Lake Michigan Summer Vacay 2015: Day 2

It took me a while to wake up today, but I got up, showered, and got ready as my mom went for a walk. Then we started off to Traquamenon Falls further north. First, we stopped at an IGA for things - a brush, some things to drink (I got blueberries), Q-tips, and maybe some deodorant for me. We got most of the things, but no deodorant. Then we were off to cross the Mackinac Bridge back to the U.P..

Soon enough, we realized that Mom still needed gas, so we stopped at a gas station in a small town. I bought some art and got an ornament for my mom. My mom got some balm, and maybe something else, and we left. After an accidental detour based on a wrong turn, we were on pace and made it to the Upper Falls in time for the 2 pm tour.

The tour guide told us about the Hemlock trees.

And I saw a cool spider on a fence. See the spider in motion here.

Then we saw the falls.

After that, we went down some stairs to get closer to the falls.

For video footage and information about the falls, click here, here, and here. After all of this, we went up the 80-something stairs to the main trail.

I took this on the way up.

We walked over to another staircase to go down to "The Gorge" for a different view.

At a landing about half-way down.

There were trees and things along a path we walked after getting down to the bottom. There were also more sections of stairs - some going up and others going down - before we got to the destination.

I think that the first two of those photos may have been taken at that other landing, whatever. Here is the view and where our tour guide told us that we were now ON OUR OWN! Then she flipped us the bird and ran off.

No, she didn't do that. She took our photos and said goodbye, very nicely.

On the way back, I stopped to photograph a neat looking tree.

Look at that!

We stopped at another lookout.

And then we went up the 100-some stairs back to the main trail. We took a different path to get back to the car.

This tree fell over and I told Mom to stand by the roots.

After we exited the forest, we went to find the restrooms, to have a little rest. I talked to a lady on a bench while I waited for Mom, and she claimed that she was expecting the falls to be a lot bigger. I said that it was "no Niagara", but that my expectations weren't too high, and I thought it was nice. Then I told her about why the water was deeper and a little darker at the far end of the falls. After Mom came back, we were off to the car, and we decided to not go to the Lower Falls. However, during the short drive, I recalled that someone said that the Lower Falls were easier to see, without any stair climbing, so we changed our minds. We found a parking spot and checked them out.



After that, we went to the store for souvenirs, including two more smashed pennies. I also bought a water at the concession place. We then set out for the drive back to Mackinaw City.

Back in Mackinaw City, we parked on Central Street, or Avenue, or something, and walked only far enough to find a place with food that would satisfy and be appropriate for our location. We found a family restaurant, and I got the fish and chips dinner plate.

The fries were wicked good. They had a hint of whatever is put on curly fries. The fish was also good, but I only ate half of it. The vegetables.... they look nice, I guess.

I also ate fried cauliflower and a salad. The tables were covered in pretty plain paper, and had a can of crayons, so my mom and I drew while we waited. My mom's drawings were of a tree and a horse or something, but I decided to make a statement.

Later, I added "Age 34" in green, to the left of my name.

We paid the bill and walked off. I went into a wine place and did some tasting with a very uninterested European guy, but bought some wine anyway. Then (or maybe before, I forget), we went to a little shop where we got a little nativity scene with moose. The one with cardinals was really cool - and it had the Wise Men, not just Jesus, Mary & Joseph (JM&J) like the moose one - but decided against it. As we left the mall area, there was a penny smashing machine, so I got yet another penny.

We continued to walk.

We saw this thing from across the street.

I believe that we made more purchases, and then walked to the car, where we also were by the Dairy Queen. We got some soft serve, and I learned that the Small size Blizzard, while enticing, has way too much ice cream, so I should go for the Mini. We then drove back to the hotel and ... went to bed?

No, we didn't go to bed, we went to the International Dark Sky Park and watched a string concert at the little historical village with poetry recited between movements. I saw the moon or Venus through a telescope, then Jupiter. I went up to the front during the quiz bit to see if I could win a t-shirt, and surprise surprise, I knew the answer to a question, so I got a t-shirt! They wanted to know the year that the park was created, and since I kept looking at the park website, saying it was made in 2011, I raised my hand and answered. We then drove to the park, parked, and sat by the water as the sky got darker.

Taken at about quarter after 9.

There was so much chatter at the park, so I put in ear plugs. The host lady then started talking about the stars and telling us what was what in the sky. It was nice, but I could tell that I could probably see the stars as well or better at my parents' place. My mom agreed. Eventually, we ventured back to the car and went back to the hotel. THEN we went to bed.