2011-45 Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Michigan
Hello
All,
Tahquamenon Falls was our next target destination. They are two different waterfalls on the Tahquamenon River located near Lake Superior in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Locals call them “Root Beer Falls” because the water is amber in color. This is due to tannin (or tannic acid) in the water from the cedar, spruce, and hemlocks trees in the swamps drained by the river. The falls are located within Tahquamenon Falls State Park between Newberry and Paradise, Michigan.
Our first stop was at the Lower Falls, which is located four miles downstream from the Upper Falls. The Lower Falls consists of a series of five small falls where the river splits and goes around an island. It was a beautiful blue sky day with a few white puffy clouds. Upon arrival at the parking lot we grabbed our cameras and started following the wooden boardwalk through the dense forest anxious to see what Mother Nature had to offer.
Tahquamenon Falls was our next target destination. They are two different waterfalls on the Tahquamenon River located near Lake Superior in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Locals call them “Root Beer Falls” because the water is amber in color. This is due to tannin (or tannic acid) in the water from the cedar, spruce, and hemlocks trees in the swamps drained by the river. The falls are located within Tahquamenon Falls State Park between Newberry and Paradise, Michigan.
Our first stop was at the Lower Falls, which is located four miles downstream from the Upper Falls. The Lower Falls consists of a series of five small falls where the river splits and goes around an island. It was a beautiful blue sky day with a few white puffy clouds. Upon arrival at the parking lot we grabbed our cameras and started following the wooden boardwalk through the dense forest anxious to see what Mother Nature had to offer.
We found this poem titled “Prayer of the
Woods” posted on a sign along the boardwalk. It was certainly an interesting
and thought provoking touch.
When we reached the river we were
surprised to find that after it split and went around the island it formed a
lake. In the following photo you can see the lake. The higher ground in the
background is the island. On the extreme right side of the photo there is a
falls and a portion of the river. On the left third of the photo you can see
another falls on the other part of the river.
There were boats you
could rent to row over to the island for a closer view of the falls. We found
the wooden boat ramps to be ingenious. They allowed a person to nose the boat
upon the ramp and then step off without getting their feet wet or muddy. There
was a ramp on the island also. Bet it saved wear and tear on the aluminum boat
bottoms also.
Here is a picturesque shot of the falls
on one side of the island. We found it to be quite lovely.
We were amazed when
we stumbled across these cedar trees changing to fall colors. We have only seen
such an occurrence in photos and felt quite lucky to find them. We have seen
bald cypress trees change to a similar color in the fall. That being said, it
might be a diseased tree for all we know about botany! In our eyes it made for
a nice photo.
The extremely soft water churned by the
action of the falls causes extensive amounts of foam. This has been a trademark
of the Tahquamenon River since the days of the Voyagers. Here are a couple of
shots of small falls on the other side of the island.
After viewing the Lower Falls we made
our way back to the car for the four-mile trip to the Upper Falls. About half
way there we went around a corner and came upon a historic car traveling in
front of us. It looked to be of the 1920’s era. There was no way we could pass
on the hilly and windy road so we just dropped in behind and enjoyed the
scenery. Then Dave noticed a stream of water coming from the car’s exhaust.
That puzzled us for a bit. Then Dave said “You don’t suppose that’s a steam car?”
Sure enough, it turned into the Upper Falls parking lot and we could see that it
was. We were excited, as we had never seen one before. And to come upon one
driving down the highway was even better.
We paid a couple of bucks admission fee to enter the state park and then went looking for the steam car in the parking lot. Wow, it got even better as we found there was a whole group of them there! We later learned that they were on the 2011 Mt. Washington Auto Steam Car Tour and were celebrating the 150th anniversary. The tour was sponsored by the Stanley Museum, Kingfield, Maine. Many of the cars still had water dripping from them.
We paid a couple of bucks admission fee to enter the state park and then went looking for the steam car in the parking lot. Wow, it got even better as we found there was a whole group of them there! We later learned that they were on the 2011 Mt. Washington Auto Steam Car Tour and were celebrating the 150th anniversary. The tour was sponsored by the Stanley Museum, Kingfield, Maine. Many of the cars still had water dripping from them.
Here is the car we were following down
the highway. Isn’t it a beauty—love the royal blue color.
No doubt about this one being a Stanley
Steamer.
Check out the dash in the Stanley--lots
of valves, knobs and lever--very interesting.
The cars were from Maine, Connecticut
and Vermont. To say they were awesome would be an understatement. Note the
lantern type taillight in the following photo.
After checking out all the steam cars we
went on to see the Upper Falls. But, we’ll have to talk about that in our next
little blurb, as we have run out of room in this one.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns