While reloading the car located at the top of the hill in Appleton, we discussed crossing the state approximately 160 miles due west to Cashton for our next rental. Should we keep it simple and travel as the crow flies? Us? Of course not.

Why? Because it was a perfect 74-degree day for a stroll in the garden.

---

Man, oh man were the butterflies ready to show off. They were everywhere! So much so that one had to be careful when taking a step. Here are just a few:

---

The jungle-like conservatory was full of growth and exotic blossoms!

---

Although we could have stayed for hours, we finally left the conservatory to find the whole outdoor garden was lush and blooming, as well.

---

When they noticed our interest, the beekeepers took a break to bring us a sample of fresh honey. Yum!

---

Interestingly, as we got further west, the topography changed.

---

Our destination, the Village of Cashton, is in the middle of Wisconsin’s largest Old Order Amish community, with 2,500 Amish residents. At approximately 25,000, the Wisconsin Amish population is the fourth largest in North America, fewer than only Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. Who knew!

And with buggies, come… horses!

🙂

The morning after we saw Tahquamenon Falls, we loaded the car and drove out across the field. Forward ho! Time to change states!

As we took in the views of the Hiawatha National Forest, our navigator spied a “scenic drive” down Pt Detour. (Yes, that’s what it’s called, Pt Detour. Not kidding.) Plunking her finger on the map, she cheerfully indicated “all” we’d have to do is drive to the end of the peninsula for what should be fantastic shots of Big Bay De Noc off Lake Michigan. Driver said, sure!

That last shot shows Little Summer Island, which is basically at the head of the famous Green Bay.

Anyhoo, after our “short” detour… Wait. Stop right there. “Short”? Hardly! It was 24 miles each way. [SIGH] Okay, okay. After our “lovely afternoon drive on the l-o-n-g, albeit pretty, peninsula” – [better?] – and now armed with the friendly shopkeeper’s advice of where to stop for melt-in-your-mouth cheese popcorn once we crossed into Wisconsin, we were on the way again. To cap off our time in Michigan, we even scored four pounds of fresh cherries from a pop-up roadside fruit stand. Yes! The thoughtful vendor also provided “pit cups” so we could enjoy the cherries while on the road without spitting the pits at each other. 🙂 Ptui!

---

Who knows, it might be fun to follow it from one end to the other someday! Of course, we’d need a boat. Its 2,571 miles are interrupted by the Great Lakes.

---

---

Forget flags or mottos, shoot, 6.5 minutes in, we stopped at our first cheese shop. This is Wisconsin, after all. And, holy cow, what tasty cheese! (“Holy cow?” Get it. Sometimes we crack ourselves up.)

With numerous cheese products selected and stowed, we made our way to a riverside cabin in Appleton, Wisconsin, to find…? More stairs!

---

In the end, we settled into the little cabin on the Fox River and stayed put for several days, catching up on blog photos, eating cherries, and watching the nature around us while Todd claimed victory at numerous card games. Lucky rascal!

Ah…….

After visiting the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, there were still so many things we wanted to experience on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula but only one day left in which to do so. Looks like we under-planned exploring the U.P.! So, Mackinac Island goes on the list for another time. For now, we backtracked slightly to Paradise – Paradise, Michigan, that is – to see one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi (Niagara, of course, being the largest), Tahquamenon Falls. Yeah, try and say that again or better yet, get the Nav system to understand what you’re saying so you can find the place! 🙂

Upper Tahquamenon Falls, at 50 feet tall and 200 feet wide, is the largest waterfall in Michigan. During the spring, more than 50,000 gallons of water per second drops over the Upper Falls!

Oh, don’t worry. We’ll be going back up.

---

Was the climb worth it? WOW!

Hey, wait, it’s… brown? Yep. Due to tannins from the cedar and hemlock, the water is an unusual – and oddly mesmerizing – amber color, hence the local nickname of “Root Beer Falls.” Some folks nearby declared them “Whiskey Falls.” Others said, “Iced Tea.” There’s something for everyone.

It’s also quite foamy. The low mineral content of the Tahquamenon River combined with the decaying organic matter and the turbulence generates a large amount of foam. Like the top of a good root beer, right?

That was stunning! What’s next? Well, the route to the Gorge View path involves another trek on the aforementioned (and already climbed) 94 stairs. At least we’d be going down this time. So off we went, down the 94 stairs and back up the trail, only to find…

Now considering the first climb as simply a warm-up, we squared our shoulders and began the trip down to the Gorge View.

As it flattened out (thank goodness), we followed the long boardwalk along the gorge with its massive trees, but the path itself seemed to prevent many pictures (can’t see the forest for the trees) until we came upon the most interesting tree. The bark “spirals” all the way to the top, as if the tree’s being wrung out like a cloth. Anybody that knows about this condition, please share!

Eventually, of course, we made it to the bottom of the gorge.

So, again, was it worth it?

---

During the long trip back, one of us got a tad grumpy. Nah, we actually had fun the whole way up!

---

The Lower Tahquamenon Falls splits into two halves each more than 100 feet wide and 22 feet tall.

We had a great last day on the Upper Peninsula!

Oh, my aching thighs…

The quick week in Canada really made us want to stay longer, but preplanning, i.e. prebooked lodging, dictated otherwise. “Nope. Time to be a Yooper!” We’d driven right through the skinny part of the U.P. to get to the Canadian side of The Soo, but now we headed back to actually look around.

First stop on the way to the cabin? The famous Whitefish Point. For those that may recall the Edmund Fitzgerald, “… they’d have made Whitefish Bay, if they’d put fifteen more miles behind her.” Some of us even remember the news report of the loss in 1975. (Showing someone’s age there, Babe.) Well, this is the place. The incredible Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum established a memorial utilizing the bell retrieved from the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Among the museum exhibits is the biggest Fresnel Lens we’ve ever seen. So much info about other wrecks and information about the more than 6,000 to 25,000 shipwrecks on the Great Lakes – those that have been found. During that crazy period of the late 1870s into the 1930s, vessels seemed not to care about any sort of navigation rules. Size and speed were what mattered (yikes)! With more than 300 wrecks, Whitefish Point came to be called the graveyard of Lake Superior.

---

We drove away talking about boat life without all the modern tools we’d had, like electronic charting with GPS positioning, or accurate powerful radar that helps see through storms, or heck, multiple days’ worth of weather forecasting (at least a guess! 😉 ). What a life it would have been!

While driving we realized that the U.P. is quite different from the mitten of Michigan. No wonder they “stole” it from Wisconsin. Ha! It’s much more rugged and remote, and we soon learned our cellphones were useless. Thank goodness Pearl has SatNav (just like mentioned above)! As much as we love driving near the water, cruising through the country roads of the U.P. was filled with a lot of trees, and some of the roads are paved. But not the “driveway” to our tiny cabin on a little lake. Nothing like the views with water involved! (Sensing a trend there?)

---

Since we were going to be on the Upper Peninsula for less than a week, it was time for more exploring. Let’s go, Honey! Where to next?

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Todd definitely butchered the name of this picturesque shoreline at least 20 times, insisting on “painted rocks” instead. Oh, his poor brain. Anyway, first stop was the Visitor Center to stamp our National Park Passport Book, snag a map, and formulate a plan for this rambling park. Got it! We begin with the falls right here, taking the trail along the canyon wall leading to stairs on either side of the falls…of course we did both sides (up the stairs down the stairs…). Up next a stop at a lovely beach (that’s right a beach), then multiple stops as the road goes through the forest and back to the coastline and its stunning views. 40 miles to the Pictured Rocks and 40 miles back! Hard to put the beauty of the U.P. into words!

---

At our stop near Miner’s Falls, we met and took to the trail with “Lincoln, from California.” Traveling to visit family in Michigan, young Lincoln was well ahead of the pack, as they’d stopped for some photos. When Todd jokingly told him we’d beat him to the top, Lincoln tossed up an impish grin and bounded ahead. Then he waited for us to catch up before repeating the process. Wise guy. Oh, Alan, we missed our little Florida guide!

After that scenic day of exploring, we returned to the cabin to grill some grub, rest up, and talk about the next day.

If you didn’t know, Lake Superior, is the largest freshwater lake in the world. Well, to be accurate, that’s by surface area; it’s the third largest by volume. Still, it holds an estimated 10% of the earth’s fresh water!

The tour includes both the American and Canadian sides of Sault Ste. Marie, and since, we’re on the Canadian side, what the heck, shouldn’t we check out a bit of this side?

---

---

The drive was beautiful; there’s nothing like the views out toward the blue water. It wasn’t long before we came to Pancake Bay Provincial Park – notice the word bay. Think very much south facing and somewhat sheltered. And to our surprise, sandy! Although all these lakes have rocks right along the water’s edge.

---

After the lunch stop, we drove a bit further west to Katherine Cove in search of an island referred to as the “Bathtub!”

---

While trying to determine where be this Bathtub Island – and no it wasn’t one those we could see here – we met a wonderful Indian family who were doing the same! Looking for that rascal. So, collectively, we walked back to the east “around the corner” and found a path through the woods that appeared promising. Promising? Thought we were looking for an island…

---

---

We had a great time visiting our northern neighbors and look forward to spending more time in Canada during our upcoming travels.

By the way, Todd says Superior tastes like … err.. water.