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22 Sep 19, 03:46 PM |
#1
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Imagineer
Join Date: Oct 11
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Great Lakes Grooving: Day 11 Tahquemenon Falls
Wednesday 17 July
We were leaving the quirky cabin today and heading to the east side of the UP. So today we were up and out after quick breakfast and the usual tidy round, empty bins etc. We were so quick that we nearly left our water bottles in the fridge but fortunately Hannah is on the ball and noticed that we hadn't got them before we finally set off. It was quite a long drive to our next destination, Tahquemenon (rhymes with Phenomenon) Falls State Park, and it took around 2.5 hours. The satnav took us quite strange way but we think it was heading to the centre of park, rather than the main entrance. While driving, we had noticed that the traffic cones blocking off areas for roadworks were often quite higgledy-piggledy and had joked that it looked like someone just threw them out of a van as they went along. Then we got behind a construction truck and were tickled to notice that yes, someone does sit at the back of the truck and chuck the cones out onto the road! No wonder there is rarely a straight line! After driving past our next AirBnB, we continued on through a place called Paradise and then into the State Park itself. We parked up by the Upper Falls and decided to the Great Pines hike first of all. This plan was aborted after 1 minute along the very overgrown trail when we walked into a cloud of biting insects and realised that it was going to be very unpleasant indeed. Instead, we went straight to the Upper falls and walked along the trail to see them. We paused to eat our picnic, being accompanied by a very cute squirrel which helped itself to crumbs. Hannah had been sitting with the sandwich bag on her lap which had helpfully transferred the colour onto her arm and leg, giving her a lovely Smurf-like hue. Funnily enough, she wasn't that keen on it as a permanent feature but it did wash off. The Upper Falls are quite noisy and an impressive amount of water hurtles over them. After this, we drove to the Lower Falls where you can hire a bow to row out to see the falls. Paul was reluctant but the rest of us really wanted to, so he eventually gave in and joined us, then deciding to coach the rest of us on our rowing technique. It turns out that Hannah is pretty damn good at rowing, and she got top marks for excellently parking the boat at the island in the middle of the water, right by the falls themselves. Once on the island, you can walk around and also paddle in the falls themselves. We hadn't got our swimming stuff with us but decided we would come back tomorrow with all our gear to enjoy the water fully. Time for Blue Steel And a bit of fabulousness Then we all had a turn at rowing around the lake before it was time to take the boat back. I did fine, once I'd ignored Paul's "helpful" comments As did Evan. He also managed to turn the boat in a complete circle, as we cheered "360!" Then it was Paul's turn and to be honest, he was a bit rubbish! He could move the boat but rarely in a straight line and we slalomed our way back to shore until Hannah took over and rowed perfectly to park the boat again. Just look a how uneven his oars are! No wonder we were all over the place. We had a nice chat with the young lads who rent the boats out. Again they were curious as to why we were visiting somewhere as remote as the UP, especially being from England. For somewhere as lovely and as interesting, they get relatively few visitors - but that does mean that nowhere is particularly crowded. I think it is more popular as a winter destination as people go for cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. We drove back to Paradise, having planned to stop at Paradise Foods for provisions for our tea. With a name like Paradise Foods, our hopes were high, but alas they were quickly dashed once we entered the store. Paradise it was not - more like a really badly stocked Londis. We scoured the shelves in despair, not really wanting to make an evening meal of Hot Pockets and Eggos, with a side dish of Chupa Chups. After quick discussion, we changed our plans to eat at the bar next to the AirBnB tonight instead of tomorrow and to look for somewhere else to buy food. We did buy a couple of things and got a scowl and some grunting from the lady at the check out in return. Nothing like Paradise here! The AirBnB was smaller but well stocked and laid out, with lots of wood around. The host had left us a bottle of wine which was a nice touch. The notes mentioned a nearby swimming beach so we got changed and headed out. We found it and got into the water, which was not cold but also, not particularly clear looking either. It was probably fine, but the kids kept talking about catching cholera and wouldn't go in past their knees, unlike Paul who was far braver. And so far, he hasn't developed cholera so it looks like their fears were unfounded. *rolls eyes* Back at the cabin, we relaxed for a bit before heading to the Silver Creek Grill next door for some food. There was one other group of four in there and we think the bartender was also the chef. He was very friendly and we had a lovely grilled whitefish and chips dinner. Then it was back to the cabin where we got connected to the Wifi and managed to watch the livestream of Aston Villa playing Minnesota in a pre-season game on Youtube. And Villa won - hurrah!
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West Coast July - August 2014, Howdy Texas! August 2015, Rocking in the Rockies July - August 2016, Bier, Bratwurst und Bahnsteige: Berlin 2017, Touring Tennessee 2017, Expedition East Coast 2018, Hola! Madrid 2019, Great Lakes Grooving 2019, It's Czech, Mate, Prague 2022, Veni, Vidi, Edi, Bibi Italy 2022 Edited at 03:49 PM. |
22 Sep 19, 04:57 PM |
#2
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Imagineer
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Hannah should try out for the rowing team at uni! I am more in the Evan style 🤣
Some wonderful scenery again! Shame that Paradise was anything but as far as the general store was concerned!
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Index of my trip reports 2016 Quebec - Kuala Lumpar - New York City 2017 Dubai - Eurocamps France - Ontario and Quebec - So-Cal 2018 Montreal - Bangkok - New England 2019 Argentina - Quebec City - Hong Kong - 2020 Switzerland 2022 Arizona - Costa Med Cruise - Oslo 2023 Hong Kong - Gothenburg |
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25 Sep 19, 12:30 PM |
#3
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VIP Dibber
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Looks beautiful. And so does that wine! What a nice touch.
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Our trip reports - 1st trip to Florida - April 2014 - 'Are we nearly Bankrupt yet?!' The Kuna Mahuna Croatia Holiday 2016 Bankrupt again Florida 2017 New York & RCL Anthem of Seas 2018 https://dibb.in/13476718 And now it’s time for Wine Wine Wine! Rome + Celebrity Cruise May 2022 https://dibb.in/15427816 |
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25 Sep 19, 07:04 PM |
#4
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Apprentice Imagineer
Join Date: Feb 13
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Excellent rowing by Hannah! Shame paradise didn’t live up to its name...
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27 Sep 19, 02:09 PM |
#5
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Thread Starter
Imagineer
Join Date: Oct 11
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It was a bit disappointing but calling a place "Paradise" is always going to set expectations a bit high.
We are going to encourage Hannah to join the rowing team - apparently the "real" boa trace is the one between Newcastle and Durham unis! The wine was a really nice touch and the falls were lovely. Always good when a family member finds hitherto unknown talents! And Paradise was a bit of a disappointment. "Mediocre" would have been a better name.
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West Coast July - August 2014, Howdy Texas! August 2015, Rocking in the Rockies July - August 2016, Bier, Bratwurst und Bahnsteige: Berlin 2017, Touring Tennessee 2017, Expedition East Coast 2018, Hola! Madrid 2019, Great Lakes Grooving 2019, It's Czech, Mate, Prague 2022, Veni, Vidi, Edi, Bibi Italy 2022 |
30 Oct 19, 08:37 PM |
#6
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I am not a shopaholic
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Go Hannah on the rowing there!
What a nice touch to get the wine at the Airbnb , much needed after foraging in the local store. Eggos and chupa lollies. That would have been the tea of champions .
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2022 Dom Republic /2019 New Orleans, Jekyll, Hilton Head, Charleston, Savannah, Palm Coast, Clearwater/2019 DLP /2018 Dubai /Miami,New Orleans, Orlando, Largo/2017 Dallas,New Orleans,Little Rock,Eureka Springs,Memphis,Nashville,Orlando/Mar 2017 Orlando, Clearwater, Largo /2016 NYC,Washington, Orlando /2015 Windsor Palms / 2014 Our Wedding Trip - Portofino Bay & Yacht Club / 2013 FantasyWorld Resort/ 2012 East & West Coast. Double Disney. |
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