What a summer we had! Filled with fond memories of a magical time spent in a place that will always have a piece of my heart. From camping with the kids, grandson, and grand puppies to exploring old favorites and adding in some new places to explore. I am full of gratitude for a summer spent in that beautiful gem called the UP. For those not in the know, the UP is the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. People from the UP are known as Yoopers. Although we were not born there we considered ourselves “Yoopers” for the summer. It is truly one of the places we both would consider living. I would need to get away in the winter time of course. But for now we are loving our nomadic lifestyle and will continue to enjoy summer time on the Great Lakes.

Currently in southern Michigan visiting family and headed to Indianapolis for more family time. We truly enjoy the quality time spent with our family and friends while visiting. Dinners together, catching up over cocktails, lunches out, and time to soak up the company of our loved ones. We feel grateful everyday we get to live this life.

Now onto sharing our adventures in the UP. I have a ton of photos to comb through so I will break the posts up into parts. First up, time spent camping on the shore of Lake Superior for 2.5 weeks. It was amazing! Not perfect but what would be the fun in that. We were witness to the many faces of Lake Superior – from calm and still to raging and pissed off. Rainy and windy days along with sunny and warm days. A little bit of everything. Not to mention the fun of camping with 4 adults, 1 baby (a year old), and 2 dogs (60 and 90 lbs) all in a 31 foot class-C RV.

Time spent relaxing lakeside, exploring nearby waterfalls, finally making it to the island with a lighthouse, and campfire catch ups. Our dear friend Fargo joined us again this year. We spent time out on the boat, exploring and enjoying our new gas motor. Logged some miles on Lake Superior this year!

Crossing the Mighty Mac!

This was the first time we had the chance to see the Mackinac Bridge all lit up. It is quite a beautiful sight. I felt my excitement build that evening knowing the next day we would finally be crossing back into the beloved UP.

Camping on the Shores of Lake Superior

Upon arrival at our spot on Lake Superior, we were delighted to find the place was empty, except for 2 other campers. Our excitement led to an error in judgement. Normally we would walk our route to park the RV but this time we did not. Which led to a RV stuck in the sand!

Two hours later and traction boards to save the day we were finally parked in paradise. Did I mention we do not have a shovel in our arsenal of tools and had to use a kid’s beach shovel to dig our way out? We now have a nice army grade collapsible shovel for future use, should we need it.

The dogs and the kids loved their boat time on Lake Superior. Little Ryker at the age of one has officially been on Lake Superior!

Sturgeon River Falls

A day trip to Sturgeon River falls rewarded us with gorgeous views and plenty to explore.

Ryker and Gramps taking in the lovely view of the fast flowing water cascading down. I always say it looks like beer flowing over the rocks due to the tannins.

Canyon Falls

Believe it or not Canyon Falls is a roadside park. Best roadside park I have found. There is a nice hiking trail offering stunning views and a great stop to stretch your legs for those traveling.

Quartzite Falls

Spent one day exploring as we found our way back to the Lumberjack Tavern in Big Bay. Fargo found a copy of “Anatomy of a Murder”, the book detailing the events of the bartender who was shot and killed at this bar in 1952. We brought the book along for the bar staff to sign.

The many faces of Lake Superior during our stay. From windy and raging to sunny and calm and everything in between. Always respect the big lake, she can change quite rapidly. We were about to take our boat out for a jaunt along the shore one sunny day when all of the sudden out of nowhere the wind picked up, blowing loose items around and making a sail of our awning. Needless to say we retreated back to shore quickly.

Our new gas motor allowed us to explore miles of shoreline. The old Mercury motor served as a nice in between motor but now with the new one, we have more speed and it is quite reliable. We logged 18 miles multiple times on Lake Superior, staying along the shoreline just in case the lake decided to change on us.

Except for one day we ventured out across open water for three miles to a nearby island with a lighthouse. On the island we found a sign in book and lots of beautiful wild flowers. We picked a good weather day and kept our eyes on the sky just in case we needed to jet back. Took us about 15-20 minutes to cross with the new motor.

With only two seats available on our boat, Fargo and Shane ventured over to the island on their own before it was my turn another day. The first photo is them headed to the island.

There was plenty of “barnacling”, our term for attaching a kayak to our boat. This allows the kayaker to sit back and let our motor take them for a fairly relaxing ride. Especially good on the calm lake days.

Found some semi-permanent teepees on shore, part of a rental experience we presume. Campfires to be had while watching the sunset. It truly is paradise, but no amenities at this location. Bring your supplies and pack out your trash. Location is somewhere on the outskirts of L’Anse, MI.

The last photos below show Shane holding spark plugs that needed to dry out during one of our 18 mile excursions. Luckily, he had the tool to pull them. We made it back in one piece, with our friend Fargo on stand by in case the motor wouldn’t start back up.

And the sunsets….oh my! Just beautiful. I loved watching the sunset every night over the water.

That’s all for now. As you can see we were too busy playing, exploring, and enjoying the UP to blog about it all. Finally getting around to looking through all of the photos and reminiscing about a wonderful summer spent in our happy place.

Part two coming up next!