Day 4 – 6-24-16

Sadly it was time to leave Michigan but we weren’t leaving without seeing as much as we could on our way to Crivitz, WI.  This was our route through the U.P.

It was a real thrill crossing the Mackinac Bridge for the first time.  The agency charged with the upkeep of the bridge and safety of people crossing is theMackinac Bridge Authority.  They have offices in both St. Ignace and Mackinaw City.

There is a $4.00 toll payable on the St. Ignace side, which helps pay for maintenance and professional drivers. They drive people across the bridge in bad conditions or if you have a fear of bridges.  Tune your radio to 530 or 1610 AM to hear a broadcast on bridge conditions.  If there are good conditions, you hear a welcoming message to the Upper Peninsula (U.P.).

Enjoy this view of the bridge from  Michilimackinac State Park and hear the broadcast, a 4 min-33 sec. looped message.  A bonus, the freighter Joseph L. Block  goes under the bridge!

The sunrise was beautiful as we crossed the bridge. I apologize for not having a video of that, the camera was misbehaving. Enjoy these photos of our crossing though!

We left Mackinaw City about 6 AM to have breakfast at the St. Ignace Truck Stop. First though, we could not resist a selfie at the Big Boy next door!  Next time we will eat there.

The truck stop was great too, still glad we stopped there.

After breakfast we continued on, passing what I thought was a lighthouse the day before.  We found out that it was a lookout tower attraction, $1.00 admission as part of a souvenir store called Curio Fair.  Maybe we can stop there on our next visit.

We also drove by Castle Rock, we didn’t stop this time.

We continue on, our next stop is the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Paradise.  Here we saw MANY great displays, including one dedicated to the Edmund Fitzgerald. Gordon Lightfoot’s song  “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”  figured prominently here.

After our visit we headed into Paradise for lunch at The Berry Patch.

They knew about the song “Cheeseburger in Paradise” song by Jimmy Buffett and took advantage of that by selling t-shirts. I got one!

We also enjoyed talking to some of the other patrons eating there. One couple we met suggested visiting Tahquamenon Falls State Park  to see the waterfalls. The day pass was $9.00 to be able to see both falls. We took them up on their suggestion and did go after lunch. We ran into them there too!  The falls were beautiful and were worth the visit. We went to the Upper Falls first.

And now the Lower Falls.

Lets see both falls in action!

By this time it was 3:40 PM and it was time to move on.  We passed through other communities on our way to Crivitz.

Escanaba

We have reached the entry into the U.P., Menominee.  This is how we will enter Michigan on a return trip and skip the car ferry.  We discovered we could get to St. Ignace in a day from Madison by entering Michigan from here.  Menominee also has a well-stocked Welcome Center to pick up literature on ALL of Michigan. We actually visited Menominee on our way home, also the last lighthouse we saw.

We arrived in Crivitz at about 7:30 PM. A long but fun day.