Upper Peninsula, Michigan

We crossed the Mackinac Bridge (pronounced Mackinaw) from the lower to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in late July 2021. This bridge is much larger than most suspension bridges beating the famous San Francisco suspension bridge in length. Making it the largest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere. 

(Mackinac Bridge, between the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan)

The U.P. is rustic backwoods living. Many of the roads being unpaved and populated with side by side off road vehicles. Alice was a bit out of place on the hours long dirt road trips north to whitefish point and the mouth of the two hearted river, but out of place or not she got many "thumbs ups" from passing drivers and made the trip without issue. 

(dirt roads of the U.P.)

Whitefish point is at the top of whitefish bay, about 15 miles from the Edmund Fitzgerald wreck. We found an amazing little eatery that serves the days fresh caught bounty of Pike breaded and fried to perfection. As we sat and enjoyed our tender fried flaky whitefish, the restaurant totaling about 10 tables ran out of fish for the day and closed and locked the door placing a sign on the window that read "sorry, sold out of fish." The reverse side of the sign read "late boat, come back shortly". This place meant business. We were impressed and completely blown away at how amazing the whitefish sandwich we had just finished was. Coming from a fishy family background this place was certainly top notch and done right. 

(Edmund Fitzgerald monument)

(Brown fisheries The Fish House)

(the view as you walk inside)

(diningtoom seating area)

(Fresh caught fried Pike (whitefish))

With our bellies full and rocks and minerals in our future we made our way to the mouth of the Two Hearted River. The beach here was littered with the most colorful stones. We spent a couple hours soaking up the sun sitting on the beach digging through the rocks filling our pockets with ones we fancied. The drive to this beach was long very bumpy dirt roads for a couple hours. Due to the road conditions and there being no easy route, this beach was not completely picked over and loaded with colorful stones. By far the best rock picking we came across in our travels. 

(the mouth of the Two Hearted River)

(the mouth of the Two Hearted River)

(Michelle picking rocks on Lake Superior)

We stopped at several more beaches along the north coast of the upper peninsula before heading south from Grand Marias to another skoolie meetup for a full week on the southern coast of the upper peninsula. At the meet up we played games, had potlucks, learned how to make the U.P. famous "pasties" a flaky dough stuffed with meat, taters and other veggies, and met many other like minded nomadic folks living a similar lifestyle to ours. 

(Skoolie UP 2022; 137 rigs attended in total)

The Upper Peninsula is famous for it's handmade fudge as well. Needless to say it is famous for a reason. 

(Original Murdicks Fudge)

Before leaving the Upper Peninsula we were told of an amazing "Florida like" natural spring that is a must see. So, of course we had to check it out. The spring is called "Kitch-iti-kipi" and boy is it beautiful. Water crystal clear and more than 30 ft deep. The cable driven raft offers a one of a kind view of the spring and fish below. Being the wait for the raft is much longer than the raft ride (20 mins) itself we opted to take some photos of those who had already waited in the 3+hour line. Notice the fish below the raft full of folks.

(cable driven raft full of spectators at Kitch-iti-kipi spring)

So even though we didn't go all the way up to copper point on the Upper Peninsula, we did cover a great portion of the area. Getting to endulge in the famous dishes, breathtaking beaches and views of Lake Superior. The Upper Peninsula is certainly a place to add to your bucket list if it isn't already on there. 

Thanks for tuning in.