There's Beauty UP Here

"Encourage your child to have muddy, grassy or sandy feet by the end of each day, that’s the childhood they deserve." - Penny Whitehouse

Thursday, July 1, 2021 - Saturday, July 3, 2021

Following a relatively smooth and scenic trip through northern Wisconsin and into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, we arrived at the shore of Lake Superior. We had made it. More than 1,600 miles from home.

We were staying at the Union Bay Campground in the Porcupine Mountains State Park. This campground is located at the foothills of the mountains and close to the visitor center.

Our site was one of the ones closest to the lake, although it wouldn't be a completely open view.

Still, it's hard to complain too much about a sight like that when you're also catching a light breeze, no rain, and temperatures in the upper 70s.

Directly across from our site was the small path that took you to the rocky shores of Lake Superior.

It was one of the first things we did once we were settled, but it wouldn't be the last time we'd be breathing in that fresh air.

It was late afternoon on our first day in this park. There wasn't much on the agenda except to check out the campground - there was supposed to be a playground somewhere - and maybe head to the visitor center.

We found that coveted playground, and it was such a hit that we ended up postponing any thoughts of leaving the campground. Acadia was enjoying every aspect of the setup, including making friends with neighbor kids.

Dinner was made, the kids continued to play a bit, and we eventually got everybody down for sleep. Knowing that we had a full day in the park tomorrow, both Cara and I headed to bed relatively early, too. Morning comes quick when you have two young ones on a camp trip - need to get that sleep when you can.

And morning did show it's face earlier than you'd like, but with a comfortable temperature and no rain, we were anxious to get started.

The main attraction in the Porcupine Mountains is the Lake of the Clouds. It's incredibly popular in the fall as autumn leaves shine brightly around the blue lake. We've heard cars might have to wait an hour or two just to get to the parking lot of the lookout.

We weren't expecting any crowds like that, but we've always enjoyed taking the road less travelled to get to a destination.

That road would take us to a small pull-off on the main road, which eventually dead-ends at said lookout parking lot.

What we had planned was a .4-mile trek about 400 feet in elevation on a side trail to get to the Escarpment Trail. That trail then hugs the ridgeline for 1.9 miles before joining up with a few trails that spur out from the lookout. In the end, it'd be about 5 miles of an out-and-back hike that we knew would be worth it, but we also knew that we had two girls who could give up at any moment. Plus, Acadia had started to show interest in being out of the backpack and hiking by herself.

By the time we had made it perhaps a quarter of a mile up this side trail, we noticed that the trail wasn't as cleared down as you would have liked. We knew we were on a trail less travelled, but we weren't feeling a road that hasn't been travelled by more than one or two hikers in the last three months. Parts of the path were severely overgrown, steps felt rotten, and small bridge didn't have a railing.

We've hiked enough to know that if something seems off, then it probably is. Toss in the uncertainty of Acadia and Aspen, and we felt it best to turn around, drive the road more frequently travelled, and still check out the Lake of the Clouds.

There was no gruelling five-mile hike, but there was a breathtaking view of a tightly-packed forest with a narrow, serene and still lake at the bottom of a rocky valley. The nearly cloudless sky made what you were witnessing all the much better.

And just as we had suspected, by the time we walked around the lookout, Acadia was ready to get out of her backpack, check out her "map," and hike.

Fortunately for us, there were a handful of trails, including the Escarpment Trail, that spiked out from this lookout. We couldn't have hiked more than a mile between everything, but Acadia did well and enjoyed every minute of it.

Following our trip to the Lake of the Clouds, we made our way back down toward the campground. But instead of stopping there, we continued on to the visitor center and then an open area of the shore along Lake Superior. The rocky beach, crisp wind, and cool water, made for the perfect opportunity for some Acadia-throws-rocks-for-Lily activity.

By the time we finished things up here, it was time to head back to camp and get Aspen a nap. Cara joined in on the nap, so Acadia and I spent some time at that shore near our camp - the one you can access from that small path across from our site.

This was one of my favorite memories from the trip. Acadia looked - and must have felt - so natural here. She loved climbing the rocks, picking some up, tossing them into the lake, and just mucking around for close to an hour or two.

She even slipped on the rocks at one point, slid into the lake, and laughed about it. She still talks about that memory to this day.

There was even a time when she just sat down and looked out. She might not have had the words for it at the time, but she must have been thinking about what spectacular view she was soaking up.

A little side note: Acadia is wearing a purple shirt that she got at the visitor center. She no longer fits in it, but Aspen does, and she enjoys wearing it now just as much as her sister did a year ago.

By the time Acadia was done, so were Cara and Aspen with the nap. It was also getting close to dinner time. There was a little playground session after dinner, and Aspen fell asleep while getting walked around the campground. Acadia was out shortly after that.

Despite the long day, it was still nice out and Cara and I weren't that tired. So we lit a campfire, pulled the chairs over, and hung out for quite a bit around the fire. It was nice to have that peaceful time at such a far distance from home.

We still got a good night's rest and had some time before check-out to do a small hike. We chose the Union Mine trail. It was rated moderate but also short at just over a mile. The trail was nice with some descent down the valley to the river, near some waterfalls, by the mine, and back up to the start. Like the day before, Acadia wanted to hike more than be in the backpack.

The worst part about this hike was the insane number of gnats, flies, and other bugs that just wouldn't go away. Tack on the fact that humidity and temperature were rising, and this hike wasn't the worst but it could have been better.

Still, it was a short loop, so we were back in the car in no time. A quick trip back to the campground to hook up the camper, and we were set to head eastward.

Our trip would take us along the shoreline of Lake Superior, past the cute town of Munising, and into the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

We had a campsite deep in a remote part of the park. We were going to be without an electrical hookup for the lovely commodity called air conditioning, but that shouldn't be a problem, right? You're in Upper Penninsula where high temperatures average around 70 in the summer.

But a massive heatwave had crept across the country and Munising set a temperature record. Our full day in the park, July 4, would see temperatures in the 90s with humidity and little wind. It was hands-down, one of the toughest nights on this trip. And that includes our very first day.

But that park and that story are for another post.