Our crossing of the Mackinac Bridge went exactly according to plan. We got on the road early (for us at least) and were to the bridge just before 11AM. We crossed with virtually no wind, and it was completely uneventful. We came off the bridge into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula without much idea of what we wanted to do besides see the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, but we’d talked to a few people who said the Tahquamenon State Park was worth a stop. I remembered that we’d been told to follow state road 123, so as soon as we saw a sign for that road we looked at maps and figured out how to get there.
Tahquamenon State Park is definitely worth a stop, although between annoying state recreation area policies and the fact that the reports of how bad mosquitoes are in the UP is in no way an exaggeration, it probably won’t end up being one of our favorite parks. This state park is spread out over a large area of lake and riverfront in the northeast corner of the UP. It has a number of camping areas, as well as a number of visitor centers where you can stop to see key features of the park. The most annoying policy is that to drive into a state park or recreation area, you have to get either a day pass for the vehicle for $11, or an annual pass for $39. Michigan state covers a lot of parks, recreation areas, and forests, and all of them require the recreation pass. Because we figured we’d be spending a couple days at Tahquamenon, and stopping at other state forests and recreation areas, we got the annual pass. We got our money’s worth out of it before we left the state, but it still seems like the state might be overreaching a bit since many of the places where the pass is required are unmanned forest areas that really aren’t costing the state much. Also, it’s unlikely that anyone would be around to check that you have the pass when you enter those areas, but we like to follow the rules and, basically, like to support state recreation efforts, although in other states we feel like we’ve had better value with the state passes.
Anyway, we bought the recreation pass and booked at night at the virtually deserted campground. Maybe we should have figured out at that point that there was a good reason why the campground was deserted on a beautiful summer weekend. Instead, we just thought how nice the quiet was, and took the dogs out for a walk to see the Lower Falls, one of the main draws for the park. We weren’t 50 feet from the camper when we found ourselves swarmed by mosquitos. We went back to the camper and put on long sleeves and long pants, and decided to stick to the roads. They were better on the roads, but still bad, and when we got to the Lower Falls visitor center we bought an overpriced vial of citronella, which maybe helped a little for 10 minutes or so. Ultimately, we just walked fast and didn’t stop, and made it back to the camper where we spent the rest of the evening looking out through the mosquito covered screens. Happy we hadn’t booked more than one night, we took off in the morning for a stop at the Upper Falls in the park. That parking lot was wide open and the mosquitoes didn’t seem to be as bad in the morning, so we walked along the river and saw the falls before getting back in the truck to head for Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
Anyway, we bought the recreation pass and booked at night at the virtually deserted campground. Maybe we should have figured out at that point that there was a good reason why the campground was deserted on a beautiful summer weekend. Instead, we just thought how nice the quiet was, and took the dogs out for a walk to see the Lower Falls, one of the main draws for the park. We weren’t 50 feet from the camper when we found ourselves swarmed by mosquitos. We went back to the camper and put on long sleeves and long pants, and decided to stick to the roads. They were better on the roads, but still bad, and when we got to the Lower Falls visitor center we bought an overpriced vial of citronella, which maybe helped a little for 10 minutes or so. Ultimately, we just walked fast and didn’t stop, and made it back to the camper where we spent the rest of the evening looking out through the mosquito covered screens. Happy we hadn’t booked more than one night, we took off in the morning for a stop at the Upper Falls in the park. That parking lot was wide open and the mosquitoes didn’t seem to be as bad in the morning, so we walked along the river and saw the falls before getting back in the truck to head for Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
It’s possible our stress was cranked up a little higher because Tom had to get some work done on line, and the cell reception in Tahquamenon State Park wasn’t good enough to hotspot his computer to his phone. We headed towards Pictured Rocks with me watching the bars on the phone to see if we could get two or three bars, but it seemed that most of the UP had pretty dismal cell connection. We finally turned a corner in a small town where we had barely two bars, so we pulled into a restaurant/bar parking lot and Tom tried to hook up. It still wouldn’t work, and I had a sudden brainstorm that the bar might have wifi. Tom went in to ask, and they did, so we took ourselves and our devices in so Tom could get his work done and I wouldn’t have to cook lunch. Win win! We also met the home schooled children of one of the employees, and were happy that our list of capitals visited was helpful to their schoolwork. Their mom said they’re planning to RV around parts of the US and asked us where we would go first if we had kids, which was a question we had to think about for a while. We ended up giving her a few ideas, but since we needed to think more on it, we told her to contact us when they’re ready to go to talk more about it, and we’ll be waiting to hear from her.
Happy with finished work, full bellies, and the satisfaction of helping a couple of kids enjoy their schoolwork, we went on our way towards Pictured Rock National Lakeshore.
Happy with finished work, full bellies, and the satisfaction of helping a couple of kids enjoy their schoolwork, we went on our way towards Pictured Rock National Lakeshore.