Escapees July-August 2024

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Sable Falls at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore PHOTO BY H. BRADBURN, COURTESY OF THE NPS

Discovering theUpper Peninsula of Michigan

into large fanciful sculptures that are arrayed along a wooded path. We took a sunny boat ride along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. This is a 42-mile stretch of shore with gorgeous 200-foot cliffs plunging into the lake and occasional arches. The 500-million-year-old sandstone cliffs are stained by metallic seeps of iron, leaving red and purplish streaks; copper, leaving blue and green streaks; manganese, leaving black streaks and calcium, leaving white streaks. “There have been over 6,000 known shipwrecks in the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is located on White fi sh Point, also known as “the shipwreck coast”…” These colorful cliffs are set off beautifully by the clear aquamarine waters of Lake Superior. There are even a few waterfalls tumbling off the cliffs into the lake below. The lake is extremely clear because it is too cold to support much algae or microscopic life that usually clouds lakes.

The southern shore of Lake Superior is the northern edge of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The shore of Lake Superior, though not mountainous, is nevertheless high enough above the lake level to create more waterfalls than I have seen anywhere else. I enjoyed hiking to see several of these waterfalls. T he “UP” (Upper Peninsula) seems to have a culture of its own, where rugged and cold-toler ant people, commonly knicknamed “Yoopers,” have fi shed, hunted, logged and mined iron and copper since the 1800s. Some of these Yoopers speak with a distinct accent. There in September, the weather was a bit cloudy, windy and rainy. The cool temperatures had turned some of the leaves brilliant red and the rain fostered a variety of mushrooms. My partner and I picked some shaggy manes, golden chanterelles and a beartooth to enhance our dinners. Lakenenland Sculpture Park, a free attraction located at 2800 M-28 East, Marquette, MI 49855 (906-250 5138), was established by a retired pipe fi tter,who took junked metal and machine parts and welded them

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July/August 2024 ESCAPEES Magazine