Day 9: Saturday, June 19th
After 3 days and nights at East Lake it is time for us to move on. Now we head north to an area neither Betsy or I have been to before - the Keweenaw Peninsula.
Click on the photos below for a larger image.
Betsy relaxes and enjoys our last morning at East Lake.
In her journal Betsy describes these last moments here as "Absolute serenity with a Loon calling good-bye".
That pretty much says it all.
No 3 the primo camping site! Note the post ornament.
I found this half buried in the sand and left it for the next campers.
Now it was north on Rt 445 AKA Kentucky Road and onto Laughing Whitefish.
We took a series of off-the-beaten-track sand roads through the Hiawatha NF. More than a few times wondered where we were and where we were going. At one point we came to an intersection in the road and saw a WV bus parked off to the side. A closer look revealed the driver was looking over his directions to Big Springs while we looked at our map which did not show the intersection where we were - at least as far as we were concerned. He drifted a bit closer to us, rolled down the window and said "Another one of those confusing Forest Service intersections." Betsy and I both wondered how he had made it this far with only written directions and no map! After several exchanges we decided on which way he should turn and he disappeared down the road.
Laughing Whitefish Falls Scenic Site is in northwestern Alger County about 20 miles southeast of Marquette. There is no contact station. The parking lot is a wide spot in the access road turn around.
Laughing Whitefish Falls is considered by many to be the most spectacular of Michigan’s falls. The falls cascade through a picturesque gorge with old growth white pine and hemlock towering above.
Source: Michigan DNR
Laughing Whitefish Falls is formed by an abrupt limestone escarpment of the Laughing Whitefish River, which flows northward into Lake Superior. The falls is located within the Escanaba River State Forest. The escarpment is shaped so as to draw out the cascade into an unusual fan-shaped wall of water.
Source: WikiPedia
It is difficult to see the entire falls from the bottom since there is a pesky Thuja blocking much of the view. Time for some vegetation management! The base of the falls is accessed via a monumental set of steps and platforms which wind their way to the bottom. It reminded me of the stairway at the Falls of Hills Creek in Pocahontas county West Virginia.
About halfway up the 150 steps I spotted an old friend sitting on the rock outcrop - Slender Cliff Brake fern (Cryptogramma stelleri). It is a very rare fern in West Virginia - known only from two localities.
Michigan has this fern listed as "Threatened (legally protected)"
We also saw Common Polypody (Polypodium vulgare) and Goldie's Wood fern (Dryopteris goldiana) on this hike.
As you can see here it looks more like a water slide than a free fall. Like most of the streams, we saw the water was tannin colored, but crystal clear and cool.
It looked to me like these 3 Thujas were root grafted together.
Very unusual to see this.
The Maiden-hair Fern (Adiantum pedatum), Betsy's favorite fern.
Since the out and back to the falls was a only about a mile and we had plenty of time, we decided to try a hike listed in our trusty copy of "Hiking Michigan's Upper Peninsula" by Eric Hansen. This book is a must have for anyone hiking the UP.
The hike listed in Eric Hansen's was a spur trail of the North Country Trail and went to another small falls and an interesting rock formation called the Subway.
On the way there the trail goes through a low wet area where there were some gorgeous Thujas. In this swampy area there was a Winter Wren nearby singing constantly. What a treat!
I heard a Phoebe before we saw or heard the falls and this told me we were probably near.
Here Betsy stands at the top of the 25' falls which has formed the scalloped undercut area called "The Subway".
A nice sized Black Spruce (Picea mariana) we passed by on the way back. The area was lush and ferny with lots of skeeters.
Our first bear sighting! Well - almost. We never saw the bear but we got excited seeing this nice paw print.
On the way back out to Rt 94 we saw this beautiful stand of Lupines. It was the first of many we would see over the next several days.
We said good-byes to the Lupines and drove west on SR 94 to US 41 north and on to Marquette where we hope to spend the night in a hotel after 3 days of camping, no running water, or out house.
When we got to Marquette we were not ready for what we saw. After many square miles of lovely emptiness, here was mile after mile of miserable sprawl. So much for finding a "cute little place to stay for the night". Yuk.
The mess continue on and on with every chain store known to man, including a new one to us " Beef-a-roo", a local chain. It spread out towards Negaunee and beyond until it finally thinned and then was gone. Whew...
We continued on west through Ishpeming and Diorite and then passed by Michigamme thinking nothing was there. Then due north up US 41 through Alberta. Still nothing. At the base of the Keweenaw we came to the outskirts of L'Anse. We stopped at the not very enticing looking Hilltop Hotel - the rates were 60 bucks a nite. No way. The next place was the same but no WiFi. Forget that!
We continued on north and through Baraga and we just about ready to give up when I spotted a hand painted sign which said "Carla's Motel and Restaurant - 2 miles on left." We continued down the winding road, came around a the bend to a stunning view of Keweenaw Bay and there sat Carla's Lake Shore Motel. A "cute little place" with 10 units, restaurant and "million dollar view" of the bay. This was looking good.
Betsy went into the "office" and found the rates to be amenable - $52 a nite with WiFi, two beds, a small fridge, coffee maker and resident Phoebe.
Yes!
The "million dollar view" from Carla's.
The place was nicely laid out with tables, horse shoe pit, basket ball hoop, and a small round table with an old satellite dish as it's cover. Cool.
Across the road I found these two inviting looking loungers waiting for us when we were ready.
We set about unloading the car, drying the tent ground cloth and generally getting settled in. Then, we were ready for some supper.
To our delight they had a small outdoor seating area and we would not have to sit inside the stuffy restaurant.
We plopped ourselves in our chairs and ordered a coupla beers and enjoyed the view and the great weather. Our waitress then came out for our orders. But, she had something to tell us - since the outdoor area was the officially designated smoking area, we could not be served food there. Michigan law. But, we could order our food and then come in and get it and eat it on the deck. As they say: "No-pro-blem-o." We could do that.
Betsy ordered the Lake Trout.
Well, as it turned out or waitress musta thought the same thing we did and ended up serving us our dinners out on the deck.
I had the White Fish.
The fillets were huge and perfectly cooked and the sign on the resteraunt proclaimed: "The fish you eat today, slept in the bay last night".
After dinner we put on some warmer clothes, grabbed a coupla beers and headed to the loungers.
Here Betsy talks to her dad in Fort Wayne and updates him on our trip and whereabouts. A cell phone moment!
Then it was off to bed and the anticipation of what the next day might bring.