Tahquamenon falls
We have had such an amazing trip so far in the upper peninsula of Michigan! We took a long weekend trip for our third anniversary, which is today! We left this morning for our 6.5 hour trip up to Paradise, Michigan. It's so pretty up here - so untouched by society. You drive for miles and only see forests and ponds and nature. It's gorgeous. Our hotel is amazing though - we are so excited about our room which is a king bed suite with a balcony overlooking Lake Superior. As I'm laying here typing while Brett is sleeping, I'm listening to the waves outside. Ah, I love it up here.
We got into town this morning, checked in and immediately headed out to Tahquamenon Falls State Park. We first visited the Upper Falls, which is the giant waterfall. The Upper Falls is one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi. It drops nearly 50 feet and is more than 200 feet across. It was so pretty and well worth the little hike! Because the falls are located in a wetland that is so abundant in cedar, spruce and hemlock trees, the river's water turns a brownish color. It's the largest naturally dyed waterfall in the United States!
We hiked down to the water to see a different view of the Upper Falls and walked down this cedar staircase that smelled so amazing. The entire U.P. is just a breath of fresh air! It had rained for a few minutes before we got to the falls though and it was so hot and muggy. We were drenched from the humidity! My hair ended up being a curly disaster!
After viewing the Upper Falls, we toured their cute little gift shop and ate dinner at Tahquamenon Falls Brewery and Pub. I got a burger and Brett ordered pasta primavera. Yum! It was so good. I love eating at local places in different cities. It's one of my favorite things about traveling. After eating, we headed down to the Lower Falls, which ended up being our favorite. We rented a boat for $8 and rowed over to the island to where there are a series of five waterfalls. You could take off your shoes and walk through the mini waterfalls!
Walking out into the river was amazing! The water was so warm and it was just awesome to see the waterfalls flow between your feet! It was so slippery and you had to be really careful, but there were tons of people out there swimming in the waterfalls. It was amazing! The Lower Falls were definitely our favorite. After wading around, we walked through the trails and back to our boat. We drove back home to the hotel, got ice-cream at the local shop by our hotel and went swimming in the pool. We're off to explore the Lake Superior coast tomorrow! Shipwreck museums, abandoned hidden lighthouses and our first glimpse at the Pictured Rocks lakeshore! Plus, we might get to hold a baby bear at the bear ranch we're visiting!
