Saturday, March 21, 2009

SCENIC SUNDAY: Tahquamenon Falls

This photo shows about half of the upper falls at Tahquamenon Falls in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This shot was taken during a severe drought, and at the time, the water flowing over the falls was down by at least half.

This is at least an eight hour drive for us where we live from the middle section of Michigan. To drive the entire state from the bottom to the tip of the western-most point in the Upper Peninsula is a good day of driving, at least 10-12 hours, depending on your route and traffic, the bridge wait, etc.

Beyond this point in the upper Peninsula, near Paradise, one could drive about four more hours and still be in Michigan. The mitten and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a large piece of land with enormous Great Lakes surrounding it. Just in this one section of Michigan, you could fit more than a few of the original thirteen colonies. It is very sparsely populated, yet filled with wonderful scenery and lots to do. The immense and deep Lake Superior has some of the most beautiful spots on the earth, in my opinion.

My mother was born in the Upper Peninsula, in a mining town: her ancestors were immigrants from Cornwall, England--they had been miners there, and they immigrated here to help with the boom in mining at the time. The mines are pretty much closed now, but one can learn a lot by touring those.

The folks in the Upper Peninsula call us from lower Michigan "Trolls" (we live "under" the bridge at the Straits of Mackinac) or "Flatlanders". We call them YOOPERS and that comes from the initials of the Upper Peninsula: U. P.

4 comments:

Artsy Fartsy Junkin Finds said...

What a great picture!!! Wish I was there! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving such a sweet post on my blog, Have a great week! Janna

jen said...

Your pictures make me long for another trip to the UP!! It's been a few years now, but oh how I love it up there. It's so peaceful and beautiful. The last time we saw the falls was before the hubby and I were married!

Happy Spring to you!

Jen

Rue said...

Well, you DO know what Ohioans call all of you during football season, don't you?? The enemy! LOL Ya'll crack me up and it was something to get used to for sure :)

The picture is gorgeous! I had so much fun catching up with you. Oh and in answer to your questions...

The drapes in the living room and the foyer are from Penny's and the micro is in the mudroom/pantry now. I'll be showing it when Rich is finished in there. We still have to build a seating bench for the dogs underneath the shelves. They don't like being on the floor, because they think they're human LOL

xoxo,
rue

Susan said...

Oh how I miss Mi and the U.P. My mom has a house on Lake Superior near Muskallonge lake. I lived in MI (thumb) for 35 years but moved on to Florida and now NC mountains for work. You have a nice blog! Bookmarked!

Have a wonderful day~
Susan