27 July 2022
Posted 10 March 2023
We travel east into Michigan's Upper Peninsula (UP) to begin exploring the
Porcupine Mountains Wilderness. We find silly hats and lots of waterfalls.
0845 47,826 We checked out Little Girls Point Park &
Campground. Sites are between the road and Lake Superior. No Verizon cell
signal and no vacancy.
0920 47,844 66°
Ironwood, Michigan
Having very little hair, I'm always interested in finding hats. Back in 1903, a railroad engineer named Stormy Kromer needed a hat that wouldn't blow off and would keep his ears warm. His wife, Ida sewed flaps on a baseball cap, and later sewed an entire wool cap. They started selling them and over a hundred years later Stormy Kromer hats are still being produced. These are a few of the historic hats the factory has on display. A tour was available later in the day, but trails and waterfalls beckoned.
I did get a chance to try a hat out front, but it was a wee bit oversized.
Beth noticed some unique steel sculptures a few doors down and across the street from the hats.
We stopped and talked to the folks at Cramblits Welding. In addition to trailer repair and general welding, JulAnn Cramblit produces beautiful metal art, like this owl.
No room in the van or our budget for something like this, so we continued on
our way to the Porkies.
Bought MI State Park Annual Pass $36.
1025 Presque Isle River Scenic Area
Parked near Lake Superior and walked to three pretty waterfalls
Manabezho Falls
A powerful Ojibwa spirit-god is named Manabezho
(Michigan State Park signage)
Mushrooms growing on trees reminded us of ice cream cones. It may be a red-banded or red belted polypore. If you know what it is, please leave a comment.
Manido Falls
Manido means "spirit" or "ghost" in the Ojibwa people's language
(Michigan State Park signage)
The finely terraced rock over which the river flows is called the Nonesuch Shale.
(Michigan State Park signage)
Round potholes in the riverbed form where an eddy current continually swirls pebbles and sand grains in a circular path.Over time, tehe scouring action of these materials wean away the softer shale, forming large, smooth-sided potholes.
(Michigan State Park signage)
Lush moss and ferns grow in the moist forest.
A sand bar stands at the river's mouth where it meets Lake Superior.
Timber and cables hold a pedestrian suspension bridge allowing visitors to cross the river without getting wet.
It took just an hour and a half to wander the waterfall loop trail. Definitely one of our favorites of the trip.
1320 47,881 Little Carp River
Not far from the parking lot we found the very photogenic Overlooked Falls.
A ranger told us that the name doesn't really fit as Overlooked Falls is one of the most visited places in the park.
1451
Note: The time on our phones changed several times in this area. The four counties bordering Wisconsin are in the Central time zone, while most of Michigan is in the Eastern time zone.
1523 47,898 77° Porcupine Wilderness State Park Visitor's
Center
Stopped and picked-up maps and information. There were no campsites available at the state park's Union Bay Campground 1535
Stopped and picked-up maps and information. There were no campsites available at the state park's Union Bay Campground 1535
Just outside the park we found this private campground and they had a spot
for us!
Back-in site 23 was $37
Met fellow Pleasure-way owners Rhonda & Bill from Wisconsin in an Excel.
The campground has a really nice timber and knotty pine bathhouse.
The owners lit a fire and dusted off seating for sunset viewing.
Nasty looking clouds looked like they were going to block the sunset.
But the clouds lifted just enough to let the sun illuminate them from underneath. The first photo in today's post is also from this unique sunset.
Good night from Union Bay.
We would definitely stay here again.
Today's Route
¡Esto es un sombrero grande!
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