Friday, June 15, 2018, Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Paradise, MI

Moving day again. This time another short drive of 84.4 miles (87,337.8 total) from the Kewadin Casino in St Ignace to Tahquamenon Falls State Park just east of Paradise, MI.

On our checklist we are reminded to look over our route before we leave. We both thought we knew exactly where we were going and we skipped that item today. About 5 miles down the road I said: "is that the Interstate we just crossed under?" Joani knew that was not right and quickly realized we were on the wrong road. I missed a turn that I didn't remember I needed to make. Oh well, we got an extra 14 miles driving in today and a valuable lesson learned - always follow your checklist!

Michigan highway 123 was great except for repair work on one small bridge where only one lane was open. They had us squeeze between large concrete barriers and a guardrail. I was going really slowly and should have been fine, but the pavement had a depression that pitched the coach to the right. I heard the side scrape the rail and just cringed. For the final 20 miles of our drive, my imagination was running wild thinking about the damage.

Finally, at the campground, it was time to assess the situation. I was expecting to see a big ugly scrape down the side, but we actually had some difficulty finding any evidence of impact. It was there but so minor I breathed a big sigh of relief - Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you! Joani said she had no doubt it was minor all along.

Campsite 78, in the Lower Falls campground, was a nice pull through with 50 amp service. Unfortunately, the 50 amp was not working, but we should be able to rough-it on 30 amp since we will not likely need A/C.

Today's forecast predicted some major rain that had not yet started, so we headed to the lower Tahquamenon Falls. There were actually five lower falls situated at sites around an island.

It was interesting the water was so brown, clear but very brown. Apparently, the water contains naturally occurring tannins.

Since the rain held off we decided to make the trek to the Upper Falls as well. We drove the four miles between falls instead of hiking - we were not going to push our luck anymore today. I was surprised by the large number of people visiting the park, but then it was the start of the weekend. There were several nice overlooks for viewing the falls along the short trail from the parking area. The platform poised just above the falls was 94 steps below the trail but was well worth the effort.

After our hiking, we headed home to relax for the evening still expecting the rain that never appeared. With no cell coverage, we were without internet and we had to entertain ourselves the old fashioned way, with wine and sliced apples and cheese. An excellent way to celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary!