Tahquamenon River Vacation

After the wedding last weekend, I continued farther north to Paradise! 

Paradise, MI is on Whitefish Bay of Lake Superior, just north of where the Tahquamenon River flows into the lake.

 

Whitefish Bay at the Rivermouth

I went for an outdoor, camping getaway.  I stayed at Tahquamenon Falls State Park’s Rivermouth Semi-Modern Campground.  It is a beautiful campground, right along the Tahquamenon River.  I also liked the semi-modern aspect—that means it is a rustic campground with vault (pit) toilets and water faucets, but no electricity or paved pads.  It is right next to the modern campground, so I was just a short walk away from a modern bathhouse with showers, which is my big campground criteria.

I spent lots of time watching the river in different weather and at different times of day, whether there was bright sun or drizzling rain.  I also observed a beaver in the river and a number of different kinds of birds.  I think that was the first time I’d ever seen a beaver in the wild and it was pretty cool to watch it right across the river eating grass and bushes.

The real reason for Tahquamenon Falls State Park is, of course, the famous Tahquamenon Falls.  They really are a beautiful part of God’s creation!  There are the magnificent Upper Falls, which are some of the tallest falls east of the Mississippi River.  The river is the orange/brown color because of tannin that leaches into the water from Hemlock, Cedar, and Spruce trees in the area the river flows through. 

Although the Upper Falls are the more famous ones, I actually think that the Lower Falls are more interesting.  They are a set of five smaller falls cascading down around a small island.  There are trails along one side of the river, but the better way to see them is to rent a row boat and take it to the island.  From the island you can get close to the falls and even wade into them when it is warmer and the water is lower.  You can also see the falls that are on the opposite side of the island from the trail.

I also hiked between the falls.  The trail follows the river, sometimes high above the river and sometimes right alongside of it.  It is about a five mile hike, so I used a shuttle service to spot me to the beginning and hiked back to my car.

One day I also drove up to Whitefish Point, which extends up into Lake Superior.  The stretch of Lake Superior to the west of Whitefish Point (to the Pictured Rocks area) is one of the most dangerous areas of the Great Lakes.  There is a museum about the many shipwrecks in the area on the Point.  We went there when I was kid on family vacation, but somehow I was picturing the shipwrecks happening because of horrible storms and ships alone at sea.  Actually, many of the shipwrecks happened because of collisions with other ships.  I also found the additional buildings really interesting, especially a volunteer who does a lot of diving on shipwrecks.

 

All in all, it was a great vacation.  I was blessed to be able to get away, have some quiet, and enjoy the sunshine, rain, and outdoors.  I came back feeling much calmer and able to engage life.