The day was FINALLY here.
The day we would be going to the "end of the earth".
After a year long wait of counting down the days until our Fall getaway to Michigan's beautiful Upper Peninsula, it was finally time! Rob had timed it perfectly so that we would be arriving in beautiful Ontonagon, Michigan right as the Fall colors would be at their peak.
It was a brisk, chilly morning that day so Rob went out to start his car and get it warmed up. Immediately his check engine light started flashing along with the car making strange noises. Were our dreams about to be crushed? Would we not be able to go to the U.P. after all?
We drove to the gas station and Rob looked under the hood and tried to figure out what the problem was...I was hoping and praying that the check engine light would just disappear so we could be on our way. Well of course it didn't go away. But being the two spontaneous people that we are, we decided to drive the 480 miles to our planned destination anyways, with the check engine light flashing every mile of the way.
Call us crazy, or whatever you like...but we weren't going to let car problems ruin our trip. So off we went.
This map shows just how far we drove [in one day] to where we would be staying two nights and three days at a beautiful beach cottage on Lake Superior:
Our first stop on our journey to Ontonagon was Dead Man's Hill, located in the Jordan River Valley. Some history about this place:
The period of early logging in the hills of the Jordan River Valley was marred by several fatal accidents. The last known and best recalled took the life of a 21 year old Stanley Graczky, (Big Sam). A fun loving lumberjack, soon to be married. He became legend on May 20th, 1910 when he was killed driving a team and hauling logs down a slope near here. This high point has since been called, "Deadman's Hill".
This was the first of many AMAZING views that we would see over the next few days.
Pretty amazing, right? Well that was just the beginning.
Our next stop was Pictured Rocks. We continued on our journey [with the check engine light still flashing, every mile of the way].
Pictured Rocks is what I was the most excited to see. The beach has and will always be one of my favorite places to go. There's just something so serene and tranquil about turquoise water and white sand.
Some history about Pictured Rocks:
Mineral-stained sandstone cliffs rise dramatically from Lake Superior at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The 70,000 acre park follows the south shore of Lake Superior for 42 miles.
The awe-inspiring cliffs are shaped by wind, ice and pounding waves. The cliffs are colored in shades of brown, tan, and green by the iron, manganese, limonite and copper in the water. As the water trickles down the rocks or mountainous waves slam into the cliffs with a vicious suddenness, the sandstone Pictured Rocks are formed and changed.
Since we had never been to Pictured Rocks before we had no idea that to get to the shore we would have to walk a few miles. But we got to see a pretty waterfall on the way. This is Chapel Falls.
After Chapel Falls we just kept walking, and walking. We had no idea if we were even going the right way because there were no signs. But eventually we heard water and knew we were close.
When the trees finally opened and Lake Superior was revealed, my mouth literally dropped-open and stayed that way for a minute straight. I was in complete awe. The view was jaw-droppingly beautiful. These pictures don't even do it justice.
The combination of Fall colors and turquoise water was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
After Pictured Rocks we headed to our cottage, but first we made one more stop. Another breathtaking overlook of Lake Superior.
Even though the check engine light flashed the entire way to our destination...we made it. And just in time for a beautiful sunset on Lake Superior.
This was only the beginning of what would be the best trip of our lives. So stayed tuned because I have SO much more to share!
Happy Saturday!
