Michigan State Parks GeoTour 2: Upper Peninsula Adventure 4

It's amazing how time flies!

TaGeez and I are on the last day of our Michigan State Parks Upper Peninsula GeoTour. We started our day in Sault Ste Marie and am heading towards home. 4 days of fabulous weather and happy memories!

MSPGT2-UP: Brimley State Park GCAPW31

First cache of the day, and I love it when you can see the dew glistening on the grass.

The volunteer at the ranger station said she watched other caches jump down the embankment and cross the little creek for the cache. We decided to mosey around the corner from the station and take the easy way in. 

MSPGT2-UP: Straits State Park GCAPW3N

Last of the UP GeoTour caches! We finished our region! 

Although we passed this crossing over the Mighty Mac, we didn’t grab this that first day because we crossed in the dark. If I had any regrets from the last geotour, we didn't spend enough time here to enjoy the views so we saved this for last.

What a fun way to end this tour. Container is already showing some wear, but it did make us chuckle… and crave S’Mores! 

Now off to the scenic overlook! 

[SIGH] Now to turn towards home. Always sad to cross back over this bridge.

Follow-up note: deep respect to the hider. They reached out to us, asking for more details on the wear of the container. What a class act!

MSPGT2-NL: Pigeon River Country State Forest GCAPW47

“Hello, dirt road, my old friend.

We’ve come to bounce on you again”

[TaGeez singing this to the music of the Sound of Silence]

This was a pleasant detour from the freeway to the cache, even if our windows are painted in sand!

Nice work on the pole! We saw several of these on the last tour, but this was a first for us this time. 

Afterwards, we headed down to the lake for the view before heading to the quilt shop and lunch in Gaylord! This day is going too fast!

MSPGT2-NL: Hartwick Pines State Park GCAPW3Y

Last cache of this adventure and what a place to end it! LOVE the old growth forest at Hartwick Pines! Sad to see Visitor Center is closed for renovations, but we enjoyed the hunt for this cache.

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Michigan State Parks GeoTour 

Upper Peninsula Edition [GT4F8]

We spent 4 Pure Michigan days traveling 1,727 miles to grab a total of 25 caches, 18 from the GeoTour. The skies were blue and the 3 Great Lakes even bluer! Contrast that to sandy roads and changing leaves - pure joy! We can't wait to grab the remaining 10 tour caches we need!

Michigan State Parks GeoTour 2: Upper Peninsula Adventure 2

 TaGeez and I are on our 2nd day of our UP adventure and working our way from Ironwood to Marquette. The weather is Pure Michigan beautiful, skies are Michigan blue, and the roads & parks empty.

MSPGT2-UP: Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park GCAPW3M

First stop of the day. What an odd location? Is it abandoned? We took the long way in, and the mosquitoes are out. 

Afterwards we pulled off the road across the street and communed with Lake Superior.

MSPGT2-UP: Twin Lakes State Park GCAPW3Q & Twin Lakes Contact Station GC4F7NX

This was a lovely drive along Lake Superior to get here. Honestly, I don’t understand why this spot was selected, but we are game. Beep! Beep! Quick find!

After grabbing the GeoTour cache nearby, we detoured here for this highly favorites cache. Quick find, and we drained the water.

MSPGT2-UP: McClain State Park GCAPW3F

❤️ This was my favorite state park cache today. Lovely walk in a pretty lakeside park to the cache. We appreciated the container, and then, afterwards, we stopped to enjoy the view.

MSPGT2-UP: Michigan Iron Industry Museum GCAPW3H

After stopping at 2 nearby quilt shops, we made it to this cache. 

For some of the parks, we wonder why they were selected for these tours, but this one was interesting with the museum nearby (closed now) and the geology trail to the cache.

MSPGT2-UP: Little Presque Isle GCAPW3D

Last state park of the day. If we did this again, we would park across the street & walk in. We went the wrong way on Song Bird Trail and did more bushwhacking than we would’ve liked. Afterwards, we went off to explore the Presque Isle parks more.

👻 My Happy Place - Presque Isle GCAJGWM

After a rather long day, I was a bit cranky at this point, but I wanted to see why my niece loved this park so much. Truly is a lovely place to see - the ore dock, the lighthouse, and the view right here!

Afterwards, it was time to eat! Per my niece, who is brilliant, recommended the Iron Bay Restaurant & Drinkery. Ok, 1.5 hour wait for a table or immediate seating in a fun bar? Woot! 

And have you ever had Superior Whitefish Tater Tots? SO FLIPPING DELICIOUS!

And, we know the rule... after every 5 or so quilt shops, Steve gets a distillery! In Marquette, that would be The Honorable Distillery! Which, although in a cute downtown, was up a very steep hill from the Drinkery! But what a view!

This is Steve's idea of a souvenir!

Tomorrow's adventure is from Marquette to Sault Ste Marie - along Lake Superior - and down some very interesting back roads!