Lake Michigan Waves

Near Petoskey, Michigan.

Mackinac Bridge

This is the Mackinac Bridge. It is said to be one of the world's most beautiful bridges and the longest suspension bridge in the Americas, with a total length of 8,614 feet suspended. It is currently the third longest suspension bridge in the world. Much of the beauty comes from the setting at the Straits of Mackinac. The Straits link Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. (Lake Michigan is on the left side of the bridge and Lake Huron is on the right.) The 5 mile long Mackinac Bridge (Big Mac) links Michigan's Lower and Upper peninsulas. The UP is on the far side of the bridge in this picture.

Tahquamenon Falls

The Tahquamenon Falls are two different waterfalls on the Tahquamenon River. Both sets are located near Lake Superior in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The water is notably brown in color from the tannins leached from the cedar swamps which the river drains. This phenomenon is responsible for the alternative local name 'Root Beer Falls'.

The upper falls are more than 200 feet across and with a drop of approximately 48 feet. During the late spring runoff, the river drains as much as 50,000 gallons of water per second, making the upper falls the third most voluminous vertical waterfall east of the Mississippi River, after Niagara Falls and Cohoes Falls, both in New York State.

The Tahquamenon is noted as being the land of Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha - "by the rushing Tahquamenaw" where Hiawatha built his canoe.

Munising Falls

This is a 50 foot waterfall in the city of Munising, Michigan. It was only a quarter mile hike to get to it.

Miner's Castle

We traveled down this neat road in the upper peninsula (UP) of Michigan to get to Miner's Castle along the southern Lake Superior shoreline in what is part of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The only way to really see any more of the shoreline was by boat. We got there too late for a boat ride.

Lake Superior near Marquette, MI

Elephant Rock (in central Wisconsin)