Great Lakes Grooving: Day 11 Tahquemenon Falls

CrispyA · 22 Sep 19, 03:46 PM

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!

Melbatb · 22 Sep 19, 04:57 PM

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!

**Loopylooloo** · 25 Sep 19, 12:30 PM

Looks beautiful. And so does that wine! What a nice touch.

katiebaz · 25 Sep 19, 07:04 PM

Excellent rowing by Hannah! Shame paradise didn�t live up to its name...

CrispyA · 27 Sep 19, 02:09 PM

Originally Posted by Melbatb

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!

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!

Originally Posted by Loopylooloo

Looks beautiful. And so does that wine! What a nice touch.

The wine was a really nice touch and the falls were lovely.

Originally Posted by katiebaz

Excellent rowing by Hannah! Shame paradise didn�t live up to its name...

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.

**WileyCoyote** · 30 Oct 19, 08:37 PM

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 .

22 Sep 19, 03:46 PM	#1
	22 Sep 19, 03:46 PM CrispyA Imagineer
CrispyA Imagineer Join Date: Oct 11	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! __________________ 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.