Paradise on Earth

On September 16 we hooked up the travel trailer and set out to visit paradise on earth in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. We did pass through Paradise, MI, but did not spend much time there on this trip We've crossed the Mighty Mack a few times this year, but haven't gone further west than the Tahquamenon Falls area. We have not been to the Western U.P. since 1998…yes, I said 1998!! Why you ask? Well, the years between 1998 and 2006 were our busy years. We have 4 children and the oldest began high school in 1998 with the other 3 were following closely behind him. We didn’t have time to take many vacations other than the occasional weekend camping trip. After our youngest graduated in 2006, things slowed down for a minute until we entered the wedding and grandbaby birth years. There was always something preventing us from making the long trip to the Western Upper Peninsula…until this year. We began planning this trip last winter. It began as a 10 day trip with 2 long travel days. However, like all great adventures, our plans changed as we went along! Three days in we decided to extend this trip by a few days and quickly changed our existing reservations. We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. Most daytime temperatures were in the low to mid 70s with the nights cooling down in the 40s and 50s. Our first few days were unseasonably warm with highs reaching 85 degrees. That made for some long, sweaty hikes! Aside from just getting back to this area, our goal was to visit as many waterfalls as possible. Believe me, our 14 days did not even come close to being enough time! When one hears the word waterfall in Michigan, typically the first thing that comes to mind is the great Tahquamenon Falls followed by all the falls in the Munising area. We were very surprised to learn that the Western Upper Peninsula has hundreds of waterfalls. We didn't even make a dent in the list. Of the 25 or so that we saw, by far Bond Falls is the most beautiful. It is easily accessible with some unmaintained hiking along the waters edge if you choose, although it is not necessary to see the best of what Bond Falls has to offer. Bond Falls took our breath away. It's one of the most majestic waterfalls we've ever seen with its foamy white water flowing over the dark rocks. This is a true Michigan gem. One of the last things we did while staying at Lake Gogebic State park in the far Western U.P. was hike to the top of Wolf Mountain. Admittedly, when my husband said "let's hike Wolf Mountain" I wasn't exactly thrilled. We had already hiked nearly 50 miles on this trip and the thought of one more uphill hike made me cringe. However, it wasn't that bad and didn't feel like you were climbing straight up. It is somewhat strenuous and difficult in places and not for everyone. Wolf Mountain has an elevation over 1,800 feet. Those views from the top though, just WOW! We missed peak color by just a few days, but what we did see was so worth that one last uphill, tree-rooted, rocky hike!! These photos do not do justice to what your eyes actually see! More blogging, photos and videos from this trip coming soon!! Follow us on Facebook and follow our YouTube channel