My Wanderabout On May 31st

Marquette, Michigan

June 1, 2022

I'm a bit overwhelmed trying to figure out how to describe all that I experienced yesterday from the morning sun at Whitefish Point to Paradise to the falls at Tahquameron Falls State Park to a turn in Newberry to take me on a route I wasn't sure about along Lake Superior. That route to Deer Park and then onto Munising is so remote that I can't even get Google Maps to show it on these maps. But it was one of the prettiest drives I have made on this trip. (On the map above, Google Maps shows to get from Grand Marias I should have gone south, then west; instead I got on country road H-58 and continued to drive along the shore of Lake Superior. But hush -- don't tell anyone. After I thought I could not digest anymore, I came across Christmas, Michigan. I ended up in Marquette, Michigan where I collapsed from all that I experienced.

It is now 920 am and I am doing my laundry. If I did not have to get back east in the next two weeks, I think I could spend a month wandering around up here. Definitely a place to revisit -- with bug repellant.

Where I started the day:

Then north to Whitefish Point:

Then into Paradise. I was able to get a postmark at the Paradise post office; I sensed not too many folks ask for postmarks which surprised me. Oh, and on the way from Whitefish Point to Paradise I passed the Fox Pointe sign:

I talked with the woman who owns the gift shop in Paradise. She was so friendly and offered all kinds of ideas for things to do in the UP. She said her store is open from April until October; the rest of the year the only tourists are snowmobilers and the weather is tough. Said they average 300 inches of snow a year. She and her husband moved from Indiana because they love to snowmobile.

Paradise is an unincorporated community in Whitefish Township, Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan.

Paradise is on the northeastern portion of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on the western side of Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior, about 60 miles by road from Sault Ste. Marie and about 55 miles north of the Mackinac Bridge. Its zip code is 49768, and the area code and telephone exchanges are (906) and 492 respectively. Founded in 1925, Paradise is surrounded by state and national forests and its main business is tourism. It is considered one of two gateways to the Tahquamenon Falls area and Tahquamenon Falls State Park. (The other gateway is Newberry, about 40 miles (64 km) to the southwest.) The area draws hunters, fishers, campers, backpackers, snowmobilers and birdwatchers. The region harvests blueberries and cranberries in season. It is also the home of the blueberry festival held every summer. Lake Superior shipping lanes are several miles off shore. The Paradise post office opened May 1, 1947.

Paradise is the main point of entry to Whitefish Point, 11 miles (18 km) to the north, which is a world migratory route protected by the Seney National Wildlife Refuge, and studied by the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory. It is also known for the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, its Lake Superior shoreline, the Whitefish Point Lighthouse, and the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve, a series of sunken shipwrecks.

The Sufjan Stevens album Greetings from Michigan contains a song entitled "For The Widows In Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti."

The Alex McKnight series of fictional crime books by author Steve Hamilton is set in Paradise, and includes numerous descriptions of the terrain and natural landmarks.

Lots of vehicles with rust on them in these parts. Tells me something about the weather!

Then it was on to Tahquamenon State Park. The woman at the gift shop said I had to see the waterfalls. She was right. And it felt great to get out and walk.