As much as I enjoyed what I’d seen of Michigan so far, it was time to leave the Mitten and experience the fabled Upper Peninsula, or UP. It was a surprisingly easy drive from Alpena to my next campground on Lake Superior. To reach the UP you must cross the Mackinac Bridge, which spans the mile wide Mackinac Straits that connect Lake Michigan to Lake Huron.
This bridge is often referred to as being difficult to navigate with an RV, including tales of white knuckled crossings to days long delays due to weather. My own experience was remarkable only in it’s lack of drama. It was a bright sunny day with mild winds, and they were repaving half the deck, so traffic crawled along the single open lane at no more than 20 mph. Frankly it seemed a lot like rush hour on 285 in Atlanta.
Brimley State Park
The campground at Brimley State Park is located on Lake Superior, protected from the frequent wind by a twenty foot green belt of trees and scrub. Even though the campsites were spaced “Michigan tight”, just a few steps out your door separated you from the campground and put you on your own stretch of semi-private beach on Whitefish Bay.
This convenient access made evening viewing of the spectacular sunsets a regular activity during my visit. One afternoon I discovered this little gal tied to a bush a few yards down the beach. She had obviously been forgotten, and was somewhat concerned at the loss of her people.
I was reminded of the time we accidentally left our bulldog Trudy behind at a gas station in Colorado, so I sat with her for about a half hour until an embarrassed teenager appeared to collect the pug and corresponding beach chair.
Unlike that gas station attendant in the 70s, I had no sandwich to share with the pooch. I rectified the oversight by picking up a bag of Scoobysnacks at my next grocery stop, and I always carry a few in a baggie in my pocket now.
Paradise
A prime reason why I chose Brimley was its strategic position on Whitefish Bay, making for easy day trips North and East. My first excursion was to follow the curve of the bay up to Whitefish Point where yet another lighthouse and shipwreck museum were located. Along the way in a town called Paradise I spotted a sign for fresh fish. When the universe gives you signals like that, you pretty much have to stop.
Brown Fisheries Fish House is basically an outlet for a family of commercial fishermen. Their boat goes out on Lake Superior every morning; when they sell the day’s catch, they close the restaurant. You won’t find fresher fish, the prices are reasonable and the service fast and friendly. Fantastic!
Whitefish Point
The tasty lunch had me in a good mood, so when I reached the tip of Whitefish Point and discovered all one hundred of the cars in this part of the UP were packed into this parking area I wasn’t too put out. If you ever find yourself in such a predicament and can’t find a place to park your oversized vehicle, here’s a tip:
Look in the dumpster. If it empty or nearly so, you can bet their garbage truck came through recently and it’s safe to park in front of the dumpster.
The claim to fame of this site is that they have the ships bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald on display in their shipwreck museum. Other than that the museum itself was much smaller and had many fewer artifacts than the one in Alpena, and had a fairly high entrance fee as well. (The NOAA museum in Alpena is free). What makes Whitefish Point worthwhile in my opinion was the ancillary buildings included with museum entry. There is an extra charge to climb the lighthouse and the waiting list was long so I skipped that, but the boathouse contained an very nice exhibit on the Lifesaving Service that was terrific. A knowledgeable docent was stationed in each building to answer questions, and they had a good selection of postcards in the gift shop, too. 🙂
Soo Locks
My final side trip was a quick hop to Sault Ste. Marie and the Soo Locks. Back in the trapper days the only way to get your canoe around the falls here was to portage. Now days thousand foot long freighters use the Soo Locks to move from Lake Superior to the St. Marys River and ultimately Lake Huron. The locks lift these huge ships the 21 feet difference water level by gravity alone – an ingenious engineering feat.
The Army Corps of Engineers operates the locks and a nice visitors center that explains how they work, their history and maintains a schedule of when commercial vessels expected to arrive. Pleasure craft and tour boats can also use the locks at any time, but it is the big Lakers that are the crowd pleasers for the folks who gather on the three story observation deck next to the locks.
The town of Sault Ste. Marie catered to visitors drawn to the locks, with a good assortment of cafes and souvenir shops nearby. As I was leaving, I was amused to spot the inevitable nautical-themed miniature golf course. Nothing surprising about that, but in all my travels this is the first time I’ve seen a place that combines mini-golf and booze. Only in the UP!
Next time: Michigan Southern UP, Lake Michigan