Michigan is shaped like a mitten. When you meet people from Michigan and ask them where they're from, they hold up their hand for a map and point to the proper coordinates. But wait, there's more! There's the Upper Peninsula which, at first glance has no business being part of Michigan. It should be part of Wisconsin or Canada. But there was political wrangling when Michigan became a state over some territory around Toledo which Michigan felt should belong to them, not Ohio. Michigan lost the battle and was given the Upper Penninsula as a consolation prize. At the time it was considered a barren wasteland.
We are currently camped in Mackinaw City which is about where the pad of the middle finger would be. There is a suspension bridge called the Mackinac bridge which connects Mackinaw City with the Upper Peninsula. The bridge spans the Straits of Mackinac which joins Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.
OK, so I didn't really take this picture, but it's a cool bridge.
The Upper Peninsula is called the "U-P" by locals and its inhabitants are called "Yoopies" or "Yoopers." We went there today to visit the Tahquamenon Falls. We had several short hikes to several beautiful waterfalls. One hike included Rick rowing a boat to a little island for a better view. I yelled "pull" while he rowed. SiSi sat next to me and looked nervous. The brown color of the water is caused by minerals from the surrounding trees.
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We ended our day in the UP with a drive to Whitefish Point where we saw this pretty lighthouse and got our first glimpse of Lake Superior.
Lake Superior
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