Shipwreck Tours

pic from: www.mackinawinfo.com

   If you find yourself in Munising, Michigan, with some an afternoon to spare, may I suggest going on the Glass Bottom Boat Shipwreck Tours.  This is one of the most incredible tours I have ever experienced, the shipwrecks you are able to see, and the view from the boat is breathtaking.


 You start off the tour by boarding Miss Munising, a 60's Coast Guard certified steel vessel equipped with a hull glass viewing area. This is a fully narrated 2-hour boat tour that begins from Munising Bay and travels and to different shipwrecks, all resting in the shallow waters of Lake   Superior.

pic from: www.munising.org

The first wreck you come to is the Bermuda.  It is a 150ft wooden schooner that sank in the mid 1800s.  It lies just 12 feet below the surface.  Because the water of Lake Superior is so cold, it keeps the Bermuda from decomposing, so it still looks like it did over a century ago.  This is an excellent spot for scuba diving and checking out ship wrecks.

The second wreck that you come to is The Old Scow Schooner, a 150' section of the wooden schooner lies close to shore along the Grand Island thumb. This was a cheaply build vessel with a flat bottom, flat sides, and a square bow and stern.

pic from: www.uptravel.com

The Final shipwreck that you come to is the Herman H. Hettler.  It was seeking shelter in the Munising Harbor in November of 1926, when it slammed into a reef .  It was bound for Duluth carrying 1,100 tons of bulk table salt.

While you are going along on the tour, you will see some of the most beautiful cliffs and rock formations in the area.  A must see if you are in the area!

pic from: www.exploringthenorth.com

For more information please visit the following website:

http://shipwrecktours.com/

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum

Light House

Are you a big fan of shipwrecks?  Do you enjoy the history of Ships past and how or why they wrecked?  Ever wonder what all was recovered from the famous wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald?  The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point Michigan, just North of Paradise may be of interest to you.

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum

The Whitefish Point Light Station was built in 1861 and is the oldest operating lighthouse on Lake Superior. It has stood guard on the eastern end of an 80 mile shoreline known as Lake Superior’s Shipwreck Coast for over 150 years. There are at least 200 of the 550 known major shipwrecks on Lake Superior that lie within or near Whitefish Bay. The most famous of these shipwrecks, the Edmund Fitzgerald, laid to rest 17 miles northwest of Whitefish Point in 1975. The Great Lake Shipwreck
Museum displays the rich maritime history of the region.

bell from The Edmond Fitzgerald

The keepers Quarters Dwelling attached to the light has been fully restored and is open for tours.  It was constructed in 1861 at the order of President Lincoln.  The exhibits inside reflect the life of the light-keeper and his family at the turn of the century.


One of the guard stations was transformed into the Shipwreck museum that has all kinds of exhibits that were recovered from shipwrecks in the area.  There is an entire section dedicated to the Edmond Fitzgerald.  In 1995, the Bell was recovered from the Edmond Fitzgerald, which now is on display as a memorial to her lost crew.




                                                                            
For More information please visit:
http://www.exploringthenorth.com/shipmus/shipmuseum.html  or http://www.exploringthenorth.com/whitefish/whitefish.html


Pictures from above sites as well as:
 http://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/memorial-ceremony-127/

Tahquamenon Falls

                                              

Lower Falls

                                      
Have you ever wondered where on earth you could possibly go to a brewery, eat a fresh whitefish dinner or buffalo burger, sit by a fire in a logging camp, hiking, fishing, camping, enjoying the beauty of nature, and experience the breathtaking view of the 2nd largest waterfall east of the Mississippi (Niagara Falls being the first) all in one place?  Wonder no more - Tahquamenon Falls in Newberry, Michigan is the place to be!

       The upper falls are the more scenic and are easily                   accessible.  At 50   feet high, and 200 feet wide, the                                                              upper falls is one of the largest waterfalls east of the

Lower Falls

Mississippi River. It is short walk from the parking lot to the falls, and there are several nice vantage points reachable by stairs. There is also a microbrewery at the upper falls, a gift shop and icecream.

There is a trail between the upper and the lower falls. It is 4+ miles, with some ups and downs, mostly through woods well above the river. The river is quite calm between the two falls.

Upper Falls

This is one place that I loved going to when I was growing up.  We would go during the summer when family came to visit, or in the fall to see all the pretty colors of the fall trees.  It is so beautiful in the fall with the sun hitting the trees and lighting them up over the falls.  If you can take the cold, winter is another excellent time to go.  When it is cold enough, you will see the most breath taking ice formations throughout the falls as the water began to freeze and eventually froze over.

For more information on the falls or to see other pictures from different seasons, please visit one of the following websites: http://www.tahquamenonfallsbrewery.com
http://www.exploringthenorth.com/tahqua/tahqua.html
http://www.newberrytourism.com/index.php?page=Tahquamenon_Falls

The above pictures are from my personal collection.

GarLyn Zoo

 Do you have a love of animals, the desire to "experience the wild" or just want to see Native and Exotic Animals?  If so may I suggest a trip to the GarLyn Zoo, in Naubinway, Michigan.

This is a great place to take the family.  Every summer my children look forward to going back so they can see what new animals they have or to see how much the animals have grown that are there.  They would spend the entire day there if I would let them.  The biggest highlight of the day is having the goats lick the food out of their tiny little hands and then eat the ice cream cone that they got the feed in.

The owners, Gary and Lynn Moore started the zoo in 2004 when they sold their house and moved to the U.P.  They brought with their domestic pet animals: pygmy goats, potbellied pigs, and sikka dear. The zoo now has about 35 different types of animals.  Many wild animals at GarLyn are rescues—orphaned animals, or injured so they could no longer live in the wild, or adopted from owners who could no longer care for their pets.  The bears, wolves, coyotes, whitetail deer, bison, skunks, porcupine, tortoise, alligators, and foxes were all rescued.

 If you would like to learn more about GarLyn Zoo please visit the following websites: http://www.garlynzoo.com  or  http://hunts-upguide.com/naubinway_garlyn_zoo.html

Pictures are from my personal collection

Oswald Bear Ranch

Picture of one of the Bears at Oswald Bear Ranch.

 

Picture and video from:
   http://oswaldsbearranch.com/


Have you ever wanted to see a black bear up close, so close you could reach out and touch it?  Have you ever wanted to thrill of holding a baby black bear?  If you answered yes to these questions, Oswald Bear Ranch in Newberry, Michigan is the place for you!

This is a family owned business that has been rescuing cub bears from all over the USA and raising them since 1984.  They opened in 1997 to the public.  They now have 29 bears, 2 huge habitats (1/2 and 1/3 mile perimeter) and 2 smaller habitats (1/4 mile perimeter each). The yearling bears have a wonderful waterfall within their habitat. The ranch is the largest facility in the United States.

This is one place that my parents love to take all their grandchildren in the summer.  It is something that the kids all enjoy and it doesn't cost a fortune for them to take 7 kids.  It is $20 per car load.  You can bring apples to feed the bears, or buy a cup of sliced apples for a dollar.  If you want to have your picture taken with a cub it is $5, and you can do more than one person in the picture.  Definitely worth the trip if you are in the area.

For more information check out the website: http://oswaldsbearranch.com/

The Soo Locks

Are you looking for a vacation spot that includes not only something fun for the kids to do, but also some history and educational aspect to it?  If so, I would suggest checking out Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and Stopping at the Soo Locks.

Sault Ste. Marie is the oldest city in Michigan and the third oldest city in the United States!  The Soo Locks were built back in 1855 as a passage way for vessels to get through the Rapids of the Saint Mary's River, which has a 21 foot drop.  This is the only path that connects Lake Superior to the Lakes below, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

When at the Soo Locks, you get to watch ships, up to 1000' go through the lock system.  They will enter the lock, tie down, and then the water will either raise or lower 21' so they can go out the other side of the river at the correct level.  Kids and adults alike love to watch as the ships either "disappear" or "appear" as the water level is changing.

The Locks aren't just for big ships, any size boat can go through them.  They have boat tours that will take you from one side of the river to the other so you can experience the locks for yourself.  This is another thing that kids love to do.  I used to do catering on the dinner tours, and I loved seeing the excitement on all the kids faces every time we would go through the locks.

I have also experienced taking a little 16' boat through the locks with a friend.  We were bored one day and his parents weren't home so we decided to take his dad's boat out.  Then he got the brilliant idea of taking it through the locks.  It wasn't as cool from down in the water as it looks watching it from up above.  Bouncing around in this tiny boat, with a huge ship just a few feet away from you, it was rather scary.

There is a visitors center that has models of the locks that you can look at and see how they work.  There are maps on the walls, schedules of all the vessels coming in, what they are carrying, where they are from, etc.  They have a little theater that you can watch a movie in about the history of the locks.

During the summer, there is a "music in the park" series.  Every Wednesday there is a different live act playing in the park at the locks for the people to enjoy, and it is free.  There is one weekend during the summer that the general public is aloud to walk across the first lock and tour the building on the other side.  This is something that is really fun to do, when I lived there I would go every summer just because it was fun and an unique experience.

Finally in the middle of the park is a lighted fountain.  It is clear during the day and at night it is lighted with different colors that rotate through.  There are cement benches that match the base of the fountain that circle the fountain.  Music plays in the area.  It is rather peaceful there.  This is where I spent a lot of time in High School doing homework with my best friend.  We would pick two benches and lay facing each other working on the homework and talking through the problems.  Tourists would come and throw their pennies in and make a wish and comment on how responsible we were being with doing our homework instead of out doing other things like most teenagers.

For more information please check out this website: http://www.saultstemarie.com/soo-locks-46/

Mystery Spot

Have you ever wanted to experience optical contradictions and physical sensations that are hard to believe?  Then the mystery spot is a must see!  Here you will see water that runs up hill instead of down hill.  You will be able to walk up right on the side of a slanted floor without falling, sit in a chair suspended on the wall by only the back two legs on a small ledge and many other strange and bazaar things.

The spot was discovered in the early 1950s by 3 surveyors when their equipment wasn't working correctly.  In a 300 foot section of land, everything always pulled to the East, even when the level showed that it was level.  They soon named it "The Mystery Spot".

Millions have visited since it has been turned into a tourist attraction.  If you are ever in the area, I recommend you stopping and checking it out.  It is definitely something out of the ordinary, and if you have kids, they will love it!

  
Images from:   http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/29062

For more information on the Mystery Spot check out their web page:   http://www.mysteryspotstignace.com/