Tuesday, June 17, 2014

67 degrees this morning and drizzly.  Heavy rain last night, so we had to "batten down the hatches".

Through nice countryside this morning; farms and forests with a few homesteads.  We saw a few deer and wild turkey.  

Very heavy rain for a half hour or so and then lessens to a steady misty drizzle.

We stop around the town of Wolverine and ask about the elk herds in the area and are told we can save gas and go on by because they are only seen very early morning or late evening and we are near noon.  

We go back across the Mackinac Bridge in very heavy fog and are greated by a  Welcome to the Upper Peninsula sign.

People who live here are referred to as Yoopers (which we are told is now in the dictionary) and frequently end their sentences with "eh". According to some folks, Upper Peninsula and lower Michigan are like two separate states and indeed there are movements from time to time to create a new state called Superior from the UP.

We head north up to Whitefish Point and the Shipwreck Museum.  No, the picture isn't out of focus, just heavy fog!

Whitefish Point Lighthouse

This area of Superior has had more than its share of wrecks and is known as the Graveyard of the Great Lakes.

Many, like the Edmund Fitzgerald happened in stormy Novembers, and several from collisions of ships before there was radar and radios or even in the early 1800's before lighthouses. The first lighthouse was built in 1849 and used sperm whale oil to light the light.   Most lost ships were carrying iron ore. There are stories of various wrecks with recovered artifacts and displays about exploration and salvaging of wrecks.

There is a film about the Edmund Fitzgerald, which went down with 29 men in November of 1975 during its 40th voyage.  The bell was removed from the sunken wreck in 1995 and placed here as a memorial,

while replaced at the wreck site with a similar bell engraved with the names of those lost. This seems to be the last wreck of note.

There is also a display about the US Lifesaving Service, which eventually joined  with the US Coast Guard in 1916.

The mosquitos at Whitefish Point were horrible - you know it's bad when the visitor's center has a fan pointed at the entry door and most of the attendants are carrying zapping rackets similar to ours.

We stop and walk the trails at Tahquamenon (rhymes with phenomenon) Falls and Gorge, upper and lower falls.

 When Greg comments to someone about "another" waterfalls, he responds "Yes, they are all the same but each one is unique."  There are actually five smaller falls here - very pretty even in today's weather!

We stop at a McDonald's in the small town of Newberry and ask if we can boondock there, since they have a fairly large unpaved lot behind the store.  We are told, "No problem", so this is our home for tonight and we take advantage of their facilities and wi-fi.