Fulltime RV couple traveling the United States in our 2018 Tommy Bahama 27FBQ Airstream!
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THURSDAY - After stopping for over 2-hours in a lovely roadside park along the M28 Highway to finish creating and uploading the previous blogpost we arrived at Tahquamenon Falls State Park right at the check-in time of 3:00PM.
Of course, so did a dozen other campers which made check-in one big headache. I'm going back to arriving between check-out and check-in times.
We're not real fond of these dirt camping pads, especially when it rains so much.
Also our electric post is 49' away from our camper. I'm sure glad we carry 50' of 30AMP cord.
Their website photo showed our site had a water view of the river, maybe 20 years ago.
I know it sounds like I'm complaining, maybe I am. It's just that these campsites are all hard to reserve and they're not cheap ($35 weekday & $38 weekend) compared to other state park campsites we've visited. I wasn't even going to mention there is an $11 a day fee just to drive into the park, even if you've already paid for camping!
For not a lot of money they could put down a gravel driveway to park on so you're not stepping down into the mud when you exit your camper. They could also put in an electical post on every campsite, instead of just putting one in the middle of every pair of sites, which means half the sites have the post on the wrong side like we do and have to run the cord under their trailer and across the entire site.
As far as trimming the trees, I understand they want to retain the natural setting you would expect to find in a state park, but at least update your website photos so you arrive and are not disappointed by what you see.
I haven't even been to the shower building yet, but I don't have my hopes up!
Tahquamenon Falls State Park opened in 1947 and is the 3rd most visited state park in Michigan. I'm not sure when the campgrounds were added, there are four of them in the park, but it doesn't appear any improvements have been performed since they opened.
FRIDAY - With little chance of rain, and a light breeze, plus temperatures in the mid-70°Fs, today is the perfect day to go hiking and see both the Lower and Upper Tahquamenon Falls.
Tomorrow's forecast has a few hours of late morning/early afternoon rain showers, so that's the better day to go see an indoor museum don't you think?
TAHQUAMENON FALLS (LOWER AND UPPER)
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The Lower Falls are more like a cascade of five smaller waterfalls.
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Three falls are found on the right side of an island and two more on the left.
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To get a closer look you'll need to walk down a ¾-mile long boardwalk.
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On the boardwalk side of the island you'll see three rather interesting waterfalls.
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Then you can walk over a bridge to the island and see two more.
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This is the view of the Tahquamenon River from the center of the bridge.
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The path around the island changes to a wheelchair friendly gravel path.
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On the back side of the island path is the only location to see this waterfall.
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A view of the boardwalk from the island.
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This is the first observation deck where you can see the Upper Falls.
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A zoomed in shot from the farthest viewing deck.
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There is a trail that will take you down 94 steps to the brink of the falls.
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At least they're all uniform in size and very stable this time.
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The Upper Falls are nearly 200' across and 50' high.
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We liked this view of the Upper Falls the best of all.
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One last look before we head back to the campground.
Between 1816 and 1975 it is estimated that over 6,000 ships have been lost in the Great Lakes, the Whitefish Point area alone has claimed at least 240 ships.
The most recent, and undeniably the most famous, the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald occured just 17-miles northwest of Whitefish Point on November 10, 1975.
When the "Big Fitz" was lost in 1975 it had been 22-years since a ship had gone down. Compare that to the period between 1875 and 1925 when nearly ever year at least one ship went down.
Better early navigation aids such as lighthouses and then the development of radar and sonar equipment has been responsible for the greater safety of the ships and their crews.
THE GREAT LAKES SHIPWRECK MUSEUM
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This is the new lighthouse, the original one sat atop the tan brick building.
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It's free to walk around the property, but to get inside the buildings a $15 ticket is needed.
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This ship's rudder was recovered in 1978 from the 1901 wreck of the M. M. Drake.
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Whitefish Point is still an active Coast Guard Station.
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This is where they keep all the cool stuff they've recovered from the lakes bottom...
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...like the original bell from the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
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It's a small museum, but it's packed with artifacts and information.
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This two story building is the new light keepers quarters.
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It was all furnished as it would have looked in the early 1900s.
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This is the surfboat house where they have a restored life saving boat on display.
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There is a docent inside that's happy to answer all of your questions.
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Outside near the shoreline in a small memorial to the crew lost on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
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17-miles offshore, where that rain storm is occuring, is where the Edmund Fitzgerald rests.
This will be our final campsite in the U.P. (Upper Peninsula) of Michigan this year. After 23-days it's time to move down to the Lower Peninsula and see what's there.
The Lower Falls are more like a cascade of five smaller waterfalls.
Three falls are found on the right side of an island and two more on the left.
To get a closer look you'll need to walk down a ¾-mile long boardwalk.
On the boardwalk side of the island you'll see three rather interesting waterfalls.
Then you can walk over a bridge to the island and see two more.
This is the view of the Tahquamenon River from the center of the bridge.
The path around the island changes to a wheelchair friendly gravel path.
On the back side of the island path is the only location to see this waterfall.
A view of the boardwalk from the island.
This is the first observation deck where you can see the Upper Falls.
A zoomed in shot from the farthest viewing deck.
There is a trail that will take you down 94 steps to the brink of the falls.
At least they're all uniform in size and very stable this time.
The Upper Falls are nearly 200' across and 50' high.
We liked this view of the Upper Falls the best of all.
One last look before we head back to the campground.
This is the new lighthouse, the original one sat atop the tan brick building.
It's free to walk around the property, but to get inside the buildings a $15 ticket is needed.
This ship's rudder was recovered in 1978 from the 1901 wreck of the M. M. Drake.
Whitefish Point is still an active Coast Guard Station.
This is where they keep all the cool stuff they've recovered from the lakes bottom...
...like the original bell from the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
It's a small museum, but it's packed with artifacts and information.
This two story building is the new light keepers quarters.
It was all furnished as it would have looked in the early 1900s.
This is the surfboat house where they have a restored life saving boat on display.
There is a docent inside that's happy to answer all of your questions.
Outside near the shoreline in a small memorial to the crew lost on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
17-miles offshore, where that rain storm is occuring, is where the Edmund Fitzgerald rests.
