Terry and Kathy Living Our Dream: Tahquamenon Falls Area & Soo Locks

We left Indian River, Michigan on Sunday August 30^th saying good-bye to the Trolls on the Lower Peninsula making our way to Kritters North Country Campground in Newberry, Michigan. We stopped for fuel in Mackinaw City and boy were we shocked to see a full service fuel station. They pumped your fuel and cleaned the windshield. We can’t remember the last time we pulled into this type of fuel station.

After crossing the Mackinaw Bridge we decided to take the scenic route by traveling on US Route 2. The next 80 miles we were enjoying the shoreline of Lake Michigan and watching those folks brave enough to charge into the cold water.

Our first day out was to Tahquamenon Falls State Park. As we were walking along the trail to the Upper Falls we met a couple from Lafayette, LA. They were very easy to spot because of the Ragin Cajun attire they were sporting. After a short visit with the Cajuns we decided to take the nature trail back to the parking lot instead of the paved walkway. Working on being aware of my surroundings, enjoying the peacefulness the woods have to offer an unexpected circumstance presented itself. Terry stopped suddenly in his tracks and yells “bear” and scared the dickens out of me. The thought of seeing one had already crossed my mind so I was already on the lookout. Once my heart finished pounding only then could I laugh at myself with him. We made it to our vehicle and drove four miles downstream to see the Lower Falls. Although they are not as large as the Upper Falls it is just as beautiful.

Anxious to see Lake Superior we drove twenty miles north to Whitefish Point- one of those “ end-of-the-earth” type places which is the east end of a 50-mile stretch known as the “Graveyard of the Great Lakes". More than 150 vessels are known to have sunk in the graveyard. The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last one to sink in 1975. The beach along the lake is pretty rocky with few sandy spots, one of those being around the boardwalk which can be met with a lot of people. We really wanted the feeling of solitude so we started walking toward the tip of the point where there were very few people at all.

The following day we drove up to Sault Ste Marie to watch the Great Lakes freighters pass through the “Soo Locks.” The Soo Locks were absolutely fascinating. There is a 21 foot difference in the water levels. The water is raised or lowered at a rate slightly over one foot per minute.

Our stay in Newberry was not only about the places we saw, it was also about the new friends we made. We met Mike and Jane Ross from Kitty Hawk, NC. Mike had lived in Lake Charles and still visits his relatives there. What is the old saying “it’s a small world”? We also met Ron & Kay Servies from Knoxville, TN and learned we had the same travel plans for Labor Day weekend. We were both heading to Wandering Wheels Campground in Munising, MI.

Newberry is The Official Moose Capital of Michigan even though sightings are very rare. This part of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is home to a free-ranging moose herd. We looked for them but did not see any.

Tahquamenon Upper Falls- the amber color of the water is the tannic acid produced by decaying vegetation from swamps the river drains.

The Upper Falls has a drop of nearly 50 feet, is over 200 feet wide and can push a maximum flow of more than 50,000 gallons of water per second over the edge.

We should have reverence for God and what he has created and find comfort in enjoying the beauty of his creations.

Tahquamenon River winds for about 70 miles then empties into Lake Superior

One of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi

Lower Falls - a series of five small falls flowing around an island.

Whitefish Point Light Station 1849

Her overall length was 729 feet and is the largest ship to have sunk in the area known as the Graveyard of the Great Lakes.

As we read the names of the crew it became so real that these men were not just the crew but they were fathers, they were brothers, they were sons, they were husbands. They all had families just like us. On that November day twenty-nine families mourned the loss of a loved one.