This was day one of an eight-day trip through Michigan's Upper Peninsula and the top of the Lower Peninsula, and it set the bar high: a massive waterfall, one of the longest suspension bridges in the world, and a beach campfire with a chance of northern lights. If you've been wondering why everyone suddenly has the UP on their list, this episode is our answer.
Who we are, since this was episode one
This video opens with a proper introduction because it kicked off the series. The short version: Nathan is from Michigan, Fabiola is from Brazil, and this trip was partly Nathan showing off his home state and partly the two of us testing how much road time we could handle together. Spoiler from the future: quite a lot, since we now live full time in a fifth wheel.
Snacks first, then waterfalls
Fabiola runs the snack program on our drives, and her rule is simple: if the cooler is full of decent food, nobody ends up eating gas station nachos at 2pm and regretting the whole day. Cut-up fruit, nuts, cheese, water. It sounds obvious. It has saved more travel days than any gadget we own.
Tahquamenon Falls
Tahquamenon Falls was the first big stop, and photos don't prepare you for the color. The water is a deep amber, almost root beer, from tannins that leach out of the cedar swamps upstream. The Upper Falls is one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi, about 200 feet across with a 50-foot drop, and you can hear it before the trail lets you see it. The viewing platforms get you close enough to catch spray. We had planned an hour here and stayed much longer, which became the theme of the whole trip.
Crossing the Mackinac Bridge
Driving the Mackinac Bridge is a rite of passage for Michiganders and a mild stress test for everyone else. It's about five miles across the straits where Lake Michigan meets Lake Huron, and the center lanes are open grating, so the deck hums under your tires and you can see water between them if you look down. Nathan, who grew up with this bridge, found it nostalgic. Fabiola found it long. Both reviews are accurate.
Mackinaw City, a motel, and the Rusted Spoke
We landed in Mackinaw City for the night, checked into a motel (this trip predates the RV, which still feels strange to type), and had dinner at Rusted Spoke Brewing Co. Good burgers, good local beer, and a table where we could plan the next day's ferry to Mackinac Island. Mackinaw City itself is compact and completely built around the straits: fudge shops, ferry docks, and views of the bridge lit up at night.
S'mores and a northern lights stakeout
The day ended on the beach with a campfire and s'mores, staring north across the water. The UP is one of the better places in the lower 48 to catch the aurora when conditions line up, so we stayed out late with the camera pointed at the sky, negotiating one more marshmallow at a time. Did we see them? We'll let the video answer that. What we can say is that a dark beach on the straits, with the bridge glowing to the west and a fire at your feet, doesn't really need the light show to justify the late night.
See the falls, the bridge, and the stakeout: watch the full video on YouTube. We also send a short weekly newsletter about where we are and what broke this week. The signup form is on our newsletter page.