Pictured Rocks in the Upper Penninsula

Labor Day Weekend ended up being our last foreseeable chance to venture North into the U.P. We decided that a weekend up there was necessary as part of our well rounded Michigan experience. Saturday was spent driving up and exploring Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior.

Enjoy the unintended commentary between Garon and my mom during this video below:

To get there you must cross over the ever long Mackinac Bridge. This bridge separates Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Both are insanely blue and very cold. I have tested enough lake water temperatures to determine that there are no warm lakes in Michigan.

Once over the bridge and into Northern territory (we had a lot of fun saying North as much as possible) we noticed the change in trees. Gone were the majority of the deciduous trees, with many species of fir trees to replace them.

Munising Falls was our first stop once next to Lake Superior. A short walk through a wooded area with a small stream brought us to the base of the falls. The entire walk reminded me immensely of Muir Woods in California.

Miner's Falls was at the end of a bit longer hike into the woods. But what beautiful woods they are! Maddie wasn't having it with all the stairs at the falls lookout, so Garon ventured down alone to the base of the falls. He said it was incredibly beautiful, yet eerie due to several animal spines lying in a pile off to the side. He said something was definitely bringing their dinner up there for a view with their meal. Yikes.

Miners Castle overlook offered some pretty epic views of the bluest water I think I've ever seen in person. We would have loved to be able to kayak along the shoreline. Can you imagine Maddie in the kayak with us? No? Haha me either.

We visited Sand Beach along Lake Superior so I could really freeze my toes. The water was a perfect crystal blue and not too cold actually. I found myself walking barefoot in the small waves.

Garon went searching for rocks and Maddie made sure to stay a safe distance from the water. There were plenty of uprooted and weathered trees, some in the water and some in the sand on the shore. Also worth mentioning is the sand was slightly purple shaded in areas. I wonder why.

By the time we left Pictured Rocks, Maddie and I were ready to relax, but Garon had other plans. We went to a spot along the Fox River for him to do a little fly fishing. While he was occupied, I found a few wildflowers to photograph, naturally.

The sun was setting and the air was cooling rapidly. Garon returned from the river with purple flowers for me in his hand. He always finds a way to thank me for giving him the time to fish.

It was getting dark, so back to St. Ignace for the night, where we could have seen the Northern Lights had we been awake at the right time. Still kicking myself for that one.

Next up: Mackinac Island!