Since I was just at Tahquamenon Falls in July, I thought I'd jump ahead on my journey journal and share my first trip there in 1975.
Journal of our Journeys
Many
weekend mornings throughout my childhood, we woke up early, and Mom packed us
and a picnic lunch into the car. With Dad at the wheel, we'd drive to Copper
Falls, Potato Falls, Saxon Harbor, and Ashland in Wisconsin. Just over the
border in Michigan, we'd go to Ironwood with its statue of the world's tallest
Indian, Black River Harbor, the Porcupine Mountains, and the Lake of the
Clouds. I am indeed blessed to have been raised within a three-hour drive of
all of these wonderful places.
We had camped at some of these places on
weekends before, but in 1975, we took a little more time and went a little
further north. All the way north, as a matter of fact, to the tip of the
peninsula.
The first night, however, was spent at
McLain State Park just outside of Hancock, Michigan. I don't know what it is
about this state park, but it has always held a fascination for me. I think
it's the amazing sunrises and breathtaking sunsets that you can view from the
beach or from your campsite if you're lucky enough to get a spot on the lake.
Even campsites that are not on Lake Superior (the sites Mom always picked) have
a view of the lake through the trees. And late in the evening, when all is
still, you can hear the water lapping at the shore.
A couple who Mom and Dad knew from church
set up their trailer at McLain for the entire summer, so it was nice to stop in
and visit them when we camped there. Mrs. Kleinfeldt even took her organ
camping with her – a real, though small organ, not one of the keyboards of the
late twentieth century. She would play hymns on it on Sunday mornings for the
rest of the campers.
From McLain State Park, it is just a hop,
skip, and jump to another State Park, Fort Wilkins. Fort Wilkins is a restored
19th-century military fort. Settlers in the area were afraid that trouble with
the local Indians might arise, so they wanted a military presence nearby. As it
turned out, there was no trouble with any Native Americans, and the base was
only in operation for a few years. The buildings, having been allowed to decay
over the years, have been painstakingly restored and tell a fascinating story
of a pioneer life where winters were frigid and the snow could reach the tops
of roofs.
Somewhere along the highway, along Lake
Superior, there was a small gift shop on a bluff above the water. The
proprietor sold pieces of driftwood with paintings of birds on them, rocks with
paintings of birds on them, and framed paintings of birds, along with lots of
polished stones from along the shore.
The building had a small tower. Up two
flights of stairs, there was a little windowed room with fantastic views of the
lake. Occasionally, an iron ore freighter could be seen slowly moving along the
horizon. Only five months later, one of those freighters, the Edmond
Fitzgerald, along with its 29-man crew, would succumb to the will of the Great
Lake during a November storm.
Further inland and to the east is another
state park, which hosts one of the largest waterfalls in the eastern United
States. The campground at Tahquamenon Falls is as nice as any of the state
parks in the UP; they all have modern amenities, such as flush toilets, hot
showers, and electrical hookups. However, instead, we stayed at a small,
private campground that we rated an "ugh" in the camping log.
We had a reason, though, for not staying
at the state park. We left the camper at Soo Junction, just north of the burg
of Newberry, and rode the Toonerville Trolley through the tranquil woods and
swamps to the Tahquamenon River. The small train rocked and rattled along its
narrow track for an hour or so.
Then, we boarded a riverboat, which took
us within walking distance of the waterfalls. It was an interesting trip,
unconventional in some ways. Still, we got to see a lot of the countryside, and
the scenery was fantastic. But then, it always is in the UP of Michigan.
Over the years, I would return to all of those places, and the magic never got old. But, unfortunately, the Toonerville Trolley and Riverboat Tour closed in the fall of 2024, after 96 seasons in operation. It's a shame I never got to take my husband and our kids on this excursion.
(The pictures are of on the river boat that trip. You would think I would have pictures of the waterfalls, but I couldn't find any.)
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