Up and Over: Pictured Rocks

The last stop of our trip took us to Munising, MI and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.  I mean...come on, you know us well enough by now to know that we had to figure out a way to get a National Park Stamp for our book at some point in this trip!  Ryan and I had been to this area of the world on one of our very first Cuzzies Camping trips, back in 2011.  We rented a motor home with Chris/Brenna, Sarah/Dan and Lindsay Phelps for a long weekend and cruised our way up the Munising.  We remembered staying in a campground RIGHT on Lake Superior so while I don't have the name written down in my blog post from 2011 (I just checked) I'm 99% sure its the same campground from way back then - Munising Tourist Park.  It sounds corny, and we almost always opt for a State Park where possible, but I knew this one would be a winner for anyone that was able to get lake front sites.  Of our group of 8 families, 3 of us landed lake front, full hookup sites.  Again, we were all online, booking sites the MINUTE it opened up, on Dec 8th, 2021...nearly 8 months before our trip.  Everyone gives me crap about how far out we plan our lives, until they get to experience a campsite reservation process like that one.

Ok - back to the present.  We stayed in Pictured Rocks for a total of 4 nights, Wednesday to Sunday am.  This was the longest we stayed in any one location but it was also the portion where we had the most activities planned.  Thursday we had a kayak trip planned, Friday a boat tour to see Pictured Rocks and Saturday was open because we debated if we wanted to head home Saturday to give ourselves Sunday to unpack and get ready to go back to real life.  But, before I share about our time in Pictured Rocks, I want to tell you about the afternoon Abby and Hazel made lunch for us.  Abby learned how to make Tonka Pizzas when she was at Girl Scout Camp with Kayden a few weeks earlier and she was very excited to share her new skill with us.  Tonka Pizzas are basically a pizza puff, made with a pudgy maker so I knew this was the perfect meal for camping.  One afternoon Abby and Hazel spent maybe an hour (or more?) making Tonka Pizzas for anyone who wanted one.  We had sausage, pepperoni or plain cheese as the options.  I think Abby was most excited when Jack asked to have one.  It's one thing to get compliments from your parents or family, but from a kid your age?  A boy, none the less...I think she was feeling pretty proud in that moment.

We arrived in Munising on Wednesday afternoon, got ourselves set up and set out to find pasties - a regional food that the miners used to eat.  Basically a handheld pot pie.  We tried them from two different places while we were there and I have to say that the ones from the tiny gas station in Au Train were the better of the two.  Our kayak guide told us about the local secret and when we drove past the store on our way to a hike one day, we knew we'd stop on the way back.  After finding pasties we spent the rest of Wednesday hanging out at the campsite enjoying the beach right outside our door.  Our campsite was maybe 50 - 100 feet from Lake Superior.  

Oh, at cake!  Over this trip we had a few events to celebrate, Liz's birthday and maybe an anniversary or two?  I'm bummed I didn't write it down!  At one point we joked that we wished we had a DQ cake for Liz's bday so when we drove past a DQ in Munising both Jenny and I thought "we need cake" and it's a good thing we talked before buying because we were THIS close to having 2.  LOL!

Thursday we had two kayak trips planned, a big group in the am, and a small group in the afternoon because a few families had kids that were too little to kayak and we had to sort out who was watching the kids etc.  Thursday morning we weren't sure if any of the trips would go because it was so windy.  They were able to get the morning trip off but they canceled everything that left after 9 am and they shortened all of the longer paddles to the 9 am paddle.  Basically they had to get all the boats off the water by noon.  When we found that out, I had a bad feeling we were in for a long, hard trip.  Both girls came on the trip, which meant I had Abby and Ryan took Hazel.  Mom and Dad were together in a boat, John and Bridgette, Jack and Tanner and then poor Dan, as a solo ended up with a random person, and even in another group.  That was NOT ideal.

If I'm honest, the kayak trip was one of the things I was most looking forward to but in reality, between the poor conditions and the fact that instead of paddling along the national lake shore (they took us over to Grand Island), it just wasn't my favorite part of the trip.  It was HARD to paddle over to the island.  Abby wasn't strong enough to be much help against the wind and waves.  By the time we made across the channel I was exhausted and we still had 2+ hours of paddling ahead of us.

We kayaked around the southern shore of the island and learned about it's history and why it is geologically significant.  When they told us that our location was changing from the National Lake Shore to the island they made it seen like we wouldn't notice the difference - "you're only missing 2 of the 7 minerals that make the lake shore beautiful" but in reality, there is NO comparison to the lake shore.

When we were able to reserve lake side sites we were super excited and in truth, I'd do it again in a heartbeat but it was so cold and windy on Thursday and Friday that is wasn't fun at all to sit outside of our camper.  We found ourselves hunkered down at some of the sites off the lake because it cut down on the wind.  In fact, Thursday after kayaking we opted to get lunch in town where it was far less windy and much warmer.  

I'm bummed I didn't get a group picture on the shore before we launched, but our guide (who was so so sweet) took this picture for us and mom thought to have her text it to her the next day.  It was cold - like, I wished I'd have packed my stocking cap (I know better than that) and more warm clothes for the kids.  You can bet that I didn't leave Munising without a stocking cap from one of the breweries.  I don't need any more t-shirts, but a hat to keep my ears warm, that's worth it!

Friday we were scheduled for a boat tour of Pictured Rocks, but that morning we received an email that due to weather we were moved to a Grand Island tour.  We weren't super excited about that because we'd already spent a few hours on tour of the island the day before, but there wasn't much we could do about it.  Then, upon arriving to the boat, I quickly wished I'd done a little more research before having everyone book this trip.  It wasn't cheap, and it wasn't at all what I expected.  When we visited back in 2011 we found a boat cruise that we loved, one that took us along the lakeshore, one that had both an enclosed and open area of the boat and one that would be warm (on a cold day like we had).  The tour guides did a nice job, but I think we were all a little disappointed with the trip.  In fact, while we were on the tour Mom was already checking to see if we could book something different for the following day.

We were on the fence about leaving on Saturday to head home, but the cool weather from the last 2 days, the less than idea boat tour, the promise of a better tour and the weather forecast for Saturday were enough to convince us to stick around for one final day - and honestly, it might have been the best decision we made of the entire trip.  

Saturday was beautiful!  It was warm and sunny and much less windy.  We did a few hikes and went on the boat cruise I remembered Saturday afternoon.  It was my favorite part of the entire trip.  When I tell people about the lake shore I say that the rocks would be cool if you saw even just a few hundred feet of them.  But we toured for 15 miles of the lake shore, and it extends past that!  15 miles of straight up and down cliff face, with the most beautiful colors painted throughout.  The pictures just don't do it justice, but they are beautiful.  If you've never been you really need to plan a trip.

I don't take many scenery pictures because I feel like they NEVER look like it looks in real life.  But the sunsets and lake shore photos were irresistible and even when picking what to include here in the post I found myself picking more pictures without people that ones with them!  We sat and watched the sunset each night we were in this campground - with a view like that, how could you pass it up?

I'm so glad we stuck around for Saturday.  Many of the group had already left so we had a much smaller crowd for the day and it was one of the nicest weather days of our entire trip.  We had ice cream and hiked and got to see parts of the park we'd never explored.  If we ever go back though, I want to travel to the northern most part of the park to see the sand dunes.  Someone was telling us that they are over 300 feet tall and I can't believe we were so close and didn't get to see that!  

All in all, this was an amazing trip that I hope the kids won't soon forget.  It's was a very reasonable 6ish hour drive home on Sunday and after our trip to Yellowstone last year, this slower paced, shorter drive was exactly what we needed!  We're already planning our trip for next year (potentially back up north again, though not to this area of the world).  

**I'll never forget the muscle cramp I gave myself trying to get this photo right :)  I can't tell if it was the sand, or the old fashioned I had, but I could NOT get my balance for this photo.  

 

Up and Over: Tahquamenon Falls

Our second stop of the trip took us to Tahquamenon Falls - just an hour and a half drive northwest-ish of Mackinac.  Ryan and I visited Tahquamenon back in 2013 and we wished we'd had more time there so when we started kicking around the idea of a UP trip, I knew I wanted to include a few days here.

This portion of the trip brought us some new friends (McCarthys), and had us saying good bye to some (Brackemyers) as they headed home.  It was the point in the trip that we had our largest numbers with all the families overlapping for 2 days.  We even did a big group hike, a 1.5 mile loop around a small island near the campground.  Earlier this year they just opened a brand new bridge to the island so it was cool to be able to be some of the first people across.  Prior to the bridge build the only way to access the island was by kayak or canoe rental which the park offered at some point, but was not available when we visited.  

Tahquamenon Falls is made up of 2 falls, the upper and lower and the portions of the lower falls are slow enough to that you can stand right in the falls itself.  The kids loved exploring the water and begged us to return to the island hike so they could play there again, but one of my favorite memories of the trip was the kids all playing in the creek that ran just down the hill from Jamie and Liz's campsites.  The kids LOVED playing down there and it kept them entertained for hours the first day - until they were covered in yellow mud/muck that stained just about everything it touched for DAYS.  

The upper falls features a brewery - which we visited more than once on our trip.  Having a cold beer there, after our big group hike was actually a top 5 for me on the trip.  LOL!  Something about sitting down there, while Ryan took the kids to gift shop just really made my day. 

I really enjoyed this portion of our trip because I knew it would be the least unstructured, least busy, most remote part of our trip.  Nobody had any cell service inside the campground, which can make communicating hard, especially for a large group going in many different directions, but it also means we were all disconnected, present and able to just be together.  The kids had a great time exploring the campground and made a huge group of friends one night that turned into campground wide bike races until it was too dark and dangerous and parents started pulling kids before they got hurt.  Watching those biker gangs (which, included my shy kiddos) exploring around and just being kids are the exact reason that Ryan and I love camping so much!  Kids, being kids, with other kids, outside, getting dirty and getting into some mischief.  

After exploring right within the state park we decided to explore some of the areas that surrounded the Falls.  I proposed taking the group down to the Rivermouth campground, which is a much smaller campground affiliated with the larger upper and lower falls campgrounds.  The rivermouth, as the name implies, is where the water from the falls empties out into Lake Superior.  We'd read that there might be kayaks for rent down there but the lack of cell service made finding out any real information difficult so we just decided to take a drive and see what we could find out.  

We had no plan, and no idea what to expect, but we landed ourselves in one of the most amazing spots we've ever randomly stumbled on.  The ranger at the Rivermouth campground told me about some beaches a little further south and east - just off the Curley Lewis Highway.  This highway took you near the Tahquamenon Bay/Whitefish Bay area of Lake Superior.  She mentioned sandy beaches and a good place for kids and that was all I needed to hear to steer our group in that direction.  

We didn't know what to expect but we pulled over at the first beach sign we saw, and what we found was the perfect beach all to ourselves.  We could not have planned a better day if we'd tried. 

We were smart when we left the campground and had loaded up lunches/chairs/swimsuits...but somehow...(how?!?) forgot about beers!  Luckily for us, Jenny and Jack made a grocery store stop on the way and they scored a much sought after case of beer that they generously shared with the entire group that afternoon.

The kids were content to play in the sand for hours.  We played frisbee, made sand castles, explored, and just relaxed for an entire afternoon.  I remember asking the kids on the way home what their favorite parts of vacation were and I remember saying mine were that beer after the big group hike and seeing Pictured Rocks from the cruise we took, but now that I'm remembering back, I think this beach day is right up there at the top!  It's funny how it all blurs together in the moment, but this day on this beach was beautiful and if we ever go back to this area, this will be a stop on our trip for sure.  I'd be interested to drive down the highway a bit further to see what else we could find - I'm sure there are more hidden gems that we didn't even realize we missed!

Our time in Tahquamenon was exactly what I'd hoped it would be when I planned this trip for the group.  A place where we could slow down, do a little less, and just be together as a big group.  I do wish we'd have been able to get sites closer together.  As it turned out, even though we all reserved moments after the campground opened up reservations for the year we were pretty spread out across a decent area without our campground and while our neighbors were all very kind, with a group as large as ours, comprising of sooooo many kids, I know we trapsed through quite a few campsites during our stay here.  I'm thankful that most campers are pretty laid back because I'm guessing we were annoying to someone at some point.  

I'm so bummed I didn't get up to get a picture of one of the big bike races that happened one evening.  This picture was the next morning when a much smaller group of kids were racing - organized by a handful of bigger kids that were so fair and so kind to the littles ( you can see a few of them in this photo).  They gave the little kids a head start and watched out for them along the way.  Dax cracked us all up with his scooter.  We're all convinced he's going to have a giant quad just on the one leg from all the pushing he did to keep up.

I think this is our entire group, minus Liz/Bobby/Mason.  It's the closest we got to getting the entire group of us in one photo.  Oh wait!  I think Ryan has one on his phone from the trailer parking lot!  I'm going to have to get that from him and add it to the blog later.  It's not a great picture but it DOES have us all in it - with our rigs!

Tahquamenon - you had my heart in 2013 and 9 years later, I'm here to say, we'll be back again!

1 Family x 12 (July)

 So many memories to share about our trip to the UP, but for today, our family photo for July!

Up and Over: Mackinac Island

The first stop on our big camping trip was Straits State Park in St. Ignace, MI.  It was a nice little campground and was about a mile away from the docks where the ferry's departed for Mackinac Island.  Originally Ryan wanted to try and stay one night in the iconic Grand Hotel located right on the island.  But, when I checked availability over a year before our trip I was only able to find THREE rooms available, all for over $900 per night.  We quickly pivoted to camping nearby and taking the ferry over for the day to explore.  It's a bummer, because the hotel was pretty cool, and after fighting the crowds during the day, I do see how staying overnight could have it's benefits.  Maybe next time we'll figure out a way to stay on island for a night.  

We knew enough to know that getting on the early ferry would be beneficial so a big group of us (Mom/Dad/Dan, Brackemyers and us) all left the campsite around 7:15 to bike to the ferry which left around 8am.  Of all the choices we made that day, I think this was the best one...well...maybe the ice cream choice is the best.  It's a close call!  Leaving early meant that the island was pretty quiet when we disembarked.  We opted to ferry our bikes over as well, which wasn't cheap, but it was cheaper than the $80 per bike per day to rent them.  In all, it cost our family of 4, $140 to ferry ourselves and our bikes over for the day.  I think, we'd do it again in a heartbeat.  This was 100% the right choice and made getting around the majority of the island pretty easy.

The island itself is about 8 miles around and there are no cars allowed anywhere on island - even in the off season!  Ryan had a contractor friend tell a story about during work on the island one winter and the guy said they used horse and carriage to haul all the garbage off site and to the ferries to be removed.  That meant the only ways to get around were walk, bike or horse and carriage.  The bike ride around the island was beautiful and because we started early it was not too crowded at all.  We took maybe 2.5 hours to get all the way around....I think.  That included stops, exploring, eating the lunches we packed (at 10am, just like I predicted) and even dipping our feet in the water.  We were even able to convince the kids to not get ice cream at the little shop on the north side of the island, opting instead for ice cream at Sadie's Ice Cream Shoppe (she was a dog) located inside the Grand Hotel.  I mean...how would we pass that up?!  I only wish they had t-shirts.  My name, on an ice cream shoppe shirt?!  I mean...it's basically meant to be.  

The island itself is beautiful - and we lucked out with the most amazing weather the day we visited.  By the afternoon it was hot, but in the early morning while we were biking there was a cool breeze coming off the lake, and the partly shaded, partly sunny, totally flat path around the island was the perfect way for our group of kiddies to explore.  

We stacked some rocks, touched a crawfish (which, I threw at Stella when it got to close to pinching my fingers (sorry Stella!) and got some cute pictures along the way.  We skipped the big attraction - Arches Rock because by the time we got there is was PACKED with people and we always prefer to hike in more solitary areas.  We sat in the Adirondack chairs on the green grass overlooking the lake and eventually made our way to the Grand Hotel.

Here's the thing about the Grand Hotel - its iconic.  It's huge.  How can you make it all the way to Mackinac and NOT go see the hotel?  Well...they aren't dumb, they know everyone thinks that, so you know what they figured out?  They can charge $10 a head to even just WALK around the hotel and people (dummies like us) will shell it out.  And you know what, we sure did shell it out for the privilege of having one (expensive) drink on the big porch in a rocking chair.  I mean - I'm not exaggerating.  They had a drink on the menu called the 125 anniversary drink that included a gold leaf garnish.  Want to guess how much it was for that drink?  Guess...I'm not joking.  Throw out a guess.  Well, I'll just tell you, $240!!  I'm not kidding.  A bloody mary or Aperol Spritz was $24...so we all opted in for one beer each (at $8 for their signature beer - called to Porch Rocker, brewed and bottled by Bells, it seemed like a steal!).

We drank our Porch Rockers, explored around the hotel for as long as the kids would allow us - they REALLY NEEDED to get some souvenirs and eventually you just have to give in because they can be relentless :)  We got to take in a little of the history of the hotel, saw some neat art, found an old movie projector (the kids had no idea movies came on huge reels) and as we were leaving, we even found some horses that the kids could pet (a request of Stella and Lucy's).

After leaving the hotel I think the entire group was pretty pooped but we decided to brave the crowds in town to see if there was anything worthwhile in some of the shops.  The kids conned us into small trinkets, I think we tasted some free samples of fudge, Ryan found a brewery to grab some local 4 pks to take home, oh and we left Zach to stand guard over the bikes in the shade.  During the day he started feeling worse and worse, into what eventually turned into a yucky cold that kept him playing solitaire at his campground alone (I felt so sad for him!) because he didn't want to get anyone else sick.  Not an ideal start to vacation, but he was a trooper and made the most of the day.  Heck, if I was him, I might have left the half a bike with one of us adults and ferried myself home for a nap!  But he stuck with it for the entire day.  

All in all - I'm glad we went.  It was a bucket list item for Ryan on this trip and when someone says that, how can you NOT make it happen.  I think we all enjoyed our time there and truly the only thing we'd do differently is maybe try to get an overnight stay there at some point.  It could be fun to see the island with many less people.  They say it's a totally different atmosphere in the evenings after the last ferry and I think we'd like to experience that at some point.

Up and Over Camping Trip

 

This year our big family summer trip involved 7 families, 3 dogs, 12 kids, 13 adults and nearly 40 hours of driving!  I have a few posts coming up talking all about our trip to the UP and the activities we did along the way, but today I'm sharing family photos of the entire crew.  It was definitely a trip for the memory books!

Everyone on the trip had a camper of some sort.  Most of them new (to the owners) in the last year or so.  But, honestly I think one of Ryan's favorite parts of these trips is helping everyone get all their stuff set up and organized.  He's a man with a plan and he can't wait to help.  Liz even made a comment about how within 15 minutes of arriving somewhere Ryan would show up with tools in hand and start setting up up things.

For us this trip was 10 days long and involved 4 different locations along the way.  We left on Thursday evening after work and made our way, with Jamie and Zach, near Green Bay at a brand new campground that opened just this spring called Brown County Reforestation Campground - a beautiful campground that is definitely worth checking out if you are planning to stay in the Green Bay area.  Don't think it didn't cross my mind that this would be an ideal spot if we were going to a Packer game!  Someday (soon!).

From there we traveled to a Straits Campground, just across the lake from Mackinac Island where we camped for 2 nights.  After that we headed to Tahquamenon Falls for 2 nights and ended our trip at Pictured Rocks where we stayed at a private campground called Munising Tourist Park - that was located RIGHT on the beach of Lake Superior.  

I have lots more photos and stories to share, but for today, I wanted to highlight our crew for the trip.  These kids (and adults) were all troopers!  A trip with a group this size is not easy but we nailed it.