....Lucky rainy day....

Due to bad weather and travel conditions, it was by happenstance that we stopped at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in the U.P. of Michigan. Dedicated as a state park in 1945 to protect the last extensive tract of old-growth hardwood and hemlock forest remaining in theMidwest, it is the Midwest's largest wilderness area. Located on the western edge of the U.P, the park contains nearly 60,000 acres of virgin forest on the shores of Lake Superior. Eastern hemlock (some over 600 yrs old), sugar maple and yellow birch dominate the 35,000 acres of old-growth forest in the park.

The "Porkies”, as they are fondly referred to by the locals, stopped growing a long time ago and millions of years of erosion have worn them down. The highest point in the park is only 1300 feet above lake level. But the area is by no means flat....the Porcupine Mountains themselves arise abruptly from Lake Superior to form a 12 mile long escarpment which parallels the lakeshore for a distance of 1.5 miles and at 2 billion years old, the mountains are a section of one of the oldest mountain chains in the world.

On the landward side of the escarpment is Lake of the Clouds, which is one of the spectacular views to be found from high peaks in the area and is one of Michigan's premier scenic locations. On a clear day, you can see more than 25 miles to the west.

But even though the mountains have eroded over millions of years, the end result are a number of beautiful waterfalls that were formed. The largest and easiest to visit are the waterfalls on the Presque Isle River on the western edge of the park. Manabezho Falls is the most impressive of these…..many of the waterfalls were named from the language of the Ojibwa Indians. This is the largest waterfall in the park and so it is named Manabehzo after the powerful spirit God of the Ojibwa.

Manabezho Falls

There is a beautiful boardwalk that follows the river and some of the falls and makes for great photo-ops. Nawadaha Falls is another waterfall.......in the spring of the year the river swells with rain and melting snow and peak flow reaches 12,000 gallons every second. The excellent water quality of the Presque Isle River makes it choice habitat for many species of fish such as brook and rainbow trout which are found year round. We stayed in the campground near the park entrance and our campsite was right on Lake Superior. It was one of the most enjoyable camp sites we have ever had.

View of Lake Superior from our living room window.....