Our first stop after a 100 km drive through a state forest : Tahquamenon Falls. This state park was created to protect the huge waterfalls (second largest at the east of Mississippi river, after Niagara Falls) on the Tahquamenon River. Falls are divided in two parts : the upper and lower falls. The lower are 5 falls (of good size), circling an island. The upper falls are way bigger : 60 meters wide and 15 meters high. Just like in every parks, you can find lots of hicking trails to observe the falls, you can rent some canots to navigate to the island or get very close to the lower falls.

After a little walk, we arrive at the lower falls viewpoint. Fist remarkable thing : the water is red brown, like mapple syrup.This is due to all the forest waste (mainly dead trees like ceidar and spruce) that forms the river bed. It's provides lots of tannic acid.

The upper falls are bigger, look like a small Niagara... A really good point is that there is no buildings and crowds nulike in Niagara, so the show can be way more enjoyed.

Driving west in the UP, we reach Pictured Rock National Park. We stop in Grand Marais, which is the NP backdoor. Here we can enjoy a wonderfull sunset on lake Superior, and so complete our Great Lakes collection Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan and now Superior).

I seize the opportunity to make things clear : what they call great lakes here in America, in Europe we call this seas. For example, lake superior is as big as Austria (bigger than the Manche) contains 10% of world knowned drinkable water, has an average depth of 150m and maximum depth 450m. To make an idea, lake Superior can fill a 1,50m depth pool of the size of mainland continental USA (w/o Alaska). 

Pictured Rocks NP is 90 km long and is made of cliffs, sand dunes, and waterfalls and cascades.

We stop to have a look at the great sand dunes, and mostly at "Log Slide". This area was used, in a time when wood industry was important in UP, to make the logs slide along the steep grade to the lake, 60m below. Park rangers inform fearless (or crazy) tourists who want to run down the steep that if going down just take you a few seconds, climbing all the way back from the lake can take more than 2 hours, and only very good hickers can make it. To make sure you figure out the steep : it's just like climbing back a black skiing pist, with powder snow higher than the anckle... For us the decision was quickly set : we stay at the top of the slide !

All the way through the park, we make a waterfalls marathon : there are a dozen of falls and cascades here.

Now we leave the park by its frontdoor : the city of Munising. This is the perfect exemple of a tourist business based city after labour day, most shops are closed, and streets are almost empty. But it doesn't matter, the reason why we are here is not shopping, but boating. The port is basecamp for all the sightseeing cruises of the pictured rocks. And a advantage of the off season time is that you don'lt have to worry about vacancy in the boats. We even take the sunset cruise, way more interesting because of the beautifull colours it provides. So let's go for a 2.15 hours cruise : beautiful views, and incredible cold (only 8 degres celcius on the open roof platform), but it really worths it.

We keep driving west, keep going through forests, on roads or trails.

Good to know : the UP is known as the best place in US for snowmobiling. They have some of the country most important snowfalls, and all the trails, lakes and rivers bturn into a huge playground.

A winter trip can really be a good idea, if you don'lt fear the cold...

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