A first trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
Kitch iti kipi
Voted most unusual vacation memory is our detour to Kitch iti kipi near Manistique. Our long drive from St Ignace to Ontonagon needed a little flair and so we decided to take a slight detour to chase after something I got intrigued with when I found a video of it online while doing vacation research. Kitch iti kipi is a 40 foot deep pond with a freshwater spring that pours 10,000 gallons/minute into its depths. Normally this wouldn’t really catch my attention, but something about this pond out in the middle of nowhere with a glass bottomed raft that people flock to to get a glimpse of the world below their feet grasped my attention. So, we detoured. We found Palms Brook State Park, we parked in the rather large parking lot, we found the line, stood in it for about 30 minutes and admired the unreal looking blue green cast of the pond as we watched the glass bottomed boat crawl along the cable across the water. I’m not going to lie, I think we were both wondering if this was worth our detour, but once there it was hard to walk away.
Soon it was our turn and we found a spot on the boat. The first thing you notice is that you can see all the way down to the bottom of the pond. It seems unlikely that you are looking 40’ down, but then that’s what you are told so you simply embrace it. As the boat takes its time crawling along the cable you see very large trout swimming in a world of swirling sand and gushing water and felled trees. It looks peaceful when seeing it from above and I can’t help but wonder if it is really as tranquil from the trout’s point of view. I have to say I had a moment of existential thought while out on this little raft, viewing someone else’s world from above while they had absolutely no idea of our existence or our observation of them. What if we are being observed from above, our chaos and angst being passively observed as simple upended patterns of beauty? I felt as if at this moment I could possibly be both the observer and the observed.
I could have gone down that rabbit hole of thought, but our 1 mph cruise was nearing its end. A stranger took what ended up being one of the best pictures of us from the whole vacation and we took one last glance at the other world as we stepped back onto land.
It’s hard to say if I would recommend this attraction or not. Since it was so unusual I will probably remember it more than some of the other things we did on this trip. It was intriguing, it was unusual, it was unique. Surely if you find yourself in the Manistique area you should consider it, but I don’t know if I would suggest you go out of your way to go there. Word to the wise though, if you do happen to go, make sure to find that stranger who is willing to snap that picture of you. That blue/green water background is stunning!
Porcupine Mountains
10 hours away from my home in Northwest Ohio is Ontonagon MI, the gateway to the Porcupine Mountains, a mountain range I had never even heard of before I started researching for this trip. Maybe it’s because of this, maybe it’s because it has a lake in it with the romantic name, Lake of the Clouds, maybe because the majority of it sits high above Lake Superior, the only Great Lake I had never been to, I was drawn to going to this remote part of the UP. When looking on the map I am struck by how this part of the UP doesn’t even look like it would be a part of MI since it sits over the top of WIsconsin. People up here seem more connected to Duluth and the Twin Cities and Northern Wisconsin than they do to Lansing or Detroit or even Traverse City. I checked into my humble little cabin along the edge of Lake Superior and felt very far from home indeed.
We filled our two days in the Porkies with things like beach fires in the sand, charcoal grilling, gazing at the beautiful Lake of the Clouds, hiking along a cliff to get a glimpse of Lake Superior far far below and walking out onto the rocks of an expansive dry waterfall imagining the power of the absent water falling onto these rocky ledges and crevices. In the daylight we met two old women who told us in earnest about the many reasons they collect rocks. after the sunset we watched people walk the beach at night with special blue lights to find rocks containing sodalite that will glow yellow and orange in ultraviolet light. The porkies were nothing like home which made them all the more alluring. The Porcupine Mountains were worth the long drive and for me an essential part of a visit to the UP.
Keweenaw Penninsula
Our stay in the Keweenaw Peninsula was a study in contrasts. Our posh accommodations in The Vault Hotel in Houghton, (home of Michigan Tech University), were hip and luxurious. The Vault is a repurposed old bank building that wants to give you the illusion of money at every turn. Each of the rooms has a money related name and is decorated in a rich and opulent manner. Keys are given to you in old safety deposit box envelopes along with a pass to the speakeasy tucked away in the basement. I almost felt the need to get my flapper dress on and play the part while I was enjoying cocktails expertly mixed by our bartender.
Once out on the road up to Copper Harbor it was a different story though. Copper was mined, first by indigenous peoples thousands of years ago and then by pioneering profiteers when copper was again discovered by white settlers in 1840. A rush on copper produced towns that thrived during the last half of the 19th century into the first part of the 20th century. Although many adventurers flocked to the area to find fortune, few did. For a short period of time the Keweenaw Peninsula provided 90% of the nation's copper and exported copper to much of Europe. Supply was short lived though and most mines closed down by the end of World War 2. As a result, we passed through several towns that looked practically abandoned on our one hour drive from Houghton to Copper Harbor.
Tourism seems to be the main industry now for those few who decided to stay in this untamed part of Lake Superior. We spent our day in Copper Harbor playing the tourist. We drove the 9 ½ mile drive up Brockway Mountain to see incredible 360 degree views of Lake Superior and the Keweenaw Valley 720’ below us. We toured Fort Wilkins, an army base that the military built but only used for two years during the copper rush. We explored Hunter’s Point Park with a red rock beach, (yes, all rocks, no sand) and ended our day with a delicious meal and incredible lake view at Fitzgerald’s Restaurant in Eagle River.
Marquette and Munising
Just 43 miles separate Marquette and Munising making them practically one stop on a road trip.
Munising is home to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and is marketed heavily as THE destination in the Upper Peninsula. Maybe it was all that marketing, maybe it was the rough waters and wind during our boat tour or the angle of the sun in relation to the rocks during said boat tour, but I have to say, for the most part I was expecting more. Let me preface this by saying that all my research told me that the best way to see the rocks is by water, yet my most incredible photo of the day was one taken of a rock called Miner’s Castle from an overlook we drove to. And it was incredible. The highly anticipated boat tour was beautiful, but my guess is that there are other times of the year or day that those rocks show their vibrant colors in more stunning fashion.It has to be that it’s all about how the sun hits them. I’m still glad we saw them, I’m relieved the rough waters didn’t cause me to get seasick, (thank you to the kind woman in line who shared her dramamine with me!), I thoroughly enjoyed the cute used bookstore/cafe we had lunch in before our cruise and the bbq place tucked into a neighborhood just outside Marquette that we discovered on the way to our hotel post cruise.
Marquette at a population of 40,000 is the largest city in the UP. I have to say, despite a rainy day, I really loved Marquette. Our day exploring Marquette began with a drive to Presque Isle Park, Presque Isle sits on a round peninsula that affords some top rate views of Lake Superior. Due to rain in the forecast we didn’t see the whole park but did get the chance to explore the volcanic black rock formations that people braver than I are known to jump off of into the cold waters far below. On the day we were there the water was quite rough and the waves crashed dramatically on the rocks around us.
We could tell that rain was going to be moving in so we left the park and drove 10 minutes to the other outdoor attraction we didn’t want to miss. Sugarloaf Mountain, where after a short hike from the parking lot, 304 wooden steps awaited us. The view from the top, even on a cloudy day, was worth every step climbed. It was beautiful and it was also poignant. Perched on the highest point of the mountain a memorial to Bartlett King, a Boyscout leader and WW1 soldier who lost his life in France was erected by his boy scout troop in 1921. Boyscout troops throughout the generations have continued to take care of the monument and rebuilt it in 1950 when it was damaged beyond repair due to erosion.
Whitefish Point
Because it’s reputation precedes it, I was expecting something way less serene when we made our way up to Whitefish Point. Known as the Graveyard of the Great Lakes, it is the resting place of over 200 shipwrecks, including the Edmund Fitzgerald, which has ties to my own hometown of Toledo, Ohio. But I have to say that that walk on that beach was simply glorious. The late afternoon sun sparkled like diamonds on the small waves, It wrapped the driftwood and colorful rocks that waves haphazardly tossed onto the beach in a yellow-orange glow that was simply stunning. Strolling along all that beauty created by the chaos of storms long since past was, for me, almost a spiritual experience. There is beauty to be found, even in the most treacherous of places and on that afternoon, we had found it.
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the UP, is filled with a wild, backroads sort of beauty at practically every turn and worthy of a summer road trip. Driving to different towns along Lake Superior is like visiting numerous different lakes. The vibe of each stopping point so very different from the last. The peninsula touches three of the Great Lakes, is 84 percent covered by forests and only 3% of the population of Michigan resides here. If you are looking for a trip that is way more nature than people, look no further than the UP.