Last Saturday morning my
friend, Jan, and I set out for a wonderful winter weekend in Michigan’s Upper
Peninsula. The weather was great for driving – clear and relatively mild
temperatures – but we knew the snow was coming the farther north we went. We
were happy to find plenty of snow after crossing the Mackinac Bridge.
Thankfully the driving
conditions were still pretty good as we headed for Tahquamenon Falls, one of my
favorite places to visit in the U.P. We never got lost and only made one wrong
turn, although it was a pretty significant wrong turn!
The sign for the Upper
Falls was right next to a narrow road, so we turned right to go down the road.
It seemed awfully narrow and twisted around after we went down a small hill; we
quickly figured out it wasn’t the right way … as my tires started spinning. Jan
got out of the car to check – yes, we were definitely stuck. Just then a group
of snowmobilers pulled up and asked why we were driving down a snowmobile
trail!! They graciously pushed us
back up the hill and directed us to the correct turn for the Upper Falls (a much
wider, plowed road!).
(In retrospect, the signs facing the other direction should have provided a clue that we weren't supposed to drive down this "road.")
We enjoyed a delicious
late lunch of (fresh) fish and chips at the Upper Falls restaurant. The
restaurant was packed with diners; apparently Tahquamenon Falls is a busy place
all year long.
After our lunch we hiked
to the falls. What a spectacular sight! The fresh-fallen snow on the trees, the
ice formations, and the majestic water continuing to rush down – definitely the
highlight of the day.
After our visit to the
falls we drove west to Newberry where we enjoyed the hot tub at the Comfort
Inn, knowing we would be much colder the following night.
