA9V)

I’m glad to finally make it here. I love giant roadside objects (I had WAY too much fun in Casey, IL last year!). Plus, I bought TaGeez a Stormy Kromer hat last year! 

World's Largest Calumet (GCB5F6)

Calumet = Peace Pipe

This is our last stop for the day. I’ve wanted this Virtual for years, but Ironwood isn’t exactly convenient from Detroit. We didn't linger - the storm is coming. One more roadside attraction off our list!

Tomorrow is another day of adventure from Ironwood to Marquette!

Feb 2023 - Snowies in Rudyard

 

February found ShelleyJean and I flocked to the Upper Peninsula because we heard the Snowies were in town!

The snowy owl, also known as the polar owl, the white owl and the Arctic owl, is a large, white owl of the true owl family. Snowy owls are native to the Arctic regions of both North America and the Palearctic, breeding mostly on the tundra. Wikipedia

And they will Winter in Michigan! Bags packed for the weekend, we headed to Rudyard, Michigan, the "Snowy Owl Capital".

Our first Snowy!

Lucky for us, ShelleyJean has done her research. They like high places and farm equipment and we quickly found our first one on South Centerline Road. So beautiful, but also so hard to photograph the white on white. 

We pulled off the side of the road, behind other idling cars. Rolling down the windows to take photos into the wind with the ice pellets stinging our fingers. What fun!

Rudyard had just hung new Snowy Owl signs on all roads leading into town. We stopped and snapped pics at each one. The snow was so deep and so cold!

We were also lucky on South Hantz Road, too. Anytime we saw cars pulled off the road we pulled out our binoculars to catch a glimpse of those amazing eyes. Our cameras were not completely up to task, but, even blurry, the owls are still beautiful!

Finally, time was up in Rudyard so we headed to Whitefish Point. This was a sweet little park roadside. Again, no camera was able to capture this stunning landscape. 

Whitefish Point was deserted and almost snowbound. The snow was too deep for the Adventure Labs and birding so we'll have to come back another time. Sitting on the boardwalk, looking out at Lake Superior, your heart goes out to the poor sailors who lost their lives in these brutal waters. 

Time to head home, but Mackinaw City has new Adventure Labs so we detoured there for pasties and smilies. So much fun taking pictures at the Mighty Mac! I've never been here in Winter. 

ShelleyJean

Such a memorable experience, and I don't think we appreciate Michigan enough in the snow. 

Our bird count for the weekend 

12 Hawks

30 Turkeys

1 Deer

2 Eagles

7 Snowy Owls!

Pure Michigan Color Tour

Roadtrip!

TaGeez and I on the road in upper, lower Michigan for the Fall color tour last week! Weatherman forecasted overcast skies, but any day on the road is a good day!

First stop is Ogemaw County. Nothing like a rural cemetery off of an old logging road to get the heart racing! This was the last county TaGeez needed to color in his lower Michigan map. 

MLT Omegaw Springs GC4DW0X

Afterwards, the skies the limit! Over these two days, we aim to hit the Autumn hot spots along Lake Michigan including Traverse City, Charlevoix, Petoskey, and Mackinaw City. With no commitments in sight, we took many scenic routes which meant crossing paths with more rural cemeteries and horse pastures.

Excelsior Township Cemetery GC3WXQV

The colors are golden and rust and blaze orange. Even with today's technology, we couldn't capture the Fall palette so we decided to sit back and enjoy the view. Lovely drive from I-75 to Traverse City and up the Old Mission Peninsula. 

No trip to the area is complete without a stop downtown. TaGeez bought us Mooney's ice cream, and we tasted samples at Cherry Republic. If you get a chance, try their Smokey Cherry BBQ Dressing - we took their recommendation and made BBQ chicken tortillas with it. 

1. Bake out chicken breasts
2. Cool, shred, and add to a small crockpot
3. Dump in half the bottle and let simmer
4. Serve in lettuce wraps or small tortillas. Smoky and not overly sweet! Yum!

Still early afternoon, we headed towards Petoskey with a stopover in Charlevoix. I think the Fall colors are always most beautiful in cemeteries because it's so untouched. We parked our car and walked to the GZ with the last of the sunlight peaking through the trees. 

You know that perfect Fall sound... the one of leaves crunching under your feet? Yes, it was like that.

"Can't Take it With You" GC1JM9B

See nearby

We reached Petoskey and checked into the second worst hotel of our experIence. Room still not clean by 7pm. Room still not clean after the staff "finished the room". Broken TV. Rednecks shouting off the balcony. Everywhere else was booked. This is why we always travel with an oversized blanket in the car boot.

So, off the dinner. My brother, Jim, recommended the City Park Grill, site of one of Ernest Hemingway's summer haunts.

From the 1910s – 1920s, Ernest Hemingway made northern Michigan his summer home. The Annex was one of his favorite places where he would sit in the second seat from the end of the bar and write his ideas for short stories and books. The short story “Gentleman of the World” makes mention of the Annex.

Prohibition was established in Michigan in 1917. However, [Frank] Fotchtman [owner] did not abide by it and illegally served alcohol. He went as far as to build secret underground tunnels to the Cushman Hotel and the Grill Café to export alcohol. These tunnels are no longer in existence because of sewers and other city infrastructure, but the doors and openings are still visible.

Decorated for Halloween

Can you believe there's no cache at this historic restaurant or the Hemingway statue next door.

It's kinda funny. Normally on these trips we have so much to see that we don't truly take advantage of our hotel. On this trip, with no real agenda, we had planned to sleep in, but we were early up and out the door. There was nothing keeping us at this hotel. ((shudder))

With extra time on our hands, we decided to head out to MI-31 and Alanson for Earth Caches. Normally not a fan of EC's (lots of copy/paste Wikipedia entries and confusing verification questions, for my taste), it is International Earth Cache Day (weekend). 

Alanson Flowing Artesian Well GC1D6FW

We spied 3 Artesian Wells along MI-31, and two of them are Earth Caches! I LOVE Artesian wells! And the water here was so tasty! As we were visiting the first one, a local pulled up with 3 gallon jugs in hand because "it makes the best coffee"! And this sweetheart let us time her fill rate for the EC!

Oden's Flowing Artesian Well GC22YFD

Then we had decided, since we had time before meeting a friend, to grab some EC's in Petoskey. You can't go to Petoskey and NOT search for Petoskey stones! Even in 39 degree weather!

We had help from another local. He collects Petoskey stones and polishes them for resale. He told us the trick. You bring a 5 gallon bucket and fill it with water. Then you walk above the water line and dump it on the dry rocks. The distinctive markings of the Petoskey stone are most visible when wet, but other collectors tend to target those along the water line, overlooking the ones washed up higher on the shore. He also suggested we target dry rocks near bushes as people tend to avoid rocks not easily accessible. IT WORKED! We found five of them!

Petoskey Stone EC GC1VY4A

This site was a two-fer. The CO had another Earth Cache about a half mile down the coast, but he allows finders to perform the same tests here. How could we not?

The Sands of Little Traverse Bay EC GC1YH77

We passed the first of two Indian Missions as we headed away from the beach. Can you imagine this view of Lake Michigan on your doorstep?

Indian Mission

It's time! Next stop is the Charlevoix Apple Festival and our good friend, Sara (RomanTwins)! She and her husband were vending their fabulous wooden spoons. 

RomanTwins and Scrapcat

Aren't these beautiful? They feel as beautiful as they look. We bought these two and are shopping for more in their Etsy shop. Sara said they take little upkeep - they could be periodically treated with Mineral oil like you use on wooden cutting boards. We have started to purge our cheap spoon collection for a few quality pieces.

After a quick visit, Paul recommended King's Orchard (vending off the main street) where we bought the most delicious Honeycrisp apples and plain donuts. A festival on the bay, donuts and apples, and surrounded by trees bursting in color. It definitely added to the Autumn experience!

Can you see the whirligigs? I don't have an awesome picture, but we found out later a coworker of mine was vending in the next booth over.

Yes, we bought one. TaGeez did minimal damage (imagine 'bull in a China shop') walking up and down the aisles with this and sampling in Cherry Republic! This one whirls horizontally versus vertically. The designer's wife said he was inspired by the movie Twister (I've always wanted one of those whirligigs!).

We left Charlevoix and headed to the Tunnel of Trees. You'd think we'd have more pictures, but cameras aren't doing it justice and most of the ride was in other's taillights. So many others had the same idea. 

On a whim, we detoured down the South Lamkin Road. No idea this was here! It's a road that runs parallel to M-119 - lower down on the cliff  and level to Lake Michigan. It was so quiet and untouched and solitary - beautiful stately homes along curvy roads all to ourselves!

If you are caching in the area, St. Ignatios Historic Mission GC1H2J8 is a must-do! Off the beaten path, it's a historic church, Indian mission and cemetery right on Lake Michigan! 

St Ignatios Historic Mission GC1H2J8

To find the cache, you have to skirt the cemetery and follow a path to an overlook. Look at this view!

One more Indian cemetery further up the road (Corpse Village GCF895 hidden by "a pack of dead things") and then off to Mackinaw City.

Corpse Village GCF895

Dinner at the Keyhole Bar & Grill (featured that night in Food Network's "50 States of Seafood") and then one last Virtual and Earth Cache (in the cold and rain). Wanna guess what each one featured?

Mighty Mac Virtual GC7B89P

The Mighty Mackinac Bridge

Straits of Mackinac EC GC19GN2

The weekend may've been overcast and ended in rain, but the colors & adventure still warmed the soul. Hopefully this will assuage the road trip urges enough to get us through the Winter.