A quick scan of the pantry revealed that we were getting low on grains. As Vermont-hippy-vegetarians, grains are of course a mainstay of our diet and we needed to find a natural food store to replenish. I googled it and found two natural food stores in the UP, the nearest an organic grocery in downtown Sault (pronounced Soo) Ste Marie, the other a coop in Marquette, a few days west. We’d gone back and forth on whether or not to visit The Soo, another post-industrial-turned-tourist city, but nevertheless we needed food and we set a course…
After a successful shopping expedition at the gratifyingly well-stocked organic food store, we got back into our rig which we’d parallel-parked on a city street. As we looked straight north out the windshield, right up the street we saw a huge ore freighter passing across our field of view about two blocks away right between the buildings, like it’d been on a cross street waiting for the light to change. We left the truck where it was and wandered the two blocks over to the locks to watch for a while. Locks are monstrous fun! They’re a simple, gravity-based solution to moving tons of boat up or down to get around rapids, or other non-navigable changes in rivers (or between lakes).
Could’ve watched them all day, but eventually we were hungry. While most of the tourists ventured toward downtown, we walked away (sound familiar?) from downtown, and happened into a farm-to-table type restaurant. Yeah, the restaurant chef and owner’s farm. And vineyard. I had a lifetime best tomato, artichoke and cheese sandwich while Doug had an epic mac and cheese. Love these serendipitous findings! Really, this isn’t like posting what you had for lunch on FB, this is different…
More Soo Locks photos…
Heading out of town on route 123, we rounded a corner and there it was! Great Lake Superior! The last one to explore! Ah, but Superior had to wait just a bit…
So many people had suggested a visit to Tahquamenon (rhymes with phenomenon) Falls, we decided to visit. The same change in elevation that causes the need for the Soo Locks causes the second largest waterfall east of the Mississippi (after Niagara). We camped near the Lower Tahquamenon Falls (there are actually five, altogether) and hiked to the Upper Falls. The 8-mile (round trip) hike along the Tahquamenon River was an absolute treat.
More Tahquamenon Falls photos…
Continuing west, we resumed following along the shore of Lake Superior in Grand Marais. Again, a simple drive-through turned into a fabulous lunch stop with a pleasant walk and another 210 photos. Further along the shore, we found ourselves in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. We cruised boardwalks, ventured onto sand dunes and saw many, many vistas of Lake Superior. Folks said the rocks and cliffs were absolutely gorgeous – from the lake…
Munising is at the west end of the Pictured Rocks National Seashore, serving as the tourism hub and the only marina with sightseeing boats. We arrived in town relatively late on a Friday afternoon and of course there were no open campsites at the local campgrounds, but an early morning boat cruise was available. Munising is also 4 miles from the Hiawatha National Forest. Remember that cozy boondocking spot we found the weekend before? Maybe we can find another…
Ha! The obvious and sanctioned distributed camping sites in the NF were all taken. We followed a forest service road, as described by a ranger, searching for a place to camp. This particular dirt road turned to double track which turned to an ORV trail. With no place to turn the 25-foot RV around, we could back out (2 miles!?), or go forward and hope a tow truck could find us if we needed help. (Yes, we had a 1-bar cell signal.) We went carefully forward, got off of the ORV trail unscathed, and as we emerged happened on a delightful place to camp, just off the side of a dirt road that would get us out to Munising in time for our cruise. All part of the adventure…
More boondocking photos…
The cruise was so worth the time and the fare! We spent 3 hours on Lake Superior on a gorgeous morning heading north then back south along absolutely beautiful cliffs and rock structures. The amazing colors and different features were due to the wide variety of minerals found in the rock structure and the different types of sandstone layers and the constant beating of the waves. About 627 photos later, we were hungry.
More Pictured Rocks cell phone photos… Official Pictured Rocks Cruises website with real photos…
The most famous local fare in the UP is a pastie, pronounced ‘pass-tee’ and not ‘paste-ee’ like the dancers’ garb. Pasties are self-contained pies, traditionally filled with meat, potatoes and a hint of veggies wrapped in a pie crust and shaped not unlike a bowler hat—sort of a mashup between a French-Canadian meat pie and a calzone. Anyway, a hole in the wall cafe in Munising was selling veggie pasties that afternoon so we got to enjoy this regional mainstay before venturing further west.
